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NATURAL
HISTORY
THE JOURNAL OF
THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
VOLUME LXXIII
1964
Published by
THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
NEW YORK, N. Y.
CONTENTS OF
VOLUME LXXIII
January, No. 1
Reviews: T. Donald Carter 4
Three Books Survey the Fauna Survival Problem
Water of the World Raymond L. Nace 10
Monies of Antiquity Joan Fagerlie 20
Emperors' Dye of the Mixtecs Peter Gerhard 26
Night Fighters in a Sonic Duel Kenneth D. Roeder 32
Sky Reporter Thomas D. Nicholson 40
The "Man of the Woods" Vernon Reynolds 44
Index to Next Spring's Growth Virgil N. Argo 52
About the Authors 58
Nature in Rock and Mineral Paul Mason Tilden 59
February, No. 2
Reviews: Alfred Kidder II 5
A Fresh Approach to Man's Cultural Background
Rose-Red City of Petra Philip C. Hammond 14
Ornamental Equines 26
Fishes and Climates C. Lavett Smith 34
Color Change: Chameleon Camouflage
Herndon G. Dowling 40
Sky Reporter , Thomas D. Nicholson 44
The Hawaiian Monk Seal Dale W. Rice 48
An "Antlered" Grotesque Lars Holmberg 56
Snow Eaters of Alberta Deryk Bodington 60
About the Authors 62
Nature and the Camera David Linton 63
March, No. 3
Museum Memo: Alexander M. White 3
Report from the President
Reviews: William Vogt 4
Man and Nature Joined in Quiet Crisis
Siege Warfare in Pharaonic Egypt .. Alan R. Shulman 12
Grizzly Territory A. W. F. Banfield 22
Insect-Trapping Plants Virgil N. .\rgo 28
PsYCHOPHYsics AND Hearing IN FisH William N. Tavolga 34
Sky Reporter Thomas D. Nicholson 42
Tribal Art from Africa Colin M. Turnbull 46
Naturalists' Notebook: Predator Nets a Sugar Ant - 54
About the Authors 56
Nature and the Microscope Julian D. Corrington 58
April, No. 4
Reviews: Lee Boltin 4
Photographer of Conviction
Old Africa's "People of the Village": Part I
Arthur Leipzig 10
Dinosaurs of the Arctic Edwin H. Colbert 20
Multicolored World of Caterpillars Paul Villiard 24
Bass Rock Gannets Bryan Nelson 32
Cross-Pollination of an Orchid H. Lou Gibson 42
Naturalists' Notebook: Exploration at the Pond
Photographs by Arline Strong 44
Megaliths and Men Glyn E. Daniel 46
Sky Reporter Thomas D. Nicholson 54
Nature in Rock and Mineral Paul Mason Tilden 58
About the Authors 62
Science in Action:
Launching an Expedition Richard G. Van Gelder 64
May, No. 5
Reviews: Colin M, Turnbull 5
Women, Witchery, and Rebellion Color the African Scene
Bronzes of Luristan Bernard Goldman 12
Stalagmites and Stalactites Edward O'Donnell 22
Fructivorous Fliers Kay Breeden 26
Man Plant's Return H. Lea Lawrence 34
Old Africa's "People of the Village": Part II
Arthur Leipzig 38
Sky Reporter Thomas D. Nicholson 46
The Monarch's Emergence Alexander B. Klots 50
About the Authors 54
Travel Far and Near:
The Meteorite Search D. Moreau Barringer 56
Nature and the Camera David Linton 60
June-July, No. 6
Books in Review: George Gaylord Simpson 4
Science v. the Humanities
The Amazon's Rate of Flow Luther C. Davis, Jr. 14
Expositions, Exhibits and Today's Museums
Gordon Reekie 20
Naturalists' Notebook: Birth of Two Whitetails
Photographs by Leonard Lee Rue III 30
California's Legacy of Indian Rock Art
Campbell Grant 32
Hermaphroditism in Bahama Groupers C. Lavett Smith 42
Astronomy's Past Preserved at Jaipur
Derek J. de Sella Price 48
Sky Reporter Thomas D. Nicholson 54
About the Authors 58
Science in Action:
Preparing For Tomorrow Perez Malande Olindo 60
Washington Newsletter Paul Mason Tilden 66
August-September, No. 7
Books in Review: Pieter Fosburgh 6
A Naturalist's Book List
"Little Snake With Hands" Charles M. Bogert 16
Management of Water IN Arid Lands George H. Davis 26
Pilgrim of the River Janis A. Roze 34
Arches and Bridges of Stone Willard Luce 42
Armor-Plated and Jawless Devonian Fish
David L. Dineley 48
Sky Reporter Thomas D. Nicholson 54
Science in Action:
On Ethnological Tactics Robert L. Carneiro 58
About the Authors 63
Nature and the Camera David Linton 64
October, No. 8
Books in Review: Harry L. Shapiro 4
Three Histories of Man
Sciences Meet in Ancient Hasanlu R. H. Dyson, Jr. 16
Rarely Seen Songbirds of Peru's High Andes
William G. George 26
Mapping the Surface of the Earth
Morris M. Thompson and Julius L. Speert 30
Return of the Beaver Sydney Anderson 38
Tiny Drifters of the Sea
John J. Lee and Hugo Freudenthal 44
Migration in Maine Paul J. Fournier 46
Sky Reporter Thomas D. Nicholson 50
Place for All Things Paul Bohannan 54
Totem Poles: Family Trees ... Frederick J. Dockstader 62
About the Authors 64
Nature and the Microscope Julian D. Corrington 65
November, No. 9
1964 Survey of Science Books for Young People 4
Cannibal of the Pond Syd Radinovsky 16
Strangler Fig, Native Epiphyte Virgil N. Argo 26
Long Journey of the Dogfish Walter N. Hess 32
Bronze Ace Seen in Granite Holger Arbman 36
Sky Reporter Thomas D. Nicholson 44
Lake Erie Niche for Gulls Ralph S. Palmer 48
About the Authors 52
Travel Far and Near:
Art of Ajanta and Ellora Robert S. McCully 53
Science in Action:
The Biological Collector Jack J. Rudloe 59
December, No. 10
Books in Review: Joseph A. Davis, Jr. 4
Wildlife Under Seige
Fire Ecology of the Giant Sequoias
Richard J. Hartesveldt 12
Anatomy of Decay as Preserved in Shale Leif St0rmer 20
Fulton Fish Market Photographs by Lou Bernstein 26
Pompeii Wilhelmina Jasheraski 30
Introduced Menace Monica Shorten 42
Sky Reporter Thomas D. Nicholson 50
Anomalies in Africa
Photographs by L. D. Vesey-Fitzgerald 54
About the Authors 56
Science in Action:
Listening Under Water William A. Watkins 57
Washington Newsletter Paul Mason Tilden 62
ITHORS AND TITLES
ams, A., Reviews, Oct., p. 6
derson, S., Return of the Beaver, Oct.,
). 38
bman, H., Bronze Age Seen in Granite,
'^ov., p. 36 ,
go, V. N., Index to Next Spring s
Ir'owth, Jan., p. 52; Insect-trapping
'lants. Mar., p. 28; Strangler Fig,
Vov., p. 26; Reviews, June, p. 11
nfield, A. W. F., Grizzly Territory,
Vlar., p. 22
rringer, D. M., The Meteorite Search,
Vlay, p. 56
ckwith, J., Reviews, Oct., p. 12
dington, D. K., Snow Eaters of Alberta,
Feb., p. 60
gert, C. M., "Little Snake With
Hands," Aug., p. 16; Reviews, Apr., p.
5; June, p. 12
hannan, P., Place for All Things, Oct.,
p. 54
Itin, L., Reviews, Apr., p. 4
eeden, K., Fructivorous Fliers, May, p.
rneiro, R. L., On Ethnological Tac-
:ics, Aug., p. 58
rter, T. D., Reviews, Jan., p. 4
Ibert, E. H., Dinosaurs of the Arctic,
Apr., p. 20
oper, K. K., Reviews, Nov., p. 12
rrington, J. D., Nature and the Micro-
scope, Mar., p. 58; Oct., p. 65
easer, E. P. Sr., Reviews, Aug., p. 14
iniel, G. E., Megaliths and Men, Apr.,
p. 46
vis, G. H., Management of Water in
Arid Lands, Aug., p. 26
vis, J. A. Jr., Reviews, Dec, p. 4
vis, L. C. Jr., The Amazon's Rate of
Flow, June, p. 14
neley, D. L., Armor-plated and Jaw-
less Devonian Fish, Aug., p. 48
ickstader, F. J., Totem Poles, Oct., p. 62
iwling, H. G., Color Change: Chame-
leon Camouflage, Feb., p. 40; Reviews,
Dec, p. 10
■son, R. H. Jr., Sciences Meet in Ancient
Hasanlu, Oct., p. 16; Reviews, June, p.
10
senmann, E., Reviews, Feb., p. 10
:holm, G. F., Reviews, June, p. 6
gerlie, J., Monies of Antiquity, Jan.,
p. 20
sburgh. P., Reviews, Jan., p. 7; Feb., p. 9;
Aug., p. 6
lurnier, P. J., Migration in Maine, Oct.,
p. 46
anklin, K. L., Reviews, Nov., p. 6
eed, S. A., Reviews, Oct.. p. 13
eudenthal, H. D., Tiny Drifters of the
Sea, Oct., p. 44; Reviews, Jan., p. 7
;orge, W. G., Rarely Seen Songbirds of
Peru's High Andes, Oct.. p. 26; Reviews,
Jan., p. 8; Aug., p. 10
;rhard. P., Emperors' Dye of the Mix-
tecs, Jan., p. 26
ibson, H. L., Cross-Pollination of an
Orchid, Apr., p. 42
ifford, P. C, Reviews, Oct., p. 12
jldman. B., Bronzes of Luristan, May,
p. 12; Reviews, Feb., p. 11
rant, C, California's Legacy of Indian
Rock Art. June, p. 32
all, E. C, Reviews. Mar., p. 8; Apr., p. 6
amilton, W. J. Jr.. Reviews, Apr., p. 8
ammond, P. C, Rose-Red City of Petra,
Feb., p. 15
artesveldt, R. J., Fire Ecology of the
Giant Sequoias, Dec, p. 12
ess, W. N., Long Journey of the Dog-
fish, Nov., p. 32
olmberg, L., An "Antlered" Grotesque,
Feb., p. 56
nbrie, J., Reviews, Nov., p. 10
ishemski, W., Pompeii, Dec, p. 30
idder II, A., Reviews, Feb., p. 5
Klein, R. M., Reviews, Oct., p. 9
Klots, A. B., Monarch's Emergence, May,
p. 50; Reviews, Mar., p. 9; Oct., p. 14
Lanyon, W. £., Reviews, Feb., p. 9; Apr.,
p. 7; May, p. 10
Lawrence, H. L., Man Plant's Return,
May, p. 34
Lee, J. J., Tiny Drifters of the Sea, Oct.,
p. 44; Reviews, Dec, p. 11
Leipzig, A., Old Africa's "People of the
Village," Apr., p. 10; May, p. 38
Linton, D., Nature and the Camera, Feb.,
p. 63; May, p. 60; Aug., p. 64
Luce, W., Arches and Bridges of Stone,
Aug., p. 42
McCormick, J., Reviews, Nov., p. 8
McCully, R. S., Art of Ajanta and Ellora,
Nov., p. 53
Manning, J., Reviews, Oct., p. 11
Mellink, M. J., Reviews, Aug., p. 12
Nace, R. L., Water of the World, Jan.,
p. 10
Nelson, B., Bass Rock Gannets, Apr., p. 32
Newton, D., Reviews, May, p. 7
Nicholson. T. D., Sky Reporter, Jan.. p.
40; Feb., p. 44; Mar., p. 42; Apr., p. 54;
May. p. 46; June, p. 54: Aug., p. 54;
Oct., p. 50; Nov., p. 44; Dec, p. 50; Re-
views, June, p. 10
O'Donnell, E., Stalagmites and Stalac-
tites, May, p. 22
Olindo, P. M., Preparing for Tomorrow,
June. p. 60
Palmer. R. S., Lake Erie Niche for Gulls,
Nov., p. 48; Reviews, Apr., p. 6; Aug.,
p. 13
Pickering, J. S.. Reviews, Apr., p. 6; June,
p. 6
Price, D. J. DeS., Astronomy's Past Pre-
served AT Jaipur, June, p. 48
Radinovsky, S., Cannibal of the Pond,
Nov., p. 16
Reekie, G., Expositions, Exhibits and To-
day's Museums, June. p. 20
Reynolds, V., The "Man of the Woods,"
Jan., p. 44
Rice, D. W., The Hawaiian Monk Seal,
Feb., p. 48
Rickett, H. W., Reviews, June, p. 8
Roeder, K. D., Night Fighters in a Sonic
Duel, Jan., p. 32
Rogers. D. J., Reviews, May, p. 9
Roze, J. A., Pilgrim of the River, Aug.,
p. 34
Rozen, J. G. Jr., Reviews, Apr., p. 7; Aug.,
p. 14
Rudloe, J. J., The Biological Collector,
Nov., p. 59
Schulman, A. R., Siege Warfare in Pha-
RAONic Egypt, Mar., p. 12; Reviews, Oct.,
p. 8
Scott, N., Reviews, Dec, p. 9
Shapiro, H. L., Reviews, Mar., p. 8; Oct.,
p. 4
Shorten, M., Introduced Menace, Dec, p.
42
Simpson, G. G., Reviews, June, p. 4
Smith, C. L., Fishes and Climates, Feb.,
p. 34; Hermaphroditism in Bahama
Groupers, June, p. 42
Stern, C, Reviews, Dec, p. 7
St0rmer, L., Anatomy of Decay as Pre-
served IN Shale, Dec, p. 20
Tavolga, M. C, Reviews, June, p. 8
Tavolga, W. N., Psychophysics and Hear-
ing IN Fish, Mar., p. 34; Reviews, June,
p. 8; Aug., p. 13; Dec, p. 9
Thompson, M. M..and J. L. Speert, Mapping
the Surface of the Earth, Oct., p. 30
Tilden, F., Reviews, Feb., p. 7
Tilden, P. M., Nature in Rock and Min-
eral, Jan., p. 59; Apr., p. 58; Washing-
ton Newsletter, June, p. 66; Dec, p. 61
Trautman, M. B., Reviews, Dec, p. 6
Turnbull, C. M., Tribal Art from Africa,
Mar., p. 46; Reviews, Mar., p. 6; May,
p. 5; Nov., p. 4
Van Gelder, R. G., Launching an Expedi-
tion, Apr., p. 64; Reviews, Aug., p. 10;
Oct., p 6.
Vaurie, C, Reviews, Mar., p. 10
ViOiard, P., Multicolored World of Cat-
erpillars, Apr., p. 24
Vogt, W., Reviews, Mar., p. 4
Watkins, W. A., Listening Under Water,
Dec, p. 57
Wollin, Goesta, Reviews, Jan., p. 8
Zappler, G., Reviews, Mar., p. 9; Apr. p. 5
SUBJECT MATTER
Africa, Mar., p. 46; Apr., p. 10; June, p. 60;
Oct., p. 54; Dec, p. 54
Amphibians and Reptiles
Amphisbaenids, Mexico, Aug., p. 16
Lizard, chameleon, Feb., p. 40
Turtle, Orinoco River, Aug., p. 34
Animal Behavior
Chimpanzee, Jan., p. 44
Dogfish, Nov., p. 32
Gannets, Apr., p. 32
Moth, Jan., p. 32
Squirrel, gray, Dec, p. 42
Turtle, Aug., p. 34
Water scorpion, Nov., p. 16
Archeology
Bronzes, Luristan, May, p. 12
Coins, ancient Greek, Jan., p. 20
Egypt, siege warfare. Mar., p. 12
Hasanlu, Oct., p. 16
Megaliths, Apr., p. 46
Petra, Feb., p. 14
Arches, rock, Utah, Aug., p. 42
Art
Ajanta and Ellora, Nov., p. 53
California, Indian rock art, June, p. 32
Dahomey tribe, brasses. Mar., p. 46
Horse, Appaloosa, Feb., p. 26
Pompeii, Dec, p. 30
Swedish rock art, Nov., p. 36
Astronomy
Crab Nebula, Dec, p. 50
Gregorian Calendar, Mar., p. 42
International time standard, Apr., p. 54
Jaipur observatory, June, p. 48
Lunar eclipse, total, June, p. 54
Moon's face, Aug., p. 54
Orion, Nov., p. 44
Photometry, Feb., p. 44
Saturn, rings, Oct., p. 50
Stellar brightness, Jan., p. 40
Venus, orbit of. May, p. 46
Bats, fruit. May, p. 26
Bears, grizzly, Mar., p. 22
Beaver, Oct., p. 38
Birds
Gannets, Apr., p. 32
Gulls, Nov., p. 48; Dec, p. 26
Songbirds, Peru, Oct., p. 26
Botany
Animal-trapping plants. Mar., p. 28
Buds, winter, Jan., p, 52
Ginseng, May, p. 34
Orchid, Apr., p. 42
Sequoias. Dec, p. 12
Strangler fig. Nov., p. 26
Butterfly, Monarch, May, p. 50
Calendar, Gregorian, Mar., p. 42
Caterpillar, Apr., p. 24
Chameleon, Feb., p. 40
Chimpanzee, Jan., p. 44
Chinook, wind. Feb., p. 60
Chromite. Jan., p. 59
Coins, ancient Greek. Jan., p. 20
Dinosaur footprint. Apr., p. 20
Dogfish, Nov., p. 32
Egypt, siege warfare. Mar., p. 12
Ethnology
African markets, Oct., p. 54
Meban tribe, Pt. I, Apr., p. 10;
Pt. II, May, p. 38
Indians, Northwest Coast, Oct., p. 62
Tactics, ethnological, Aug., p. 58
Expedition, preparation of, Apr., p. 64
Fish
Brook Trout, Oct., p. 46
Dogfish, Nov., p. 32
Groupers, June, p. 42
Hearing of. Mar., p. 34
Fossil, Feb., p. 34; Aug., p. 48
Foraminifera, planktonic, Oct., p. 44
Gannets, Apr., p. 32
Ginseng roots. May, p. 34
Groupers, June, p. 42
Gulls, Nov., p. 48; Dec., p. 26
Hasanlu, Oct., p. 16
Horses, spotted, Feb., p. 26
Hydrophones, Dec, p. 57
Insects
Butterfly, May, p. 50
Caterpillars, Apr., p. 24
Moth hearing, Jan., p. 32
Spider webs, Mar., p. 54
Stag beetle, Feb., p. 56
Invertebrates
Collecting, Nov., p. 59
Marine snails, purple dye of, Jan., p. 26
Jaipur, observatory. June, p. 48
Luristan bronzes. May, p. 12
Mammals
Bat, Australian, May, p. 26
Bears, grizzly. Mar., p. 22
Beaver, Oct., p. 38
Chimpan2ee, Jan., p. 44
Deer, birth of, June, p. 30
Seal, Hawaiian monk, Feb., p. 48
Squirrel, gray, Dec, p. 42
Maps, topographic, Oct., p. 30
Markets, Africa, Oct., p. 54
Meban tribe, See Ethnology
Megaliths, Apr., p. 47
Meteor Crater, May, p. 56
Micropaleontology, Oct., p. 44
Microscopy
Light waves, Mar., p. 58
Slides, preparation of, Oct., p. 65
Mohawk Island, gulls, Nov., p. 48
Museum, exhibition, June, p. 20
Naturalists' Notebook: June, p. 30;
Apr., p. 44; Mar., p. 54
Orchid, pollination, Apr., p. 42
Ostracoderms, Aug., p. 48
Paleontology
Dinosaur, Apr., p. 20
Ostracoderms, Aug., p. 48
Scorpion, Dec, p. 20
Peruvian songbirds, Oct., p. 26
Petra, Feb., p. 14
Photography
Animals, Feb., p. 63
Landscapes, Aug., p. 64
Photomicrography, May, p. 60
Pompeii. Dec. p. 30
Reptiles. See Amphibians and Reptiles
Rock and Mineral
Chromite, Jan., p. 59
Novaculite, Apr., p. 58
Rock art, Indian, June, p. 32
Rock, carvings, Nov., p. 36
Scorpion, fossilized, Dec, p. 20; water,
Nov., p. 16
Seal, Hawaiian monk, Feb., p. 48
Sequoias, Dec, p. 12
Sky Reporter, See Astronomy
Squirrel, gray, Dec, p. 42
Stag beetle, Feb., p. 56
Stalagmites, stalactites. May, p. 22
Strangler fig, Nov., p. 26
Totem poles, Oct., p. 62
Turtle, Orinoco River, Aug., p. 34
Tyrian purple dye, Jan., p. 26
Washington Newsletter, June, p. 66;
Dec, p. 61
Water
Amazon River, June, p. 14
Arid lands, Aug., p. 26
Distribution, Jan., p. 10
Book Reviews
Africa's Wildlije, Dec, p. 4
Alps, The, Oct., p. 6
Amazing World of Insects, Oct., p. 14
And Then Came Man, Oct., p. 4
Animal Life and Lore, Aug., p. 6
Animals Worlds, Mar., p. 9
Animals of East Africa, Jan., p. 4
Art Before Columbus, May, p. 7
Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands in the
Light of Archaeological Study, Oct., p. 8
Between the Sunlight and the Thunder,
Dec, p. 4
Biology of Birds, Apr., p. 6
Birds, The, Jan., p. 8
Birds on a May Morning, Aug., p. 10
Birds of the Ocean, Feb., p. 10
Birds of Wisconsin, May, p. 10
Book of the Hopi, Oct., p. 13
Byzantine Aesthetics, Oct., p. 11
Copper Town, Mar., p. 6
Dolphin in History, The, June, p. 8
Downstream, Dec, p. 6
Ecology, Aug., p. 13
Eloquent Light, The, Apr., p. 4
Eternal Present, The, Feb.. p. 11
Familiar Reptiles and Amphibians of Amer-
ica, Dec, p. 10
Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildfioivers,
A, June, p. 8
Fish-shape Paumanok, Aug., p. 14
Flight, Apr., p. 4
From Ape Man to Homer, Oct., p. 4
Great Beach, The, Aug., p. 6
Green Medicine, Oct., p. 9
Green Turtle and Man, The, Mar., p. 9
Harnessing Space, June. p. 6
Heredity and Human Life, Mar., p. 8
History of Domesticated Animals, A, Aug.,
p. 10
History of Mankind, Vol. 1, Feb., p. 5
House Sparrow, The, Feb., p. 9
/ Walk with Lions, Dec, p. 4
Insects, The, Apr., p. 7
John Clayton: Pioneer of American Botany,
Mar., p. 8
Journeys in Green Places, Aug., p. 6
Last Horizon, The, Feb., p. 7
Last Redwoods, The, Aug., p. 6
Life in the Sea, Dec, p. 11
Living Sea, The, Jan., p. 8
Long-Shadowed Forest, The, Aug., p. 6
Magic, Divination and Witchcraft Among
the Barotse of Northern Rhodesia, May,
p. 5
Mammals, The, Apr., p. 8
Man and the Conquest of the Poles, June,
p. 8
Man and Nature in America, Mar., p. 4
Maya Archaeologist, June, p. 6
Million Years of Man, A, Oct., p. 4
Narcotics: Nature's Dangerous Gift, May,
p. 9
Nile, The, Dec, p. 9
On Safari, Oct., p. 6
lOOI Questions Answered About Flowers,
Apr., p. 6
Order and Rebellion in Tribal Africa, May
p. 5
People of Eight Seasons, Oct., p. 12
Photographing Nature, Oct., p. 11
Place No One Knew: Glen Canyon. The
Feb., p. 7
Plants, The, June, p. 11
Politics and Conservation, Aug., p. 6
Pueblo Gods and Myths, Oct., p. 13
Quiet Crisis, The, Mar., p. 4
Reptiles, The, Apr., p. 5
Return to the Wild, Feb.. p. 9
Role of Science in Civilization, June, p. 4
Runes of the North, Aug., p. 6
Science: The Glorious Entertainment, June,
p. 4
Sea Birds, Mar., p. 10
Senses of Animals, The, Dec, p. 9
Simba, Jan., p. 4
Sioux, The, Oct., p. 13
Snake Lore, June, p. 12
Snakes, Apr., p. 5
Snakes of Africa, Apr., p. 5
Song of Wild Laughter, Jan., p. 7
Study of Bird Song, A, Apr., p. 7
Sundial of the Seasons, Aug., p. 6
This View of Life, Dec, p. 7
Treasure of the Great Reef, The, Aug., p. L
Troy and the Trofans, Aug., p. 12
Vanishing Animals, Jan., p. 4
Vanishing ffildlife, Dec, p. 4
View from a Distant Star, The, Apr., p. 6
Wasp Farm, Aug., p. 14
What Science Knows About Life, Jan., p.
Women of Tropical Africa, May, p. 5
Wonders of Wildlife, The, Mar., p. 9
World of the Past, The, June, p. 10
1964 Science Books for Young People-
November
Adventure with Freshwater Animals, p. 1
Adventuring in Archaeology, p. 4
Africa: Adventures in Eyewitness History
p. 5
All About Rockets and Space Flight, p.
American Lions and Cats, p. 15
American Wolves, Coyotes and Foxes, p. 1
Animal Photoperiodism, p. 12
Animal Servants of Man, p. 15
Animals, Inc., p. 14
.4ntarctica, p. 11
Ant is Born, An, p. 14
Art of the North American Indian, The, p.
Beetles, p. 14
Boy '5 Book of Fishes, p. 14
Boys Book of Mountains and Mountair
eering. The, p. 12
Butterflies, p. 14
Captain Cook and the South Pacific, p. 1
Charles Darwin and Natural Selection, p. 1
Conservation and You, p. 8
Conservation: The Challenge of Reclaimin
our Plundered Land, p. 8
Coral Reefs, p. 11
Dinosaur Hunters, The, p. 10
Eskimo Adventure, p. 5
First Book of Deserts, The, p. 11
First to Venus, p. 6
Fishes and Their Ways, p. 14
Foresters and What They Do, p. 9
Gara-Yaka, p. 15
Gemini and Apollo, p. 6
Globe for the Space Age, The, p. 7
Gold and Gods of Peru, p. 4
Gregor Mendel and Heredity, p. 13
Home of the Red Man, p. 5
Indian Legends of Eastern America, p. 5
Indian Legends of the Great West, p. 5
Indians at Home, p. 5
Light, p. 7
Louis Pasteur, Founder of Microbiolog
p. 13
Mammals, p. 14
Meet the Mammals, p. 14
Microbes and Men, p. 8
Monuments in Cedar, p. 4
Moon. The, p. 7
Ocean, The, p. ll
Ours is the Earth, p. B
Our Work in Space, p. 6
Pioneer Astronomers, p. 6
Planet Earth, p. 12
Plan ts in His Pack, a Life of Edward
Palmer, p. 9
Quest of Johannes Kepler, Astronomer, p.
Reproduction of Life, The, p. 12
Search for Early Man, The, p. 4
Sense of Wonder, A, p. 13
Short History of Biology, A, p. 12
Short History of the Universe, A, p. 8
Solar System, The, p. 7
Speleology, p. 10
Star Maps for Beginners, p. 7
Stone Age Peoples Today, p. 5
Stories from Africa, p. 5
U.S. Department of the Interior, p. 9
Vikings, The, p. 5
Web of the Spider, The. p. 13
When the Ice Came, p. 11
Wild Cats, p. 15
Wonders of Snow and Ice, p. 11
Wonders of Water, The, p. 11
World of Prehistory, The. p. 4
World of the Beaver, The, p. 15
World of the Red-Tailed Hawk, The, p. 1
Worlds Lost and Found, p. 4
January 1964 • 500
I
)orating Nature Magazine
" ■- ■ :'/^fe*i^-.
mr,
'i----A^'^^
mii^^^^M^mismt^.
Passenger-Carrying FREIGHTERS
Are the Secret of Low Cost Travel
Yes. for
be-forgot
along tilt
St. La
than you'd spend at a resort, you can take a never-to-
o Rio and Buenos Aires. Or through the West Indies or
ence River to French Canada. In fact, trips to almost
And what accommodations you get: large rooms with beds (not bunlis),
probobiy a private both, lots of good food and plenty of relaxation as
you speed from port to port.
Depending upon how fast vou want to go, a round the world cruise can
he yours for as little as S250-S300 a month. And there are shorter trips. Fast,
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A big 51 worth, especially as it can open the w-ay to more travel titan you
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AMERICA BY CAR
Day by day, America by Car tells you where to go from Alas
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Do you know where to find an island right near the U. S. so nearly like
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Do you know where to find the world's best mountain hideways or its
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ior a song?
Do you know where it costs less to spend a while, the surroundmgs are
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Or if you've thought of more distant places, do you know which of the
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Bargain Paradises of Ihe World, a big book, proves that if you can afford
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Round the World on a Shoestring
If you know the seldom-advertised ways of reaching foreign countries,
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You can spend $5,000 on a luxury cruise around the world. But do you
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Norman Fords big new guide How lo Travel Without Being Rich gives
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Where to Retire or Vacatic
at what look like prewar prices
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These Are America's Own Bargain Paradises
Norman Ford's big book Off-the-Beaien-Paih names the really lo'
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Fabulous places like that undiscovered region where winters are as
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Every page of OFF-THE-BEATEN-FATH opens a different kind of
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these:
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no one ever heard of nervous tension or the worries of modern da
• Resort villages where visitors come by the score, so you always
people . . . (but they never come by the thousands to raise pri
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arkable town where a fee of 3c a day gives you an almost e
round of barbecues, musicals, concerts, picnics, pot luck suppers, sm
bord dinners and a fine arts program. That southern island first disc*
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You read of island paradise aplenty in the United States and d
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OQ-the-Beaten~Path is a big book filled with facts that open the w
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About 100.000 words and plenty of pictures. Yet it costs only $2.
Mail to
HARIAN PUBLICATIONS, 61 First Ave.,
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I iia\e enclosed $ (cash, check or monev ordei
Please send me the books checked below. YOU WILL REFUND U
MONEY IF I AM NOT SATISFIED.
□ TRAVEL ROUTES AROUND THE WORLD— (the trav
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D BARGAIN PARADISES OF THE WORLD. SI.50.
D HOW TO TRAVEL WITHOUT BEING RICH. $1.50.
D SPECIAL OFFER: Travel Routes Around the VVorl
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n SPECIAL OFFER: AU Bve books listed above for only 3
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NOW YOU AND YOUR FAMILY
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i MANY FACES OF MAN. Although Man is united in one
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E GENETICISTS' GUINEA PIG is the common fruit fly. This
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>fusely every 10 to 15 days, takes up little lab space, and
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Why does man seem so similar to the
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Then an English biologist, Charles Dar-
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of the couple in Tanganyika as they
uncover the bones of the world's earliest
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Natural History
Incorporating Nature Magazine
THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORi
Vol. LXXIII
JANUARY 1964
ARTICLES
WATER OF THE WORLD
MONIES OF ANTIQUITY
EMPERORS- DYE OF THE MIXTECS
NIGHT FIGHTERS IN A SONIC DUEL
THE "MAN OF THE WOODS"
INDEX TO NEXT SPRING'S GROWTH
DEPARTMENTS
REVIEWS
SKY REPORTER
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
NATURE IN ROCK AND MINERAL
SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL READING
No. :
Raymond L. Nace 1(
Joan Fagerlie 2(
Peter Gerhard 2(
Kenneth D. Roeder 3'.
Vernon Reynolds 4'
Virgil Argo 5'.
T. Donald Carter '
Thomas D. Nicholson 4(
5!
Paul Mason Tilden 55
6'
CIRCULATION MANAGER
Joseph Saulina
COVER: Coins of antiquity— staters, drachms, didrachms. and tetradrachms— al
display varied impresses of Greek city-states, isles, and colonies. Currency ir
the classical world was thought of as "hard" or "soft," just as today, and thf
money of Athens was the desired hard currency in which early Internationa
commerce found a standard for exchange. The intrinsic value of one Greek coin
the gold stater of Macedonia, is now about six dollars. For a discussion of th«
symbolic and the commercial aspects of ancient specie, turn to Joan Fagerlie'i
article, "Monies of Antiquity," starting on page 20. Photographs by Lee Boltin
The American Museum is open to the public without charge every day
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The opinions expressed by authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect The American Museum's policy
COTTPr^TAA
\^ J. jXJJLJ \_M m£\L 1
He's a student at General Motors Institute. Today, he's absorbed in higher mathematics.
Tomorrow, perhaps Plato and Aristotle . . . political theory and psychology . . . humanities
and economics — in short, whatever makes for a well-rounded education. Next week, he
may be on the job in an automobile plant. Twenty-four hundred other students like him
are studying to be electrical, mechanical or industrial engineers, in one of the world's
most unusual institutions of higher learning.
During their first four coUege years at GMI, students alternate between six weeks of inten-
sive study at GMI and six weeks of paid work at one of 133 General Motors operations
across the nation and in Canada. Their fifth year is entirely in the field . . . preparing
bachelor theses based on actual engineering projects of their sponsoring GM divisions.
Since its small beginning, 37 years ago, GMI has graduated 6,000 engineers. The great
majority chose to remain with General Motors and today are employed in a wide range of
technical and managerial positions in GM plants throughout the world. The educational
investment in these people has been a beneficial one — not only for them and for General
Motors — but for the many communities where they now work and live.
GENERAL MOTORS IS PEOPLE . ..
Making Better Things For You
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This photo and caption (the price is an approxi-
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ULAR SCIENCE as part of an article entitled
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700
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n
of those high fidelity components which, ac-
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These components are recognizable to hi-fi en-
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*They have been on demonstration as a system for
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Please send me literature on Dynakit and AR high
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Reviews
Three books survey tl
fauna survival proble
x^ By T. Donald Carter
Vanishing Animals, by Philip Street.
E. P. Dutton & Co., $4.50; 232 pp., illus.
SiMBA, by C. A. W. Guggisberg. Chilton
Books, $6.50; 309 pp., illus. Animals of
East Africa, by C. A. Spinage. Hough-
ton Mifflin Co., $7.50; 160 pp., illus.
ANY thoughtful book on conservation is
- most welcome today, when the very
existence of many forms of the world's
fauna hangs in the balance. Philip Street,
a British zoologist, gives a very complete
picture of the problem in his book Van-
ishing .Animals. He discusses the past,
present, and possible future of many of
these animals and proposes ways in
which they might be preserved — con-
trolled exploitation, conservation in na-
tional parks and nature resei-ves, and, as
a last resort, protection in captivity. Con-
servation education is also stressed.
Conservation societies the world over
are currently working independently and
in concert along the above-mentioned
lines. Whale hunting and, to some extent,
deep-sea fishing are now under control
of governments; numerous national parks
and reserves, where animals receive pro-
tection, have been established; and rela-
tively recently, a number of animals that
were on the very brink of extinction have
been placed in zoos in the hope that a
breeding stock may be procured. To carry
out the latter plan, six specimens of the
southern white rhinoceros have been sent
to American zoos, and four white oryx
antelope were shipped from Arabia to
the Phoenix Maytag Zoo in Arizona. The
few remaining wild Hawaiian geese have
now been augmented by about one hun-
dred specimens that were raised in cap-
tivity and later released on the islands.
Pere David's deer also owes its existence
to captive specimens.
Africa, with its great game fields, pre-
sents a special problem, although all the
continents are affected to a greater or
lesser degree. Since Africa's colonization
by the white man. the blaauwbok. the
quagga. and the true Burchell's zebra
have become extinct; others, including
the bontebok, the blesbok, and the white-
tailed gnu, are now found only on pri-
vately owned farms or game reserves.
Most of the large mammals of Africa
are in a precarious situation. The great
plains and forests are being utilized for
agriculture and cattle grazing. Cc
quently the animals are becoming r
restricted in their habitats. The
hope for preservation lies in the nati
parks and reserves. Yet there is cons
demand to put this land to other use.
conservationists are working hard,
with some success, to impress on the
nations of Africa that the animals
mean more to them than so much n
Every year thousands of money-spen
tourists visit Africa ; the chief attract
are the country's mammals and birc
Mr. Street has listed and describ
number of the mammals, birds, and
tiles that are in need of protection
eluded are the Przewalski's horse,
three Asiatic rhinoceroses, a numb«
antelopes including the white oryx, ^
David's deer, the European bison,
Indian lion, the Tasmanian wolf (w
many people think is already extir
the kiwi, the whooping crane, the
hama flamingo, the Hawaiian goose,
Laysan teal, and the Komodo drago
Vanishing Animals is an interes
book, full of useful information,
thirty-one carefully chosen photogri
show many rare animals. There is
item in the text, however, to whii
would like to take exception. In his
cle on the American bison, the au
states that there are probably over
million living specimens in the w
today. I believe he has overestimated
population about four hundred time
Since the writings of Aristotle
Pliny (and far earlier in the Orient)
lion has frequently appeared in lil
ture. and many strange and fanciful 1
have been told. During the last cent
when Africa was being explored
when big game hunters began ma.
safaris into the lion's country, the
mal became notorious in the writing
the hardy men who went afield. Moi
these adventurers stressed the dange
lion hunting and the fury of their enr;
quarry. Only in the past few years
the public learned that many of
stories they read and heard did not
a true picture of this big cat. The es
lishment of national parks and resei
where the lion could roam at will
remain unmolested, have caused it to
much of its fear of man. Here it is
to live its life as nature intended. Ai
THE
THIRD
ANNUAL
GARDENS
AROUND
THE
WORLD
TOUR
ITING HAWAII, JAPAN, FORMOSA, HONG KONG, THAILAND, INOIA, KASHMIR, GREECE
vel is your desire, you will enjoy it most in the company
her congenial men and women, with similar interests. So,
ivite you to join Mr. and Mrs. Fredric Legler and a limited
) on the Third Annual Gardens Around The World Tour.
Legler is a noted authority on flower arranging and is a
3n Club of America judge. She and her husband will be
hosts. Their personal friendship with influential people in
Drient will allow us entry to private homes and gardens
im seen by the general public.
(/ill be overnight guests in the fabulous palaces of Indian
irajas who have arranged royal entertainment for us.
/ill view the Taj Mahal at sunset, fly over the Himalayas to
/ale of Kashmir, enjoy the peaceful serenity of gardens in
n, perhaps even take lessons, if you wish, in Japanese flower
iging, shop for incredible bargains in Hong Kong, or play
on a championship course.
We will be guests of the Princess Chumbhot of Thailand, and wit-
ness a performance of the bejewelled Thai dancers in Bangkok.
To cap all this splendor, we will visit ancient Athens and spend
a long weekend on a luxury cruiser among the fabled Greek
Islands.
All this wonderful adventure is detailed in a free folder. Send
for it! This tour is deluxe, and the cost is low-$3200.00 all
inclusive. Jet flight-46 days-April llth-May 26th, 1964.
: LINDBLAD TRAVEL, INC. 1
East 53rd Street, New York 22, N. Y. '>
' 1 am interested in joining
"Gardens Around The World Tour". '
1 Please send free folder to
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terested person, provided he takes cer-
tain precautions, is now able to make
observations into the daily life of a lion.
Such close proximity w^as hardly possible
wrhen lions were constantly wary of the
hunter seeking trophies.
Recently, numerous articles and books
have been written in which the authors
give more accurate information about the
lion, based on close contacts. Simba is
such a book. Its author. C. A. W. Guggis-
berg, is a medical officer stationed in
Nairobi. Kenya, who makes a hobby of
nature observation and photography. For
many years he traveled around East
Africa, and most of his spare time has
been spent observing lions. In the Royal
Nairobi National Park, situated just a
few miles from Nairobi, he became so
familiar with the lions inhabiting the
region that he came to know their in-
dividual "personalities," and even named
many of them. For about six years he
paid frequent visits to one family,
watched the cubs grow to adulthood, and
made many interesting observations about
their daily life. He also visited the Seren-
geti Plains, the Ngorongoro Crater, and
the Amboseli National Reserve— places
noted for their lion populations. Fortu-
nately. Mr. Guggisberg is an expert pho-
tographer, and the book contains forty-
two of his photographs, seven in color.
But only a portion of this book con-
sists of personal observations. The author
has drawn freely from the accounts of
others, including many tales of former
hunters and explorers. He has thoroughly
investigated his subject, a fact proved not
only in his text but also in his ten-page
bibliography. The scope of the text may
be judged by the chapter titles: '"History
of the Lion"; "The Lion and its Prey";
"Life Cycle"; "Lion Hunting and Lion
Hunters"; "Man-eaters"; "Lions and
Camera"; "The Lion in Captivity, in
Legend and History"; "The Lion in Af-
rican Folklore and Superstition"; "The
Lion in Art."
Mr. Guggisberg admires and respects
the lion, and his feelings are best ex-
pressed in the last paragraph of his book :
"The lion is no 'bloodthirsty brute,'
nor by the same token is he the "King of
Beasts.' He is neither 'bold.' 'magnani-
mous,' nor 'cowardly'— these are epithets
designating purely human characteris-
tics and should not— must not— be applied
to an animal. True, a lion standing with
his head held high definitely looks regal
—there is hardly anybody who can escape
this impression — but the lion himself
knows nothing of it. and you cannot ex-
pect 'regal' behavior from him. If Friend
Simba is to be burdened with an attribute
taken from a purely human sphere, then
I think I like Carl Akeley's remark best:
'The lion is a gentleman— if allowed to
go . . . unmolested, he will keep his c
path and will not encroach on yours
C. A. Spinage. author of Animals
East Africa, first went to Africa to fu
a two-year contract with the Kenya po
during the Mau Mau uprising. The c
tinent and its fauna proved so inter
ing to him that he remained there for
more years. During this time he visi
national parks and reserves through
Kenya. Uganda, and Tanganyika to p
tograph animals. This collection of fi
four superb pictures (six in color) is
result. Mr. Spinage's text gives infori
tion about the illustrated animals ;
also about a few other species. The f(
word was written by Sir Julian Hux'
Included among the photograph
chiefly of the larger mammals— are th
of two rhinoceroses that are of spe(
interest to me. Gladys and Gertie —
latter the most-photographed of the s
cies— are undoubtedly the best-knc
wild rhinos in the world. Both made tl
home in the Amboseli National Resei
a place regularly visited by touri
These two rhinos were noted for tl
tolerant dispositions and for their
tremely long front horns, which exten(
forward from the nose. Until 1955 Glac
horn exceeded Gertie's in length,
during that year the former lost ab
eighteen inches from the tip, giving G
tie the distinction of carrying the Ions
Qucilar i-, the bcauuful little telescope for your
porch or garden table that will bring the distant
world to you as nothing else can. Let's take a
look at the bird that has just alighted on that
pole 1000 feet away. Presto! You are faced with
a magnificent hawk. He appears frighteningly
close, for he seems now less than seven feet
from your startled eyes. You see the hair-like
structure of each feather, the minute detail of
the eyes. Is that a woodchuck? Indeed it is, so
close he fairly crowds your field of view and
you almost recoil from his nearness.
And so It goes. Sit where you are, or look
through Parallelo-Plate glass from indoors, but
from wherever you sit, the world is yours indeed
with Questar. Just settle down comfortably and
look around at very distant things. Be prepared,
as we are by now. for the most unexpected sur-
prises. With the needle-sharpness of Questar's
new kind of optics, we now have the power and
the clarity to reach out and grasp, for our
delighted eyes, a host of things we simply did
not realize were there. Thus in the most unlikely
landscapes we are apt to discover unsuspected
wildlife, that our eyes alone have missed,
enely unaware of us. Does a flight of t
descend on yonder field? Questar will thru;
right into their midst, but for them we do
exist, being hundreds of feet distant. No
but ourselves is startled, no bird takes fi
no creature scurries at our footsteps.
With Questar we sit in the center of a c
two miles in diameter, where no object app
farther away than 33 feet with our power of 1
Let us now enter a whole new world
Questar opens up in its role as long-dist
microscope, a world that no one else has
seen. Let us sit in your garden and turn Qw
upon bud, leaf and blade of grass or mosse
more than 8 feet distant. This time we ai
fairyland. Have you ever seen the orchid
flowers of plain crabgrass? The gorgeous
quet of Queen Anne's lace at high pov
Things even 100 feet away are within a
reach, and as we focus down to 8 feet (whic
other 'scope can do) our normal magnil
powers soar to more than 200. The aphid
monster: the lady bug, an armored tank
polka dots ; the bee, a fearsome beast. The h(
of tiny flowers are huge caverns with str
landscapes. You must see this with your
eyes, this world, before you quite believ
How can we wax so lyrical about our prod
Why is it so different? Because its sharpi
power, definition is magnificent. This is th
strument to clearly show you gnat and fly,
and wasp, at a quarter mile, and the dowi
children's sunlit faces at 3 city blocks. Of co
there is reason for such excellence. Fo
Questar, you have not just a viewing or spo
'scope, no ordinary kind of spyglass, but c
mand the powers and exquisite clarity of a
size seven-foot astronomical telescope. In
the owner of a Questar has indeed an electri-
driven observatory, complete to the last ci
clamp and slow motion of observatory in
ments. Your Questar's twin is in professi
use in great observatories, in schools, un
sities and research laboratories, as wel
branches of the Government and space agen
Questars still cost only $995. Send foi
32-page Questar booklet which tells the story
illustrates it with photographs taken by Qu(
owners at tremendous magnifications.
TAR
BOX 60 NEW HOPE. PENNSYLVANIA
of any known living rhinoceros. It
ly pleasure to meet and photograph
; in January, 1958. when she was
ipanied by her two-year-old calf,
it time. T. H. M. Taberer. Warden
iboseli National Reserve, estimated
he horn measured 54% inches. On
1 27 of that same year, she lost about
of her horn, and some four weeks
he remainder broke off at the nose
she was fighting a male rhino. Now
jertie has lost her tourist appeal,
ill undoubtedly live more quietly,
urbed by the constant click of cam-
Gladys, regrettably, was recently
by poachers.
5 to be hoped that all these books
e read, for an informed public is
iCntial in any program of preserv-
e world's vanishing mammals.
or Emeritus of Mammalogy at The
lean Museum, Mr. Carter has
ed conservation in a world scene.
Science Knows About Life, by
Wolterack. Association Press,
240 pp., illus.
GEORGE WALD of Harvard closed
ne of his lectures on the evolution
; with the statement that "matter
3W comprehend itself." This is es-
sentially the theme of Dr. Woltereck's
book, in which he briefly discusses the
broad aspects of the phenomenon of life
—its origin and its relationsliip to the
universe, its many manifestations, and
its vital functions. In most places the
text is accurate, straightforward, and
easy to read. The chapters on nutrition
and physiology are particularly good,
and there is an interesting discussion of
the biological and social aspects of aging
at the end of the book. The American
reader may even find the European
author's statement on the activities of
our older men and women somewhat
distortedly amusing.
There are forty-eight pages of dra-
matic photographs of everything from
chromosomes to insect eyes. Unfortu-
nately, these do little to amplify the
text. The legends do not adequately de-
scribe the photographs, and their selec-
tion seems to have been based upon art
value rather than information. There
are many technical errors (which may
be in the original or may have arisen in
the translation). To correct a few: Vol-
vox is not a diatom; proteins are not
mainly composed of nitrogen ; foraminif-
era do not have an "exoskeleton" in the
strict sense; water does not have a mo-
lecular weight of 18 million; and DNA
does not contain ribose. The chapter on
genetics is rather weak, with several mis-
leading statements. Many biologists
would take exception to the author's
statement that the building of new spe-
cies is at an end, and there is a surpris-
ing lack of consideration of the accom-
plishments of microorganisms in view
of the author's high regard for insects
as dominant or successful forms of life.
Dr. Woltereck has written a book that
the casual reader should find interesting.
The critical reader should look else-
where if he really wishes to learn what
science knows about life.
Hugo D. Freudenthal
Song of Wild Laughter, by Jack Couf-
fer. Simon and Schuster, $5.00 ; 190 pp.,
illus.
IT turns out, in the last chapter of Mr.
CouSer's book, that the "song of wild
laughter"' is the raucous chatter of the
Tasmanian kookaburra bird, or laughing
jackass, and the author speculates as to
what he is laugliing about.
Anyway, Mr. CouSer knows about
them firsthand, being a biologist, a pho-
tographer and editor for Walt Disney,
and a wide-ranging traveler. He also
knows about the birds and animals of the
Galapagos, which have never learned to
fear man, about penguins and wildcats,
spiders and wolves. He produces some
very convincing photographs as evidence.
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As a research biologist who turned to the
cinema arts, he knows what he is talking
about, and how to record it on film.
Perhaps the most interesting parts of
his book are the passages in which he de-
scribes the tricks and techniques used in
wildlife photography, about which many
viewers of Disney films must have won-
dered. In photograpliing a wild animal,
says Mr. CoufEer, always focus the lens
on its eye; the rest of the body will at
least seem to be in focus. To get an
animal to do what you want, bait is good,
and a desirable mate is even better. And
so on. The secret is out.
Mr. CoufEer confesses to being a biolo-
gist and a photographer, but the reader
will soon discover that he is also a com-
petent writer.
PlETER FOSBURGH
The Living Sea, by Jacques- Yves Cous-
teau. Harper & Row, $6.50; 325 pp.,
ill us.
MAN lives on only one-third of the
earth's surface. The rest is covered
with the 300.000.000 cubic miles of water
that we call the oceans. These are vast
and mysterious realms — probably the
ancestral home of all living things, a
marvelous collection of creatures
stranger and more numerous than any-
thing on land, and an immense reservoir
of material wealth.
Dramatic and catastrophic events in
the earth's history have left their traces
in the ocean bottom sediments— the out-
pouring of volcanoes, the advance and
retreat of continental glaciers, the burn-
ing dryness of deserts, the destruction
by floods, and past climate changes.
The Living Sea, by the noted French
undersea pioneer Jacques-Yves Cousteau
of The Silent If'orld fame, is an out-
standing book that adds greatly to our
understanding of the sea. It describes
scientific underwater explorations and
adventurous diving episodes that range
over the Atlantic, the Mediterranean,
and the Red Sea.
The base for everything recorded in
this book was the oceanographic research
ship Calypso, well equipped with depth-
probing devices, scientists, and a pro-
fessional diving team. Captain Cousteau
wrote the book with free-lance writer
James Dugan, and it is excellently illus-
trated with twenty-four pages of color
photographs and sixty-four pages of
black and white.
There is something along the way for
all tastes. Included are the recovery of
artifacts from a Greek galley sunk off
Marseilles more than two centuries be-
fore Christ, and trips to discover ocean-
bed oil deposits. There are chapters on
the revolutionary "Diving Saucer." an
underwater vehicle, accommodating two,
which can operate at a depth of one
thousand feet. The saucer is self-pro-
pelled and descends and ascends at
will of the crew. The report on deep-
photography carried out under the
rection of Professor Harold E. Edgar
is extremely interesting.
In this fine book you can enjoy, vie
ously. submarine marvels like the
"The coral took unexpected shapes ;
hues. There were skulls of dwarfs :
giants: tufts of ocher and mage
mingled with petrified mauve bushes ;
red tubiporae fabricated like hon
combs. . . . Through this splendid til
forest humpbacked sea snails trave
their winding ways. In reef reces
there were enough tridacna clams
furnish the fonts for the churches
Christendom."
Most interesting is a report of two r
who lived and worked underwater for
entire week. Albert Falco and Cla
Wesley were based in a submer
chamber with a hatch always open to
sea, which could not flood the cham
because of its internal air pressure,
object of the experiment was to h
determine the feasibility of somei
establishing manned underwater a
cultural and industrial complexes.
The Living Sea should satisfy
most curious amateur, professional, i
armchair underwater explorer.
GOESTA WoL
The Birds, by Roger Tory Peten
Time, Inc., $3.95; 192 pp., illus.
IN this, another book in the "Life
ture Library" series, the text
Roger Peterson is more or less hidden
hind the scenes, like the research hall
a first rate museum. The volume's il
trative exhibits are out front, some sj
tacular, some austere, most of them
excellent that one discovers with n
awe that the prose is equal in excellei
Mr. Peterson has a style that pone
over facts without seeming to; it lin|
over the concept of evolution with ]
ticular grace. Indeed, the entire 1
achieves depth and fluency because o:
preoccupation with evolutionary proc
The first chapter deals with bird cla
fication and the nature of its proble
The subsequent sections rehearse
basic known information about bird i
tomy, flight, food-gathering, habitats,
gration, communication, and life histi
The book closes with an excellent cli
ter on conservation that is titled "Tow
A Balance With Man."
The editorial staff aided their aut
with supplementary picture stories
photographs of very high merit; t
also supplied a useful bibliography
index. In consequence The Birds is a
popular introduction to ornithology,
elusion of a chapter on physiology, "v
a brief subsection on genetics, wc
have perfected the work.
William Geo
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Witer of the W)rld
Distribution of man's liquid assets is a clue to future conti
By Raymond L. Nace
MOST PEOPLE know that water is
unevenly distributed over the
earth's surface in oceans, rivers, and
lakes, but few realize how very uneven
the distribution actually is. It is in-
structive to consider the total inven-
tory of water on the planet earth, the
areas where the water occurs, and the
long-term significance of the findings.
The world ocean-139, 500,000
square miles of it— contains 317,000,-
000 cubic miles of salt water. The
average depth of the ocean basins is
about 12,500 feet. If the basins were
shallow, seas would spread far onto the
continents, and dry land areas would
consist chiefly of a few major ai
pelagoes where high mountain ra
projected above the sea.
Considered as a continuous boo
fluid, the atmosphere is another j
of ocean. Yet, in view of the i
amount of precipitation on land a
in the course of a year, one of the i
jnishing world water facts is the
y small amount of water in the at-
sphere at any given time. The vol-
e of the lower seven miles of the at-
sphere— the realm of weather— is
ghly four times the volume of the
rid ocean, but the atmosphere con-
is only about 3,100 cubic miles of
;er, chiefly in the form of invisible
>or, some of which is transported
rland by air currents. If all vapor
:e suddenly precipitated from the
onto the earth's surface, it would
m a layer only about one inch
3k. A heavy rainstorm on a given
a may remove only a small percent-
; of the water from the air mass that
ises over. How, then, can some land
as receive, as they do, more than
) inches of precipitation per year?
How can several inches of rain fall
during a single storm in a few minutes
or hours? The answer is that rain-
yielding air masses are in motion, and
as the water-depleted air moves on,
new moisture-laden air takes its place
above the area of precipitation.
THE basic source of most atmos-
pheric water is the ocean, from
which it is derived by evaporation.
Evaporation, vapor transport, and pre-
cipitation constitute a major arc of the
hydrological cycle — the continuous
movement of water from ocean to at-
mosphere to land and back to the sea.
Rivers return water to the sea along
one chord of the arc. In a subterranean
arc of the cycle, underground bodies
of water discharge some water directly
into rivers and some directly to the sea.
Estimated average annual evapora-
tion from the world ocean is roughly
39 inches. The conterminous United
States receives an average of 30 inches
of precipitation every year, or about
1,430 cubic miles in total volume.
Evapotranspiration returns approxi-
mately 21 inches of this water to the
atmosphere (about 1,000 cubic miles) .
Obviously, some rain is water that was
vaporized from the land areas and is
being reprecipitated. Evidently the
global hydrological cycle, which sends
water from sea-to-air-to-Iand areas
and back to the sea again, has short
circuits. These are called subcycles.
There are many complexities and
variations in the fate of water that falls
as rain or snow. For example, high in
II
Mississippi River, seen in upstream
view at New Orleans, discharges about
133 cubic miles of water annually. At
It is Arrow rock Dam on Boise River.
Arrowrock Reservoir has a capacity of
approximately .084 cubic mile of water.
the central Rocky Mountains of North
America, the Yellowstone River heads
in Yellowstone National Park just
east of the Continental Divide. The
river water discharges through the
Missouri and Mississippi rivers into
the Gulf of Mexico about 1,600 airline
miles distant from the head.
On the west side of the Continental
Divide, not far from the Yellowstone,
rises the Snake River, which flows
across Idaho to join the Columbia
near Pasco. Washington, and its waters
eventually reach the Pacific Ocean
about 700 airline miles from their
source and about 2.200 miles from the
mouth of the Mississippi.
This is a good example of the con-
tinuous mixing and transfer of water
in the hydrological cycle. An air mass
moving eastward across the Rocky
Mountains contains water evaporated
from the Pacific Ocean. Some of the
water falls as rain or snow to the west
and some to the east of the Conti-
nental Divide. Thus, t\\ o drops of rain
falling side by side along the conti-
nental backbone may end up, one in
the Pacific, the other in the Atlantic
Ocean, although both were derived
from the Pacific.
No one knows how much water
moves from the Pacific to Atlantic
Ocean by vapor transfer, precipita-
tion, and runoff, but we do know a
great deal about runoff itself. Esti-
mated total flow into the sea from
rivers in the 48 adjacent states takes
place at the rate of about 1.803,000
cubic feet per second (a cubic foot is
about 7.48 gallons ) , which amounts to
approximately 390 cubic miles per
year. Values for runoff (390 cubic
miles) plus evaporation (1,000 cubic
miles ) do not quite equal the precipita-
tion (1,430 cubic miles j because none
of these values is precise. Moreover,
some water is discharged into the sea
directly from ground-water sources
without passing through streams. The
missing 40 cubic miles of water.
roughly 10 per cent of the vain
streamflow, might represent (
ground-water discharge.
Hydrologists have not gem
considered that direct ground-
outflow to the sea is so large, but
is really no good basis that a
used to dispute or support whs
computations seem to indicate. A
rate, the data are sufficiently ace
for my purpose, which is to sho
relative magnitude of water vol
involved in the annual water eye
Some more specific data give a
idea of the relative importance of
and small rivers in maintaining
nental water balances.
The Mississippi, North Ame
largest river, has a drainage ai
1,243,000 square miles (about 4
cent of the total area of the 48 C(
minous states) and discharges
average rate of 620,000 cubic fe
second. This amounts to sonif
cubic miles per year, or approxin
34 per cent of the total discharge
<<j:^'
,«^i**
the rivers of the United States.
B Columbia, nearest American
petitor of the Mississippi, dis-
ges less than 75 cubic miles per
. Relatively speaking, the great
rado River is a dwarf, discharging
about five cubic miles annually,
n the other hand, the Amazon, the
3st river in the world, is nearly six
s the size of the Mississippi, and it
larges somewhat more than two
c miles per day and some 770
c miles per year— about twice the
of all United States rivers,
frica's great Congo River, with a
tiarge of approximately 340 cubic
s per year, is the world's second
est. The estimated annual dis-
ge of all African rivers is about
cubic miles.
easurements of only the principal
streams on a continent afford a
s for reasonably accurate estima-
of the total runoff item in a con-
ital water balance. The smaller
ims are important locally, but
they contribute only minor amounts
of the total water discharged. Thus it
is possible to estimate the total runoff
in all the rivers of the world, even
though many of them have not been
measured accurately. Sixty-six prin-
cipal rivers of the world discharge
about 3,720 cubic miles of water
yearly. The estimated total from all
rivers, large and small, measured and
unmeasured, is about 8.400 cubic
miles yearly (23 cubic miles daily).
Crude estimates have indicated that
the total amount of water that is
physically present in stream channels
throughout the world at a given mo-
ment is about 300 cubic miles. Evi-
dently, river channels, on the average,
contain only enough water to main-
tain their flow for about thirteen days.
WATER VOLUME OF LAKES IN CUBIC MILES
500 1,000 1,500 2,000
I Dubawnt Lake, Canada
I Tungting Lake, China
I Lake Vaner, Sweden
I Crater Lake, United Stales
I Lake Titicaca, Peru & Bolivia
Great Bear Lake, Canada
World's large lakes display an extreme
size range. Dubawnt is large compared
with most lakes, but is barely visible
on graph. Baikal may evaporate enough
in six months to fill up Dubawnt Lake.
BBSESBiaBZSa
ififfi'fflffii--tiTnfi
13
Some have much more water, others
much less, but it seems to be a fair
average. How, then, do rivers main-
tain a flow throughout the jear, even
during rainless periods much longer
than thirteen days? The answer to that
question will appear later, in the dis-
cussion of ground water.
A FTER oceans and rivers come lakes,
_l\^ which can be called wide places
in rivers. This is certainly true of the
many small lakes that are impounded
by relatively minor and geologically
temporary obstructions across river
channels. Lake Okeechobee, Florida, is
a good example of a wide place in a
river. But no single, oversimplified
metaphor accurately describes all
lakes, which are widely varied in their
physical characteristics and the geo-
logic circumstances under which they
occur. The handsome little tarn occu-
pying an ice-scooped basin in a gla-
ciated alpine area is radically differ-
ent from the deep and limpid Crater
Lake of Oregon, which fills the crater
of a now-extinct volcano. Okeechobee
is totally different from any of the
North American Great Lakes, which
occupy huge basins formed in a com-
plex manner by glacial excavation at
some places, moraine and outwash de-
position at others, isostatic subsidence
of that whole region of the earth's
crust, and other factors. The Great
Lakes of North America, in turn, bear
no resemblance to Lake Tanganyika
Pumping depletes ground water, draining curved cones in
aquifer at each well. Hydraulic gradient draws water from
surroundings. Cones grow as pumping continues. Where
many wells work, drained zones unite and water table falls.
If pumpage exceeds recharge, depletion may be permanent.
in the great Rift Valley of Ai
Poorly understood processes ere
the rift by literally pulling two sec
of the earth's crust apart, leavi
deep, open gash, part of which i
cupied by the lake. And these are
a few examples of wide variatioi
the nature of lakes.
THE earth's land areas are d^
with hundreds of thousand
lakes. Wisconsin, Minnesota, and
land contain some tens of thous
each. But these lakes, impo
though they may be locally, hold
a minor amount of the world sii
of fresh surface water, most of m
is contained in a relatively few 1
lakes on three continents.
Whether a lake contains fres
14
All water comes from the ocean and is returned to it in
continuous hydrological cycle. Subcycles, or short circuits,
occur on land where water evaporates or is transpired by
vegetation. In underground part of the cycle, subterranean
water bodies discharge into rivers or directly into ocean.
water makes a considerable differ-
in its usefulness to man, so I shall
ider the earth's greatest lakes in
of the categories, fresh and salt.
tie volume of all the large fresh-
;r lakes in the world aggregates
ly 30,000 cubic miles, and their
bined surface area is about 330,-
square miles. "Large" is a relative
1 that requires explanation. For
article I have called a lake large
s contents are five cubic miles or
e. Thus the listing includes Du-
nt Lake, Canada (about six cubic
;s), but excludes the Ziirichsee of
tzerland (about one cubic mile).
range of volume among the large
!S is enormous, from a lower limit
ive cubic miles to an upper one of
)0 cubic miles in Lake Baikal in
Asiatic Russia, the largest and deep-
est single body of fresh water in exist-
ence. Some appreciation of its volume
may be gained from the realiza-
tion that Lake Baikal alone contains
nearly 300 cubic miles more of water
than the combined content of the five
North American Great Lakes. The
latter loom large on a map, but their
average depth is considerably less than
that of Baikal.
Nevertheless, North American lakes
are a major element in the earth's
water balance. The Great Lakes, plus
other large lakes in North America
(chiefly in the 48 states and Canada)
contain about 7,800 cubic miles of
water— 26 per cent of all liquid fresh
surface water in existence.
Similarly, the large lakes of Africa
contain 8,700 cubic miles, or nearly
29 per cent of the total fresh-water
supply. Asia's large lakes contain
about 6,340 cubic miles, or 20 per cent
of the total— nearly all of which is in
Lake Baikal.
Lakes on these three continents ac-
count for roughly 75 per cent of the
world's fresh surface water. Large
lakes on other continents— Europe,
South America, and Australia— have
only about 720 cubic miles, or roughly
2 per cent of the total. All that remains
to fill the hundreds of thousands of
rivers and lesser lakes that are found
throughout the world is less than one-
fourth of the total fresh surface water.
Saline lakes are equivalent in mag-
nitude to fresh-water lakes. Their to-
tal area is 270,000 square miles and
15
their total volume is about 2^
cubic miles. The distribution,
ever, is quite different. About IS
cubic miles (96 per cent of the
saline volume) is in the Caspian
and most of the remainder is in .
North America's shallow Great
Lake is comparatively insignif
with seven cubic miles.
All these w'ater sources we hav(
cussed are the obvious ones. The
another— soil moisture— that ma
the most significant segment o'
world's water supply because o:
key role played by plants in the
chain. Some plants grow direct
water or marshy ground, but b;
the greater mass of vegetatioi
earth lives on "dry" land. This is
sible because the land is really d
just a few places, and often only
porarily. How dry is dust? The
of a dry dirt road may contain
15 per cent of water by weight.
ever, plants cannot grow and flo
with so little water because the
i6
Sentinel Range in Antarctica ii
of the continent's few land area
completely covered by a burden o
%»»»'■
^^^i^^^,^n~'.mS-
>m&;'.^mmm3tmmi^.
s small percentages of moisture
;naciously that plant roots cannot
ict it. Aside from desert plants,
:h store water in their own tissues
ng infrequent wet periods, land
ts flourish only where there is ex-
;able water in the soil. Inasmuch as
lite ordinary tree may withdraw
transpire about 50 gallons of water
lay, frequent renewals of soil mois-
, either by rain or by irrigation,
essential. The average amount of
T held as soil moisture at any given
; is on the order of 6,000 cubic
s for the world as a whole— an in-
ificant percentage of the earth's
I water, but vital to life. Relatively
! vegetation receives artificial irri-
on, and practically all of it de-
ls on natural soil moisture, which,
irn, depends on orderly and timely
ation of the hydrological cycle.
lOTHER little-considered water res-
ervoir has been known to man for
isands of years. Scripture (Genesis
L) on the Noachian Deluge states
"the fountains of the great deep
re] broken up" (cleft open), and
dus, among its many references to
3r and to wells, refers (20:4) to
"water under the earth." Many other
chronicles show that man has known
from ancient times that there is much
water underground. Only recently has
he begun to appreciate how much.
Beneath most land areas of the
world there is a zone where the pores
of rocks and sediments are completely
saturated with water. Hydrologists call
this ground water, and the upper limit
of the saturated zone is called the
water table. The water table may be
right at the land surface, as in a marsh,
or it may lie hundreds of feet below
the land surface, as in some arid areas.
Below the zone of soil moisture and
above the water table, there is in most
areas an unsaturated zone containing
water that has passed through the soil
zone and is percolating downward
toward the ^vater table. This ivater is
called vadose, from the Latin root
vadosus, shallow.
The world volume of vadose water
is probably somewhat more than that
of soil moisture— say 10,000 cubic
miles. It is highly important because,
although it is not extractable by man,
it is potential ground-water recharge,
and ground water is extractable. Each
new influx of water from precipitation
Vast expanse of the Antarctic ice sheet,
shown in relief model, represents 90
per cent of all the ice in the world.
on the land surface, followed by perco-
lation through the soil zone, provides
a new increment of recharge to the
ground water.
BELOW the water table, to a depth of
half a mile in land areas of the
earth's crust, there is about one million
cubic miles of ground water. An equal
if not greater amount is present at a
greater depth, down to some 10 to 15
thousand feet, but this deeper water
circulates sluggishly because the rocks
are only slightly permeable. Much of
the deep-lying water is not economi-
cally recoverable for human use, and a
good deal of it is strongly mineralized.
Ground water flows through moder-
ately to highly permeable strata, which
are called aquifers, at rates of a few
feet to perhaps several bunded feet per
day; 40 to 50 feet per day would be a
rather high rate of flow.
Depending on how far the ground
water must travel to reach a surface
discharge area, water in shallow to
moderately deep zones may remain un-
derground from a few hours to 100
17
years or longer. Water at great depth
may take tens or hundreds of thou-
sands of years to pass through an aqui-
fer, and some is completely stagnant.
The volume of ground water in the
upper half-mile of the continental crust
is about 3,600 times greater than the
volume of water in all rivers at any one
time, and nearly 20 times greater than
the combined instantaneous volume of
water in all rivers and lakes. It is easy
to see, therefore, that ground-water
reservoirs have tremendous impor-
tance as equalizers of streamflow. Un-
der natural conditions, most ground-
water reservoirs are full to overflow-
ing, and the overflow water provides
what is called the base flow of surface
streams, enabling them to flow even
during long, rainless periods and after
winter snows have melted.
ACCORDING to my calculations, the
^volume of ground water in storage
in the United States to a depth of half
a mile is equivalent to the total of all
recharge during about the last 150
years. This estimate is crude, but it
helps to emphasize the important fact
that ground-water reserves, although
immense, are not wholly self-renewing
annually. At places where they have
been depleted by pumpage, they might
take many decades to recover, even if
pumping were stopped completely.
Consider, for example, a location in
the dry southwestern United States,
where annual recharge to an aquifer
is on the order of only two-tenths of an
inch of water. In such areas, it is not
uncommon to pump two feet or more
of water per year for irrigation or
other uses. In this oversimplified ex-
ample, if the entire aquifer were
pumped at that rate, yearly pumpage
would be equivalent to 120 years' re-
charge, and ten years of pumping
would remove a 1,200-year accumula-
tion of water. New recharge during the
pumping period would be negligible.
Mechanical problems and economic
factors would prevent complete de-
watering of an aquifer, but the ex-
ample is valid in principle.
The next big items on the water-
balance sheet are icecaps and glaciers.
They may seem unimportant in the
water cycle because, although the ice
masses alternately shrink or grow a
little from time to time, new ice is
added about as fast as old ice melts.
The polar ice masses, however, have
a great influence on weather, and
everything that happens in the polar
regions indirectly affects everyone
throughout the world (Natural His-
tory, October, 1963). Moreover, if a
shift in climate led to extensive melting
of icecaps, there would be a rise in sea
level with important effects in all low-
lying coastal areas.
Mountain glaciers, such as those of
the Alps in Europe ( after which alpine
glaciers are named) , the Himalayas of
Asia, and the Cascades of North
America, are like average rivers in
some respects. They are important lo-
cally, but they contain only an insig-
nificant fraction of the world's water.
The total volume of all alpine glaciers
and small icecaps in the world is only
about 50,000 cubic miles (comparable
to the combined volume of large saline
and fresh lakes) .
An alpine glacier is one that rises in
mountainous uplands and, by plastic
deformation, flows along a valley. A
continental glacier, or icecap, is one
that is plastered over the landscape,
mountain and valley alike. Icecaps
tend to flow radially outward from
their center of accumulation. Wastage
occurs by sublimation from the surface
and by melting or caving away around
the periphery. Average icecaps, like
those on Novaya Zemlya, Iceland, and
Ellesmere Land, are analogous to aver-
age lakes. They are locally important,
but hold only an insignificant share of
the world's water and only a small part
of the total volume of perennial ice.
The Greenland icecap is an entirely
different matter. About 667,000 square
miles in area and averaging nearly
5,000 feet in thickness, its total volume
is about 630,000 cubic miles. If melted,
it would yield enough water to main-
tain the Mississippi River for some-
what more than 4,700 years. Even so,
this is less than 10 per cent of the total
volume of icecaps and glaciers. The
greatest single item in the water budget
of the world, aside from the ocean
itself, is the Antarctic ice sheet.
SINCE the advent of the International
Geophysical Year, a considerable
store of information about Antarctica
has accumulated. Data on the thick-
ness of the ice sheet are relatively
scarce, but there is enough informa-
tion to permit an approximate esti-
mate. The area of the ice sheet is
about six million square miles; its
thickness averages somewhat more
than a mile; and the total volume
therefore is between six and seven mil-
lion cubic miles, or some 90 per cent
of all existing ice and about 64
cent of all water outside the oceans
The hydrologic importance of
continent and its ice may be illustra
quite briefly. If the Antarctic icei
were melted at a suitable uniform i
it could feed:
1. The Mississippi River for m
than 50,000 years;
2. All rivers in the United Sts
for about 18,000 years;
3. The Amazon River for apprc
mately 9,000 years;
4. All the rivers in the world
about 830 years.
The statistics about water given h
are rather simple, but they are si
ciently important to tabulate in or
to get them more clearly in mind. 1
table {opposite) gives a comparal
view of the world's water.
About 97 per cent of all water is
the world ocean. Most of the
mainder is frozen on Antarctica £
Greenland. Thus, man must get ah
with the less than one per cent of
world's water that is directly availa
for fresh-water use. Obviously, he m
find much inore effective ways of m
agement if he is to prosper.
WATER is a global concern, and
water cycle pays no heed to
boundaries that men have drawn
maps. Man has become so numerc
and his activities so extensive that
has begun to affect the water cycl
certainly on a regional scale and v(
likely on the global scale. "Man a
the hydrological cycle" is a story
itself, but it seems appropriate to s
here that the time is overdue for s
tematic studies of water and the hyd
logical cycle on a large scale in ore
to be able to make more rational i
of water for the benefit of mankii
It is of considerable interest, the
fore, that UNESCO and other speci
ized agencies of the United Natio:
assisted by international scientific i
ganizations, are currently plannins
program of international and glol
studies in scientific hydrology. T
International Geophysical Year a
other programs have shown that int
national scientific co-operation is fi
sible and fruitful— so much so that t
studies are continuing. For a resoui
as vital as water a single year of (
operation would see a useful progrj
barely started. Thus, it is planned
have a ten-year program. If all gc
well, the International Decade for S
entific Hydrology will begin in 19(
^^'~/:M.
i^»#*^-^
*'" ^
■^
:.: :^v
■ *'' , .- *• •'.' *
'"■■ ?f^",i^~,.j£cationf|^-^^^^^^ ' ''^-I,.\;; Surface area"" "Water volume v Percentage 'of ;
i^^ '..y;-^ "-/'*''^> , . -?;|?r?t'^: ,. .•-i-vT^ii (square miles) (cubic miles) ^r- -total water.''
>~ .■ Surface water .v^x:":^^- .»"-■' • "' ' i-:
Xv, . " ;y.,7Fre.sh-water1ak'es-.^->!*''",. ^- 330,000 - •'^^.; 30,000 : -...009
;;-;v*7-;-.jnrand,seast>.
{. ^'^*Ayerag§jnstream_
270,000,
VJ 300 :-:n^ i.oooi
*^'St' ''S'/ Subsurface water 'A, ^:-**.-\*.\^ ^^,-?.l"Y^'^- - . ' ■'-
^-^'^'r' Soiirnoistureaffi:l.^;'''r'--§;^^5/*' .*■ ■' " »^ '.- '
^S:'-':: .".■ *;■'•;., vadqse wafer^-"'^'§0,000,OOCr\."y 16,000 ....;' .005
rX^'^ :"*..,}■'■ ■•'••'tG'roundWer withi-^'y-Cnv ■•' "" \*^ ^ ' ' ■*
''' z -■- =-?: . "' " " '■ ' depth.of ba,IJ.a.milfi " ' 50,000,000 •* '1,000,000 ;.g- .■' .31
'-.^ ~ ' . . . Ground wafef— ':'■■*»*■* -**** 1* "~;' .V >'"...
:.-"•' ■; ■■- ^■:- deep-lying ■■ .- 50,065,000 ' - a, 000,000 ; '-"^ -'.31'
Total liquid water
in land areas
Icecaps and glaciers
50,600,000 2,070,000 .635
7,000,000 .• -2.15
vVA .,\ Atmosphere (at s^alevel)--:.* 197,000,000 .;. . 3,100;^ • .001 .
%''-4 '"^ \ World ocean 'irfra'^ 139,500,000 ""317,000,000 r97.2.;*
: ,^yv»- .• . > *^_ *-" -- ■• •-•■ ■■" --
TOTALS (rounded)
326,000,000' 100
Monies of Antiquity
By Joan Fagerlie
■'if<t»f
^^
|l-r
i^^^^^kk <
IfMniJi^. ' •' "^^Hfci't" _:^£ii*4
Athenian "owl" was most
renowned coin in antiquity.
Photographs by
Lee Boltin
Acanthus' tetradrachm
shows lion attacking bull.
oins commemorate gods, fauna, and civic pride
NYONE WHO HAS EXAMINED aiicient Greek coins even
L cursorily cannot help being impressed with the
t variety and frequency of animal representations.
;n the Greeks chose an appropriate design for
age, artistic merits were a primary consideration
animals served this aesthetic purpose admirably.
Idition, animals or birds were often associated with
'arious deities of the Greek pantheon and thus
; selected for their religious symbolism. In some
mces, an animal was made a symbol on the coinage
locale because it happened to be a conspicuous
are of the region. Fauna frequently figured in some
nd in the history of a city; they may have been solely
rtistic motif borrowed from a past civilization;
rs may have been a pun on the name of a
1. But, for whatever the reason, animals of the
-legged variety, creatures of the sea, reptiles, birds
1 kinds, and insects abound on Greek coins, either as
nain design of the obverse or reverse, or as a symbol
ibsidiary design. Only a few types can be shown
here, but they exemplify the rich variety of the genre.
Representations of the lion are very common. One
example, showing a lion attacking a bull, exists on
silver tetradrachms of Acanthus in Macedonia. This
motif can be traced back to Sumerian times, and it
is also found on Minoan and Mycenaean gems. Although
the motif is an old one, the appearance of the lion
and bull on this coin may be due partly to the great
numbers of these animals that roamed in Macedonia in
classical times. As recorded by Herodotus, the lions
in Macedonia played havoc with Xerxes' camels when he
was crossing over to Greece. Herodotus marvels that
the lions attacked only camels, creatures that they
had not seen theretofore, and refrained from attacking
any of the other beasts or man.
On other coins, the lion is shown attacking a stag,
again a Near Eastern motif, or it is portrayed with
a second lion that recalls the famous Lions' Gate at
Mycenae. The scalp of the Hon is a common pattern, and
some smaller denominations of an Asia Minor mint
21
Turtle was badge of city of Aegina.
Metapontum barley ear signifies wealth.
mboUzes sacred animal of Ephesus.
of uncertain location show only the paw of the lion. The
labors of Herakles also offered a wealth of material
for animal types, not only for the lion but for others,
such as the bull, boar, and serpent.
Minoan mythology, in which the bull is so prominent,
is the favorite subject matter of the Cretan coin
types. One coin, a stater of Gortyna, relates to the
trials of Europa, who is represented on the obverse.
Europa was carried across the sea by Zeus, who
had taken the form of a white bull, and she finally reached
Crete, where she bore three children: Minos,
Rhadamanthus, and Sarpedon.
Perhaps the best-known animal type from antiquity is
the Athenian "owl." The owl was a symbol of Athena,
the patron goddess of Athens, and it was also the
badge of the city. Athens was not the earliest European
Greek state to have a coinage of its own, but without
doubt it was the most renowned of its day.
Aristophanes' Frogs proclaims the fame of the owls:
"These are coins untouched with alloys;
everywhere their fame is told;
Not all Hellas holds their equal,
not all Barbary far and near.
Gold or silver, each well minted,
tested each and ringing clear."
They were widely circulated and accepted, and
were also imitated by less civilized peoples, as
barbarous pieces from Arabia and other distant places
attest. The coinage of Athens was, in fact, an
international currency and maintained essentially the
same type for centuries. Aristophanes refers to
"Laurium owls" in his play Birds, for the silver mines at
Laurium supplied the bullion for Athenian coinage.
:i^*^
THE earliest coinage in European Greece was that
of the island state Aegina, whose commercial
enterprise reached Asia Minor and northern Greece
long before Athenians took to the
sea. Like the Athenian owls, Aeginetan "turtles"
attained a universality of their own. Up until
the time of Aegina's defeat by Athens, the turtles were
the currency of the entire Peloponnesus. They were
struck on a heavier standard than the owls, which
caused Athenians to call them "the thick drachms."
The turtle was also the badge of the city and
was sacred to Aphrodite, whose temple stood near
the harbor of Aegina. Curiously, the earliest coins of
Aegina show the sea turtle, which was superseded
for some unexplained reason by the land tortoise
sometime in the fifth century B.C.
Ephesus in Ionia was the center of worship of
Artemis, the virgin huntress and goddess of wild nature,
of whom the bee and stag were cult symbols
and the usual types on the coinage. The high priest
of the temple was called the "king bee" — the Greeks
apparently were unaware that it should have been
"queen" — and the priestesses, "honeybees." It was
commonly the case that priests and priestesses had titles
named after a particular animal sacred to the
deity. At Ephesus the cult symbols of the patron
goddess became the badge of the city. The same type
appears on the specie of Aradus in Phoenicia
toward the close of the second century B.C., and
23
perhaps indicates an alliance between the two cities.
Undoubtedly, a seal was chosen for the badge of
Phocaea in Ionia because phoca was the Greek word
for seal. It is one of numerous examples of the punning
device evident in the choice of a type for the
coinage. In this case, the seal also was an appropriate
symbol of Phocaea's sea power in the seventh
and sixth centuries B.C. Herodotus said: "These
Phocaeans were the earliest of the Greeks to make long
sea-voyages; it was they who discovered the Adriatic
Sea, Tyrrhenia, Iberia and Tartessus, not sailing
in round freight-ships but in fifty-oared vessels."
MANY of the aforementioned coin types were, like
the coin type of Phocaea, badges of the cities they
represented. The badge or coat of arms offered a quick
method for indicating the place of origin. One
well-known badge was the barley ear of Metapontum,
which symbolized the source of wealth of this
Greek colony in Italy. A variety of subsidiary symbols
appear on the Metapontum coinage, too, and many
of the symbols are animals. They include a grasshopper,
ant, lizard, praying mantis, bird, crayfish, cicada,
owl, and also a mouse, which is shown on page 23.
The swan on the coinage of Clazomenae was
probably locally inspired, for ancient authors attest to
the former abundance of these birds in the delta of
the Hermus River just across the bay from Clazomer
In fact, the name Clazomenae may be derived
from the crying of these birds, for the Greek verb /
can be used in such a sense. The swan was also a syi
of Apollo, who appears on the obverse of the coins.
A cock, or a cock and a hen, are the usual types
Himera, the Greek Sicilian colony. The name
Himera perhaps is derived from the Greek word for
day, and thus the cock, which signaled the beginnii
the day to the Greeks, would have been an appropri;
badge or symbol. Nearby Agrigentum had the crab
and eagle as its coin types; they are symbols of
Poseidon and Zeus, respectively. In 482 b.c. Theroi
tyrant of Agrigentum, gained control of Himera, anc
it is of interest that the new issue of Himera
that then appeared shows a cock on one side
and the crab of Agrigentum on the other.
Successive changes in the coin types reflect the
political turmoil of still another Sicilian town —
Messana, or, as it was first called, Zancle (Greek foi
sickle). Zancle's earliest coin type was a dolphin in
curved band — a conventional representation
of a sickle-shaped harbor. It was first conquered by
Samian and Milesian emigrants about 493 B.C. and ;
coinage with Samian types but without ethnic
(an inscription identifying the name of the town) w;
issued. In 489 b.c, Anaxilas, tyrant of Rhegium, g;
control of Zancle, changed its name to Messana in
_.!r-^ ■ ^-
,^-,-' ^-^,_
Segesta's coin depicts local legend.
Eagle is the symbol of Agrigentum.
Cock is the coin type for Hi
Hare and dolphin were sacred in Messana. Ass is associated with Dionysus. Dolphin represents curvet
lor of Messenia, his birthplace, and later introduced
/ types on the coinage both of Rhegium and
viessana. This was the mule-car and hare design
t Aristotle explains by saying:
'Sicily was without hares until the time of Anaxilas
of Rhegium, but he imported and preserved them
and as about the same time he won a victory at
Olympia with his mule-car, he placed on the
Rhegium coins the types of a mule-car and a hare."
I 7hen Messana expelled the tyrants in 461 b.c.
y (sometime after the death of Anaxilas) , certain
Jifications of this type were made. The male
rioteer of Anaxilas was replaced by the city goddess
ssana, and a dolphin often was used as a symbol,
ause the hare was sacred to locally worshiped Pan,
)se head sometimes appears above or below a
;, the animal was retained as a coin type.
^ dog on the coinage of Segesta reflects a local
:nd. According to tradition, the city was founded by
stos, son of the Trojan woman Segesta who was
)ed by the river god Krimissos in the form of
Dg. Krimissos is shown below in his canine form
above is the head of Segesta.
joats are represented on the coins of several Greek
es — often on those of places whose names begin
1 Aegos, from the Greek word for goat.
However, the goat imprint also is the standard type from
Aenus in Thrace, and perhaps was thought sacred
to Hermes, whose head appears on the obverse.
Mende, in Macedonia, was famous in antiquity for
its wine, and appropriately used on its coins a symbol
associated with Dionysus. The ass was apparently a
favorite mode of travel for Dionysus, and we often meet
with him in Greek literature riding on one. Shown
on these pages is an early coin from Mende portraying
an ass with a crow perched on its back, which
probably derives from some lost legend concerning
Dionysus. Pausanius, the second-century a.d. author,
might have heard this now-unknown tale in his
travels to Nauplia, although his readers are none the
wiser. He inquired about a rock-carving of an ass
connected in some symbolic way with vine-growing,
but relates that the story was not worth repeating. Later
issues show Dionysus reclining on the back of the ass
and holding a wine cup; in the background is a crow.
This discussion has by no means been exhaustive;
some animal types not shown here are the horse, camel,
ram, wild boar, goose, hippopotamus, frog, crocodile,
snake, and wolf, as well as some insects. But the
reproductions on these pages are proof enough of the
interest the Greeks had in the natural world,
of their ingenuity in selecting types for places
of origin, of their artistic skill, and,
above all, of their pride in producing beautiful coins.
3-'?uV
'i ts
oat appears, on many states' coins.
Emperors' Dye ol
The Mixtecs
Indians tap a snail's "Tyrian purple"
By Peter Gerhard
MiXTEC DYER pours dye-bearing fluid
of Purpura patula onto ball of yarn.
Two Pinotepa villagers move toward
rocks where the marine snails cling.
NEARLY EVERYONE in the ren
Mexican village of Pinotepa
Don Luis, in the State of Oaxaca,
a hand in making a distinctive p
of feminine clothing known as
posahuanco. Men and boys grow
cotton, old women spin it into thr(
and girls do the weaving. The p^
huanco is a long wrap-around si
the only garment worn by womei
much of the hot country of the Lo
Mixteca (the region of the Mixtecs
Cloud People, so named by their
cient Aztec conquerors I in southv
ern Oaxaca and southeastern Guerr
The skirt's alternate horizontal str
of blue, red, and purple make a
ticularly pleasing contrast with
brown skin of graceful Indian g
whose finest posahuancos are rese:
for their weddings.
The bridal costume of a Pino
girl may consist of a skirt colored
tirely with natural dyes, together '
an embroidered scarflike huipil v
around the shoulders. The red
comes from a wood louse (cochine
the blue from the indigo plant, anc
le from a marine snail. Of these,
ir the most valuable is the purple
)f the snail. While a skirt colored
aniline purple is sold for fifty or
pesos at most, one with wide
s of caracal, shellfish purple, can
as much as six hundred pesos,
t forty-eight dollars,
ellfish dye comes from several
lies of marine mollusks, princi-
the carnivorous marine snails
cidae and Thaisidae; these have
nd that secretes a milky, strong-
ling fluid that apparently serves
r as a defense mechanism irritat-
:o predators or as a narcotic to
obilize the clams, mussels, rock
acles, and other bivalves on which
nollusks feed. The fluid is known
lically as punicin, and the dye of
species of murex has been ana-
1 as a derivative of indigo con-
ng bromide. When exposed to oxy-
and sunlight, the fluid takes on a
red or purple hue that immedi-
becomes nearly ineradicable in
ics. This substance has been used
nan since prehistoric times as a
fast-color agent, and was particularly
valued in the ancient world when little
was known about the use of mordants
in the fixing of colors.
MAiv's use of purple shellfish dye
seems to have first been men-
tioned in a legendary account of its
discovery by Melkart, the Phoenician
equivalent of Hercules. He was stroll-
ing along the shore with the nymph
Tyros and saw a dog playing among
the sea shells nearby. Tyros noticed
that its mouth was covered with bril-
liant pui-ple, and demanded a cloak of
the same color. Melkart collected some
shells and set to work on the cloak, and
thus, says the story, began the industry
that eventually made Tyre famous.
It seems likely that in Crete murex
was used for dye at least as early as
1600 B.C. By about 1000 B.C., the
Phoenicians had made wool and silk
dyeing into a thriving business. At the
cities of Tyre and Sidon. the shells of
the banded murex (Murex trunculus)
and the spiny murex (Murex brand-
aris) were broken open to obtain a few
drops of fluid from each — a wasteful
process that greatly depleted the spe-
cies. The search for new supplies of
murex and other dye shellfish was at
least partly responsible for the distant
voyages of the Phoenicians and the
founding of their colonies throughout
the Mediterranean.
Under the Romans, the demand for
Tyrian purple increased. Rome put
dye factories under state control. It
was probably the scarcity of the ani-
mal, together with the tedious and
costly process of dyeing, that resulted
first in limiting the use of purple gar-
ments to the wealthy, then to the ruling
class, and finally to the emperor alone.
With the Mohammedan conquest in
the seventh century, the Phoenician
dye works ceased to operate. There-
after the extraction process was almost
abandoned in the Mediterranean, al-
though as late as the eighteenth cen-
tury the dye was still used to some
degree, particularly to mark linen, in
western Europe and the British Isles.
The habitat of the dye-producing
marine snails is virtually worldwide.
27
Snail ejects a colorless fluid that
turns purple when exposed to light.
Many species can be found on many
shores, exposed on rocks at low tide.
In time, any people who lived on a
rocky coast would probably become
aware of the animal's coloring proper-
ties, but whether or not the dye is used
in a particular coastal area depends on
various factors besides the animals'
availability. In some regions the snail
is so important as a source of food
that its dye is not exploited, while in
others the people wear little or no
clothing. In our own society, the in-
troduction of cheap aniline purple in
the late nineteenth century made the
extraction of shellfish-coloring com-
mercially unprofitable. Thus, the use
of shellfish purple logically is confined
to isolated coastal areas where the
snails abound, where people weave
their own clothing, and where for
some reason the aesthetic or practical
advantages of shellfish-coloring are
appreciated over other dyes.
However, there may have been
subtler reasons for the use of purple
dye shellfish than those enumerated.
Certain medicinal and magical attri-
butes have been associated with the
animal from earliest times. As noted
previously, in the Mediterranean area
the wearing of purple became a pre-
rogative of royalty, a symbol of god-
hood, but although the use of purple
garments was forbidden to com-
moners, the aristocracy could not pre-
vent the collecting of the little shells
for the special properties with which
they somehow became endowed. For
instance, in eighteenth-century Europe
the purple shellfish was used for curing
pustules, ulcers, tumors, earache, and
28
Indian woman spins cotton into yarn
in village of Pinotepa de Don Luis,
spots before the eyes, and it was com-
monly thought that placing a snail on
a woman's navel would help her be-
come prolific. The association of pur-
ple and fertility would seem to be very
old, and we may speculate as to
whether there is a link between this
Old World belief and the use of shell-
fish purple in the bridal costmne of
today's Mixtec women.
In concluding this brief historical
survey of Old World uses of murex, it
should be mentioned that the Chinese
and Japanese also made use of shell-
fish dye, although it would seem that
they were more interested in eating
the snails. Curiously, the wearing of
purple in tenth-century Japan was sub-
ject to imperial restrictions very simi-
lar to those imposed by Rome.
TODAY there remain numerous rep-
resentatives of the dye-producing
shellfish in America, on both the At-
lantic and Pacific coasts. At the time
of the Spanish Conquest in the six-
where indllusraii dye industry h
thrived. She will sell yarn to dyei
teenth century, the natives of Ni(
on the west coast of Central Ame
were using shellfish dye on their c
fabrics. The practice was probabl
cient, common to coast dwellers
Mexico to Peru. In Peru, shellfisl
has been identified by spectrop
metric analysis on cotton mu
wrappings that date from the first
tur\' before Christ. The ancient 1
vians applied dye as a pigmen
woven fabric, making designs of I
prints and, sometimes, of dots
Mexico and Central America, pi
from as yet undetermined source
pears in early codices, in pre-Cc
bian pottery, and on one of the
few colored Mayan textiles that
survived to this day. In certain
minated codices, purple pigmei
used to color the clothes and sk;
deities, priests, and rulers appee
in the manuscripts.
Noticing the esteem for purple
in America, the Spanish soon g£
control of the native industry for
HEN DYERS return to Pinotepa.they
11 their hanks of purple thread to
skilled women weavers like this one,
shown above, wearing a posahuanco.
own profit. By the end of the sixteenth
century, hilo morado, or hilo de cara-
cal, as shellfish-dyed thread was called,
had become a well-established, if mi-
nor, article of commerce in the Span-
ish dominions of New Spain and Peru.
It brought a higher price than thread
dyed from any other source, ranging
from six to fourteen pesos a pound.
The principal colonial centers of this
industry were on the west coast —
Oaxaca in Mexico, Nicoya in Costa
Rica, and Ecuador. Marketing was
handled only by the Spaniards. They
first acquired the fiber, then hired In-
dian dyers who were paid for their
labor in goods. The Spanish then had
the dyed thread woven into fabric by
other Indians. In one year, over a
thousand pounds of cotton yarn were
dyed with shellfish in the province of
Nicoya alone, and the Spanish sold
finished sashes at extravagant prices
to Indian women from central Mexico
to their dominions in Peru.
The mollusk most often exploited
for its dye in America was probably
Purpura patula pansa Gould, found on
rocky sections of the Pacific coast
from Lower California to northern
Ecuador. Related species, some of
which produce different colored dyes
ranging from dark blue to blood-red,
were used to a lesser degree. From the
standpoint of conservation, Purpura
patula had, and has, a great advantage
Purpura patula pansa Murex trunculus
ISTRIBUTION of Centers of marine snail dye extraction
nee 1900 is shown on the map of Central America.
Pinotepa is about 150 miles from Acapulco. The two shell
insets are local Purpura and Old World banded murex.
29
over Old World species. The Phoeni-
cians found it necessary to break open
or grind up hundreds of murices in
order to get a few ounces of liquid,
and thousands to saturate a fleece in
a vat of shellfish dye. The larger Ameri-
can species, when slightly irritated,
ejects its fluid in such quantity that
there is no need to break up and kill
the aniinal in order to apply its color
to cotton. Thus, the dyeing process in
America has always been totally unlike
the complicated method employed in
the Mediterranean.
Today, in at least three remote sec-
tions of the Central American Pacific
coast, in Michoacan, Oaxaca, and
southern Costa Rica, shellfish dye is
still sought and used. Until recently
there were two groups of Indians in
Oaxaca engaged in these activities —
the Chontal and the Mixtec — but in
early 1962 the caracal industry was
nearly monopolized by a dozen men
from a single Mixtec village, Pinotepa
de Don Luis. These twelve continue to
go down to the coast in the dry season,
between November and March, each
man carrying about fifteen pounds of
doubled cotton thread in small hanks
bought from the old women spinners.
Their favorite working area is the
rocky shore between Puerto Angel and
Barra de Copalita (map, page 29),
which is broken by many sheltered
coves where the surf is relatively light
and wher3 there is a perfect breeding
ground for the Purpura. The men usu-
ally travel in groups of two to four
set up camp on the beach.
DYEING is done for a few h(
daily, at low tide, when the si
fish are helplessly exposed. It is
lieved that better results are obtai
in the morning ebb, particularly i
the full moon. Each man carries
or three dozen hanks slung over
shoulder, and a pointed stick to
the mollusks loose. Holding a skei
cotton in one hand, the dyer cli
down to the shady undersides of
rocks at water level until he fine
colony of Purpura. He dips the co
in the sea, then pries off a snail
blows on the operculum, the doo
the animal's shell. This causes the s
ill 1 1 iiBiw I I i"i||i|»i>iL'J*'''MH)iu!Ji;llWMili
ithdraw deeper into its shell, and
e same time a frothy juice wells
,nd fills the shell's mouth. This
d is poured and dabbed directly
the cotton threads. The fluid,
h is colorless at first, soon
ges in sunlight to a dirty yellow,
to a brilliant green, and finally
rich, if somewhat uneven, purple,
n all its liquid is gone, the dyer
ully places the animal back on the
so that it can be "milked" again
e next moon. The process is re-
;d until all the skeins are satu-
I \\ith dye, after which they are
1 dipped into the sea in the belief
salt water acts as a mordant,
hen they return to the camp, the
3 spread out the treated skeins in
the sun, where they are left all after-
noon and overnight, on the theory that
sunlight and dew act to make the color
more even. Shellfish-dyed thread has
a pronounced odor reminiscent of gar-
lic, which it retains until the cotton has
been washed several times. After two
months on the coast — slowly moving
from one bay to the next, then retrac-
ing their steps during the following
moon — the men shoulder their ill-
smelling burdens and trudge some 150
miles back to Pinotepa. There they sell
the purple hanks to women weavers
for thirty to forty pesos a pound.
Prices are determined by the relative
evenness of the dye. A good dyer can
earn six hundred pesos in a season, a
small fortune in that part of Mexico.
With the dyed threads in hand, a
Pinotepa girl will weave a posahuanco
four yards long in two or three weeks.
After the best posahuancos de caracal
have been set aside for use in the vil-
lage as wedding dresses, many others
are sold in nearby villages. A few, later
remodeled, are acquired by buyers for
the tourist trade.
Recently a jeep trail was opened to
remote Pinotepa de Don Luis. It is
possible that the thrust of progress
may soon obliterate old Mixtec cus-
toms and write an end to the ancient
caracol industry of the Lower Mixteca.
End product of the villagers' collective effort is shown in
the delicately woven designs that appear above and below.
Night Fighters
in a Sonic Duel
:ent research confirms moth's use of hearing to evade bats
By Kenneth D. Roeder
JTHS ARE ONE of the main food
sources of certain families of
They are attacked on the wing
1 darkness in a contest in which
and maneuverability are the pre-
qualities. That this nocturnal
;" has probably continued for
millions of years tells us that it
alanced contest: all bats locate
ipture some moths; some moths
and evade all bats,
ile in flight, insectivorous bats
1 series of brief chirps pitched
I octaves above the highest note
e to human ears. Each chirp is
rasonic tone that lasts only a few
!conds. In many bats the tone
in pitch by about one octave
; this brief interval, so that if it
ludible to us it would sound very
like the chirp of a bird. A bat
these chirps about ten times per
1 when cruising in the open; if
ounters any object in its flight
ts chirp rate may go higher than
er second.
Harvard the precise and ingen-
tperiments of Donald Griffin and
iidents have shown that echoes
ing to the ears of the bat inform
stail about the size, distance, and
)n of objects in its flying path,
'orld of a flying bat must be a
of single and multiple echoes of
tlety that we still do not com-
' appreciate. If a man walks
opening and closing his eyes
y, the visual world becomes a
of still pictures interspersed
ntervals of darkness. However,
: bat's world discontinuities in
)tion are far more complicated
\D MOTH "dogfight" is illumined
hing lamp. Both enter from right;
escapes in looping dive. Tangled,
racks are made by insect swarm.
because sound travels extremely slowly
compared with light. For a bat, the
spatial dimensions of the visual world
are temporal dimensions in an acoustic
world; a flying moth becomes an in-
termittent, fluctuating point in time.
About 100 years ago it was sus-
pected that moths could evade bats
through a sense of hearing. The sonar
system used by bats was then un-
known, so this was a truly inspired
guess. Since then, studies of the anat-
omy of the tympanic organ in various
species and families of the Lepidop-
tera, and observed changes in the be-
havior of moths in the presence of
man-made ultrasound, have confirmed
the suspicion that members of certain
moth families can hear the chirps of
echo-locating bats. Several families of
moths possess tympanic organs, in-
cluding the largest families of
common, medium-sized moths — the
Arctiidae, Phalaenidae, and Geomet-
ridae. It seems probable that tympanic
organs have evolved more than once.
DR. Asher E. Treat, of The City
College of New York (Natural
History, August-September, 1958),
first introduced me to the moth ear,
and we worked together on tympanic
nerve experiments. Field experiments
with free-flying bats were carried out
at his summer home in Tyringham,
Massachusetts. Without his enthusi-
asm and skill in dissection we prob-
ably never would have tried to discover
the defensive role of moth hearing.
The ear of a moth may seem to be
a somewhat esoteric subject for a study
of the form in which environmental
information is coded in nerve im-
pulses. But in some families of moths,
notably the owlet moths, or Noctuidae,
the tympanic organ contains only two
acoustic sense cells. Electrodes placed
on the tympanic nerve containing the
axons (impulse conductors) from
these sense cells can intercept all of
the impulse-coded information this
sense organ is capable of delivering to
the moth's central nervous system.
THE ear of noctuid moths is found
on the thorax near the "waist,"
where thorax and abdomen join. A
thin eardrum, or tympanic membrane,
is directed obliquely backward and
outward into a cleft formed by flaps
of cuticle, and is normally covered by
a thin layer of fine scales. Viewed from
outside, the tympanic membrane often
shows interference colors, indicating
its extreme thinness.
Dissection under a microscope
shows that the tympanic membrane
forms the outer wall of the tympanic
cavity, which is an air-filled, expanded
portion of the moth's respiratory sys-
tem. A fine tissue strand, the acoustic
sensillum, is suspended across this
cavity, and is supported near its mid-
point by a minute ligament attached
to another part of the skeleton (dia-
gram, page 35). The sensillum con-
tains the pair of acoustic receptors,
or sense cells. Each acoustic sense cell
{A cell) bears a fine distal process
ending in the scolops, a minute re-
fractile structure that extends toward
the tympanic membrane. From the
central end of each A cell an axon
(impulse conductor) passes within the
sensillum toward the skeletal support;
this pair of A axons continues in the
tympanic nerve to the thoracic gan-
glia. Passing the skeletal support, the
A axons lie close to a large, pear-
shaped cell {B cell) that may have
numerous fine, finger-like extensions
reaching into the surrounding mem-
branes. The B cell gives rise to a larger
axon that runs parallel to the A axons
in the tympanic nerve, eventually
reaching the central nervous system.
33
External opemm; of right ear in moth Agrotis ypsilon is
indicated by arrow. Moth is actually % inch long. Close-up
of tympanic membrane seen through opening is showi
opposite page at top; sketch is of moth's tympanic or
An experiment will usually begin
with the capture of a noctuid moth—
perhaps one of the common army
w orms whose larvae do so much crop
damage or, better still, a larger red
underwing. Under temporary anes-
thesia, the moth is decapitated and
firmly restrained with small strips of
Plasticine on the stage of a dissecting
microscope. It is kept in such a posi-
tion that the tympanic openings have
an unrestricted sound field. The scales
on the thorax are removed with a small
paintbrush, and the dorsal part of the
thorax, including one of the main sets
(horizontal) of flight muscles, is dis-
sected away. The tympanic nerves run
forward on either side of the cavity
thus revealed, passing from the tym-
panic organs at the back of the thorax
to the large pterothoracic ganglion
that supplies all organs of the thorax.
T.-iERE are several nerves in this re-
gion, all small and transparent.
However, the task of hooking a tym-
panic nerve on an electrode is not as
hard as it might seem. One electrode is
a silver wire inserted anywhere in the
tissues of the moth. The other is a sil-
ver wire tapered to a fine point that is
bent into a minute hook. This active
electrode is manipulated mechanically.
Both electrodes are connected to an
amplifier and cathode-ray oscilloscope,
and also to a loud-speaker. Since nerve
impulses cause minute brief current
pulses at the electrode, they can, when
amplified, be made audible as clicks
in the loud-speaker. When the tym-
panic nerve has been hooked, the loud-
speaker replies to ultrasonic sounds
with a rapid sequence of clicks. These
same nerve impulses can be photo-
graphed \vhen displayed as spike po-
tentials on the screen of the cathode-
ray oscilloscope.
When the silence is broken by con-
tinuous, pure ultrasonic tones of var-
ious intensities, the typical response of
the A cells is shown on page 37 (top) .
At the onset of a very faint tone (1),
one A cell generates a small burst of
spikes that immediately tails off into
an irregular sequence. At a higher in-
tensity (2), the initial frequency of
A spikes is greater, and a regular dis-
charge continues during the tone,
though with declining frequency. At
a still greater sound intensity (3 ) , the
^-spike frequency increases again, but
it still declines as the tone continues
and occasional spikes appear to have
double peaks. At the highest sound in-
tensity used in this experiment (4),
the nerve response becomes quite com-
plex—there are many spikes, double
peaks, and spikes that appear to have
double the normal height. These extra
spikes are generated by the less sensi-
tive A cell. In all the records the n
larger spike potential of the B cell
pears infrequently but at regulai
tervals, and is completely unaffe
by the ultrasonic stimulation. This
periment demonstrates, for one,
the intensity, or loudness, of the
is encoded in the tympanic nerve
charge as spike frequency in th
axons. The evidence also shows
faint sounds are detected only by
A cell, while louder sounds are
tected by both.
IN the top figure on page 37 it ca:
seen that a decrease in spike
quency takes place as the sound i
tinues. This decrease in frequency ^
the passage of time must mean thai
sound is represented to the moth as
coming progressively fainter, t
though it has remained physically
changed. Such a progressive losi
sensitivity is known as sensory a(
tation and is actually widespread
familiar in everyday experience
adaptation did not occur in most
ceptors registering changes in
outer world, the impact of our
roundings often w ould be unbeara
The brilliance of a lighted room
tered after dark would remain bl
ing, and the contact of our clot!
would irritate our skin the
through. The speed with which re^
34
TM
mpanic BAx
B nerve fiber
■nembrane TN
tympanic nerve
snsillum TAS
tympanic air sac
conidins A cells) SP
skeletal support
celt L
ligament
dapt varies greatly : the moth's A
adapt relatively rapidly; other
cells adapt slowly, if at all.
inother experiment an ultrasonic
was generated artificially at reg-
ntervals (chart, page 38) . It was
r to a bat chirp except that it
1 the frequency modulation of the
il sound. A microphone was
1 near the tympanic organ of the
The intensity of the sound pulse
djusted until it just failed to pro-
i response in the A cells. The in-
f was then increased in measured
of 5 decibels; the microphone
erve response were recorded at
itep. Part of the findings were al-
familiar, but there were two ad-
al ways in which the A response
ed as a result of increased inten-
Uthough each sound lasted only
liseconds, at the higher intensi-
le spike discharge continued for
d milliseconds after the sound
eased. It was as if the more in-
sounds caused in the sense cells
overaccumulation that then con-
1 to generate impulses after the
I itself had stopped. Second, the
ise time (the interval between the
lus and the first A spike) became
;r as sound intensity increased,
is important to note that the
;-mentioned ^-cell properties are
ir to those reported many times
previously in many animals by many
observers. Heretofore, however, such
observations have dealt mainly with
single units that were isolated for ex-
perimentation from a complex sense
organ containing many thousands of
receptors. The behavior of the A cells
is significant because the cell repre-
sents the whole sense organ, not merely
a small part of it. Therefore, the A cell
defines the total sensory input being
communicated to the effector mechan-
isms for the evasion of bats.
Other experiments with artificial
sounds showed that the tympanic or-
gan can detect sounds ranging from 3
kc/s (kilocycles per second) to as high
as 150 kc/s. The upper limit of human
hearing is 15 to 20 kc/s. Even with
this great range, moths appear to be
tone deaf. They seem to have no
mechanism for discriminating one fre-
quency or pitch from another; the
tympanic organ is mainly concerned
with discriminating differences in
sound intensity, or loudness. With only
one ear, a moth could measure loud-
ness from the /4 -spike frequency, and
from activity in one versus both A
axons. By using both ears, the moth
could "compare" two different hear-
ings of the same sound, which might
register with more intensity on one
side than on the other.
These experiments with artificial
sounds have introduced the elements
of vocabulary and grammar of the neu-
ral language. Fortunately, the tym-
panic organ communicates with the
moth's central nervous system only in
the simplest form of this language, so
that even after this elementary instruc-
tion it is possible to interpret some
biologically significant messages.
These messages are the chirps made by
bats in their natural occupations.
OUR first record of a tympanic nerve
response to the chirps of a flying
bat was obtained in the laboratory, and
almost by accident. Experiments with
artificial sounds were in progress dur-
ing January, a time of year when New
England bats are deep in hibernation.
A student making a week-end explora-
tion of a New Hampshire cave found
a hibernating bat and brought it back
to the laboratory, where it was placed
in a refrigerator and almost forgotten
for several weeks. When removed and
held in the hand of an experimenter
near a tympanic-nerve preparation and
microphone, the bat recovered suffi-
ciently to deliver a few angry and au-
dible shrieks, and an energetic bite.
This last naturally brought about its
release, whereupon it flew "silently"
around the laboratory close to the ceil-
ing. Throughout the flight the pre-
pared tympanic nerve delivered a
rapid series of short bursts of A
spikes. When the bat flew sufficiently
close to the experimental table, the mi-
crophone joined in with its electronic
version of the ultrasonic chirps.
This impromptu experiment showed
not only that the tympanic organ re-
sponds as expected but also that it is
highly sensitive to bat cries. One or
both of the A fibers continued to re-
spond at times when the bat was too
distant for its cries to register in the
microphone. The moth could hear the
bat at all points within the laboratory,
and we were most eager to go beyond
its walls and into the field.
This turned out to be somewhat
more than the carefree jaunt it sug-
gests. The next summer a load of about
300 pounds of electronic gear was
hauled up a grassy hillside in the Berk-
shires of Massachusetts, and re-
assembled in a spot where bats were
known to feed. At dusk a moth was
captured at a nearby light and
mounted so that one tympanic organ
had an unrestricted sound field. Its
tympanic nerve was hooked on an elec-
trode and the A and B fiber activity
was followed continuously on an os-
cilloscope and loud-speaker. Spikes
were also recorded on magnetic tape.
The high excitement of listening for
the first time to night sounds through
a moth's ear was tempered by the
thought that we had no independent
evidence that they were being caused
by bats. They were inaudible to us, and
in this first field experiment we had
with us no ultrasonic microphone to
provide a separate record. A flood-
light was rigged so that we were able
to observe bats flying within 20 feet
of the preparation. It then became
clear that the range of the moth ear
was much greater than that of the light,
so that the appearance of a bat in the
lighted area could often be predicted
by listening to the rising pitch of suc-
cessive A bursts from the moth ear.
It was difficult to establish the range
of this biological bat detector, since
it depended upon the species of moth
and bat as well as the relative angle of
their flight paths. In another experi-
ment a moth preparation was set up at
dusk about 200 yards distant from an
old barn where bats roosted. It was
35
J;^MUIiuL.
Sound audible to a human ear affects
moth ear and a microphone equally, as
known that at this hour the bats
usually left the roost singly and flew
on a straight path directly over the
site chosen for the preparation to other
feeding grounds. An observer, wearing
headphones connected by a long cord
with the amplifier, walked "upstream"
toward the barn while listening for the
first signs of regular A bursts from the
moth ear behind him and watching
the bats pass overhead. The maximum
distance for A responses lay between
100 and 120 feet from the moth ear
while the bats were flying toward the
ear at an altitude of about 20 feet.
All information heard by the ob-
server came from one ear of a moth.
What could be learned by recording
from both ears simultaneously? This
project had to wait until the following
summer, for it was necessary to learn
how to insert and manipulate two
hooked electrodes within the small
space of a moth"s thorax, and to dupli-
cate most of the amplifying and record-
ing equipment. The activity in right
and left tympanic nerves was recorded
on stereo magnetic tape and was sub-
sequently photographed by replaying
the tape into a dual-beam oscilloscope.
A binaural nerve response to a fly-
ing bat is on page .37 {bottom). The
bat's approach is initially signaled,
in the upper trace in the first panel,
by a group of spikes (the first is a B
spike, the rest A spikes ) . The second
ear (lower trace, same panel) does not
detect the bat until its next chirp,
when the number of spikes indicates
less intensity compared with spikes
displayed by the first ear. This difEer-
ence persists in the third response,
shown at left. Ultrasound has effect
mainly on moth ear, as shown top right.
but by the fourth (all of which is
shown) there is little difference be-
tween upper and lower traces. This
suggests a bat approaching from one
side, then moving directly overhead.
It is interesting to listen through
stereo headphones to the taped re-
sponses of right and left tympanic
nerves to a moving bat. The human ear
interprets these spike differentials as
giving direction to the source, and one
can almost imagine oneself inside the
nervous system of the moth as the
source of clicks appears to move from
one side to the other. This illusion of
direction is not continuous, and much
of the time the source of sound seems
to be in the center of one's head. The
explanation is that the spike differen-
tial is greatest at low chirp intensities,
becoming less and disappearing above
a certain loudness. This saturation of
the acoustic response above certain
sound intensities indicates that a moth
would be better able to determine the
bearing when a bat was near the moth's
maximum range of hearing.
A differential response would be
possible only if the ears of a moth
were somewhat directional, respond-
ing better to sounds on one side of the
body than on the other. A polar graph
showed that, while there was little dif-
ference fore and aft, a click on the near
side of the moth was heard at about
twice the distance of a symmetrically
placed click on the far side.
This information extracted from
the tympanic-nerve responses makes
possible a crude prediction of the
moth's behavior upon detecting an
echo-locating bat. If it is assumed
a bat is first detected at a distanc
100 feet and then approaches o
straight path at right angles to
moth's course while making chirp
constant intensity, the differei
tympanic response would decline f
a maximum at about 100 feet to :
at 15 to 20 feet. Within this range
moth would have sufficient infor
tion to enable it to turn away from
direct path of the oncoming bat. j
range of less than 15 to 20 feet
neural information reaching
moth's central nervous system w(
make possible only non-directii
responses vis-a-vis the bat's jsositioi
This is as far as we can go at pre
in assessing the acoustic informa
coded and transmitted to the mc
central nervous system by the A c
Until we know more about the a
omy and neurophysiology of
moth's pterothoracic ganglion
brain we must redirect our curioi
It is easy to show that some mi
respond to high-pitched sounds, s
as the squeak of a glass stopper,
jingle of keys or coins, the high n
of a violin or flute, and a varietj
rustling and hissing sounds. But :
somewhat harder to describe j ust v
they do. Some fold their wings
fall to the ground; the flight of otl
becomes faster and more erratic; s
fluttering individuals become mot
less ; inactive moths may take fligh
Similar reactions can readily be
served in moths being chased by h
As a bat comes "silently" out of
darkness the flight pattern of the ir
suddenly changes to any one of a n
her of maneuvers— dives, rolls,
peated tight turns, or rapid flight
above the ground. The bat may m
a single pass, or turn at once to m
another, or it may attempt to fol
the moth through its gyrations. I
a dizzy "dogfight." Extrapolation i
string of acoustic dots in time is pi
against unpredictability; power
speed against ziianeuverability. The
tails may be difficult to discern, but
outcome is seen either as a bat ar
moth going their separate ways, o
a departing bat and moth wings :
tering slowly to the ground.
We made an attempt to find out
extent to which the odds in this (
test are influenced by the avoids
tactics of the moth. We observed
encounters between bats and m(
and scored for the presence or
sence of a sudden change in the fl
36
in of the moth as the bat ap-
;hed, and for the outcome— cap-
)r escape of the moth. Analysis of
ooled data showed that for every
reacting moths that survived an
k, only 60 non-reacting moths
ved. Thus selective advantage of
we action was considerable.
:h procedures focus upon only
)ne instant in the life of a moth,
ugh certainly it is an important
It is possible that at other times
)ossession of tympanic organs
vasive mechanisms weigh differ-
even negatively, in survival, so
measure does not describe the
ill survival advantage of posses-
tympanic organs. Nevertheless,
lid account for their evolution,
passing, it is interesting to note
ome species of moths are prone to
ation of the tympanic cavity by
These parasites have been found
5st only one ear, however, and by
ehavior pattern appear to insure
3wn survival.
s not easy to tell at what instant
sing bat first detects a medium-
moth and turns to the attack. It
unlikely that the bat makes
tic contact at distances greater
.0 to 15 feet. The tympanic-nerve
s showed that within this range
erage bat cry is capable of satur-
both ears of a moth, so that the
can make only non-directional
ises in attempting escape,
the tympanic organs can detect
cry at distances of 100 feet and
ps even more. At this range there
arked difference in the nerve re-
3S of the right and left ears when
;aring of the bat is to the right
; of the moth. There would seem
little survival advantage to the
in making erratic turns and
when the predator was still so
t, although they could be of
at close quarters when the small
i\ moment and short turning
; of the moth is pitted against
of the more massive bat.
: complexity of the natural situa-
n which both sound source and
or are continually on the move,
iduced by replacing the bat with
tionary multidirectional trans-
of ultrasonic pulses. The trans-
was mounted on a 16-foot mast
edge of a lawn surrounded by
'egetation. The observer was
25 feet behind a floodlight that
nated a broad area of garden and
liiiiiiiijiiiiiii^
'U|ji;ui;i;yi
Moth ear responses to electronically
generated tone increasing in intensity.
from 1 to 4, are shown above. Pictures
of responses to real bat appear below.
hH/rHI — l^--+~irt-ti
Electronic pictures of the way a moth
using two ears hears a bat approaching
and then moving directly overhead are
reproduced in the series shown below.
^tf-*--V\--'*''**^
M^hAJ^— J'
37
■■iwiniiimi
Mili|ililiiMMRNMiMii^H
ilVMIHilM
III
I"
II
IMI
ummmsmz
II "
38
silhouetted the transmitter on its mast
against the night sky. This view of the
transmitter was also framed in the field
of a 35 mm. still camera.
THE observer had at hand two
switches, one controlling the ultra-
sonic signal and the other the camera
shutter. When a moth was seen to move
into the field of the camera the shut-
ter was opened and the moth's track
was recorded as a continuous line
against the black background of the
sky. Undulations on the line were
caused by the moth's wing movements.
After a stretch of flight track had been
recorded the switch controlling the ul-
trasonic signal was depressed. This re-
leased a train of ultrasonic pulses, com-
monly at a rate of 30 per second, each
5-millisecond pulse having a frequency
of 70 kc/s. The pulses were "shaped"
as much as possible to resemble bat
cries, but they lacked the frequency
modulation of the bat's natural sound.
By the above means, the moth's
flight path was recorded before and
during ultrasonic stimulation. The on-
set of the pulse sequence is shown by
an extra-bright spot on each photo-
graphic record, while the timing of
events is indicated by gaps repeated
at quarter-second intervals throughout
the track ( photographs, oppositepage) .
The worst defect of the method is
the large amount of light needed to
secure a satisfactory photographic re-
cord. Light, we were afraid, might
have altered the responsiveness of
moths to a signal they normally en-
counter only in darkness. However,
visual observers working with illumi-
nations too low for photography, and
with yellow and red light to which
moths are much less sensitive than is
man, reported no substantial differ-
ences in moth behavior. Another prob-
lem lay in the difiiculty of identifying
the moth species producing the tracks.
Many flew away before they could be
captured, while others dived into the
vegetation and could not be found.
Moths that reacted within 10 feet or
so of the transmitter showed a bewil-
dering variety of reactions, usually
ending in a dive, irrespective of
whether the moth was above, below, or
to one side of the transmitter at the
Volume increases (decibels indicated)
cause augmented neural activity of the
moth ear, as shown by spikes. The bars
are microphone's parallel responses.
time of the stimulus. The simplesi
action seemed to be an abrupt (
with wings closed. Moths reacting
greater distance from the transm
showed a distinct tendency to i
away from the source of ultraso
and continue in level, although 0
accelerated, flight.
Thus, the prediction of the ne
physiological observations seems t
confirmed by behavioral observati
high sound intensities produce 1
directional responses; low sounc
tensities result in directional
spouses. The great sensitivity of
tympanic organs must provide m
with an "early-warning" signal
prompts them to move out of the
eral area in which bats are feeding
the number of impulses in the
panic-nerve transmission increas(
the saturation point the message
be thought to change to the "I
cover " signal, at which point the m
dive for the ground.
I IKE most biological observat
J this one raises a dozen quesi
for every one it answers. Most o
moths making these tracks cert:
belonged to the families Arcti
Phalaenidae, and Geometridae.
do the several families lacking
panic organs, some containing
mon and successful species, su:
without ability to hear bat cries;
cently, two British workers, D.
and D. Pye, have shown that ce
tropical arctiids produce trains (
trasonic clicks when teased or shi
It will be interesting to see how
ability to make noises audible to
fits into the contest between pre)
predator. Tympanic-nerve respi
recorded from diff^erent moth sp
are generally consistent and sin
except perhaps for sensitivity. 0
other hand, the variety of non-(
tional maneuvers released by hij
tensity ultrasonic stimulation (
any attempt at orderly descrij
Does each species have its charac
tic pattern of response? Or does it
a repertoire upon which it can
in random order? Does soun(
tensity or some other sensory c
tion play a part in the pattern (
sponse? There is some comfort i
thought that this unpredictal
however determined, is probab
confusing to the bats as it is to tl
perimenter, and therefore may al
of considerable importance in th
vival value of moths' evasive beh;
r PATHS of moths responding to artificial ultrasonic
sequence at night are shown here. Sound source is on
: pole. Dotted appearance of paths is result of light
flashing every 1/4 second. The flare surrounding the sound
source is result of overexposure and is not a light source.
Arrows mark onset of stimuli. Note moths' evasive moves.
9 EVASIVE RESPONSES Stimulated by the pulse sequence
monstrated ahove. One moth ( 1 ) goes into power dive
!r (2) drops passively toward the ground by folding in
its wings, which it uses again briefly about halfway down;
last moth (3) banks into a looping dive. White dots, and
indistinct track (2), are caused by insects near camera.
39
40
SKY REPORTER
jnitude scale of stellar brightness had its origin in 120 B.C.
By Thomas D. Nicholson
WINTER SKY is always impressive. The brilliant stars
he winter constellations — Taurus, Auriga, Orion
]anis Major, and Gemini— dominate the early eve-
' in the south and east, and the west usually appears
comparison. But this January the western sky con-
o objects— Venus and Jupiter— that are more than a
or the stars in the east. The map of the January sky
3) shows the position of Venus on the western hori-
he end of the month and the position of Jupiter
the month. The positions of Venus earlier in Janu-
not be shown on the map because the planet will
before 9:00 P.M. and will be below the map's west-
izon. In the illustration on page 42, however, which
n drawn to show the southwestern sky at one and
■ hours after the sun has set, the path of Venus is
hroughout the month.
ap or illustration can do justice to the brilliance of
nd Jupiter, or, for that matter, to that of the bright
tars such as Sirius, Rigel, and Capella. Stars of dif-
lagnitude must be represented on maps by symbols,
stars may be distinguished from fainter stars by
'mbols of different shape or of different size, or by
ination of both. In any case, the symbols serve
to identify the stars and can only approximately
It the visual impression of their brightness. Part of
jlem is that the stars do not vary in size and shape
le map symbols, but part also lies in the way our
ict to objects of different degrees of brightness,
human sense responds to its stimulus according to
:hophysical law formulated in 1869 by the German
lental psychologist Gustav Theodor Fechner. Fech-
srved that the apparent difference in brightness be-
be bright and dark portions of a cloud remained
t when the cloud was viewed through filters of vari-
sity. He thus concluded that the eye, when it observes
fferences in the brightness of objects, reacts to equal
f intensity rather than to equal differences of inten-
the light sources. Expressed in another way, when
nsity of the stimulus increases geometrically, the
y of the visual sensation increases arithmetically
m, page 42) .
ler's law provided a psychological basis for some-
itronomers had already known for some time— that
nitude scale used for the stars did not represent con-
fferences in brightness from one magnitude to the
It rather constant ratios of brightness between the
ides. And astronomers had already obtained a rea-
accurate estimate of the ratio represented by a
gnitude difference.
nagnitude scale astronomers use has its origin in the
alogue compiled about 120 B.C. by the Greek astron-
ipparchus. He identified the brightness of the stars
jtalogue by dividing them into six groups, of which
; comprised the brightest stars he could see and the
le faintest. Stars belonging to each successive class
e first to the sixth appeared to be one-half the bright-
ness of those in the preceding class. The use of the term
"magnitude" for these brightness classes implies differences
in size, and may have arisen from the assumption that the
brighter stars were larger and the fainter stars smaller, al-
though we know today that this is not necessarilv so.
The invention of the telescope radically altered the mean-
ing of star magnitudes. It was seen telescopically that there
were many stars fainter than Hipparchus' lowest magni-
tude, the sixth. For identification purposes it was desirable
to extend the magnitude groups to include them. Further-
more, stars within the same magnitude class were not at
all the same in brightness. It became necessary to add a
decimal to the magnitude of a star to distinguish it from
other stars of its class. Some very painstaking observers
found it imperative to add a second decimal to represent
the differences they could see. With these modifications
of the original classification scheme, the magnitude of a
star became a quantitative measure of the star's radiation,
and it became important to know how much of a difference
in light intensity one magnitude represented.
WILLIAM HERSCHEL, working in England near the turn
of the nineteenth century, and his son John Herschel,
observing from South Africa in 1834-1837, were both con-
vinced that the average first-magnitude star was very nearly
100 times brighter than the average sixth-magnitude star.
C. A. Steinheil. a contemporary of John Herschel, found
that the average ratio of intensity from one magnitude to
the next was about 2.83. The ratio between first and second
magnitude was higher, but many of the brightest stars, all
classified as first magnitude, differed so greatly from one
another that they were really not all of a class. Between the
less bright magnitudes, Steinheil found a more constant
ratio of approximately 2.5.
Another English astronomer, N. R. Pogson, pointed out
in 1850 that the Steinheil ratio of 2.5 between magnitudes
represented a difference of brightness of 2.5 raised to the
fifth power for five magnitudes, which was very near to
the factor of 100 times that the Herschels had observed be-
tween the first- and sixth-magnitude classes. Pogson pro-
posed that the ratio of 100 be adopted as an exact standard
for a five-magnitude difference. The ratio between succes-
sive magnitudes would therefore become the fifth root of
100, or 2.512. Pogson's proposal is the basis for the magni-
tude values that are assigned to the stars today.
The stellar magnitude scale may seem confusing because
the lower numbers are assigned to the brighter stars. But
the system has a long tradition and offers a scale that astron-
omers, its principal users, find convenient. It has been
easily extended to fainter objects as these became known,
and to objects brighter than first magnitude as well, simply
by maintaining the constant ratio between magnitudes. Ob-
Dr. Nicholson is Assistant Chairman, Astronomer, and a
lecturer at The American Museum-Hayden Planetarium.
41
• *
* * ^(t
Star symbols illustrate arithmetic (top) and geometric
(bottom) area increases. Upper symbols grow by a constant
increment and lower ones increase by constant ratio (1:2).
jects fainter than the sixth magnitude are designated sev-
enth, eighth, ninth, and so on. Those brighter than first
magnitude are designated by numbers that decrease from
one to zero and then increase to higher negative numbers.
Polaris, the familiar North Star, is almost exactly second
m.agnitude— it served as a standard reference star to estab-
lish the starting point of the magnitude scale until its very
slight variability was detected.
The brightest star we observe is Sirius, with a magnitude
of —1.42. Sirius is therefore about 3.42 magnitudes brighter
than Polaris. Its light intensity, or luminosity, is approxi-
mately 23.3 times as great as the luminosity of Polaris.
(The figure 23.3 is obtained by raising the ratio 2. .512 to
the power 3.42, which may be done most conveniently by
making use of logarithms.)
The brightness of the planets, of the moon, and of the
sun are also represented as numbers on the magnitude scale.
The brightness of Jupiter this month varies from —2.1 at
Planets in western sky are shown relative to horizon 90
minutes after sunset January 1, 15, and 31. Venus, moving
toward the east, appears higher up in the sky each night.
42
the beginning of the month to —1.8 at the end of the mc
The difference between Jupiter's magnitude at the start
at the end of the month is three-tenths of a magnit
which represents a loss of light intensity of about 13
cent. This occurs because the distance between Jupiter
the earth is increasing.
The magnitude of Venus is —3.4 in early January.
is about two magnitudes brighter than Sirius, the brigl
star, so that Venus this month is about 6.3 times as \
nous as Sirius. By the middle of May, however, Venus
brighten to magnitude —4.2, or very nearly double its I
nosity in the sky this month, and it will display thii
times the luminosity of Sirius.
THESE differences illustrate the impossibility of re
senting the visual impressions of celestial object
star maps. To show Venus in correct relationship to S;
on this month's map, its symbol should have an area r
than six times that of the symbol for Sirius, which sh
be, in turn, about twenty-three times the area of the syr
for Polaris. The map would be so cluttered with large i
bols that it would make no sense.
The magnitude of the moon, on the same scale as
stars, is about —12.6 at its brightest; the sun is about — i
The difference in magnitude between the sun and Si
corresponds to a luminosity difference of about ten bil
times. In other words, to equal the sun in brightness,
sky would have to contain ten billion stars as brigh
Sirius. The difference between the magnitude of the sun
that of the moon is about 14.1. The sky would have to 1
more than 430,000 full moons to equal the illuminatioi
receive from the sun.
The interesting analogy between the luminosity of
sun and that of Sirius suggested to Christian Huyger
Dutch astronomer of the mid-seventeenth century, a
of estimating the distance to the stars in terms of the s
distance, probably the first serious attempt to find stf
distances. By viewing the sun through a series of pinh
of diminishing size, Huygens reduced its apparent bri
ness to his estimate of Sirius' apparent brightness. He 1
succeeded in obtaining a value for how many times fai
than the sun was Sirius. Knowing that the intensity of 1
falls off in proportion to the square of distance, Huyj
could then determine how many times farther Sirius
from the earth than was the sun.
Huygens' estimate of the distance to Sirius was too si
by a factor of twenty times. Part of the error was cai
by inaccuracies in his measurement of the brightnesi
the sun and of Sirius. But part also resulted from the i
as we now know, that Sirius is intrinsically a much brigl
star than the sun— almost twenty-three times brighter. ]
Huygens known this and allowed for it, his result wc
have been surprisingly accurate.
In the centuries that followed Huygens' work, techniq
were developed for accurate measurements of star bri;
ness by visual methods, later by photographic, and
later by photometric methods. And today we have critt
that indicate the intrinsic brightness of the stars, so t
careful measurements of apparent brightness are very i
ful in estimating stellar distances, using the fundamei
principle that Huygens used almost three centuries ago.
next month's "Sky Reporter" we shall consider the relati
ships that are found between visual and photographic m
nitudes, and between apparent and absolute magnituc
MAGNITUDE SCALE
# -0.1 and brighter
• 0.0 1- —
-rl.O t
• +2.0 to +2.9
+ +3.0 to +3.9
• +4.0 and fainter
>. *
"Pr ^. ""'.A, ,*1
'%..'-*■' .*"''V«*
January 6, 10:58 a.m., EST
January 14, 3:44 P.M.. EST
January 22, 12:29 A.M.. EST
January 28, 6:23 P.M.. EST
TIMETABLE
January 1 10:30 P.M.
January 15 9:30 P.M.
January 31 8:30 P.I
(Local Standard Time,
ary 2: Earth is at perihelion, its shortest distance from
for the year— about 91,342,000 miles,
ary 2-4: The Quadrantid meteor shower, radiating from
1 east of the Big Dipper's handle, reaches its brief
im rate, an expected twenty-five meteors per hour. The
gibbous moon will impede observations after midnight,
ary 9: Venus and Saturn are in conjunction at approxi-
5:00 P.M., and they will be quite close in the evening
)k for Saturn about a degree from Venus, slightly above
0 the right.
ary 11: Tonight observers with binoculars may see
s four brightest satellites, arranged two on each side
planet and very nearly equidistant from one another
m the bright central planet. Callisto and Europa are
/est of Jupiter, lo and Ganymede to the east,
ary 14: A partial eclipse of the sun, the first of six
1 for 1964, takes place in the Southern Hemisphere,
ary 17: Venus and the early crescent moon are in con-
1 at noon. By sunset the moon will have moved to the
Venus, but the two are still an interesting sight in the
; twilight ^illustration, opposite pageV
January 20: Jupiter and the moon are in conjunction about
2:00 P.M. By dark, Jupiter is slightly below and to the right of
the crescent moon, two days before first quarter.
January 26: Mercury reaches greatest westerly elongation
from the sun and may be seen in the morning sky.'
Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn are all in the evening sky, toward
the southwest, in early January. Venus and Jupiter are bright
enough to be seen in the early twilight. Venus is the brighter
and lower of the two (magnitude —3.4 early in January and
slowly brightening through the month). Jupiter, magnitude
—2.0 at midmonth, is still brighter than any star. Saturn, at
magnitude 1, cannot be seen until dark.
Throughout January, Venus remains in the sky from two
and a half to three hours after sunset. Jupiter sets about mid-
night at the start of January, and progressively earlier through
the month. It sets about 10:00 p.m. by month's end. After
the middle of the month, Saturn is too close to the sun to be
seen in the evening sky.
Mercury is in the morning sky at the end of January. For
a few days before and after January 26 it may be seen low
in the southeast about one and a half hours before sunrise.
Adult male chimpanzees in Budongo
Forest, Uganda, of the subspecies Pan
troglodytes schweinfurthii, are sh
in habitat. Mainly eaters of fruit, i
44
The Man of
the Woods
New studies outline chimpanzee behavior
By Vernon Reynolds
THE CHIMPANZEE Pan troglodytes
occurs throughout the vast equa-
torial rain forest belt of Central and
Western Africa, a continuous distribu-
tion measuring three thousand miles
from end to end. Several forms of the
species are found in this area, of which
the following three are generally rec-
ognized as subspecies : Pan troglodytes
schweinfurthii of Central Africa, Pan
troglodytes troglodytes of the West
Congo, and Pan troglodytes verus of
West Africa. A fourth type of chim-
panzee, Pan paniscus, is found south
of the Congo River and is often taken
to be a second species. The last is pop-
ularly known as the pygmy chimpan-
zee. (Morphological differences be-
tween the forms are minor except in
the case of Pan paniscus, which is a
true dwarf.) The various chimpanzee
types are separated by the great rivers
of Central and West Africa (map, page
46). Outside the rain forest zone,
chimpanzees have pushed the borders
of their habitat into the surrounding
areas of woodland, gallery, and mon-
tane forests, showing a wide variety
of dietary adaptations.
My wife and I studied the eastern
form. Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii,
from March to October, 1962, in the
Budongo Forest, Uganda— a rain for-
est environment at the eastern edge of
the animals' range. Here we set up a
base on a hillock overlooking the for-
est, and made daily forays in search of
the elusive chimpanzees when their im-
mensely loud vocalizations made it
possible for us to track them. Food is
plentiful during most of the year, and
when it is. the animals are vociferous
to a degree that usually makes it pos-
sible to find them. There was a scarce
period, however, in May, during which
they were widely scattered and silent
most of the time.
Adult chimpanzees are fairly large
animals. Males weigh approximately
110 pounds and females about 90
pounds, and their size alone helps to
account for many aspects of their be-
havior. Although they are primarily
frugivorous, like the smaller redtail
monkeys (Cercopithecus ascanius
schmidti) and blue monkeys (Cerco-
able of diet adaptations. These
ants picked from tree barks.
20° 10" 0° 10° 20° 30° 40° 50°
Distribution of subspecies is indicated by the shadings
on the map : ( 1 ) Pan troglodytes troglodytes, ( 2 ) P.t. verus
Schwarz, (3) P. t. schiveinfurthii Giglioli, (4) the pygmy
species P. paniscus Schwarz. Square marks the study area.
pithecus mitis stuhhnanni) with which
they share this forest, the chimpanzees'
needs are so much greater than those
of the monkeys that they cannot lead a
treetop existence as the monkeys do.
ALMOST every day (the exceptions
occur when many fruiting trees
are fomid in a small area) chimpan-
zees move around on the ground over
considerable distances, from one tree
to another. While on the ground they
feed on the fleshy stems of certain
shrubs and creepers, a diet more char-
acteristic of the gorilla. We estimated
that in the Budongo Forest up to 75
per cent of the chimpanzees' daytime
was spent in the trees, and that about
90 per cent of the total bulk of their
food consisted of fruits. There is no
factor limiting the height at which
chimpanzees feed. Every day they
climb into the crowns of trees to
heights of 120 feet to 180 feet, depend-
ing on the type of forest. In the slack
season, however, more time is spent on
the ground, and the young, tender
leaves of saplings and vines become
important dietary items.
46
One aspect of our study was on loco-
motion, eleven forms of which we rec-
ognized in chimpanzees (table, page
48). Because they are primarily fruit
eaters, they must be able to move about
in the tracery of fine branches at the
edge of tree crowns. The animals are
too heavy to do so by standing on the
branches as monkeys do. so they have
developed ways of supporting their
weight from branches less than one
inch thick. They can hang for several
minutes from one or both arms, or any
combination of arms and legs. When
walking on the ground or on sturdy
branches one hundred feet up or high-
er, they walk on the knuckles and do
not grasp the branch with the hands.
The backs of the second phalanges are
provided with a special development of
thickened skin in connection with this
form of locomotion. The hallux, or big
toe, is used in opposition to the other
toes to grasp the branch. Perhaps the
most striking facet of chimpanzee loco-
motion is the diversity of forms it
takes. No acrobatic is too difficult for
this amazingly long, loose-limbed crea-
ture, which combines arboreal special-
izations such as brachiation and h
ing upside down from branches
the more common locomotor patt
of walking and running on all foui
For adults soine six to eight h
of the twelve-hour equatorial day
occupied in the food quest. Young
up to the age of about six years rec
less food, and while they generalb
along after their mothers, they s]
much time playing, either alon(
pairs, or threes, while the adults
feeding. Their games consist of (
ing and wrestling matches and cl
ing and swinging games, in which
youngster follows the route take
another. During the non-feeding hi
usually at midmorning after a boi
intensive feeding, or at any time
ing the heat of the day when fo(
abundant, the adults either settle c
in quiet little groups to groom
other or sit looking out over the f
doing absolutely nothing.
ONE prominent feature of chirr
zee social life is the abseni
any clear dominance hierarchy ar
males or females. Females were 1
observed to show dominance 01
male, and among the males, tho:
confident bearing and larger size
dominant in food competition. E
nance, did not, however, extend t
elusive rights over receptive fen
Quarrels were rare: during three
dred observation hours, only seve:
quarrels were seen, and none of
lasted more than a few seconds,
competition was the usual caui
strife. There was, however, som(
dence of leadership by large, conl
males: when they left a tree, the
chimpanzees followed. They woul
pear first at track crossings and \
soinetimes go back across the 1
against the direction of progress,
to bring up the rear. Also, whe
disturbed a band in the forest
they fled, such a big male would '.
times remain behind watching us
lessly from low down in a tree.
The age of sexual maturity c
easily be determined in the wile
evidence based on captive spec:
shows that males reach puber
seven to eight years, while female
menstruate between seven an(
years, averaging eight years, e
months. When a female is in oi
and her sexual swelling is at its h
nearby males are often attract
her, and several of them may i
her around. But we only rarel
INGINC MALE, top picture, can move more swiftly than the
thers shown transporting young, below. Speed and agility
(ifu-n the bases for chimpanzees' coalescence into groups.
served copulations, which occur far
less frequently than in baboons or
macaques, but more frequently, it
seems, than in gorillas.
As in most primates, the closest so-
cial bond is between a mother and her
offspring. During the first few months,
the infant clings tightly to its mother's
belly (cf. gorillas, where the mother
supports the infant with one arm, Na-
tural History, August-September,
1963). As it ceases suckling and be-
comes independent, the infant's early
efforts are directed at exploring the
immediate environment. By two years
of age it is already supplementing its
diet with leaves. At three years it can
swing by its arms. Whenever there are
two or more mothers together, the ju-
veniles wrestle, chase, kick each other,
and indulge in other strenuous play.
Periodically they return to the mother
for a while, often to suckle or to be
groomed. The way in which a mother
carries her young depends on its size,
the place, and the speed of travel. The
smallest infants cling to the mother's
belly and can suckle in this position.
Juveniles older than one year, but less
than three, are usually carried on the
belly through the trees and on the
back when the mother is moving along
the ground. The young also move
around independently when there is no
hurry and occasionally are carried by
females other than the mother. Juve-
niles over three years of age are not
normally carried through the trees, but
are carried on the mother's back when
she is traveling fast or crossing a road.
At other times they trot along behind
or near the mother. This continues
until they are five or six years old, and
a third of the mother's size. By then
she sometimes has a second infant, in
which case she carries the two, one on
the belly and one on the back. When a
mother wants to move off, she conveys
the idea to her infant either by look-
ing at it, or by stretching out one or
both arms toward it.
WE once saw a mother make a tree
bridge high above the ground
by pulling a branch from a second tree
to enable her juvenile to cross; she
herself swung over the gap on the
branch. At other times, it seemed that
a juvenile was left to fend for itself,
particularly if it was the first of the
group to spot us. Often it would then
begin to scream, but the mother and
other adults nearby did not investigate.
The chimpanzee makes a nest to
47
FORMS OF LOCOMOTION
Ground 5PP™ximate
Movement
Quadrupedal walk
Vertical climb
Bipedal walk
|Bipedal walk
Ivrith use of
Ground leap
JS.
Bractiiation
Characteristics
Typical quadrupedal limb
movements, with weight of
body's fore part supported
on knuckles; hind feet are
placed flat on ground; re-
laxed in confident animals.
Typical quadrupedal move-
ments; at one point all feet
are off ground.
Legs move forward alter-
nately while arms move
forward together.
Fastest run; it is used when
animal hurries to catch up
with others or is frightened;
limb movements are un-
clear.
Arms and long hands keep
secure grip on tree while
legs provide upward thrust;
feet are placed on side of
tree chimpanzee faces; big
toe is splayed to increase
traction.
I?arely used; arms may not
be swung in time with legs
but hang loosely down.
Independent arm and leg
movements; overhead
branches allow chimpanzee
to use its arms for added
support as it walks on a
branch.
Legs are swung forward
under chimpanzee and land
before arms do; e.g., over
ditches.
Animal uses its limbs mere-
ly to check its fall as it
drops from branch to
branch.
Arms are extended forward
to grasp a branch; whole
body is then swung across; Trees
used for moving from tree
to tree.
Hanging from a branch, ani-
mal moves along by means
of alternate arm move-
ments, swinging body tor-
ward, backward, and to each
-side in turn.
distance
Trees covered
Any
Ground
Maximum
seen,
9 paces
Trees 15 feet
6 feet
30-foot
leaps
10 feet
20 feet
Adult starts across a jungle road
employing the typical quadrupedal
sleep in at night — a behavioral c
acteristic that it shares with the o
great apes. First, the site is selectei
the basis of the availability of spr
blanches an inch or less in diam
The animal squats on a branch,
pulls other branches toward itself, ]
bieaking many of them. It traps t
under its feet and holds them in p
Then it turns around in situ, s
speak, intertwining the branche
some extent, and so makes the 1
nest structure. A final layer of 1
branchlets. picked around the nesi
or collected from a few yards awa
then added. The chimpanzee
climbs into the nest and inakes i
comfortable. It is now completely
den from the view of an obs€
standing on the ground— all one se
an arm or leg dangling over the £
NEW nests are ordinarily made
night, and we never found
dance that any nest was re-used
sleeping. However, one observer
seen frightened chimpanzees hid
an old nest (in the Maramaga
Forest). We once saw a mother
frightened by us, made a nest (
cially to hide in. Of the 259 nest
found, only two were on the groi
all the rest were in trees. Of the
ground nests, one was a large strm
made of masses of broad-leaved -g
and the other was made mainly
pithy shrub, with the addition of s
branchlets taken from nearby sapl
The commonest height (30 per ce:
the total number observed) was tj
to forty feet, but nests ^vere fouE
all levels, and 15 per cent were hi
than ninety feet. This indicates
while there is no fixed rule, chim
48
OP, employed by this adult male,
latively rare form of locomotion.
In quadrupedal run, animal's hands
and feet leave ground simultaneously.
Rapid run, with arms synchronized but
legs in a trot, propels another animal.
prefer to make their nests in the
rstory or lowest tree canopy, and
in the tops of relatively low sap-
Several reasons can be advanced
lis preference. First, at this height
Dpmost branches of saplings are
er and springy, easy to intertwine,
comfortable to lie on. Second,
is less disturbance from wind at
• levels than in the treetops. Third,
igs may provide a measure of
ction from leopards, which are
le to climb them without rocking
est and disturbing the chimpan-
they could creep silently up to a
built in a big tree,
opards do not, however, provide
at problem for today's Budongo
panzees. judging from available
nee. They are common in the
t, but on each occasion we en-
;ered them, they were either chas-
r eating one of the two species of
;rs (small African antelopes of
;enus Cephalophus) , which are
common in the area, and which
ntly are the leopards' preferred
Probably there is no systematic
ition by any animal on the Bu-
0 Forest chimpanzees. Man pro-
a threat in certain areas, but not
No interactions with elephants
observed. Once a chimpanzee vo-
id loudly as a buffalo charged
That leaves only the snakes. Of
, the only potential predator is
jython; one that I shot had a
;r in its stomach. Other snakes,
as cobras and the Gaboon viper,
;ommon in the forest and could
inly kill a chimpanzee in self-de-
I, but are too small to eat one. We
1 came across lone, young chim-
ees, wandering about some dis-
tance from any others, which suggests
that they are able to survive without
the protection of a group.
THE word "group" introduces the
most complex and perhaps the
most interesting aspect of chimpanzee
behavior in the forest. Our observa-
tions showed that there is no single,
distinct social unit in chimpanzee so-
ciety. Not only is there no "family" or
"harem" organization ; neither is there
a "troop" organization— that is to say,
no particular chimpanzees keep per-
manently together. On the contrary,
individuals move about at will, alone
or in small groups best described as
bands, which sometimes form into
large aggregations; they leave their
associates, if they want to, and join up
with new ones without conflict. This
surprising observation resulted from
careful identification of individual
chimpanzees as they came day after
day to feed on particular ripe fruit
trees, or as they crossed forest tracks.
In each case, we found that specific
known individuals were associating
with unknown ones, or known ones
with other known ones with which they
had not associated previously.
However, we did notice some con-
sistencies in band composition. We met
four distinct types of bands frequent-
ly: one consisted only of adult males;
one was made up only of mothers, their
offspring, and a few other females;
one contained adults and adolescents
of both sexes, not including mothers
with young; one contained all classes
of animals mixed together. The male
bands were the most mobile, often tra-
veling fast and noisily and covering
many miles in a day. Mothers' bands,
as one might expect, were the least
mobile, and tended to occupy a lim-
ited area for several days. Both of
these types were usually fairly small
(fewer than seven individuals), but
often would join others to form mixed
bands in trees that offered plentiful
fruits. The adult and adolescent bands
were more mobile than the mother
bands, but less so than the male bands.
None of the bands was permanent, but
we did notice one made up of four
adult males that were together fre-
quently during a four-month period.
An area that contains a year-round
supply of food trees may be called the
range of the chimpanzees inhabiting
that area. Two such ranges that we
knew, each about six to eight square
miles in area, contained about sixty to
eighty chimpanzees each. While the
activities of these animals were largely
confined to their home ranges, they
often crossed into the neighboring
range, and in the early stages of our
study it was not clear to us just how
separate the inhabitants of one range
were from those of another.
As the year went by, and one fruit-
ing species gave way to another, it be-
came obvious that the prime factor de-
termining the movements, location,
and group size of chimpanzees was
the distribution of the available food
supply. We started our study during
the fig season. There are many species
of figs, some of which have very small
fruits. The preferred ones, however,
all have large, juicy, yellow fruits when
ripe, and exude a copious flow of white
latex. During this season, animals in
bands of a dozen or so were dotted
about the forest, mainly along valley
sides where the fig trees s;row. Each
49
band fed on a giant, fruiting fig tree
and moved along the valleys from one
such tree to another. There followed
a distinct three-week period during
May when comparatively little fruit
was available. Then the chimpanzees
^vere scattered w'idely and foraged on
their own, or in twos and threes. They
kept lo^v in the saplings, moved fre-
quently, and were quiet.
WHEN we saw them, which was not
often possible, they were eating
leaves, especially of Celtis spp. In addi-
tion, examination of their feces showed
that they were subsisting largely on
leaves, as the feces were green and
contained no seeds. Later came the
Pseudospondias season. This fruit is
something like a wild damson plum in
appearance. It is almost an inch long,
smells of turpentine, and hangs in
dense blue-black clusters from gnarled
trees that are found only in areas of
swampy forest. At this time chimpan-
zees, attracted from surrounding areas
by the fruit, gathered in larger bands
that were strung out along the swamp
forest zones where Pseudospondias
was to be found. In due course, during
early July, their fruits, too, failed, and
the chimpanzees began switching their
attention to a new tree, Maesopsis,
which was just beginning to ripen.
This fruit is the size and shape of an
olive; it is black when ripe, and bitter
to the taste. (The wood of the Maesop-
sis tree has a distinct odor of cold,
cooked chicken ! ) The species occurs
in stands ivhere the forest is either re-
generating or is growing out into areas
previously occupied by grasslands.
During the Maesopsis season, chim-
panzees gathered in the trees' vicini-
ties in large groups of fifty or more.
The fluid social organization can
thus be seen as an adaptation to the
needs of large fruit eaters in a forest
environment. Let us contrast them with
gorillas. The latter are even larger and
need as much or more bulk to eat,
but they are herbivorous rather than
frugivorous and so are constantly sur-
rounded by food. As a result they can
wander along slowly, feeding as they
go. Groups of wandering gorillas may
spread out in the food quest, but there
is no need for them to split up into sub-
groups in order to exploit the food sup-
ply. With chimpanzees in the Budongo
Forest, this is not the case. There are
times when there is insufficient fruit
in an area to support chimpanzees un-
less they are very scattered, each one
50
foraging for itself or in company
with one or two others, at most. At
other times, food is concentrated in a
relatively small part of the total range,
and so it is necessary for all the chim-
panzees in the area to congregate. The
absence of permanent groupings may
be an adaptation to these conditions.
Food availability is communicated
by wild and piercing vocal choruses of
bands of excited chimpanzees that
have, perhaps, found a gloriously
full-ripe fig tree. Comparison with the
gorilla reveals the interesting fact that
the latter, ^vhich is far less vocal than
the chimpanzee, also has much smaller
ears. The chimpanzee chorus can carry
over a measured two miles. On hearing
cries from another part of the forest,
feeding chimpanzees will look over in
the direction of the calls, and pause
discernibly in their chewing, as if
thinking. Then, sooner or later, they
will start toward the direction of the
calls. As they move along the forest
floor, they announce their whereabouts
by repeated hooting and fierce drum-
ming on tree trunks, especially those
of the ironwood ( Cynometra alexan-
dri) . These expressive outbursts have
a most intimidating effect on humans
who witness them at close range.
LOCAL Africans are not frightened of
j the chimpanzees, however. One
word for the animal means "man of
the woods," and the chimpanzee is
tolerated as a neighbor living in the
same area. This neighbor does not
arouse anger, for it does not raid
crops. It is not regarded as a good
meal and, indeed, is seldom even seen.
Chimpanzee hunting is prohibited by
law in Uganda, so fortunately there is
no immediate danger to the continued
existence of these fascinating crea-
tures. There is only one cause for con-
cern. Many of the trees, such as the
fig, that provide the chimpanzees with
their staple foods during part of the
year, are at present being poisoned off
to make way for more economically
valuable timber species, such as ma-
hogany. This trend, if continued at the
present rate, could lead to a substantial
reduction of the Budongo Forest's
chimpanzee population (now between
one and two thousand) before the end
of the century. However, the Uganda
Forest Department is at present con-
sidering the possibility of excluding
figs from the poisoning program.
They, too, are quite concerned about
the preservation of these chimpanzees.
NT evidences burden borne by
nd phalanges of chimpanzee's
i. Thumb left no trace in mud.
ND NESTS, like one shown at right,
jre finds in study area. Treetop
are safer from jungle predators.
LE ADULT feeds on figs (Fiscus
sis), which are the primary food
mpanzees in the Budongo Forest.
(^^tW ' ' ^
m-i
Index to
^ext Spring's
Growth
jd system controls tree development
,ED FiDDLEHEAD, leaf produccf of
Osmunda cinnamoniea, is shown at
Leaf unrolls as growth proceeds
p of the innermost spiral. Many
ieheads, above, come up from root.
By Virgil Argo
FOR AESTHETIC, economic, and sci-
entific reasons, flowers, fruits,
seeds, leaves, and roots have long at-
tracted a goodly portion of man's in-
terest in the natural world. The dor-
mant buds that occur on leafless twigs
of deciduous woody plants have hardly
a single characteristic fetching enough
to attract the casual eye of the passer-
by, however, and these buds have been
largely ignored by all except botanists,
who find them of great value in identi-
fying species of woody plants in the
leafless state. It was in an effort to aid
students to make use of these highly
efficient keys to the species of woody
plants that we first prepared photo-
graphs of dormant twigs for study in
the classroom. Students were able to
see taxonomic characters, and to carry
with them into the field fully visualized
concepts, including knowledge of color,
relating to plant structures they had
never examined before in vivo. About
thirty different species of woody twigs
were photographed in an effort to illus-
trate the different structures referred
to in the keys.
Any twig with its bark, leaf scars,
buds, and bud scales is surprisingly
photogenic. The only cosmetic treat-
ment necessary is a gentle, careful
wash in soapy water to remove soot
and dust. Once this unnatural shell is
taken away, one finds attractive exter-
nal colors, textures, and structures.
If we want to inquire into internal
makeup, a simple razor blade dissec-
tion of any fair-sized bud will show it
to be a highly intricate and ingenious
device for the protection of a dormant
plant part that will, upon the onset of
proper growing conditions, provide
immediate and adequate leaf supply.
What one finds inside the bud is an
embryo branch, with stem, leaves, and
sometimes flowers already recogniz-
able. The basal leaves of this foreshort-
ened new branch have been modified
into tough scales that overlap each
other and give physical protection to
the tender tissues of the rest of the twig.
Often these bud scales are hairy or
woolly on the inner faces, and have a
waterproof varnish on the outside;
these two features prevent the living
tissue from being desiccated by dry,
windy weather or penetrated by rain.
If the downy fuzz so abundant inside
many buds is kept dry, it forms an effi-
cient insulating material to guard the
embryonic meristematic tissues against
too rapid and too frequent changes of
temperature during the winter.
The light and warmth of spring
stimulate the movement of food and
water through the capillary tissues of
the plant and cause growth to begin
in these embryonic tissues. The twig in
the bud swells and elongates, the bud
scales fall off, and in a remarkably
short time a young but fully formed
branch is visible. Along any branch
there is at least one bud in the axil of
each of last year's leaves, and each bud
has the ability to produce a new branch
with leaves of its own.
If all buds developed with equal
vigor, in a few years the tree would be-
come an astonishing, inefficient mass
of branches and leaves. Such confusion
is avoided through the exercise of a
priority present in the developing buds
and leaves. The bud at the tip of the
stem shows greatest growth vigor, and
the buds below it display vitality on a
descending scale, until after a certain
distance below the terminal bud we
find axillary buds that normally never
develop further.
LEAVES also are larger near the tip
J of the branch than at its base.
These gradients of development are of
utmost importance to the well-being of
the growing tree: they maintain a most
efficient mosaic of leaves in which
there is a minimum of overlapping that
could result in shading photosynthet-
ic tissue and rendering it ineffective.
This axial gradient of bud vigor
along a stem has long been recognized
53
by horticulturists, who have used it
when they deemed it advisable to alter
the natural shape of a woody plant
without causing functional damage.
When the tip of a twig with its terminal
bud is removed, the bud next below
the cut is raised to the priority of vigor
and growth capacity of the missing
terminal bud; the next lower buds are
also promoted in status. The new ter-
minal bud will of necessity send out
its branch at an angle to the original
stem axis. Judicious pruning can cause
a tree to assume an almost unlimited
number of forms: conical, cylindrical,
funnel-shaped, tubular, or espaliered.
A large book is required for descrip-
tions of the recognized and accepted
practices of pruning grapes, alone.
THE possibilities of improving
quantity and quality in fruit crops
are almost limitless. Vergil gave sage
advice in this matter in his Georgics.
Speaking of winter chores, he says:
"the active farmer reaches his care into
the coming year, and presses on to lop
the bared vine and trim it into shape
with the crooked tooth of Saturn
[pruning knife]." Trees produce, for
example, branches that range
slender switches up to sturdy j
Silkworms still require leaves
duced on young branches spro
from pollarded mulberry trees
some Mediterranean regions oner
sees a tree that has been left to
its own way unguided. If a tree m;
said to be dedicated to a certain
ral purpose, then pruning is its t
ing to assume a form in which i
best accomplish its work. It is
ished and kept in this growth
throughout its life, which may
span measured in centuries. Over
Pollarded trees, pruned with the intent to efEect heaw
branch production, yield a crop of switches, above. Same
(•-^ i- u-ril. hi-lou. lo li'>M'ri -liadf and permit gn
rapes on trellises fixed to trunks in Italian orch
in some European countries,
and branches are harvested as
r crops. Highly efficient pruning
ds have been used along the
;rranean for centuries.
E have been considering buds
with predetermined places of
, either at tips of stems or at the
along the stem. Somewhere in
istory of structural evolution
appeared another type of bud
ould develop from embryonic
anywhere on a stem or root if
oper stimulus was present. Such
:itious branching may be a nat-
unction of the plant's habit of
1 or it may be the result of me-
al injury or the attack of some
Drganism that causes abnormal
jrations of the abortive branches
re known most commonly either
[ERED pear trees near the Rhone
rown vertically flattened, with
suit that light spreads equally
bem, allowing dense blossoming.
train young fruit trees, right.
as witches'-broom, or as hexenbesen.
Pollarding is an extreme case of
heavy pruning to stimulate increased
branch production. In the mountains
of southern Italy one sees chestnut trees
that have been cut down flush with the
ground to permit a harvest of regular
crops of branches that sprout up from
the stumps. The branches range in size
from withes that are used in basketry
up to poles large enough to be used in
building construction. The redwood,
Sequoia sempervirens, will produce a
circle of new trees that sprout up from
the rim of a cut stump. Olive trees are
famous for their ability to produce
vigorous adventitious buds as long as
there is living cambium anywhere
under the bark. Around the Mediter-
ranean one sees venerable olive trees
producing full crops of fruit from nor-
mal, leafy tops made up of young,
vigorous branches. These have sprung
from ancient, gnarled, and fragmented
trunks that have been nurtured by
many generations of horticulturists.
In this region an olive tree is con-
sidered "young" for the first three
hundred years of its life!
The bud of the woody, deciduous
ite
55
plant as we see it today appeared late
in the evolution of the land plants.
First, it was necessary for leaves to
evolve and then for plants to be sub-
jected to environments in which cold
winters or dry periods interrupted the
growing season annually. The first,
and leafless, land plants lived under
conditions of annual temperature and
moisture supply much more equable
than those confronting the vast ma-
joritv of modern plants. Their pattern
of stem tip growth was an advancing
mass of embryonic tissue that divided
at intervals and gave rise to a di-
chotomously branched plant. The deli-
cate tissue of the growing tip was
exposed to the elements at all times,
but in the mild climate that then pre-
vailed the arrangement was adequate.
In the "whisk fern" we find one of the
few living survivors of this primitive
way of life. It is a small plant made up
of leafless green stems bearing spo-
rangia, and can be found in warm,
humid environments in tropical and
subtropical regions of the Western
Hemisphere. It is named Psilotum nu-
dum and is a living survivor of the
Psilophytales. which had their begin-
nings in the Devonian Period— about
350 million years ago.
THE overwintering bud was evolved
as a survival mechanism when
cold seasons appeared in the life of the
land plants. Another development that
has served to protect the complicated
structures of a developing young leaf
is found in the ferns, cycads, and a few
of the flowering plants. This is popu-
larly known as the "fiddlehead." The
new leaves first appear as spiral coils
of embryonic tissue. The leaf slowly
unrolls as the structural details are
formed in successive order from the
base. In many cases the fiddleheads
are thickly covered with a layer of
felted, woolly, epidermal hairs that
offer protection from temperature
changes and mechanical injury. One
genus of flowering plants— Dro^era,
the sundew, which traps insects on
sticky epidermal hairs— uncoils its
leaves from a similar circinate ar-
rangement of embryonic tissue.
Clearly, it took a long, long period of
evolutionary time for the perfection
of these remarkable survival devices.
Leafless twigs of eight species, eacb
having characteristic buds, are shown
enlarged about one and one-half times.
Kentucky Coffee Tree, Gymnocladus dioica
Chinese Tree
Winged Elm, Ulmus alala
Tulip Poplar, Liriodendron tuh
Black Ash, Fraxinus nigra
Sassafras, Sassafras alt
Dogwood, Cornus florida
56
Sumac, Rhus canadensis
r READY FOR THE SPACE and SCIENCE ERA! SEE SATELLITES, MOON ROCKETS CLOSE-UP
v',r-v4i;[e*iHM:[H
for FUN, STUDY or PROFIT
/lATICALLY SHOWS TIME, TIDES, POSI-
TION OF SUN, MOON, STARS
NEW SPILHAUS
SPACE CLOCK
19 DIFFERENT READ-
INGS AT A GLANCE
Startling scientific achievement, yet
completely practical and functional.
Designed for the space age by world
renowned scientist. Dr. Athelstan
Spilhaus, Dean of Technology, Uni-
3f Minnesota. Handsome conversation piece — con-
jp-to-date encyclopedia of the sky. The Spilhaus
ock has beautiful fruitwood case and 3 sky-blue
lends with decor of any home, oCBce, club room,
a, museum, display window, hotel, etc. Large dial
in position, daily sun rise and set, moon position.
hips of sun, moon and stars, sidereal or star
'ft dial shows local time. Right dial shows world
luding major U.S. cities and Universal (Green-
No. 1201-E SI50.00 -I- Fed. Excise Tax
I
3 in 1 Combination! Pocket-Size
50 POWER MICROSCOPE
nd 10 POWER TELESCOPE
(23
Useful Teleicope ind Microicope combined
In one amazing, precision Insirument- Im-
ptirted! No larger than a founiain pen.
Telescope la 10 Power. Microicope marni-
ncB 50 Times. Sharp focus at any ranee.
Handy for sports, looking at im&ll objecu.
JiiEi plain snooptnc-
Order Stock No. 30.05g-E S4.50 DOd.
Terrific Buy! American Made!
OPAQUE PROJECTOR
Projects illustrations up to 3" s 3%"
and enlarges them to 35" x 30" if
screen is 6^/^ ft. from projector ;
larger pictures if screen is further
away. No film or negatives needed.
Projects charts, diagrams, pictures,
photos, lettering in full color or
black-and-white. Operates on 115
6-ft. extension cord and plug included.
on 60 watt bulb, not included. Size 12" s 8" x
ie. Weight 1 lb., 2 oz. Plastic fase with built-in
I. 70.199-E S7.95 Postpaid
i' WITH A WAR SURPLUS
GIANT MAGNET
Up Under-Water T
! Profitable, tool Simply
5 lb. Magnet oui
:— retrieve outboard
anchors, other metal
'-Type Magnet has ter
rs of n ^ ....
. 70,571-E 5-lb. Magnet SI2.50 Pstpd.
I. 70,570-E 3'/2-lb. Lifts 40 lb S 8.75 Pstpd.
I. 70.572-E 7'/2-Ib. Lifts 175 lb $18.75 Pstpd.
I. 85.152-E lo^i-lb. Mannet
i50 lbs S33.60 FOB
f ERECT IMAGE LOW POWER
MICROSCOPE -5X, lOX, 20X
560.00 Value Only $19.95
Extremely sturdy with rack and pinion
focusing, color corrected optics, turn-
table microscope body for inclined view-
ing. Made from war surplus optical
$19.95 Postpaid
CRYSTAL GROWING KIT
sulfai
(clei
a sulfate (purple), potassium sodium tartrate
Dickel sulfate hexahydrate (blue green) or hepta-
(green), potassium ferricyanide (red), and copper
blue green).
I. 70,336-E S9.50 Postpaid
See the Stars, Moon, Planets Close Up I
3" ASTRONOMICAL REFLECTING TELESCOPE
Palomar Type! An Unusual Buyl
bee the Bings of Saturn, the
fascinating planet Mars, huge
craters on the Moon, Phases of
Venus. Equatorial mount with
lock on both axes. Aluminized
and over-coated 3" diameter
high-speed f/10 mirror. Tele-
scope comes equipped with a
60X eyepiece and a mounted
Barlow Lens. Optical Finder
Telescope included. Hardwood.
portable tripod. FREE with
Scope: Valuable STAR CHART
fv OF HEAVENS" plus "HOW
PE BOOK.
529.95 Postpaid
4'''4" Reflecting Telescope — up to 255 Power, all-metal
pedestal mount
Stock No 85 i05-E $79 50 F.O.B. Barrington, N.J.
Now . . . TAKE
PHOTOGRAPHS by
REMOTE CONTROL
Include yourself in group
pictures or take photos from
adjoining rooms and floors.
j Remote Control Camera Shut-
ter Release for all camera
speeds, incl. B. & T. Re-
lease consists of 2 cables— 19 ft. and 13 ft. long-
wound separately on pla'^tic spool. Use either cable oi
join for 32 ft length Eas\ to use — attach proper end
shuttei
Stock No. 50,227- E
bulb for shutte
57.00 Postpaid
AGES-OLD FOSSIL COLLECTIONS
Millions of years old I 3 full sets—
61) fanuhtit: plant and animal fossils
dll for S3.7o. EAllTU SCIENTIST
fossil. CARBONIFEROUS
SFT Brachipod. worm hurl, crinoid
coral, bryozoan. snail and clam,
sea urchin, pert!-
WAR SURPLUS ELECTRIC GENERATOR
Brand new Signal Corps Electric
up
Cost t
Stock
volts by
high impedance relays. Charge
ground and bring up night
crawlers for bait or study. 2
Llone north original price. Wt. 2 lbs.
. Govt $15
No. 50,225-E J4.95 Postpaid
type ger
mounted, with light.
Stock No. 30.365-E $9.95 Postpaid
THE WORLD OF DINOSAURS
ONE HUNDRED MILLION
YEARS AGO
In this set of monsters— the dino-
saurs that ruled the earth 100.-
000,000 years ago — you get 45
realistic models molded from unbreakable plastic. Collec-
tion includes the bronlhosaurus, dimetrodon. and others
from the earlier species: the tyrannosaurus and many
more from the final eons of the dinosaur rule. Fascinating
tions. Average size approximately 4" high. Kit includes
study for young and old; also novel as off-beat decora-
tions. Average size approximately 4" high. Kit includes
ferns, trees, caves and other areas of terrain plus an ex-
citing booklet Prehistoric Animals,
Stock No. 70.473-E $4.95 Postpaid
BLACK LIGHT MAGIC-GLOW KIT
"->^ " "''1*1 this Kit. you can collect fluores-
j£» cent rocks, paint with living light.
t*' wrue secret messages, learn invisible
detection methods, even make a fluor-
' — es(ent Christmas tree! Kit uses long-
wave blacklight. which is completely
harmless to eyes, but causes fluores-
.* *. cence in over 3.000 substances. In-
■^ r^ eludes Magic Glow Lamp, universal
jdn(jraior\ lamp stand. Invisible water paints and ink.
fJiiorescent crajon tracer powder, pen, 3 brusiies, specimens
nf fliinre'^cent rocks weriierite from Canada, fluoriie from
England, willemite from U.S.A. Plus boob of 40 expert-
ri
stock No. 70.256-E
SI 1.95 postpaid
rm^m DA2ZL
1 TUs sc
I I the twii
I ■, I rircular
I \ I GRATi:
^\ A 'n'° "I'l
^H^^ 4U grandes
i^^l^telt .^B beautlfL
fastuon
lustrous gold as well a
Write for complete list.
DA2ZL1NG DIFFRACTION JEWELRY
FOR MEN AND WOMEN
NOW AVAILABLE IN GOLD
This science-inspired jewelry glows with
inkling magic of rainbows. It uses
r patterns ot 1" DIFFKACTION
GRATING REPLICA to break up light
lU the rich, deep colors of nature's
grandest phenomenon. Incorporated into
beautiful jewelry, these exquit'
iilve
Other
liable
GOLD
0. I8I4-E
1827-E
I8I8-E
SILVER
No. 1704-E
I7I4-E
1729-E
liable.
S2.20
2.20
2.20
& Cuff Link Set
Stock No 70.223— E
our NEW BINOCULAR TO-
CAMERA HOLDER. Ideal for
long-range shots of wild life,
ships people, vistas. Camera
and binoculars attach easily.
Lse any binocular or monocu-
lovie Take color or black and
bright chrome finish.
LARGE SIZE OPAQUE PROJECTOR
Ideal for photographers, this low-cost
unit projects 3^ ft. sq. image at 6 ft.
— 7% ft. sq. image at 12 ft. Projects
photos, drawings, sketches, clippings,
any opaque copy up to 6" x 6" — larger
pieces in sections. Lenses are 2 plano-
conves, 3^" dia. mounted In oM."
barreL Projector is ll^^" high. I314"
wide. 5" front to back, pressed steel in
black wrinkle finish, bakelite handle,
ulbs — not included. Complete with side
platform to hold illustrations, 6 ft. elec. cord, heat resist
plate glass mirror.
Stock No. 8Q,066-E $42.00 Postpaid
BIRDWATCHERS SEE WITHOUT
BEING SEEN
The "one-way" mirrors described above have
always been fascinating, but their costs cuts
down their usefulness. Now Edmund Scienti-
fic has duplicated in a sturdy plastic film at
a fraction of their cost. Actually, as these
fiims cut down light transmission 70% as
compared to oO^i. or less for the mirrors,
useful. For example: you can build •
the sunny side of ■
to a window. Fasten a piece of this film 1
you'll be able to watch the birds from a
Stock No. 70.326.E a sheet 21" x 36"
' the '
ndow
WOODEN SOLID PUZZLES
12 Different puzzles that will stimulate
your ability to think and reason. Here
is a fascinating assortment of wood puz-
zles that will provide hours of pleasure.
Twelve different puzzles, animals and
geometric forms to take apart and reas-
semble, give a chance for all the family,
young or old, to test skill, patience and,
best of all, to stimulate ability to think
and reason while having lots of fun. Order
yours now.
Stock No. 70,205-E $3.00 Postpaid
SCIENCE TREASURE CHESTS
For Boys — Girls — Adults!
Science Treasure Chest — Extra-powerful
magnets, polarizing filters, compass, one-
way-mirror film, prism, diffraction grating,
and lots of other items for hundreds of
tlu'illing experiments, plus a Ten-Lens Kit
for making telescopes, microscopes, etc. Full instructions
Stock No. 70,342-E $5.00 Postpaid
Science Treasure Chest DeLuxe — Everything in Chest above
plus exciting additional items for more advanced experi-
ments including crystal-growing kit, electric motor, molec-
ular models set. first-surface mirrors, and lots more.
Stock No. 70.343-E $10.00 Postpaid
MAIL COUPON for FREE CATALOG _"|''
Completely New and Enlargetl-148 Pages-
Nearly 4000 Bargains
EDMUND SCIENTIFIC CO.,
Barrington, New Jersey
Please rush Free Giant Catalog E
Addre:
City,,,.
-,Zone State,
OR0r« BY STOCK NUMBtU .StNO CHICK OR MONtY OKDIK . SAJISf ACTION GUAKANTUD!
EDMUND SCIENTIFIC CCbarrington, new jersey
FROM
THE
INFINITE
KILFITT
LENSES
give you unique versatility
and remarkable quality!
■ Amazing Kilfitt Makro-Kilar lenses
permit you to focus from infinity to as
close as 2 inches from your subject.
These lenses are .examples of Kilfitt
design ingenuity and pioneering. Avail-
able in 40-mm. and 90-mm. focal lengths.
■ Unique Kilfitt Basic Kilar lenses can
be interchanged on more than 25 brands
of cameras (35-mm.and 2%x2%" still and
16-mm. and 35-mm. movie)
with a simple change of an
adapter or flange, or with a
reflex housing. Basic Kilars
range in focal length from
90 to 600 mm.
■ EveryKilfittlensOOmm.
and up) comes with a glass
test plate shot with the
specific lens, indisputable
proof of magnificent quality.
Ask your dealer
to show you the
Kilfi tt Basic
Kilar System
ayid how it works
with your own
cameras.
OTHER KILFITT ACCESSORIES
MACRO ADAPTERS-variable extension adapters that
permit the focusing range of the lens to be extended
without affecting focus at infinity.
GRIP-POD -perfect, folding "gun stock" for steadying
miniature and movie cameras when taking hand-held
exposures.
MINI-GRIP-sturdy pocket-size folding "gun stock" that
prevents camera shake when equipment is hand-held.
Send 250 for new large brochure on
Kilfitt Basic Kilar System, lenses
and other accessories.
Exclusive U. S. Distributor
ICI.I»rC3- PHOTO CORPORATION
NEW YORK, N.Y. 10010
About the Authors
Dr. Raymond L. Nace, the author of
"Water of the World." is Research Scien-
tist in the Office of the Chief of the Water
Resources Division, Geological Survey,
United States Department of the Interior.
Dr. Nace's time is devoted to research,
writing, and activities related to the pro-
posed International Hydrologieal Dec-
ade. He is a member of UNESCO's Ad-
visory Committee on Arid Zone Research
and has represented UNESCO at inter-
national meetings. In 1959 the Depart-
ment of the Interior presented Dr. Nace
with the Distinguished Service Award.
Greek coinage is the subject of Miss
Joan Fagerlie. Assistant Curator of Ro-
man and Byzantine Coins at The Ameri-
can Numismatic Society. Miss Fagerlie,
who became involved in numismatics
through an interest in ancient history,
spent 19.58-59 in Europe, principally in
Sweden and Denmark, gathering mate-
rial for a doctoral thesis on late Roman
and Byzantine solidi, gold coins first
minted under the Emperor Constantine.
Mr. Peter Gerhard based "Emperors'
Dye of the Mixtecs" on a paper he pre-
sented at a meeting of the International
Congress of Americanists that took place
in Mexico City in June and July of 1962.
Mr. Gerhard has traveled extensively
and is a serious student of native Indian
industries of the Americas.
How certain moths' ultrasonic hear-
ing helps them evade insectivorous bats
is outlined in "Night Fighters in a Sonic
Duel," by Dr. Kenneth D. Roeder. The
author is Professor of Physiology and
Chairman of the Department of Biology
at Tufts University. This article draws
heavily on material that Dr. Roeder orig-
inally presented in his book Nerve Cells
and Insect Behavior, Harvard University
Press, copyright 1963 by The President
and Fellows of Harvard College.
Dr. Vernon Reynolds and his wife
spent eight months in the Budongo Forest
observing the behavior of wild chimpan-
zees, which he describes in "The 'Man of
the Woods.' '■ Dr. Reynolds studied an-
thropology at University College. Uni-
versity of London. He has been a Fellow
at the Center for Advanced Study in the
Behavioral Sciences, and is writing a
book about the Budongo Forest chimpan-
zees, assisted by Mrs. Reynolds.
The role of buds in plant growth is
examined in "Index to Next Spring's
Growth," by Dr. Virgil Argo, recently
retired Associate Professor of Biology at
The City College of New York. Dr. Argo,
an entomologist, took the photographs
that illustrate his article.
BIRD SONGS
from the TROPICS
The Icji^endary Mii.sician Wren, a ti
virtuoso, the Black-winged Bellbird, I
Lance-tailed Manakin, the Comm
Potoo, the Gilt-lailed Sapphire — :
songs of 40 tropical American bii
recorded in Venezuela by Paul Schwa
and si)ectally chosen for their vitali
Produced by the Institute Xeolropic
•BIRD SONGS FROM THE TROPIC
,'!:i-l/3 rpni. Immediate delivery. .f7
Order from the
Laboratory of Ornitholt
Cornell University — Ithaca, New '
■^
Share the TMs
of Exploring f
outer space •
All DYNASCOPES, including this
superb RV-6, 6-inch available
on easy terms! s
Now it's easy to join the ttiousands of seri
amateurs. who have discovered the exciten
of exploring our mysterious universe. Your
joyment begins right from the start, yet
challenges and rewards go on for years!
it's a hobby that can be shared at modest c
Choose from a Full Range Of
DYNASCOPES^ 4 ' Starting at $49.<
Picking a telescope to fit your needs and j
pocketbook is simple when you selec
DYNASCOPE — the same instruments usee
more than 150 schools, colleges and obs
atories. Prices begin as low as $49.95,
your satisfaction is guaranteed by a ■
refund warranty.
FASCINATING GUIDE
YOURS FREE!
Read these valuable facts be-
fore buying any telescope. Mail
coupon or postcard for your
complimentary copy of this
helpful guide.
Criterion ivianufacturing Co.
331 Church St., Hartford 1, Conn.
® TM Registered U.S. Pat. Office
CRITERION MANUFACTURING CO.
Oept. NH-6, 331 Church St., Hartford 1,
Please send your free Telescope Guide.
Address.
City
NATURE IN
ROCK & MINERAL
iME YEARS AGO I had occasion to
visit a number of the early iron-
ice sites of northern New England,
in some cases to investigate the
;es of the iron ores that fed them,
ng such pleasant excursions was a
to Tyson, in Windsor County, Ver-
. There I poked and probed in the
y ruin of the Tyson Furnace, which
e early part of the nineteenth cen-
did a thriving business in iron; its
ialty was stoveplate castings.
the time of my visit, the name
n seemed of no particular signifi-
s, nor was there anything spectacu-
) be unearthed in the vicinity of the
urnace. Its ruin held to a familiar
rn: the massive, crumbling founda-
;tones were under trees, shrubs, and
; the surrounding dark soil was
ated with the carbon of hardwood
;oal ; there were blobs of glassy slag
delicate, swirling blue patterns;
By Paul Mason Tilden
lying about were lumps of discarded or
forgotten ore, leached and rotted with
the passing of the years.
But recently I was again confronted
by the name Tyson, during a reconnais-
sance of the old chromite mines
("chrome mines," as they are called
locally) of the "serpentine barrens" in
north-central Maryland and southeastern
Pennsylvania. Was there a connection
between the decayed iron furnace in the
tiny Vermont village and the chrome
mines of the serpentine outcrops? There
was, indeed. It turns out that Isaac Tyson,
of Baltimore, had not only owned and
operated the Vermont furnace, but was
also the operator— by purchase, lease,
or other arrangement— of every impor-
tant or promising nineteenth-century
chromite mine in the Maryland-Pennsyl-
vania complex of serpentine exposures.
In fact, he was very nearly the sole
supplier of the mineral for the entire
I^B
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H
rt^ '' '^."'-'^^^P^^^^l
^^^
"HfI^^^^^^^^^^I
m'V'
\- fSf^^W
^P^H
4^S
^^^^^^^^^H
,,'X'^ -'i^^WMPte
*!»■■'■'■'
.IlM^H
^mw^'-
lu^i^Sj^^^'^'i^^lH
^
P^
ilVE CHROMITE specimen, mined in
ce, contains flecks of disseminated,
talcose serpentine. Serpentine can range
in color from white to green or near black.
DO YOUR
BUGWATGHING
WITH A
HONEYWELL
PENTAX!
Watching a praying mantis
through the razor-sharp lens of a
Pentax camera may be so absorb-
ing that you'll forget to release
the shutter! For with a Pentax,
you see exactly what the film will
see — in sharp focus, with exact
composition and completely con-
trolled depth of field.
Mantes, praying or other-
wise, and most other insects,
like to pose for Pentax pictures.
(Birds, animals, and flowers do
too.) For any type of photog-
raphy, you will find a world of
pleasure in the versatility and de-
pendability of a Pentax.
The Pentax Hla (f 2, 55mm
lens; speeds to 1/500) is $169.50.
The H3v(f, 1.8, 55mm lens; speeds
to 1 1000; integral self-timer)
is $229.50.
Write for full color brochure to Ron Hub-
bard (209) Honeyuell Denier 10, Colo.
Honeywell
PHOTOGRAPHIC PRODUCTS
59
CLEOPATRA AGE JEWELRY
Tubular shaped faience beads (4th Cent. B C.-3rd
A.D., The CLEOPATRA Age), are now available
from recovered caches I Securely restrung, these
necklaces are over 2 feel (each bead approx. 'A").
Also wearable as bracelets! Their unusual beauty
tastefully compliments casual or formal attire. Give
these exotic Ancient beads as perfect gifts with
universal appeal. The collector will treasure these
stimulating pieces. Send today for your choice bead
necklaces ... SEE ageless Beouty, FEEL true An-
tiquity, POSSESS an Ancient Treasure from historic
people lost in time !
Necklace of NILE Blue-Green Faience Beads $12.50
Necklace of Various Colored Faience Beads 15.50
FREE: Elegant display case with each necklace
and parchtnent certificate of authenticity!
Prices include postage and tax. Money
Back Guarantee.
fmAmmnvcfijnoG
32 pages ilJustratmg: Baflh Axes, Swords, Roman
Glass, Dolls, Masks, Poffery, Coins, Figurines, &
more! PLUS: color card of Ancient Egyptian
Jewelry. Every intellectually curious person will
want to receive this catalog, write today!
ALADDIN HOUSE Ltd.
Dept. N-IB 52 Fifth Ave., N. Y., N. Y. 10036
VlfANTED
10 VENTURESOME TRAVELERS
Luxury Limousine Coach with Leader-Driver and
Tour Hostess going West to So. Dakota, Wyoming,
Colorado. 15-day and 22-day round-trips with
camping, walking and climbing, birding, horse-
back riding, sightseeing, photography and adven-
ture. All Expense Basis.
43. June 6 to 27. Grand Circle Camping-Sight-
seeing Tour. S575 per person. A maximum scenic
adventure through So. Dakota; Badlands, Black
Hills, Mt. Rushmore. Then Wyoming; the Big Horns,
Medicine Bow and Teton Ranges including all Yel-
lowstone and Jackson Hole Country. In Colorado;
the highest Rockies in wildflower time. A proven
route of outstanding splendor.
44. July II to 25. Compact Circle Camping and
Sightseeing Tour. $495 per person. Similar to June
Trip, #43. Less leisure, some side trips omitted.
Much of what's best in the West for a first tripper.
45. August 8 to 29. Wyoming Wind River Wil-
derness, Combination Comping & Pack Trip. S665
per person. Three weeks of adventure. Badlands,
Black Hills, Big Horns, 11 days in the Wind River
Wilderness far from tourists, close to Gannett Peak,
glaciers, surrounded by scenic grandeur, accom-
panied by your own horse for use ot will while
encamped. A 2-day ride going in, 1-day outbound.
Activities all superb but optional; Walking, climb-
ing on mountain, glacier or valley plain. Fishing,
Riding, Photography, Painting, Nature Studies (or
bring your flute). A tip-top Trip, memorable forever.
46. Sept. 5 to 25. Colorful Colorado Concentrate.
$575 per person. A camping-sightseeing zigzag
from North-east to South-west through the highest
Rockies, along the Continental Divide from Estes
Park (Pocky Mtn. Natl. Pk.) to Mesa Verde Natl.
Pk., including the San Juan and Sangre de Cristo
Ranges at the height of Golden Aspen time.
All camping equipment is provided including per-
sonal pocks, 2-person tents, down-filled sleeping
bags, air mattresses, utensils, food (and plenty),
plus the cooking, the know-how, fcnow-where, the
responsibi/ity and experience.
Write at once for detailed itinerary, modus oper-
MURRAY deCAMP SPEAR, Director
^lie (^oinpanij ot i/ouat
711 Valley Road, Mahwah, N. J.
6o
world between the years 1828 and 1850.
In Isaac Tyson's day, the element
chromium— for which the mineral chro-
mite was, and still is, the only commer-
cial source— was used almost exclusively
as a constituent of chemical compounds.
Lead chromate, for example, was the
"chrome yellow" of the paint trade. Po-
tassium bichromate was a powerful ox-
idizing reagent for the laboratory.
Chromium compounds were widely used
in the ceramics industry as decorative
pigments. Various chromium chemicals
then, as now, were used in cloth-dyeing
and leather-tanning; in its oxide form,
chromium has long been the basis for
bricks and the linings of high-tempera-
ture furnaces.
Stainless Steel Days
TOD.w, more than half of the nation's
total consumption of chromium is
connected with the production of so-
called stainless steels. There are many of
these steels, each designed to meet some
special need; in general, such needs are
for high-strength metals that will with-
stand extreme conditions of temperature
or corrosion. Jet-engine components, gas
turbines, and spacecraft propulsion units
require stainless steels immune to the
effects of high temperature; tanks and
piping used to store or transport power-
ful, chemically active liquids and gases
demand great quantities of the metal.
Steels of this kind, built around a basic
alloy of iron carbide, chromium, and
nickel may require the addition of other
elements such as cobalt, columbium,
tantalum, aluminum, tungsten, or copper
to meet specialized requirements.
The uses of chromium that are most
familiar to the public include the
chrome-plating of various household
utensils and plumbing fixtures, as well
as stainless steel cutlery; the metal is
a toughener in the high-speed drill bits
used by the man of the house in his elec-
tric drill; its use in the plating of those
ever changing stripes and streaks that
distinguish modern automobiles must be
chromium's most renowned role.
As a mineral, chromite is not spec-
tacular to the eye. In theoretical compo-
sition it would be a straight chromate of
iron, but as found in nature small per-
centages of aluminum and magnesium
replace some of the iron. Mere visual
inspection of field specimens may easily
lead the unwary to a confusion with the
common mineral magnetite. Magnetite is
black and, of course, magnetic. Chromite
is about the same shade of black and—
unfortunately for the beginning collector
—is also occasionally inclined to be some-
what magnetic. Both minerals, when
found as crystals, ordinarily occur as
octahedrons, sometimes of very perfect
form. Both are of about the same specific
gravity (in the neighborhood of 5.0. or
quite heavy) and are of about the same
High-grade amphibole asbestos of "c
fiber" type commonly fills small fiss
hardness (around 5^2 on the ]
scale). A streak-plate, which can
made from the "wrong," or ungla
side of a broken bathroom tile, is a g
help in field identification; chro:
yields a brown streak, while that of r
netite is ordinarily a dull black. C
mite and magnetite are, in fact,
close mineralogical relations. Both
long to the spinel group, which is
divided into spinel, the aluminatt
magnesium; magnetite, an oxide of ii
and chromite, the chromate of iron.
Piedmont Bonanza
CHROMITE deposits in northeas
Maryland and southeastern P
sylvania occur in a rather narrow
of ancient, metamorphosed rocks
curves gently to the northeast arc
the straggling indentation of Chesapt
Bay, in Maryland, and goes on to t(
the northernmost part of Delaware,
tinning into the vicinity of Philadelf
The total length of this chromite-bea
segment, which is composed of Pre(
brian and perhaps early Paleo
quartzites, schists, marbles, and
canic "greenstones," is about 160 m
It is no wider than 40 miles at any pi
The eastern border of this so-ca
Piedmont Upland is the Fall Line, w!
the younger sediments of the Atla
Coast province lie over the top of
vastly ancient crystallines; to the
of the belt there are various Paleo
limestones and marbles, as well as s'
and sandstones of Triassic age.
The curving belt of Precambrian n
of the Piedmont Upland contains nui
ous elongated masses of serpentin
rock type which is essentially a hyd
silicate of magnesium— representing
metamorphosed remnants of anc
ultrabasic intrusives; magmas crea
rocks like pyroxenite. dunite, and ]
dotite, rich in magnesium and iron i
erals, and poor in acid components
ctures in the serpentine rocks of the
and-Pennsylvania chromite fields.
Magnetite mined in the serpentine belt of
upper Piedmont region almost always
assayed some small amount of titanium,
in magmatic segregation, like chromite.
z and certain of the feldspars.
3cted with these serpentine masses
)ncentrations of chromite and mag-
; in some of the associated quartz-
granitic pegmatites, soda feldspar
massive corundum are present,
faults in the serpentine are often
lied by asbestos of the amphibole
y, and sometimes by the carbonate
gnesium known as magnesite.
; serpentine itself is an interesting
with its typical "greasy" feel to
luch; its color ranges, through the
is outcroppings, from buff and light
to emerald green, dark green, and
. A variety of rich green rock,
jd with "stringers" and veinlets of
e, has been quarried here and there
! district for nearly two centuries,
old as an ornamental stone under
ime of "green marble" or "serpen-
narble."
ommercially speaking there can be
objection to the term serpentine
le, but mineralogically it is a mis-
r and is quite misleading. Marble
ystalline rock composed essentially
Icium carbonate or a mixture of
im and magnesium carbonates;
itine, as noted above, is a hydrous
esium silicate. A marble containing
ntine is properly known as ophical-
rhe unfortunate expression serpen-
larble is not wholly confined to the
n of trade. It may have originated
Dr. A. A. Hayes, onetime State As-
of Massachusetts. In discussing the
ntines of Vermont in the Vermont
gical Survey, 1861, Dr. Hayes said:
iew of . . . chemical composition
. . physical characters, I propose
his rock, quarried for ornamental
)ses, be called serpentine marble.")
s interesting to note that the ser-
le areas under discussion can easily
tinguished by the rock and mineral
tor. The soil of the Piedmont Up-
s generally rich, and the farms and
woodlands fertile. But in the case of
terrain that is underlain by serpentine,
the soil is saturated with minerals rich
in magnesium and lacking in the potash
and carbonate minerals and hence is
exceedingly thin and poor. Such areas
are quite appropriately called the ser-
pentine barrens. Their appearance today
is probably pretty much as it was in the
time of Isaac Tyson. Writing about the
barrens, an author named H. H. Hayden,
Esq., said in 1814 that "the mind seems
involuntarily to feel the impulse of mel-
ancholy. ... A gloomy silence pervades
around, while every road on the serpen-
tine range bears the most decided marks
of sterility. . . ."
Chromite Kings
THIS, then, provides a background for
the discovery, between the years 1808
and 1810, of chromite in the United
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States. It was no doubt the first im-
portant discovery of large commercial
quantities of the mineral anywhere in
the world. It is difficult to discuss "first
discoveries" beclouded by the lapse of
many-score years, by insufficient records,
or by hearsay. For instance, one promi-
nent American geologist states that the
first commercial discovery of chromite
was made in Norway in 1820, and the
second in Maryland in 1827. These dates
are obviously in error. Isaac Tyson was
very probably mining chromite in Mary-
land by 1811. and had actively begun to
build his chromium empire by 1817.
There must also have been early com-
mercial sources of chromite in Europe.
The locale of the first chromite dis-
covery in America was in the Bare Hills,
just north of the city of Baltimore. To-
day, the area is almost a part of the city
itself, although still beyond its official
limits. The discovery is credited to an
Englishman by the name of Henfrey,
who had been an employee of a chrome-
pigment manufacturing plant in Eng-
land (which must already have had some
reliable source of chromite). Henfrey
knew chromite ore when he saw it. Isaac
Tyson was at the time spending the
summer with his father, Jesse Tyson, at
the family estate in Bare Hills. Isaac who
had started in business with his father
as a grain merchant in Baltimore, had
Mr. Tilden, author and editor, writes
regular columns for this magazine both
on rocks and minerals and on current
conservation legislation in Washington.
at one time been an apothecary's ap-
prentice, and possessed a keen interest
in chemistry. Henfrey drew Tyson's at-
tention to the ore, and the latter became
deeply interested in its possibilities. The
Bare Hills deposit, which was in a small
serpentine mass, was opened— perhaps
by Tyson himself— sometime before 1811,
and the chromite was reduced to lead
chromate for shipment to a Philadelphia
paint factory. There it was used in manu-
facturing paint for chairs and signs.
This was the birth of Tyson's near-
monopoly in the world's market for
chromium chemicals in the early nine-
teenth century. He searched out further
deposits of the mineral along the length
and breadth of the belt of serpentine
outcrops in the Piedmont Upland. Com-
bining his own discoveries with a sense
of business that allowed him to let others
make discoveries for him, Tyson, by
1828. had gained control of the world's
supply of chromite. His Wood Chromite
Mine, almost on the Maryland-Pennsyl-
vania line— opened in 1828— was a bo-
nanza, and alone supplied most of the
world's chromite needs for several years.
Not all of his mine purchases and le
were good ones, as might be expecl
his record books show that some of tl
were "of no account," or "of no av;
In 1845. Isaac Tyson and his son J
(old Jesse's grandson) establishei
plant known as "Jesse Tyson and C
pany" in Baltimore. It assured a fai
monopoly on the chromium-chemica
dustry in the United States for the
lowing forty years. Isaac Tyson diei
1861, and six years later his four i
incorporated the Tyson Mining C
pany, and extended their interests
far afield as California, where chroi
was being discovered along the ser]
tine belts of the Mother Lode cour
The Tysons sold their chromite-trea
works in Baltimore in 1902. and ret
from business. The plant is still open
by a nationally known chemical and
corporation, which now imports its
All told, the chromite productioi
the Maryland and Pennsylvania ser]
tine bodies has amounted to perl
350,000 tons, of which a small perc
age has been won as "placer chrom
from the streams that flow from,
across, the barrens. There have beer
ports that the total output of the i
may have been in the neighborhooi
half a million tons, but— even allov
for the never-recorded production
obscure or very small mining operat
...see it yourself!
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62
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a figure is probably questionable.
s interesting that spectroscopic
es of cliromite samples from a
r of the Piedmont Upland mines
minute traces of several unex-
elements. Among these are zinc,
nese, cobalt, vanadium, zirconium,
a, and the very rare scandium,
um's existence had been pre-
by the Russian scientist Mende-
i the basis of his periodic table of
ments several years before it was
;red by Nilson in 1879.
the mineral collector, there are still
50od things to be uncovered on the
of the old chrome mines of the
tine belt. Aside from handsome
lens of the chromite ore itself,
ite finds might include colorful
ium antigorite of pink or lavender
tie semiprecious variety of serpen-
Ued williamsite, in its shimmering,
icent emerald green; tourmaline;
;rerite, which is a purplish, chro-
variety of the mica-like mineral
e; genthite, a hydrous magnesian
; in which some of the magnesium
iced by nickel; or zaratite, a basic
carbonate that sometimes occurs
11 veins in the more massive lumps
)mite. Well-mannered mineral col-
always, of course, request permis-
property owners before invading
e of an old mine or mine dump.
jRAL History, Volume LXXII
he annual index for Natural
ISTORY, Volume LXXII (Jan-
ary through December, 1963)
Lay be obtained by writing to:
INDEX
'ican Museum of Natural History
9 Street at Central Park West
New York, New York 10024
ERRATA
sentence on page 24, column 1
mber, 1963) should have read:
It Mycenae, the city of Agamem-
it Pylos, the city of Nestor; and
issos, the city of Idomeneus— three
; Homeric heroes." The libation
(page 24) is Dictaean. Moses re-
tire Law in Exodus, and Africa
nitted from the Phoenician colony
page 27).
St details the photographer, artist.
;r source of
illustrations, by page.
tee Boltin
26-27-Peter Gerhard
h Sedacca
28-29-Dcnald Cordry ex-
rich Hartmann,
cept 28, left-Muriel Ries
29-bottom-AMNH after
rtment of the
Peter Gerhard
lice of the
30-31-Lee Boltin
Engineers
32-39-Kenneth D. Roeder
Geological
40-Mount Wilson and
Palomar Observatories
MNH after
42-Helmut Wimmer
t. Nace
43-Sky Map, AMNH
ography flown
44-51-Vernon Reynolds
^avy for U.S.
except diagrams, 46-48-
al Survey
AMNH after Vernon
Geological
Reynolds
52-56-Virgil Argo
1 Hartmann,
59-AMNH
50-Paul Mason Tilden
ee Boltin
61-AMNH
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63
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Additional Reading
WATER OF THE WORLD
Conservation of Ground Water.
H. E. Thomas. (Sponsored by The Con-
servation Foundation.) McGraw-Hill,
N.Y., 1951.
Water Facts for the Nation's Fu-
ture. W. B. Langbein and W. G. Hoyt.
The Ronald Press Company, N.Y., 1959.
A History of Land Use in Arid Re-
gions: Arid Zone Research, XVH.
edited by L. Dudley Stamp. UNESCO,
N.Y., 1961.
Water: U.S. Department of Agri-
culture Yearbook. 1955.
"Water," Roger Revelle. Scientific
American, VoL 209, No. 3, pages 92-108;
September, 1963.
MONIES OF ANTIQUITY
Greek Coins. C. T. Seltman. Methuen
& Company, London, ed. 2, 1955.
Museum Notes, a journal of The
American Numismatic Society. N.Y.,
is published annually and covers all
fields of numismatics.
EMPERORS" DYE OF THE
MIXTECS
Mexico South: The Isthmus of
Tehuantepec. M. Covarrubias. Alfred
A. Knopf, N.Y., 1946.
American Seashells. R. T. Abbott.
D. Van Nostrand, Princeton, 1954.
NIGHT FIGHTERS IN A SONIC
DUEL
The Electrical Activity of the
Nervous System. M.A.B. Brazier. Mac-
millan, N.Y., ed. 2, 1960.
Listening in the Dark. D. R. Griffin.
Yale University Press, New Haven, 1958.
Echoes of Bats and Men, D. R. Grif-
fin. Doubleday and Co., N.Y., 1959.
(Paperback.)
"The Detection and Evasion of Bats
by Moths." K. D. Boeder and A. E. Treat.
American Scientist, Vol. 49. pages 13.5-
148; 1961.
THE "MAN OF THE WOODS"
Animal Behavior. J. P. Scott. Uni-
versity of Chicago Press, Chicago. 1958.
Reprinted in paperback by Doubleday
and Co.. N.Y., 1963.
Chimpanzees. R. M. Yerkes. Yale
University Press, New Haven, 1943.
INDEX TO NEXT SPRING'S
GROWTH
Plant Anatomy. K. Esau. John
Wiley & Sons, Inc., N.Y., 1953.
Plant Morphology. A. W. Haupt.
McGraw-Hill, N.Y., 1953.
The Standard Cyclopedia of Horti-
culture. L. H. Bailey. Macmillan, N .Y .,
1930; Vol. 3, pages 2817-2822.
Introduction to Plant Anatomy.
A. J. Fames and L. H. MacDaniels.
McGraw-Hill, N.Y., 1947.
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h your family or a few appreciative
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Specialists in fine art photography trav-
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Natural Histor
Incorporating Nature Magazine
THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICA!^ MUSEUM OF NATURAL HIS!
Vol. LXXIII
FEBRUARY 1964
Philip C. HammoTK
ARTICLES
ROSE-RED CITY OF PETRA
ORNAMENTAL EQUINES
FISHES AND CLIMATES C. Lavett SmitI
COLOR CHANGE: CHAMELEON CAMOUFLAGE Herndon G. Dowlini
THE HAWAIIAN MONK SEAL Dale W. Ria
AN "ANTLERED" GROTESQUE Lars Holmber}
SNOW EATERS OF ALBERTA Deryk Bodingtoj
DEPARTMENTS
REVIEWS
SKY REPORTER
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
NATURE AND THE CAMERA
SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL READING
Alfred Kidder L
Thomas D. Nicholsor
David Lintor
CIRCULATION MANAGER
Joseph Saulina
COVER: This is the Khazneh Far'un— the Treasury— in the ancient city of I
carved, like other buildings at the site, out of the roseate rocks that have
thirty centuries of recorded travel in this part of Jordan. From the time of M
to whose wand is attributed a cleft in the mountains, to modern tourists, v
interest in the area provides an important source of revenue to the country,
after wave of peoples have lived in the area and have left their own distin
marks. Its histoi7 is a significant one, and its description begins on pag
The photograph was taken by George Holton who visited Petra this past
The American Museum is open to the public without charge every d:
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helps make this possible. The Museum is equally in need of suppo
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Publication Office: The An
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The opinions expressed by authors are their own and do not necessarily re
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r. Subsi
Ne'
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nd illustrations submitted
ae responsibility for their
t The American Museum's
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Making Better Things For You
Reviews
resh approach to man's ^^
cultural background
By Alfred Kidder 11
RY OF Mankind, Volume I: Pre-
{Y AND THE BEGINNINGS OF ClVILI-
(, by Jacquetta Hawkes and Sir
rd Woolley. Harper and Row,
; 873 pp., illus.
i is the first of a proposed six-
lume history of mankind to be
had under the aegis of the Liter-
al Commission for a History of
ific and Cultural Development of
nd. The Commission is a part of
CO, and the book is copyrighted
It agency. Miss Hawkes and the
r Leonard Woolley were commis-
to cover more than a million
of human history from its begin-
to the end of the Bronze Age at
1200 B.C. This formidable task was
;d, as the Commission's full title
explicit, toward the production
istory stressing scientific and cul-
development rather than that of
al institutions. For this first
e— covering a period ending only
f after the invention of writing—
e, which includes political organ-
[, must be inferred from archeo-
1 data. This means that every scrap
ormation on the social organiza-
f our remote Stone Age ancestors
ived from the imperishable ob-
hey made and used, and from our
;dge of the climatic, faunal, and
conditions under which they
Bypassing political history at this
is no real problem, but in later
es it may be most difficult to sep-
the social, political, legal, and
ristic aspects of culture,
lime I of this history is thus a com-
isive treatment of a very long and
)road range of prehistory with a
scientific and cultural history de-
from the early writings of the
e East. The first part, entitled
istory," begins with a chapter on
nvironmental conditions of the
5cene Epoch and another on hu-
ivolution. The latter is apparently
largely on the ideas of Le Gros
; it was written before the appear-
if C.S. Coon's The Origin of Races,
oes not become involved with his
Aiat controversial hypotheses. Miss
Hawkes then outlines the history of the
Paleolithic and Mesolithic cultures of
the world, including the Paleo-Indian
of the New World. The latter is surpris-
ingly up to date for a book such as this,
the actual production of which must
have been long delayed between manu-
script submission and publication.
Following the historical chapter there
are topical discussions of the develop-
ment of the human mind, the origins of
speech and language, society, material
culture (with an appendix on the prin-
cipal types of tools and weapons), and
of art and religion. This scheme is re-
peated for the Neolithic. Much the same
pattern is followed by Woolley for the
Bronze Age, with topical discussions of
urbanization of society, social structure,
techniques (including arts and crafts).
and economy. The sciences— mathe-
matics, astronomy, calendrics, medicine,
and surgery— are also treated, as are
religion and the fine and applied arts.
Both parts of the book have excellent
photographs and drawings.
As an Americanist with no firsthand
experience in Old World archeology, I
am not competent to evaluate the infer-
ences drawn from the enormous amount
of archeological evidence taken into ac-
count by the authors. Other reviewers
have been critical of certain of Miss
Hawkes's interpretations of the Neo-
lithic and of Woolley's reconstruction
of Bronze Age culture in the Middle
East. Nevertheless. I feel this work is a
great deal more useful than recently
published collections of articles on
archeology by many authors, in spite of
the richness of their illustrations. (Ex-
amples are The Dawn of Civilization and
its sequel. Vanished Civilizations of the
Ancient World, both published by Mc-
Graw-Hill.) Such volumes often suffer
from the lack of continuity and multi-
plicity of authors, a situation Sir Leon-
ard Woolley well appreciated. In connec-
tion with the vastness and complexity of
the task confronting him, he remarked
in his preface: "My reason for attempt-
ing it is that in this far-reaching study
of civilization's progress, unity of view
is more important than detailed analy-
sis, and a volume of essays by different
Beautiful, authoritative
bool^s on
nature's wonders
THE NATURAL HISTORY
OF NORTH AMERICAN
AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES
James A. Oliver, Director, American
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America, 86 illustrations provide
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AMERICAN SPIDERS
Willis J. Gertsch, American Museum
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AMERICAN SEA SHELLS
R. Tucker Abbott, Academy of Nat-
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Arthur A. Allen, formerly of Cornell
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STREET-
CITY_
_ZONE
ilists could hardly fail to lack just
alance and harmony demanded by
hole, of which each of these sub-
is but a part." With this I heartily
but the editorial handling of the
e by the Commission has intro-
at least some of the disharmonies
lir Leonard wished to avoid. Both
!lawkes"s and Sir Leonard's manu-
s were submitted to all the Na-
Commissions for UNESCO and
nerous specialists. Comments were
incorporated in the texts or in
at the ends of chapters, with the
entators identified by name. The
rs themselves had already con-
a number of specialists of their
;hoosing, and it would seem that
; interests of speedy publication
this profusion of opinions, much
rom Soviet archeologists stressing
St interpretations, could well have
)mitted. Some critics feel that this
0 way to write history and that it
the work unimaginative and dull,
lid not go so far as this. Miss
es, as those who have read The
know, writes so well that even her
ptions of stone tool types are a
ire to read. Woolley also wrote
rell indeed. This volume should, I
B, prove interesting and instruc-
ispecially if the notes are skipped
lose interested in human history
its very beginnings.
'.idder is an archeologist and is
ate Director of the University
m, the University of Pennsylvania.
AST Horizon, by Raymond F. Das-
The Macniillan Company, $6.95;
<.,illus.THE Place No One Knevs?;
Canyon, by Eliot Porter, edited by
Brower. Sierra Club, $25.00; 170
rot a pretty picture, this of a world
)eople who. while unwilling to curb
Bcreative urge, continue to exploit
irth's surface with a conflicting
■f of cleverness and stupidity, of
and foresight, of slavery to habits
mdrous scientific achievement. The
iult of this combination is that we
?ays in debt to the future and faced
he grim possibility that the survi-
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on may affect their dispositions.
Ii a furtive look over his shoulder
scientific brethren, Mr. Dasmann
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'orizon a "dispassionate, objective
)int." So far as the reader is con-
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he frankly announces that he does
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if life of which he has grown fond,
nn precisely pinpoints the reason
he has managed to write, from his scien-
tific background and his apparently wide
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loss that lovable and adventurous things
should be going out of the world.
And what is the solution? Dasmann
knows of nothing beyond an over-all
planning that may do something where
piecemeal planning cannot. He is not
sanguine even of that chance. In such a
dilemma, perhaps the reviewer may dare
a philosophic simplification of its basic
cause. The Greek sage Cleobulus gave as
his golden rule: "Nothing in excess."
The abuse of the land partly stems from
the tragic human illusion that if a little
of something is good, a lot is necessar-
ily better. To that fallacy nature says No!
While the Dasmann volume puts major
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the land surface that man modifies
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satisfaction of human health, both physi-
cal and spiritual. These heritages are
likewise disappearing before our eyes. A
poignant example of the spendthrift mak-
ing havoc of his patrimony comes to us
from the Sierra Club of San Francisco:
a sumptuously beautiful volume that
chants a threnody for the incomparable
Glen Canyon of the Colorado River. Even
those buyers who look askance at the
waxing number of books of large format
and high prices will admit, even if grudg-
ingly, that in this instance the photo-
graphs of such a master as Eliot Porter,
supported by a sensitive and almost de-
votional text, and given final integrity
through the craftsmanship of typogra-
pher and lithographer, may be an excep-
tion. It had to be done that way, if at all.
Glen Canyon: hail and farewell! The
title of the book says that it was a place
nobody knew. Actually, it was known to
few: this strange slit in the earth's crust,
with forbidding walls, mysterious side-
canyons and rock-forms that Eliot Por-
ter's camera has been able to make vocal
to our nobler selves, was difficult of ac-
cess. True, not many Americans knew of
its existence, or ever would have looked
upon its beauty and pondered on its won-
der. But a few professional modifiers of
geography knew it only too well, and
now the impounded waters are deepening
over it. You can hear them saying. "What
a wonderful place for a hydroelectric
power dam!"
This book puts us on notice that many
other precious spots are threatened by
the same fate. It will require more than
poetic rapture to thwart the despoilers.
It takes also those of blunter speech and
tougher fiber, who know the language of
politicians and can study and try to meet
the danger before the knell is tolled.
Freeman Tilden
Author and Conservationist
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The bark paintings are
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THE UNUSUAL ART OF THE AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINE-A TOUCH OF DISTINCTION FOR YOUR HOME OR OFFICE.
e dramatic story
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I WALK
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The House Sparrow, by J. D. Summers-
Smith. Wm. Collins Sons & Co., $5.00;
269 pp., illus.
THE "New Naturalist" series of spe-
cial volumes dealing with the native
flora and fauna of Britain, including such
widely quoted volumes as Fisher's The
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information that he has marshaled on
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species, including its unique relation-
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the book achieves such a prodigious ef-
fect, it is highly recommended as another
example of the fine contributions that
have been made by amateurs to the
science of ornithology.
Wesley E. Lanyon
The American Museum
Return to the Wild, by Norman Carr.
E. P. Button & Co., $4.50; 127 pp., illus.
THE lion is perhaps the most respected
animal on earth. For centuries it has
figured in the heraldry of countless coun-
tries, from Ethiopia to England, and
judging by the many recent books on
the subject, the animal is still high on
popularity polls. The king of the animal
7C\KIM^)V^:^K€^S3VC\K
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unlike most field guides— groups birds
by markings instead of by ornitholog-
ical class. This means that you can
make the precise identification without
first classifying the bird. Any detail of
its markings that sticks in your mind
is enough to guide you straight to its
picture.
Organized for FAST identification
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Chicago Natural History Museum
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kingdom is not easily deposed, nor
should he be. He is an animal of supreme
beauty, dignity, and courage.
Mr. Carr's book is about lions, and he
knows a lot about them. For fifteen years
he was the warden of Kafue National
Park in Northern Rhodesia, the largest
in Africa, and during his tour of duty he
acquired considerable knowledge, not
only about lions, but about the confusing
and always changing relationships be-
tween man, beast, and environment. He
is an acute observer, a sound conserva-
tionist, and a very readable writer.
Yet there are parts of this book that
somehow don't quite ring true. For in-
stance, he tells of a well-known local
lioness named '"The Smiler,"' which the
author and practically everyone else in
the neighborhood knew was about to
have cubs. Not only that ; they knew from
observation where she was going to have
them. Then one of the wardens went to
the spot, found the cubs, and correctly
suspected that the mother must be near.
Instead of withdrawing, he loaded his
14-bore shotgun and killed her when she
appeared to defend her young.
Mr. Carr condones this killing as hav-
ing been required in self-defense. Maybe
so. In any event, the rest of the book is
devoted to a description of his efforts to
rear the orphans, and the end comes
when he releases them to "return to
the wild." What happens to them next
—which really ought to be the end of the
book— is not told.
There are dangers in a book of this
sort. Young wildlife should be left alone,
and any book that even vaguely suggests
the pleasure of playing foster parent is
not in the interests of man or any other
animal. Mr. Carr repeatedly asserts that
he never tried to make pets of his
charges, but methinks he doth protest too
much— the photographs that accompany
the text indicate a very close association.
Nevertheless, during his baby-sitting
job Mr. Carr came to know lions and he
passes along a quantity of information
in good style.
PlETER FOSBURGH
Author and Editor
Birds of the Ocean, by W. B. Alexan-
der. G. P. Putnam's Sons, S4.95; 306 pp.,
illus.
ALTHOUGH called a "1963 Edition,"
. this is simply a reprinting of the
1954 revised edition of W. B. Alexan-
der's handy volume. Birds of the Ocean,
which has been out of print for some
years. It is still the only book that pro-
vides means of field identification for the
sea birds of the world. That this little
work had already gone through two gen-
uine editions (the first in 1928) and
warranted reprinting today is the
evidence of its continued usefulness,
modern bird books, other than the P
son guides, have been in such s
demand as to warrant even a revised
tion in hard covers. Usually there
more up-to-date competing volume
the market.
For those not familiar with Ale
der's work it should be pointed out
the book is compact, convenient,
pocket-sized. Each sea bird family i
lotted a chapter, with the species ■
grouped according to pattern and co
for each species there is a short des(
tion. statement of range, and a 1
paragraph of miscellaneous notes;
dates are often mentioned. Sepa
chapters for each of the oceans and
birds likely to be found on them fa
tate the task of identification. The i
trations are the same eighty-eight 1
tones that appeared in the first edit
they are chiefly photographs— oftei
birds at the nest— and diagramm
drawings showing flight patterns of a
trosses, petrels, gulls, jaegers, bool
and frigatebirds, and, on the water
penguins and phalaropes. These di
ings by the author, although not of
fessional quality, have long since pre
their value in the field. As this revi:
Out of all the fact and fancy concerning
snakes, the author of a hive of bees and
THE LIVING SEA has fashioHBd a small
masterpiece of nature writing
SNAKE LORE
An informal and anecdotal
book about snakes by
Here is a fascinating Introduction
to the whole world of snakes
— from python to puff adder
and from the snakes of the
Laocoon legend to Cleopatra's
fatal asp. John Crompton writes
informally and engagingly; his
book combines scientific
authority with a personal,
conversational style. Sna!<e •
Lore will delight every nature .
enthusiast, young and old. With
twelve pages of photographs,
$3.95 at all booksellers or from
DOUBLEDAY & COMPANY, INC.
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COBRA
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l]y dates from 1954, it does not re-
findings of recent explorations that
;xtended known ranges and changed
iews of certain relationships. (In
cases, scientific nomenclature has
;ed since 1954.) But these points
f little or no importance to the aver-
jird watcher, who will need this
on any extended ocean voyage.
Eugene Eisenmann
The American Museum
Etern.\l Present, by Siegfried
on. Pantheon Books, $12.50; 588
llus.
riOUGHOUT the approximately one-
ilf million years that man has
?d the world, his primary occupa-
las been to survive in hostile sur-
lings. Only in comparatively recent
has he changed to a slight extent;
jestion today is not how man is to
ith the world, but how he is to live
himself. In this book, the great
cultural historian Siegfried Gie-
;preads before us the first extensive
ice we possess of mankind— Paleo-
man— coming to grips with the
facts of human consciousness.
, he asks, were man's first positive
;rs to the all-consuming problem
ntifying himself, of determining his
role in the pattern of existence? How
did he come to terms with a world that
threatened him on all sides? How did he
reconcile himself to the fact that he was
the most vulnerable, the least physically
endowed of all animals? How did he
arm himself against the natural and the
supernatural powers, hold them at bay.
and, indeed, induce them to act in his
behalf? Today we are protected by many
shields: society, religion, medicine, na-
tions, and so on. Paleolithic man stood
naked and alone; he had to wrest from
the cosmos magical garments composed
of potent symbols that, properly or-
ganized in the cultic rituals, would as-
sure him abundance.
Thus, Giedion attempts to answer
these questions by means of a depth an-
alysis of Paleolithic symbols. He does so,
not through a single approach, but rather
by bringing to bear the combined forces
of many disciplines: anthropology, psy-
chology, ethnology, philosophy, and his-
tory. A cursory glance at this hand-
somely illustrated volume, drawn from a
series of lectures given for the Mellon
Foundation in 1957. may mislead the
reader into thinking that it is a study of
prehistoric art. It is that, but only insofar
as the art works are a key to man's men-
tal and spiritual life. Giedion. following
the dictum of an earlier historian (Alois
Riegl ) , sees the work of art as the physi-
cal expression of the inner life of man.
And in cave art he finds a complicated,
symbolic language that can still be read,
if only haltingly and in part.
The ancient "cave dweller"' did not, as
is now known, live in those deep caves
in which he painted and engraved on the
rock walls. They were far too inhos-
pitable for domestic life; rather, man
chose the cheerier, sunlit mouths of caves
and sheltered nooks under rock over-
hangs as his home. The pitch-black,
dank, dangerous tunnels that wormed
their way far underground were fraught
with mystery and unknown terrors.
These subterranean passages and halls
were the sacred places through which the
initiated inched their way to hold their
magic rites. By the flickering light of
animal grease lamps they invoked their
demons and spirits, painted their life-
bearing murals on the suggestive rock
bosses and stalactites. Even today, de-
spite the modern comforts of artfully
concealed lights, concrete walks and
steps, expert guides and factual guide-
books, the caves of southern France and
northern Spain exercise a strong influ-
ence on the imagination of the casual
visitor. Giedion takes us back more than
a dozen millenniums, to when the caves
were alive with magic and the hidden
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II
caverns were covered with the symbols
of the cult. Ancient man rarely repre-
sented himself because, Giedion sug-
gests, he considered himself inferior,
subordinate to the powerful beasts who
gave their flesh to sustain him. Giedion
formulates the meanings behind the rep-
resentations of magnificent beasts, prints
of mutilated hands, steatopygous fe-
males, and tectonic marks.
FOR Giedion, as for many other pre-
historians, the guiding force behind
all quaternary art is a basic an.xiety: the
fear of sterility, the cataclysmic loss of
fertility. Hence, cave art served in the
cult ritual to promote and insure produc-
tivity and abundance. The first half of
the volume attempts to solve the sym-
Ijolic puzzles on the cave walls within
this framework of fertility symbolism.
His demonstrations are fascinating; his
accumulated evidence is compelling. His
development of a symbolic language in
Paleolithic times lacks the torturous
windings of Freud, as well as the expan-
sive gestures of Jung. He envisages a
direct, forceful expression of sexual mo-
tifs by ancient man. motifs that were
the concrete expressions of the dominant
fertility cult. The importance of the con-
cepts of fertility and abundance in the
Stone Age cannot be overestimated. Man
must have lived a barely marginal ex-
istence; long periods of semistarvation
were infrequently interrupted by the few
days of gorging that followed a success-
ful hunt. The cycle of life ran much
faster then; skeletal remains indicate
that the average life span in the Paleo-
lithic was about twenty years.
To understand the mentality of an-
cient man, to gain insight into his life-
and-death struggle, we must, says Gie-
dion, put to one side our modern tools of
logic, of cause and effect, of materialism.
We must enter into a world based on
magical relationships, on the identifica-
tion of the symbol with the thing symbol-
ized, on the power of the ritual act to
formulate the future. But can modern
man retreat to this "primitive" stage of
thinking and feeling? Giedion answers
that he not only can but does. Beneath
the shell of the rational are the deeper
strata of the irrational and the alogical,
which powerfully influence modern man.
The potent symbols of cave art are still
alive and vital today because we are still
attempting to resolve the primary ques-
tions of human life that the cave man
expressed in his subterranean caverns.
We are no better prepared to solve them;
we have found no better solutions than
did our prehistoric ancestors. Cave
dweller and apartment house dweller rub
shoulders. It is from this context that
title of the book. The Eternal Pres
is drawn. The history of mankind is <
piece; the hours and millenniums
by, but it is always the same tragic a(
who holds the center of the stage.
IT is evident, then, that Giedion adh(
to a particular view of natural hist
He completely abjures the older not:
of mankind growing, improving, ma
ing over the years. Nor does he envis
cultures rising and developing, as c
Toynbee. Culture is an eternal dr;
whose plot and characters never chai
While the first half of the book is
terpretative, the second half is desc
tive. providing a comprehensive sui
of Paleolithic symbols, cave art, and
cheology. The magnificent illustrati
in color and black and white, speci
prepared for this volume, are infe:
only to an actual visit to the caves,
eerie feeling that one experiences d
in the caves of Lascaux or Altamira,
sense of detachment and isolation,
never be transcribed. But Giedion i
ceeds. as few cultural historians can
making the past present, in dissolv
the millenniums that separate anci
from modern.
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clotliing, go out for a soda with the other boys. But 1
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Tommy wanders off by himself and dreams that sonied
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13
Rose-Red Cit
""fc- ^i < •'r^- ~ ""n. .-•■'■<» "^T^^H
.-»^
O EARED BY THE SCORCHING SUN by day and bathed by
the light of stars by night, rock-girt and half-buried be-
neath the burning sands of the trans-Jordanic desert, lies
Petra— "the rose-red city, half as old as time." A magnifi-
cent medley of multihued rock and the artistic skill of a
bygone people, this ruined metropolis displays the colors
of primeval dawn frozen into ripples of solid stone, and
the lost hopes of pagan immortality chiseled in its heart.
Petra is situated some one hundred miles to the south of
Jerusalem at Long. 35°26' E. and Lat. 30° 19' N.-roughly
the same latitude as Oklahoma City.
The ancient city-site lies between two parallel ridges of
Nubian sandstone, which tower a thousand feet over the
mile-wide desert floor between them. Nature thus sealed a
pathway over whose sand and stone have moved more than
thirty centuries of recorded travel. The site is usually ap-
proached via a narrow, twisting cleft, called the Siq, in the
eastern mountain wall. Local folklore attributes this geo-
logic fault to Moses, who, it is said, smote the rock with his
wand to provide water for the wandering Israelites. By
about the first century A.D., the Siq boasted a well-paved
road, protected by a massive diversion dam. The torrential
floods of two thousand years wrought havoc with both im-
provements, however, and the water-washed boulders that
had begun to fill the Siq have only recently been replaced
with gravel carefully laid for visitors.
By PHILIP C. HAMMOND
Photographs by GEORGE HOLTON
m-.
*^W^
■-%
lalace tomb was carved
originally by Nabataeans and
later reworked by Romans.
Ihird column from left at the
Treasury of the Pharaoh
has recently been reconstructed.
15
e ancient barrage is just now being restored. This will
t the floodwaters of the rainy season away from the
h of the Siq, sending them through the original rock-
unnel at one side and around the city area to the
nt spillways that once tamed the flow and made habita-
afe in the valley. A tragic accident occurred in recent
hs when a flash storm sent a sheet of rushing waters,
five feet high, over the heads of a group of tourists
ed in the Siq.
tering the Siq from the blinding light of the desert sun,
s awe-struck. The shadows deepen, and the sky be-
3 a thin blue line above the towering cliffs that sepa-
the traveler from the outside world. Echoing walls
t only the clatter of hoofs on stone, the calls of wheel-
irds, and the chatter of native boys. Civilization seems
3 back in time. The road meanders between the cliffs
suddenly the Siq falls away, and one stands before
if the most perfectly preserved monuments of Naba-
times, carved into the face of a rose-red mountain
effecting its hue into the dark passage of the Siq.
is is the Khazneh Farun, the Treasury of the Pharaoh.
OSes fled from Egypt, so the locals declare, an angry
loh pursued him, pausing only long enough to create
Qasr Bint Far'un
,i'j»=-iiy V. .^ V. Jriumphal Gate v-^?
' Norman y f Royal Tombs
i '''"' Roman Street i»^"', .
; '%^ Theater (S CJS.. ;t Kazneh ,
Great High Place *^
)ite map of Petra in Jordan shows some of its major
uildings, streets, and prominent topographical features.
josite tomb faqade with obelisks is at the entrance
Siq— a deep gorge that leads down into Petra's valley.
reasury by magic and store his gold in its vastness.
i^en if the origin of this monument, which is actually
b, is made prosaic by reality, the architectural skill
uman sweat that carved it from the cliff face must be
wledged. Actually, the tomb's fagade is an undying
e, not to the nameless king for whom it was hewn, but
■ to the eclectic art of the ancient Near East. Here is
bly the best example of the desert culture that brought
to her zenith and made her the queen of a thousand
ercial holdings, ruling the trade routes that were ave-
(f culture from the fourth century B.C. to the end of the
entury of the present era. At first glance just another
copy of classical Hellenistic art, the deceptive archi-
tectural form of the Khazneh is the key to the Nabataean
architecture. Linear perspective, coupled with stonecutting
of exquisite skill, harmoniously joins the Western world
with the Eastern. The columns are borrowed from the
Greco-Roman canons, architraves, finials, moldings, and
other architectural parts, but their assembly into a single
carving is the work of the indigenous craftsmen who gave
new spirit to an old style.
Unlike the Khazneh are the "classical" Nabataean tomb
fagades one sees as the open road winds around rock out-
crops, mountains, and man-built walls into the heart of
the ancient city-site. These are eclectic as well, but their
synthesis is Near Eastern, not Hellenistic, and they are re-
minders of the caravanners who brought to Petra their
recollections of Baghdad, Damascus, Teima, and Egypt.
The early tombs are like the cultic carvings on the walls of
the Siq and on other cliff faces— crude blocks representing
the god of the desert days, Dushares, Lord of the Shara
Mountains. Later curling tendrils of grape and set faces
of gods adapted from other cultures marked the change
from bedouin to townsman farmer and commercial baron.
Today, Petra's valley site might disappoint a traveler.
New excavations and clearances have brought to light a
paved Roman street lined with walls and dirt-filled door-
ways, a few columns point dejectedly toward the open sky,
a once-triumphal gate straddles the road, but no city is to
be seen. Yet, beneath the sands on every side are the ruins
of noble dwellings, great markets, shops, storehouses, baths,
and all the other remains of man's material existence.
Only when the full moon rises from behind the ridge known
as el-Kubtha can one's imagination reconstruct the ancient
city. The Roman street gleams and seems once more to bear
the weight of the Imperial Legions; the royal tombs gape
darkly over their lost masters; the sound of the grazing
camel and the light of bedouin fires arouse the ghosts of
antiquity, and Petra reassumes her ancient glory.
DURING the day Petra becomes the archeologist's hunt-
ing ground. Paleolithic flint axes, Iron Age cisterns,
Greco-Nabataean-Roman architectural devices, Byzantine
crosses, Arabic pottery, and Crusader coins attest to the
vast parade of cultures this site has known.
Defensibility, water, and agricultural promise were all
the ancients desired, and under the simple name of "the
Rock" Petra began her recorded history in the days of the
Exodus, as the home of the biblical Edomites. Seemingly,
only King Amaziah of Judah penetrated this refuge, and
he Ijoasted hyperbolically of 10,000 Edoniite captives cast
down from its heights in the eighth century B.C. Apparently
the Edomite refuge can be identified with the mountain
called Umm il-Biyara, for only there are the plastered Iron
Age cisterns and typical crude Edomite pottery to be found
in any abundance. This sheer-sided mountain was ad-
mirably suited for defense, and its single avenue of ascent
and the protecting gate may still be seen. The first extra-
biblical reference to the area is Diodorus Siculus' fourth-
century B.C. description of an abortive raid on Petra, com-
manded by the Greek General Athenaeus, in 312 B.C.
By that date, a people called the Nabataeans were firmly
inhabiting Petra. Sometime during the period when the
ariny of Alexander the Great was hacking its way across
the face of northern Coele-Syria, a unique bedouin tribe,
the Nabataeans, came out of the desert. Untypically for
17
Semitic nomads, they were pirates until the Egyptian navy
drove them from the Red Sea. Then they became land
brigands until a more legal means of livelihood occurred
to them and they became the "protectors" of the land.
The Nabataeans occupied Petra's valley, and gradually
converted to an agricultural-commercial life. Their hy-
draulic engineering skill was astonishing, and their com-
mercial acumen notorious. Probably by the first century
B.C. the Nabataeans had already begun to dominate the
great desert caravan routes and spread their outposts
through all parts of the southern region, from Aqaba to
the northern tip of the Dead Sea. Their interest in the
bitumen resources of the latter area was apparently the
major cause for their alienating the Hellenistic Greeks in
the north, but a truce was eventually effected and Naba-
taean culture rose to keep pace with Nabataean commerce.
WESTERN contacts also grew, and the nature of the
Nabataean culture became more complex, as a com-
parison of Diodorus' account of them with that of Strabo
reveals. Commerce brought continued strife, as well, and
relations with Idumaean and Jewish neighbors to the west
and north were often strained. Caravans under Nabataean
control moved northward laden with the goods of China,
India, Qateban, Sheba, and Egypt to the ports of Gaza and
the depots of Damascus, which were the gateways to the
West. Pliny records a levy of 25 per cent laid on all cara-
vans using the route— and Diodorus speaks of the luxurious
living and cosmopolitan ways of Petra. By the end of the
last century B.C., the Nabataean culture, in all its aspf
had attained a height reached by only a few other na
people in ancient Syro-Palestine. The pinnacle of that
ture was achieved, at the turn of the Christian Era, ur
the leadership of Aretas IV (9 B.C.— A.D. 40) .
With success came danger. Rome had entered the ^
East in 64 B.C. to "liberate" both captive and indepen(
peoples. Even by that time, the commercial fortune of
Nabataeans was realized, and Pompey dispatched oni
his generals, Scaurus, to subjugate the Nabataeans.
Roman expedition never reached Petra because of the
renness of land and the diplomatic intervention of A
pater of Idumaea. For more than a century and a half
relation of the Nabataean kingdom to the Roman Em
was a loose one. Officially under Rome's control, the T
ataeans, from their desert capital, ignored the issue-
Roman authority. Had the Nabataeans paid the "assess
taxes in 31 B.C., for example, Herod the Great would
have been trying to collect them with his Jewish army
might have turned the tide in favor of his allies, Anth
and Cleopatra, against Octavius. But Imperial Rome
persistent, and gradually the vast Nabataean comme)
empire was swallowed up piecemeal. Cultural dec
followed commercial decline, and when the northern b
routes supplanted the great southern ones, Nabat;
power was gone. Traditionally the fall of the Nabata(
is dated at A.D. 106, when the army of Trajan mart
triumphantly through the Siq and planted the Roi
eagle in Petra's streets. In fact, Nabatene was conqui
ng Byzantine period, from fourth century a.d. to the
g of Islam in the seventh, Ed-Deir, a Nabataean tomb,
'.worked and subsequently used as a monastery.
Iheater, with seats cut from solid rock, was excavated
in 1961-62 by the American Expedition to Petra,
in co-operation with Jordanian Department of Antiquities.
19
far earlier, and her people continued to affect the course
of Near Eastern history far later. But for all practical
purposes, Petra, as a major force in the life of the ancient
Near East, died at that time.
The Roman era of the city saw an external revival. Much
new building, of which the street, markets, a temple called
today the Qaar Rint Far'ijn. and other monuments still
exist, was done to "glorify" the new rule. Honors, includ-
ing the title of colonia were heaped on the empty shell.
Native festivals continued as late as the third century,
but the Nabataean spirit had been broken and the Romans
controlled only what has been called by George L. Robinson
"the sepulcher of an ancient civilization.
Under the Byzantines, from the early fourth century
A.D. to the coming of Islam in the seventh century. Petra
fared no better, and a few crosses, coins, and Greek in-
scriptions alone indicate their presence. It was during
this period, however, that one of the more isolated royal
tombs was reworked as a place of Christian worship and
gained its present name, Ed-Deir, "the Monastery." Other
tombs were also used for worship, and the sepulcher niches
were recarved to form altar niches, while pious inscriptions
were added to record the effect.
HISTORICAL obscurity then joined political and cultural
darkness at Petra, and the site, its name, and the
knowledge of its location dropped out of Western ken. Only
in the Crusader period do we hear of it once more, this time
as "The Valley of Moses," one of the Latin kingdom s
major fiefs in Oultrej ordain. Baldwin I entered the area in
A.D. 1101, at the behest of the "monks of St. Aaron," who
were local Greek Christians, and immediately recognized
its strategic and commercial importance. The Crusader
king needed both a defensive network to guard against
the Moslems and funds to support his military establish-
ment. A fortress, whose remains may still be seen, was
built just outside the Siq, at El-Wu'eira, but with some
embarrassment, no doubt, the Crusaders discovered that
although they could see caravans on the route leading
through ancient Petra they could not reach them in time
to collect tolls! As a consequence, a minuscule Norman
fort, complete with outer bailey, inner bailey, and h
was erected inside the city-site on top of a small peal
the western ridge called EI-Habis. From its summi
patrol could sally forth, collect revenues and withd
safely under the watchful eye of the sentries at El-
eira. By this means, "Le Chateau de la Vallee de Mo:
rapidly rose to a position of major importance, both r
tarily and financially, for the Latin king across the Jor
in Jerusalem. Isolated as it may have seemed to the mer
arms residing there, the castle at Wadi Musa was lin
closely by its smoke signals and fire signals with the
of the great chain of forts stretching from the Holy (
to Aqaba. Alas, the disastrous battle of the Horns
Hattin in 1187 changed all that, if, indeed, the tr;
Jordanic fiefs had not fallen to Saladin's troops by 1182
IXoman street, lined with
columns, is in foreground. At
rear are palace and urn tombs.
In the opposite direction
the street leads to Qasr Bint
Far'un and Umm il-Biyara.
Latin kingdom was forced to flee, and Wadi Musa
1 lost its strategic importance to Moslem forces, since
nilitary and trade routes through the area were now
r their control. Petra once more slipped into obscurity.
1 August 22, 1812, a traveler made his way through a
re in the Shara Mountains. This was Swiss-born
nn Ludwig Burckhardt, disguised as a Moslem sheik,
isibly on his way to Nubia, Burckhardt had traveled
igh the Holy Land visiting ancient sites. When he
ed into the trans-Jordanic area, he heard of a fabulous
;nt city of the dead, next to which was the traditional
of Aaron, the brother of Moses. After some delay,
khardt prevailed upon a local guide to conduct him
iron's tomb as a pilgrim, and he noted in his journal:
ppears probable that the ruins in Wady Mousa are
those of ancient Petra . . . there is no other ruin between
the extremities of the Dead Sea and the Red Sea, of
sufficient importance to answer to that city."
When Burckhardt's Travels were published, Petra
entered a new era. It was no longer a trade center pouring
wealth into commercial centers, but rather a magnet that
attracted visitors in ever increasing numbers. First came
the geographers and "learned travelers," those intrepid
men who braved the dangers of hostile government, poor
roads, expensive accommodations, disease, and other nat-
ural hardships. Among the names on this list of early visi-
tors to the newly found site, many distinguished ones may
be found: Irby, Mangles, E. Robinson. Doughty, Forder,
Musil, Dalman, LaGrange, Vincent, Briinnow, Domaszev-
ski, Weigand, and others.
^ -■'■*>^^
FROM their labors came the maps of the site still in use
today. They recorded local place names and related
them to known history; they examined and described
ruins; they made quantities of drawings and photographs.
Each visit brought startling new discoveries. One such was
the discovery of the "Great High Place" by Professor
George L. Robinson, just at the turn of the present century,
which created a stir because of its unique parallel to bibli-
cal references to cultic places. These reports are still culled
for scientifically valuable information.
By World War L the inhabitants of the Wadi Musa dis-
trict were becoming accustomed to foreign visitors, and
Petra's ancient commercial value was translated into local
wealth through guide fees and embryo tourism. This ceased
during the war years, but Petra gained new fame as the
locale of one of Lawrence's hard-fought victories against
the Turks. Since that time, the touristic attraction of this
"lost city" has gained steadily. Today visitors from all
parts of the world make the trip to the little town of El-Ji,
park their cars at the new resthouse, and make their way,
on foot or horseback, to view the wonders of the site.
Meanwhile the reports of the learned travelers had
reached the ears of another group of people— the archeol-
ogists— whose interest in Petra began to grow. It was not
until 1929 that any serious scientific work could be under-
taken on the site, however. In that year, George Horsfield,
Chief Curator of Antiquities of Transjordan, began his
pioneer excavations. With his positive attribution of char-
acteristic pottery remains to Nabataean factories, the way
was opened for a broad investigation of the culture. From
that point on, the identification of other Nabataean sites
spread through the southern area. Horsfield centered his
activities in a vast, ancient dump on the northern slopes
of Wadi Farasa. The major work was a cut made from
surface to bedrock, on the basis of which the chronology
of further work was established. Unhappily, in this period
of Near Eastern archeology, Horsfield's methods led to
a confusion of strata and resultant dating errors, which
remain uncorrected. In any case, it is to the Horsfield days
that we owe the present designation of one feature of the
city known as the "Conway High Place," named in honor
of Agnes Conway, later Mrs. Horsfield.
In 1934, Horsfield began another series of investiga-
tions, with the able assistance of Dr. W. F. Albright. The
Conway High Place was cleared, as were certain of the
more promising larger tombs— the Khazneh, the Urn Tomb,
and the Tomb of the Roman Soldier. Two members of the
British School of Archaeology in Egypt, Margaret Murray
and J. D. Ellis, dug on the site in 1937, clearing cavesites
at the north end of the city above Wadi Abu Ollegha.
AFTER the creation of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,
^ interest and technical personnel were joined for full-
scale work at the site. In 1954, the Jordanian Department
of Antiquities began a series of clearances and preser-
vation activities that continues v\ith increasing scope. In
195-5, a party from the American School of Oriental Re-
search in Jerusalem, with the author as a member, under-
took specific, individual surface projects on the site. Later
that same year, and again in 1956, the Department con-
tinued its clearance activities, concentrating on the Roman
street, under the supervision of Miss Diana Kirkebride,
who was later to excavate the first complete Neolithic
village in the area, at El Baidha.
22
The British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem, w
Peter J. Parr as director, began limited excavation
the site in 1958 and continued through 1960. During t
period, attention was given to the supposed city-wall 1
of Horsfield, the slopes of Katute, the Roman street,
wall line to the north, and certain other loci. The Bril
School was joined by an American party, under my dii
tion, during the 1959 season. These excavations are the f
stratigraphic approach to the problem of Petra's c
archeological history, and the results, when publisl
should be of exceptional value. Excavations on other N
m sites, notably Khirbet Et-Tannur, Sbaita, and
an, to name but a few, can then be related, and a
■ picture of the specifics of Nabataean chronology
history be gained.
e Treasury and the Triumphal Gate were partially
red, for reasons of preservation, in 1960, by G. R. H.
ht, working for the Department of Antiquities.
[ American Expedition to Petra, also under my direc-
undertook stratigraphic excavation of the Main
ter at the site in 1961 and 1962, in co-operation with
)epartment of Antiquities. The primary objective in
Jxoman-carved head of a ivoman, probably dating from second
century a.d., was excavated during the 1963 season.
Jlnother head shows curled beard and hair typical of many
Roman god representations. This might be a Zeus,
Isabataean god Hadad, eyes and features showing Parthian
influence, ivas found at Khirbet Et-Tannur, a related site.
23
1961 was to secure a complete picture of the stratigraphic
history of the area. Four trenches were laid out, extending
across the orchestra and stage to the proscenium (scenery)
wall, across the front of the stage, and along the face of
the vomitorium sinistrum (left entryway). Following the
stratigraphic excavation, the orchestra-stage areas were
cleared hy the Department of Antiquities. In 1962, the
expedition concentrated on detailed survey and planning,
as well as on the completion of certain problems of the
previous stratigraphic work. A long trench was opened,
extending from the exit side of the vomitorium sinistrum
through the proscenium and postscenium wall exits to the
wadi outside the installation. At the same time, further
excavation was carried out in the stage area to determine
building phases there, relating specifically to the period
of main use of the Theater. A total of 289 separate strata
were isolated in the two seasons, and then interrelated and
phased into eight periods that furnish a complete story of
the use and decay of the Theater.
A RCHITECTURAL information was probably the most
±\ important "find" of the two seasons, and resulted in
perhaps the most important comprehensive picture of a
Roman period theater thus far achieved in the Near East.
From this material has come much new knowledge con-
cerning order, building practices, individual architectural
devices, details of construction, and general knowledge
of the specific theater, itself. The major find, in the usual
sense, was the marble statue of Hercules, uncovered at the
end of the 1961 season in the curtain slot of the stage. In
addition, epigraphic material (especially Nabataean),
coins, pottery, small finds, and similar items swell the list.
Out of the excavation has come, also, the strong possi-
bility of another example of the engineering skill and
eclectic art of the Nabataeans. Indications all seem to
point to them as the original builders of the Theater,
closely following Vitruvian canons but adding their own
touches. If this tentative conclusion proves to be correct,
the Theater at Petra will become one of the earliest pro-
vincial Roman-type theaters, and one of the few resulting
from local enthusiasm for the arts rather than from the
postoccupation desires of the Romans themselves.
Research through the years has produced a great deal
of concrete evidence concerning the occupations and cul-
tures of Petra, particularly of the Nabataeans. Since they
are responsible for the first coinage in use there, most of
the pottery remains, the majority of monuments, and all
but a handful of the inscriptions on the site, a word should
be said concerning some aspects of their culture that have
been clarified by archeological research.
Pottery forms, especially the fine, thin, painted ware,
have vague parallels to earlier Greek materials. From
these and untraceable local prototypes, the Nabataeans
rapidly developed what may be the finest indigenous wares
of ancient Syro-Palestine. From one end of the kingdom
to the other, the Nabataean factories produced masses of
well-turned and perfectly fired bowls and cups superbly
decorated with motifs of local flora, as well as masses of
coarser wares. The latter gradually began to resemble
contemporary Roman export wares, but by their side the
characteristic thin ware continued. Of all the varieties of
painted wares made, however, only a very few complete
bowls have ever been found intact, although their sherds
may be^gathered by the basket on almost any Nabataean
24
site. Unguentaria (small perfume-ointment jars), v
bulbous bodies and slender necks are also ubiquitc
especially at Petra. These were apparently produced loc;
to provide vessels in which to transship the ointments i
perfumes that entered Nabatene from the rich southla
Petra's Nabataean monuments are almost numberl
The tourist who enters Petra by the Siq sees the Khazr
laboriously ascends to the Great High Place, moves \
the Theater to the Royal Tombs, walks along the Ror
street, and climbs again to Ed-Deir. Hundreds of tc
fagades with crowsteps, gables, and other decorati
crowd the mountainsides: cultic devices, ranging fi
blocks dedicated to the god Dushares, set in little nicl
to adopted deities in human form, hide from the cas
glance; graves are everywhere, as are the "high-plac
that apparently delighted the pious Nabataean carv
Inscriptions, graffiti, and petroglyphs are in the n
unlooked-for places, as well — behind rocks, in nan
crevices, low along the footpaths, or across a tomb fagi
The Nabataeans adopted the Aramaic language of the
of Coele-Syria and, as usual, contributed their own ]
sonal touch to epigraphy in a swirling, ligatured, se
cursive script. The longest of the inscriptions is that on
facade of the Turkmaniyah Tomb. Its imprecations aga
defilers are still readable above the door of the ravis
burial chambers. Another, shorter inscription lauds
refurbishing of the Great High Place along the path le
ing to its summit. Most of the other readable rem;
simply say "Peace" to the passing traveler. Pictures
herdsmen, sheep, long-horned ibex, and camels, as 1
as a peacock and a gaming board on Umm il-Biyara,
found on stones, tumbled blocks, or cliff faces.
Archeologically and historically many problems re
ing to Petra and to the Nabataeans remain unresol
and await the spade and trowel of the excavator. W
was the early history of the site? What was the ad
ancestral home of the strangely atypical Nabataea
What happened to the genius of their culture after
106? What was their complete social structure? Wt
are the dwelling places of all the generations of those \
inhabited Petra? What are the dates of the greatest mo
ments of Nabatene? What was the sequence of the N
ataean kings? Where is their literature— or even tl
commercial accounts?
But Petra is recapturing her old glory in much the s£
idiom as that of ancient times. The economic dema
of tourism are seeking to exploit the past for present net
and Petra's location, natural beauty, and artistic contri
tions make the site one of the most important sources
revenue in Jordan. As a result, clearing and restorat
operations on the site have begun on a scale never bef
attempted. Soon the visitor will be able to see many of
two-thousand-jear-old ruins, either exposed or restoi
Communications, roads, and other facilities have b
added to simplify travel to the site and its most import
monuments. The bedouin still live in the valley in tl
black tents, but change has indeed come to that rose-
city where once the Edomites roamed, where the Na
taeans bartered, and where Roman legionaries marcl
Jjurial niches in this Nabataean tomb ivere somehow
jrom the incredibly patterned, multicolored, solid rock
M..
.osaic from Carthage, ca. a.d. 520
is shown below. Rider of spotted
horse is probably a I aiidal conqueror.
Ornamental Equines
SPOTTED HORSES SPAN AGES
SPOTTED HORSES have been portrayed by
artists of ancient and recent civilizations
of Asia, Europe, America, and Africa. In most
cultures, painters are believed to have depicted
the mottled animals, not because any tradi-
tional symbolism accrued to horses with such
markings, but for decorative purposes. Spotting
is derived from a genetic color determinant that
is inherited by the horse in the same way as
black or bay, and which can be bred into or out
of any strain or type of horses. Falsely, the
pattern had often been taken as Indicative of
undesirable hybridization or mixed ancestry. In
recent times, spotting was excluded by horse
breeders from the genetic line of recognized
breeds; therefore, any spotted horse one may
see today, however fine, will not be a pure
breed. Still, there Is no evidence that coloration
is genetically associated either with good or
with bad traits in a horse. (The photographs on
these pages were first assembled In Appaloosa,
The Spoiled Horse hi Art and History, pub-
lished for the Amon Carter Museum of West-
ern Art by The University of Texas Press.)
Jpanish manuscript of the eighth
'ntury depicts the Four Horsemen of
le Apocalypse on stylized ?nounts.
27
Early Man
ana tlie Horse
NEAR the village of Solutre, in east-central
France, there is a large deposit of horse
bones that was discovered to be the remains of
the meals of Stone Age cave men. Many ancient
sites besides Solutre offer evidence that to pre-
historic man wild horses were a primary source
of food. Portraits of horses are common in cave
paintings made by prehistoric man, and the ex-
ample reproduced on this page — spotted, preg-
nant mares on a cave wall at Peche-Merle, near
the town of Cabrerets, France — stresses the
theme of fertility, for large horse populations
meant a plentiful meat supply.
It is not known if men first attempted to
domesticate herds of horses to assure a ready
source of meat, but once horses had ceased to
be merely food or pets, they exerted a profound
influence on the fortunes of mankind, especially
in the realm of warfare. The first definite his-
torical records of domestication of horses come
from opposite ends of Asia, in Mesopotamia
and in China, not long before 2000 B.C. In both
cases, the idea of domestication was introduced
by barbarians who had used horses successfully
in waging war. Only in relatively recent times
has the development of military horses ceased
to be the main concern of the world's breeders.
Horse-drawn war chariots helped the Hyk-
sos to conquer Egypt, and it is in the chariot-
eer's harness that the horse most frequently
appears in the art of Egypt and the other old
Near Eastern civilizations. Reproduced on the
opposite page is a tomb fresco showing a team
of strikingly marked animals (one barely dis-
cernible behind the other) that belonged to an
ofl'icial of the Egyptian Pharaoh Thutmose IV.
K
resco in Egyptian tomb of Late
Kingdom, ca. 1415 B.C., shows favoreo
horse of a deceased official.
>e near Cabrerets, France,
ns painting of pregnant mares.
ates from upper Paleolithic.
29
Asiatic Horsemen
Roam tlie ^^rld
THE conquest of most of Asia and much of
Europe by the Mongol horsemen of Gen-
ghis (or Chingis) Khan in the thirteenth cen-
tury marks the zenith of the military effective-
ness of the horse. The whole Mongolian horde
was horse-borne, and its leaders developed irre-
sistible cavalry tactics that have been studied
ever since. The Mongols typified a people for
whom the horse was the most essential feature
of civilization. The horse was protector, food,
drink, weapon, friend, and god. Mare's milk
was the common drink, but soldiers traveling
without rations sometimes cut open a horse's
vein, drank the blood, closed the incision, and
remounted. Horse skulls were worshiped, and
shoulder blades of the animals were used to tell
fortunes. Horse theft was punishable by death.
Horse cultures, including those of the North
ixteentli-century woodcut reca
the one hundred colts paid in trib
to eighth-century Chinese empero
w„.
(inderer and Ids mount is by fourteenth-
century artist Chao Y ung, one of a
family of renoicned Chtnese painters.
R.
iding his horse Rakush, Rustam,
he hero of Persian epic poem
hahnama, lassoes the Chinese Great Khc
American Plains Indians and, in lesser degree,
of the western ranchers of the United States,
depended on the availability of large numbers
of horses and a pattern of life based on raiding,
hunting, or herding. Where horses were few,
horse ownership was restricted; traditionally,
the man with the horse was either an aristocrat
or a fighter. Even in northern Europe, horses
were seldom ridden by commoners or used to
work on farms until the last century or two
before the coming of the automobile.
An attempt is now being made in this country
to develop a recognized, separate breed of spot-
ted horses from descendants of Indian range
ponies. These are called Appaloosa horses. In
previous paragraphs, a very brief history of
man's use of horses was set forth; the spotted
horse is part of this story, sometimes preferred
for its beauty, at other times rejected because
of misconceptions about its breeding, but al-
ways sharing in the events that have affected
the long history of the species as a whole.
31
'r^K^fc;^?>!Sv
lentm stables of Hapsburg Emperor
Iharles VI included animal
hown above. Engraving is dated 1740.
H
orses m
tlie West
a
.row Indian elkskin, right, shows
braves riding spotted ponies and
cowboys on pintos during buffalo hunt.
n this detail of a Danish
fresco, St. Marti?! shares his cloak
with a beggar, seen at right.
32
C.J-.
Fishes and Climates
Fossil fish distribution Indicates past environmental changes
■^j*
By C. Lavett Smith
EVERYONE INTERESTED in fishing or
fish cuhure realizes that different
kinds of fishes have different habitat
requirements. Trout and salmon de-
mand cold, clear waters; pike and
largemouth bass need weedy shal-
lows; catfishes and plains minnows
thrive in sluggish, muddy rivers. The
existence of such differences offers a
powerful scientific tool. If ichthyolo-
gists can establish what fishes were
present during given geologic time
periods, they can obtain significant
indicators of climates in the past.
There are, of course, difficulties in
using such a method. First of all, a
specific fossil must be the same as, or
closely related to. a living species;
without such a relationship there is
no basic criterion by which to judge
the habits of the now-fossilized form.
34
Because of close anatomical resem-
blance to living forms, there is justifi-
cation for assuming that fishes that
have lived since the end of Miocene
times (about 13 million years ago)
have had approximately the same life
requirements as their relatives among
present-day fishes. We cannot be as
certain about the more ancient fishes;
their fossil record has been difiicult
to construct, partly because of the ex-
treme fragility and perishability of
fish skeletons.
For truly significant indications of
past climate it is essential to recon-
struct a picture of a large sample of
the aquatic fauna that lived in a region
in any given geologic time, or, at least,
to work with assemblages of several
coexistent species. This large sampling
is necessary because we cannot be cer-
tain that any one fish was typical of
its contemporary relatives. But if we
Skeleton of a bullhead, Ictalurus cf.
nebulosus, is from a Pliocene deposit. ',
can work with five, ten, or more spe- i
cies, perhaps including some terres-
trial animal fossils as well as fossil i
fishes, it becomes very unlikely that all
of them were exceptional in their re- '.
quirements for life. The larger the j
number of species in such assemblages, j
the more reliable are the conclusions
that may be drawn about the environ- '
ment in which they mutually thrived, i
During the past three decades, fos- !
sil-collecting on the High Plains of ]
North America has yielded a series of
faunal assemblages that give valuable
clues to the climatic history of that i
region. Many of these have been col- i
lected by field crews from the Univer- '
sities of Kansas and Michigan under '■
the direction of Dr. Claude W. Hib- i
bard. Curator of Fossil Vertebrates of I
the University of Michigan Museum of
Paleontology. Significant faunas are \
now known from Kansas, Nebraska,
s
;iENTiSTS view sedimentary deposits
Lposed in clearly perceptible strata.
klahoma, Texas, and other plains
ates. Mollusks and many vertebrates
amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mam-
als— have been studied in addition to
ihes, and all have contributed to a
■owing picture of this region's former
imatic conditions.
"Certain species are rare and some
__j are known only from single frag-
ents. Obviously, stout or dense bones
e more likely to be preserved than
e thin, delicate ones. Certain habi-
ts, too, are more likely to develop
e special conditions necessary for
issilization. Most of the High Plains
issils, for example, are formed of
;nse mineral substances that over
any years have replaced the original
3nes. These fossils are like the origi-
i\ bone in every way, and all of the
ne details are just as they appeared
hen the fish lived. Instances are
known in ivhich even internal micro-
scopic details have been preserved.
When a season's collecting is fin-
ished and the fossils are safely back
at the museum or university, the task
of identifying the material begins.
First the fossils are sorted into major
groups— fish, mollusks, mammals, and
so on— and then specialists in these
areas begin the exacting work of pre-
cise identification. Usually the final
identifications are made, or at least
confirmed, by direct comparison with
comparable elements of living or other
fossil species. Sometimes a single frag-
ment is enough to permit an identifica-
tion; at other times, a whole series of
perfect bones may be unidentifiable
simply because the bones possess no
diagnostic features. Even when it ap-
pears that there is a perfect match
between a preserved fossil and a liv-
ing fish, there remains the possibility
that the fossil species might have dif-
fered in some additional features that
were not preserved or have not yet
been discovered.
IN the past, some researchers have
tended to assign to fossils names
different from those of living species,
solely on the grounds of the much
greater age of the fossil form. Such
a rechristening would normally imply
that the fossil was genetically differ-
ent from the living form, which, of
course, cannot be demonstrated. If no
evidence of genetic difference, such as
may be shown by skeletal structure,
can be found, the fossil is assigned to
an appropriate living species. This
serves to emphasize the close relation-
ship and probable similarity of habits.
Fossil forms with no living coun-
terparts are of special interest to the
scientist who is concerned with cli-
35
1
matic histories, because extinction of
species might well have resulted from
climatic shifts that made previous
adaptations for life obsolete in a given
region. But every precaution must be
taken to insure that a case for an ex-
tinct fish has not been built up around
an abnormal individual of a known
species. Statistical procedures help in
evaluation of observed differences. In-
deed, such procedures are crucial in
determining whether a strange fossil
fish represents a newly discovered ex-
tinct species or is an odd individual of
a well-known species with variations
that are attributable to chance alone.
If, however, two fossil forms differ be-
tween themselves as much, or in the
same way, as do comparable living
species, ichthyologists are inclined to
regard each as distinct. Here the ex-
perience of the investigator who pro-
vides the data for statistical analysis
plays a decisive role.
One of the first Pleistocene fish
faunas from the High Plains to be
studied with the above-described pro-
cedures was the Berends Local Fauna,
named in honor of the Oklahoma ranch
owner on whose land the fossils were
quarried in 1953. This fauna, from
the panhandle region, contains some
twelve species, of which nine have
been identified with reasonable cer-
tainty—yellow perch, gar, common
sucker, black bullhead, channel cat-
36 ^
i\ oM.MioM\ rvMixMH.F:. erosion by
llie Cimarron Ki\er, shuiin above, has
fish, muskellunge, green sunfish, and
two kinds of minnow. These fossil
fishes were found in beds dating from
Illinoian times (the third glacial age),
and all are close to, if not identical
with, forms that live today on other
parts of the continent. Only the black
bullhead and the green sunfish still
live in that part of the High Plains.
At present the climate of southwest-
ern Kansas and the Oklahoma panhan-
UsiNG A METHOD of gold prospectors,
scientists search for fossils. The box
uncovered many ancient accumulations j
of important fresh-water fish fossils.]
die is semiarid, with a mean rainfall
of less than twenty inches annually'
and with markedly wet and dry years. :
Streams, which are few and far be-,
tween, may dry up completely in rain-'
less years. Artesian springs feed somej
streams, but these harbor only a fewl
species of small fish. There is no habi-;
tat suitable for gars, muskellunge, or]
channel catfish other than artificial!
ponds. The common sucker is alsoi
has meshes to trap and retain fossils |
as running water carries off the silt.
sent from the region, possibly be-
use of the lack of adequate gravel
ttom spawning sites. The presence
fossilized large river forms indi-
tes that the climate of southern Kan-
5 and the Oklahoma panhandle must
ve been much more humid during
inoian times than it is today. Simply
erpreted, this might lead us to hy-
thesize a higher annual rainfall. But
could also mean that sparse rain-
1 was then more effective than it is
w. perhaps because evaporation
)k place more slowly owing to the
A'er temperatures that prevailed dur-
i periods of glaciations.
Today the muskellunge and the yel-
V perch are northern fishes, the yel-
V perch occurring no farther south
m central Ohio. If we superimpose
a map the distribution ranges of
; living counterparts of the Berends
cal Fauna, we find that there is
erlap only in the region of the south-
1 Great Lakes {map, page 38).
The conclusion we have drawn from
; above evidence is that during the
le when the Berends fauna flour-
led in Oklahoma the climate must
ve been much the same as it is today
southern Wisconsin. Such a picture
further supported by the presence
fossilized spruce, fir, and pine pollen
the same deposits that contain the
isil fish, and by the presence of fos-
ized remains of such mammals as
! meadow vole and northern shrew,
flections made since 1953 from
ds of comparable age at other loca-
ns further substantiate conclusions
sed on the Berends evidence.
Although the Berends locality is
iTER SLUICES earth away and leaves
sil fragments like ones seen below.
well south of the southern limit of the
lllinoian ice sheet, a widespread cool-
ing would have accompanied the ad-
vance of the glaciers and permitted the
cold-water-dwelling perch and muskel-
lunge to extend their former ranges
southward. Conversely, as the ice
sheets receded (it is generally con-
ceded that there were four major gla-
cial advances), the cool-climate forms
would have been replaced by warm-
water species from the south, such as
alligator gar and buffalo fish (the lat-
ter are large suckers).
OUR studies of fossil fish have
paralleled research efforts with
molluscan, mammalian, and reptilian
fossil records on the North American
continent, and something about these
projects should be noted here. As this
region became warmer between gla-
ciations it also became drier, and
fishes have not been prominent in the
fossil faunas recovered from intergla-
cial deposits. The only significant fish
fauna known from the area so far is
lllinoian. However, Dr. Hibbard and
his colleagues have already recovered
a series of mammalian faunas that tell
a story of warm and cool periods that
are associated with all the major ad-
vances and retreats of the glaciers.
Such mammals as zebras, camels, badg-
ers, ground sloths, and certain other
smaller forms have indicated warm
climates, while mammoths, beavers,
northern shrews, northern grasshop-
per mice, and others have been inter-
preted as evidence of cool climates.
A vast amount of work has gone
into these studies, which have pre-
FossiL BONES have features that may
permit the identification of a species.
sented several difficulties. For one
thing, there is no single site at which
all of the fossiliferous strata can be
studied at once. Furthermore, the car-
dinal principle used in this work has
been that the younger sediments are
to be found on top of older layers.
(Although certain types of sediments
are associated with arid climates and
others with wet. there is no direct way
of knowing their age from such infor-
mation alone.) Varied erosion and
sedimentation patterns, plus collapses
of the terrain that have follow ed sub-
terranean erosion, have complicated
the stratigraphy. As a result, it has
been necessary for workers to piece
together a picture little by little, deter-
mining in one area that bed A is
younger than bed C, then at another
location that bed B is younger than
bed C, and, finally, at a third site, that
bed B is older than bed A.
One godsend to stratigraphic stud-
ies on the Great Plains is Pearlette
ash— a layer of volcanic ash that fell
over a large section of the country
near the end of the Kansan (second)
glacial age. In some places this ash ac-
cumulated in depressions from which
it is now quarried for use in the manu-
facture of scouring powder. This layer
of ash serves as a reference point
whenever it can be found in place. The
whole project is like a jigsaw puzzle
with many missing pieces. The Pearl-
ette volcanic ash is like the reliable
edge of the picture; beds found below
the ash are older than late Kansan
times and those above are younger.
Fossil fishes have also contributed
to our knowledge of climate prior to
the Pleistocene, or Ice Age. In the
Pliocene, immediately preceding the
fin spine
37
Ice Age. climate seems to have re-
mained reasonably constant for about
eleven million years, becoming some-
what dry only during the latter part of
the epoch. In Early Pliocene deposits
are remains of gars, bowfins, buffalo
fish, and a species of large catfish.
From Middle Pliocene beds we have
minnows, black bullheads, crappies,
and warmouth sunfish. From the na-
ture of the sediments in which these
last-mentioned were found we can tell
tliat they lived in a large lake, and that
other lakes presumably existed. Our
fossils from the Upper Pliocene, later
in time, are from small streams and
include minnows, green sunfish. rock
bass, and some small bullheads that
appear to be related to the yellow bull-
heads. All of these except the bull-
heads, which still live in niches within
Berends fossil site is shown by dot.
Range of same fishes today is shaded.
the plains region, indicate the former
existence of larger and more perma-
nent waters than are now available to
support aquatic life on the plains.
Short-legged rhinoceroses and giant
land tortoises have been found in com-
parable Pliocene deposits. In the Up-
per Pliocene, therefore, the climate
must have been relatively mild.
It might be expected that fossils
will someday provide the ultimate evi-
dence of the evolutionary course of
North American fresh-water fishes. In
the case of the yellow perch, for ex-
ample, the North American and Eura-
sian forms are so much alike that
ichthyologists have begun to doubt
that thev are distinct species. The fos-
sil record supports the hypothesis that
these American and Eurasian perch '
populations have not been separated
for a very long time. While yellow i
perch are extremely abundant in the ]
Berends collections, they do not appear |
in any collections taken from older |
deposits. The fish is a cold-water spe- j
cies and probably made its way to j
North vVmerica no later than the Illi- j
noian glacial stage, but no earlier than |
the Upper Pliocene. Until such time, ]
North American forms must have been '
part of the Eurasian population. i
THE scope of such detective work <
as that described in connection '
with the yellow perch has limits. Fami- j
lies and genera of fishes are older in j
origin than forms that are found in \
the Pliocene deposits, and so, unfortu- \
nately, there is scant hope of finding j
remote ancestors of present-day fishes ;
there. In fact, there is strong evidence
that many of our fresh-water genera i
were distinct by as early as the Eocene '
Epoch, some 58 million years ago. ;
There is evidence, though, that two
extinct bullheads from different levels •
in the Upper Pliocene may be direct '.
ancestors of a modern catfish, the yel- !
low^ bullhead. If further fossil material i
from the Early Pleistocene should cor- j
roborate the existence of this ancestral i
line, we may be able to use these par- ]
ticular catfishes as index fossils. That j
is, we might be able to determine '
the age of deposits by the kinds of j
catfishes present. If so, this will be j
one more valuable tool for the strati- ]
grapher. Meanwhile, the search con- |
tinues. Every rain exposes more fos- j
sils: each one is a piece in the puzzle j
of the changing climates of the past, i
1
TRACING STRATIGRAPHY
DEPOSITION
MORE DEPOSITS
MORE EROSION
Deposition and erosion may disturb chronology of strata
by causing some sediment to settle in unexpected positions
38 .
relative to older or younger layers. Diagram shows how a
late deposit (D, panels 3 and 4) reaches older level (A).
GEOLOGIC TIME
jGEi
CLIMATE
FOSSIL FISH
19.4" rainfall
57.35°F mean temperature
ANIMALS
bison
Jack rabbit
WISCONSIN
GLACIAL
SANGAMON
INTERGLACIAL
ILLINOIAN
GLACIAL
YARMOUTH
INTERGLACIAL
KANSAN
GLACIAL
cooler than at present,
more extremes
subtropical:
becoming arid,
then subhumid
cooler year
round than
at present
subtropical:
warmer winters
becoming arid
moist, cool
summers; winters
warmer than at present
ground squirrel
shrew
WHITE SUCKER
skunk
muskrat
tortoise
mammoth
extinct bison
shrews
voles
pronghorn
tortoise
coyote
jack rabbit
mammoth
mink
weasel
AFTONIAN
INTERGLACIAL
subtropical:
becoming arid,
then subhumid
camel
tortoise
badger
zebra
NEBRASKAN
GLACIAL
UPPER
MIDDLE
LOWER
cool, but not as cold
as durmg later
glacial stages
m Id vvmters;
subhumid
becomtng sem
then subhumid
subtropical
moist subhumid
BULLHEAD
shrews
tiger salamander
Decerning f ^''^"■■V ^ ^ ; j^,-'
semiand to and "^^
subtropical
moist subhumid,
cool summers
thick-shelled giant tortoise
mastodon
cotton rat
stegomastodon
short-legged rhino
shovel tusk mastodon
thin-shelled giant tortoise
shovel tusk mastodon
short-legged rhino
giant tortoise
Color Change:
Chameleon
Camouflage
Nervous or hormonal controls affect hue
r^
i't^fl
^
■-W*r
'0,
'^~ ^sS^''
v^g
■#^*«
^i
^♦^^,w.
By Herndon G. Dowling
THE LIZARDS Correctly called chame-
leons make up a distinctive family
that is found in Africa and Madagas-
car. A single species (or perhaps a
group of related species) ranges out-
side this region from Europe to India.
Generally slow-moving, chameleons
are highly specialized for arboreal
life and for feeding on insects. They
lack the bony shields, protective
armament, and defensive claws and
dentition characteristic of most slo\s"-
moving animals, such as turtles and
armadillos. Instead, they blend with
their environment to escape the no-
tice of possible predators.
African chameleon's skin turns pale,
below, where a wire screen, left, cast
shadow on its body for a few minutes.
Chameleons have accomplished this
blending by using all the various tech-
niques of camouflage. Their over-all
coloration fits in with the browns,
yellows, and greens of their environ-
ment. These colors are not uniform but
occur in irregular spots, stripes, and
blotches that draw attention away
from the outline of the animal and
away from that most distinctive ani-
mal feature, the eye. The body out-
line is so invested with fringes, flaps,
and hornlike projections that it is hard
to see against a "busy" background.
In addition, the body is vertically
compressed and casts a relatively
small, unusually shaped shadow.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect
of the chameleon's camouflage is
countershading. This development of
color-blending is especially character-
istic of the slow-moving, arboreal
41
chameleons (a few members of the
family have reverted to terrestrial life
and are more active). If a sedentary
arboreal chameleon is exposed to
bright light and patches of shade,
within three or four minutes the
brightly lighted areas of the skin be-
come darker while the shaded areas
become lighter. By thus reducing the
effect of contrasty shadows on its
body, the chameleon appears to have
the light pass through its body and the
animal practically disappears amid its
natural surroundings. However, if the
chameleon moves suddenly or if the
shading object is moved, a "print"
of the shadow stays on the skin until
it readjusts to new conditions.
CHAMELEONS are not the only
lizards that display this reaction
to light intensity, although they prob-
ably exhibit much more variety in
their reactions than do other lizards.
Many years ago I noticed the green
print of a wire screen on my captive
Anolis lizards in Alabama, after they
had basked in the sun and turned
brown except where the screen's
shadow had touched them. Oddly. I
have not seen this feature mentioned
in descriptions of Anolis behavior,
although the blanching effect of a
shadow on African chameleons was
noted more than a century ago by E.
Briicke. a German scientist.
The mechanics of the color changes
in the skin itself are relatively well
understood. All of the color elements
occur in the thick dermis that under-
lies the thin, transparent epidermis.
The specialized cells that provide the
different colors occur in four layers.
The outermost layer is made up of
xanthophores, which contain yellow
pigments. Scattered through the same
layer are a few cells called erythro-
phores, which contain red pigments.
Underlying this top layer of yellows
and reds on most of the body is an
irregularly distributed layer of cells
that reflect blue light. Immediately
below it is a more uniform layer that
reflects white light. Neither the "blue
layer" nor the "white layer" contains
any actual pigment. The colors are
produced in the cells by layered struc-
tures of crystals of a substance called
guanine. The fourth, and innermost,
color layer contains the main bodies
of the melanophores— cells that con-
tain melanin, a very dark brown pig-
ment. The melanophores have long,
tentacle-like arms that extend up
toward the surface through the other
three color layers.
The strata of blue- and white-re-
flecting cells are not involved in the
chameleon's color changes. However,
the layer of yellow xanthophores acts
as a screen above these layers and the
yello\\' or red cells can apparently con-
tract or expand, giving stronger or
weaker effects. Where the blue-reflect-
ing layer occurs under the yellow,
green is produced. In areas where the
blue is absent, white light is reflected
from the third layer through the
xanthophores and erythrophores to
give the true colors of yellow and red.
The main effectors of color changes
are the melanophores. The cell walls
of melanophores do not contract and
expand, but the melanin they contain
can be concentrated in the main cell
body below the white-reflecting layer,
or it may be dispersed into the cell
arms that extend up through the other
color layers, thus obscuring one or
more of them.
The amount of melanin in the arms
of the melanophores. then, is the prin-
cipal determinant of the chameleon's
color. Light greens and yellows are
produced when the melanin is at
maximum concentration below the
white-reflecting layer. Melanin intro-
duced into the white-reflecting area
darkens the greens, and if dispersed
completely over the yellow layer as
well, obscures all the other colors and
turns the chameleon dark brown-
almost black.
Questions about the chameleon's
change are not so much those of skin
and cell structure, but rather of con-
trol of these structures. Even limited
observation shows that the cha-
meleon's color is determined by nei-v-
ous or hormonal controls. The African
chameleon turns dark when it is angry
or greatly disturbed, when it is cool,
or when it is in bright light although
otherwise undisturbed. Conversely,
it is pale when overheated or when it
is undisturbed and in the dark.
The American Anolis carolinensis
goes through a similar set of changes
(although it is light when disturbed
and dark when undisturbed) , but they
are not as complex as those in the
African chameleons. According to
present theory, however, the Anolis
and the chameleons attain these simi-
lar results differently. Current litera-
ture suggests that color changes in
Anolis lizards are accomplished by
hormonal controls while color changes
that take place in the African chame-
leon are under direct nerve controls.
Of course, the two kinds of lizards
are not closely related and no doubt
their color-control apparatus devel-
oped independently over a long period
of time. However, I do wonder if per-
haps some of the presumed differences
are not due to the two different,
"schools" of research on animali
coloration that are involved. '•
George H. Parker and his students
in the United States, who studied
Anolis, were advocates of the impor-
tance of neurohumors, or controlling
hormones, in color changes. On the
other hand, the work of Lancelot Hog- ]
ben, his students, and other European
biologists who studied chameleons ;
tended to emphasize the importance j
of direct neural control, and it is the ]
Europeans who have done most 5
studies of African chameleons. Since ':
the two groups have dealt with differ-
ent animals and have approached ;
their studies with different points of ^
emphasis, it is no surprise that they "
have come to different conclusions. •
Parker's opinion of the phenomenon
is that the melanophores are affected '
directlv by the light. Those cells af- ,
fected by bright light disperse their j
pigment, causing the color of that area '
of the body to darken. The melano-
phores that are not so affected con- ;
centrate their pigment, which lightens t
the color in the area. j
The theories of the European work- 1
ers, who have actually carried out the
experiments on the chameleons, postu^
late the existence of a very complex
system of direct nervous control. Ac-
cording to these researchers there j
must be a series of dermal receptors j
in the chameleon that are affected by j
the light. Impulses from the receptors j
travel to the spinal cord, which then j
sends impulses to the melanophores, i
causing them to disperse or to con-
centrate their melanin. |
THE fundamental difference ofj
opinion as to whether the color!
changes are mediated by a single'
neurohumor (without any nerves in-i
volved ) , or by as many as four nerve-;
complexes, is still unsettled.
It is to be hoped that the necessary:
experiments and observations may be
performed soon. Surely the Atlantic ^
Ocean is no longer the barrier to in-'
ternational study of common scien-|
tific problems that it was to the dis-i
tribution of the animals involved.
42
Wood slat shades luirt (if chajiic'liMin"- ImkIv. <ibove. Pale of the lizard"? cliarifrc^ (if cdldr arc understood, but control
band, belou, remains uliere sliadow fell. The "niechanics" of skin and i ell slriu liiro iiiNoKcd still jioscs problem.
SKY REPORTER
hotometry yields clues to temperature and distance of stars
By Thomas D. Nicholson
'arly astronomers made the logical assumption that
the brightest stars were the nearest, which is true of
ny stars, but not all. In our winter sky, Sirius is the
ghtest visible star. It is also the nearest nighttime star
it can be seen with unaided eyes from most of the United
ites. Other bright winter stars, such as Pollux, Procyon,
i Capella, are also among the nearby stars.
Over the years astronomers have come to realize that
tance is not the only factor that governs the brightness
stars. Some, like Betelguese, Bellatrix, Rigel, and the
rs of Orion's Belt, appear very bright even though they
; known to be very far away. If these stars were as close
Sirius or Procyon, they would appear as bright as the
lon, although not so large.
rhus the apparent magnitude of a star— the way it ap-
irs from earth— may not indicate the true brightness,
t apparent magnitude is what we actually measure when
observe the brightness of a star in the sky.
[n last month's "Sky Reporter" we compared the ob-
ved brightness of the sun (magnitude —26.7) with the
served brightness of Sirius (magnitude —1.42). The
Ference in the magnitudes (about 25) indicated that the
I looks 10 billion times brighter than Sirius. The faint-
objects we can observe (with the 200-inch Hale tele-
pe at Mount Palomar) are about magnitude 23. This
roughly 25 magnitudes fainter than Sirius, which thus
ms about 10 billion times brighter than the faintest
servable stars.
rherefore, from the brightest object that we can observe
e sun) to the faintest, the range in brightness is approxi-
tely 50 magnitudes, or 100,000,000,000,000,000.000
les. The branch of astronomy with the task of measuring
urately the brightness of celestial bodies throughout this
)rmous range is called photometry.
Before the nineteenth century, the brightness of stars
3 estimated by visual comparisons among the stars
mselves. The most common method was to choose, near
star to be measured, comparison stars slightly brighter
1 slightly fainter than the unknown star. The brightness
the star in question was then estimated by observing
ratio of its light to that of the comparison stars. Many
ateur astronomers still use this method for visual esti-
tes of the brightness of variable stars,
rhe first practical instrument for measuring stellar
ghtness— the photometer— was developed in 1836 by the
jlish astronomer John Herschel. By optical means,
rschel reduced the image of the moon to a point of light,
n viewed it at various distances until it matched the
ghtness of the star being measured. The magnitude of
star was indicated by the distance at which the image
:.LOW AND ORANGE STARS are easily seen in color photo
part of Veil Nebula in Cygnus. These stars appear faint
3n photographed with ordinary, blue-sensitive emulsions.
of the moon appeared to match the brightness of the star.
A much more precise visual photometer was developed
in Germany in 1861 by J. C. F. Zollner. In his instrument
the star to be measured was viewed through two polarizing
filters and compared to an artificial light of constant bright-
ness. By rotating one of the two polarizing filters, the light
of the star was dimmed until it matched the artificial "star."
The star's magnitude was indicated by the angle through
which the filter was turned.
Polarizing photometers were widely used in American
and European observatories during the late nineteenth and
early twentieth centuries. During these decades the first
great photometric catalogues were prepared, notably at
Potsdam, Germany, and at Harvard. At the Harvard Ob-
servatory, E. C. Pickering developed an improved instru-
ment, known as the meridian photometer, in which the star
Polaris was used as the comparison source rather than an
artificial light. At Oxford, England, C. Pritchard devised
the wedge photometer, in which a dark glass filter of in-
creasing thickness— hence a wedge— was used to dim the
appearance of the star that was being measured until it
matched a comparison source.
During the twentieth century photographic and photo-
electric methods replaced visual photometers. A photo-
graph records the brightness of hundreds or thousands of
stars at a time, as compared to star-by-star observations
with the visual photometer, and it can record much fainter
stars than the eye can see when using the same telescope.
THE magnitude of a star on a photographic plate is de-
termined by the size and density of the image recorded
by the emulsion. Magnitudes may be determined by visual
inspection of the plate or with an instrument that measures
the size and opacity of the negative images. Brighter stars
are sometimes photographed out of focus, so that they pro-
duce circular images of equal area but varying density on
the plate. The magnitude of the stars is then determined
solely by image density.
Since photographic emulsions vary in the way they re-
spond to light, the brightness of stars recorded on the plate
must be calibrated against stars of known magnitude.
Even so, magnitudes determined photographicallv may be
different from magnitudes measured visually. The human
eye is most sensitive to yellow light, whereas ordinary
photographic emulsions are most sensitive to blue light.
Thus red and orange stars are brighter to the eye than they
appear on a photograph; and the blue stars are registered
prominently on film.
The scale of photographic magnitudes is adjusted to
match the visual magnitude for a white star with a surface
temperature of about 18,000°F. Gamma Geminorum, a
second-magnitude star in Gemini, is such a star. Its visual
and photographic magnitudes are equal. A star with a
visual magnitude greater than its photographic magnitude,
such as Capella, in Auriga, is cooler and more yellow; a
45
Dr. Nicholson is Assistant Chairman, Astronomer, and a
lecturer at The American Museum-Hayden Planetarium.
star with a visual magnitude less than its photographic
magnitude, such as Bellatrix, in Orion, is hotter and blue.
The difference obtained by subtracting the visual from
the photographic magnitude is a quantitative indication of
a star's color and, therefore, of its surface temperature.
The difference is called the color index. Since the visual
and photographic magnitudes of Gamma Geminorum are
equal, the color index of the star is zero. Stars with a color
index close to zero are white stars.
The visual magnitude of Capella is approximately 0.05.
Its photographic magnitude is fainter, about 0.85. The dif-
ference (0.85 minus 0.05) gives Capella a color index of
+0.80, which signifies that it is a yellow star, slightly
cooler and redder than the sun (color index +0.63). High
positive color index is associated with cool, red stars.
The visual magnitude of Bellatrix is 1.64; its photo-
graphic magnitude is 1.41, which means it is brighter
photographically. The color index of Bellatrix (1.41 minus
1.64) is —0.23, which indicates that it is blue, since nega-
tive color index is associated with hot, blue stars.
SPECIAL red-sensitive photographic emulsions have been
developed that yield images approximating the visual
brightness of stars. Stellar magnitudes obtained with red-
sensitive plates are known as photovisual magnitudes, and
they are equated with the visual magnitude scale. Color in-
dex, and therefore temperature, may be obtained for large
numbers of stars by comparing their brightness on blue-
sensitive and red-sensitive plates.
For very accurate photometric work today, astronomers
use photoelectric instruments. The earliest of these, devel-
oped by J. Stebbins about 1910 at the University of Illinois,
was based on the properties of selenium, which, in a par-
ticular crystalline form, varies its electrical conductivity
according to the amount of light falling upon it. When
small selenium cells are exposed in a telescope to the con-
centrated light from a star, the current across the cell
depends upon the star's brightness, and therefore indicates
the star's magnitude. Photoelectric cells were developed in
Germany and eventually were adopted and further refined
in the United States. The inside of a photoelectric cell is
coated with a metal— such as sodium or potassium— tha
gives off electrons when light falls on it. The electrons an
collected by a cathode in the cell and they generate a cui
rent that can be suitably amplified. Since the number o
electrons emitted is proportional to the intensity of thi
light beam that strikes the cell, the output of a photoelectrii
cell indicates directly the illuminating star's magnitude.
Mounted at the eyepiece end of a large telescope, mod
ern photoelectric photometers are so sensitive that they cai
detect the light of a candle at a distance of 1,000 miles
Since photoelectric cells can be sensitive over a wide rangi
of frequencies, these instruments can measure either visusi
magnitudes or photographic magnitudes when they ari
equipped with appropriate filters. Photoelectric photometr'
is a rather slow process, however, because of the need fo
careful preparation and calibration of instruments an(
because only one star can be observed at a time. Its use i;
generally limited to cases where extreme accuracy is re
quired, or to establishing the brightness of reference starj
for calibrating photographic magnitudes. j
Many years of carefully observing stellar magnitude
bore fruit when astronomers began to accumulate meas
urements of stellar distances. If the distance to a star i
known, its apparent magnitude can be adjusted to a seal
that indicates the intrinsic brightness of the star. Whei
the apparent magnitude is adjusted to a standard distanc;
of ten parsecs, the resulting measure of the star's bright
ness is known as absolute magnitude. A parsec is the dis
tance at which the radius of the earth's orbit (93 millioi
miles) would form an angle of one second, or about 3..
light-years. Absolute magnitude, therefore, is the brighi
ness a star would have if it were located at a distance a
32 light-years from the earth.
When the absolute magnitude of a number of stars be
came known, astronomers found that the properties o
certain stars were reliable indicators of their intrinsii
luminosity. These properties included the spectral feature
of some bright stars and the period of the light changes ii
some variable stars. From these properties, astronomer
could estimate the absolute magnitude of the stars and, bi
comparing this with the apparent magnitude, could observi
how greatly the stars had been dimmed by distance. Thu:
astronomers have discovered in the magnitude scales :
powerful implement for determining the distance t(
stars beyond the range of direct parallax measurements
Photographic magnitude of stars is determined by size
and density of images. In different exposures of same sky
46
area the brightest star is magnitude 7. Long exposure, a
right, shows stars too faint to register in photo at lefl
A'*;?
IE SKY
FEBRUARY
MAGNITUDE SCALE
ir -0.1 and brighter
* 0.0 to +0.9
* +1.0 to +1.9
* +2.0 to +2.9
+ +3.0 to +3.9
* +4.0 and fainter
V> V ''•'■'-<
^^r^r^
'='^N/SM/NOR
.■i ,+* CANfe '^'°''
dj
* ...^» ■•
-' ' ,': Jr .*- '
February 1 11:00 p.m.
February 15 10:00 p.m.
February 29 3:00 p.m.
(Local Standard Time)
February 15: Saturn and the sun are in conjunction, or
arly in line as seen from eartii. Saturn leaves the evening
/ and becomes a morning star, but it will not be readily
ibie until after mid-March.
February 16: Mars and the sun are in conjunction. Mars
ters the morning sky, but it will not be seen easily as a
jrning star until late spring of this year.
February 15, 16, 17: Jupiter, Venus, and the moon are
eresting to watch on these evenings. On the evening of
! 15th, the crescent moon appears lower than Venus, and
piter is higher than Venus. Venus and the moon are in
njunction about 8:00 a.m., EST, on the 16th, and by the
3ning of the 16th, the moon appears between Venus and
piter. Then, about 4:00 a.m., EST, on the 17th, Jupiter and
; moon are in conjunction. In the evening sky of that date
! moon appears above Jupiter.
February 28: Venus and Jupiter are-, in conjunction about
)0 A.M., EST, Venus passing within two degrees of Jupiter,
the evening of the 27th, the two brilliant planets are quite
ise, and Venus, brighter of the two, is slightly below and
to the right of Jupiter. By dark on the evening of the 28th,
Venus has already passed Jupiter, but the two planets are
still quite close to each other. However, this time Venus is
slightly above Jupiter.
Mercury may be seen low in the east during the early
dawn for several days during the first week of February, but
only with difficulty. Although bright (magnitude zero), it rises
only an hour and a half before the sun on February 1, and
is soon lost in the brightening sky. Later in the month, it
dims and moves closer to the sun.
Saturn and Mars, although they are morning stars, are
much too close to the sun to be seen. '
Jupiter and Venus appear each night during the month
of February in the twilight sky to the west, shortly after sun-
down, long before any star can be seen. Venus, the brighter
of the two, appears first, then Jupiter— above and to the left
of Venus for most of the month. Jupiter, although receding
from earth and growing fainter, is brighter (magnitude —1.8)
than any star. During the month Venus brightens from mag-
nitude —3.5 to —3.7, because it is getting closer to earth.
The Hawaiiaij
1
Monk Seal
Rare mammal survives in Leeward Island
Extreme fatness is characteristic
of the newly weaned monk seal pup.
By Dale W. Rice
IN THE MIDDLE of the North Pacific
Ocean, the Leeward chain of
islands extends like the tail of a comet
for twelve hundred miles northwest of
the main Hawaiian Islands. The islets
nearest to Hawaii are jagged chunks
of volcanic rock, the remnants of once
higher islands. But at the far end of
the chain, the volcanic peaks long ago
sank beneath the sea; these islands
have kept their heads above water only
because their crowns of reef cor;
have grown upward to compensate i
the sinking. All summer long, an er
less succession of heavy ocean swel
running before the steady northe:
trade winds, break over the fringi
reefs into sheets of foam, slide over t
blue-green shallows, and hurl the
selves onto the glaring white coi
sand beaches. Those lonely bead
and shallow lagoons are the home
one of the world's rarest mammal;
the Hawaiian monk seal.
Monk seals are the only tropical and
jtropical members of a predomi-
ntly cold-water family— the Pho-
ae, or earless seals, of which there
; three species. The Mediterranean
nk seal (Monachus monachus) ,
II known to the ancient Greeks, now
vives only in a few scattered col-
es in the Mediterranean and Black
s, Madeira and the Canary Islands,
1 along the northwest coast of
rica. Columbus discovered the
ribbean monk seal (Monachus trop-
lisj, which was formerly abundant
:he Bahamas, the Florida Keys, the
iater Antilles, and along the east
st of Mexico. It probably has been
erminated. The Hawaiian species
onachus schauinslandi) is endemic
the Leeward Islands end of the
yaiian Islands chain,
low did the monk seals come to
e this relict, pantropical distribu-
1? Probably we shall never know
details of their history, but after
king a detailed study of their skull
:ures, and taking into account what
sontologists have learned of the
fossil history of the phocid seals, I
think the following hypothesis is the
most plausible: the earliest phocids
were descended from otter-like car-
nivores that lived in the fresh-water
lakes of Asia during the Miocene
Epoch— some twenty million years ago.
As the extensive lakes slowly disap-
peared, the ancestral seals moved into
the coastal seas. Some went north, into
the Arctic Ocean; their descendants
are the modern northern seals, such as
the harbor and ringed seals. Others
moved south to the vast Tethys Sea,
precursor of the Mediterranean, which
bordered the southern edge of Eurasia ;
from them the monk seals (and also
the Antarctic seals and elephant seals)
are descended.
Of all the earless seals, the monk
seals have probably changed the least
since Miocene times— they have not ac-
quired the specializations that charac-
terize the other branches of the family
that invaded the cold polar regions.
One species of monk seal has remained
in the Mediterranean. From this birth-
place, they pushed westward to the
Caribbean, and eastward across Poly-
nesia to the Hawaiian Islands. Since
the extinction long ago of the inter-
vening populations, the three groups
of monk seals developed the distinctive
traits that entitle them to recognition
as separate species.
FOR many millenniums, the Ha-
waiian monk seals lived un-
disturbed on their remote islands.
Apparently even the seafaring Poly-
nesians never reached the western
atolls of the Leeward chain, a fact that
may account for the seals' survival
here— and nowhere else— in the Pacific.
In the early 1800's the intrepid W'hal-
ers, sealers, feather-hunters, and
guano-diggers, who in a few decades
filled in the blank spaces on half the
globe, discovered the Hawaiian monk
seals' retreat. To them, the monk seal
was only another source of oil and
hides. Their slaughter of the animals
on the Leeward Islands was character-
istically thorough— almost complete, in
Churning water in her wake, a female
repulses advances of a courting male.
fact, by the year 1896. when Dr. H. H.
Schauinsland, the German scientist
after whom the species was named,
visited Laysan Island. During his stay
he saw no seals, but Max Schlemmer,
who operated a guano works on the
island, gave him the skull of a seal, one
of only seven that had been seen dur-
ing fifteen years. The Hawaiian monk
seal thus barely escaped being exter-
minated without its existence ever
being known to the scientific world.
With the coming of the twentieth
century, petroleum reduced the need
for whale and seal oil. The age of the
sea hunters had ended. The few sur-
viving monk seals and their sea bird
neighbors once again were left to
themselves. The Commercial Pacific
Cable Company, Pan American Air-
ways, and finally the U.S. Navy oc-
cupied Midway Islands, but they were
too busy to bother, or even to notice,
the seals. The other five atolls on which
the seals lived remained uninhabited
and very seldom visited.
WHEN Karl Kenyon (NATURAL
History, November, 1963 ) and
I were assigned to Midway Islands in
late 1956 to study the albatrosses, or
"gooney birds," which nest by the
thousands on the Leeward Islands, we
were also determined to learn as much
as possible about the monk seal— how
many there were, and how they lived
in an environment so different from
that of their cold-water relatives.
The first seal I met was sleeping
in the shade of the "scavvy" thickets
(Scaevola frutescens) that rimmed the
upper edge of the beach. I did not see
him until he raised his head to look
at me, and then lowered it and shut
his eyes. A moment later he raised it
again and took another look. With
mouth closed he voiced a peculi;
'"bgg-bgg-bgg-bgg-bgg," like wat
bubbling from an upside-down ju
He lumbered into the water, dived, ai
surfaced a few yards off the bead
from whence he continued to watch n
a while before swimming off to findi
place where he could resume his n£
without being interrupted. This inn^
tameness, we found, is characterise
of monk seals— it probably comes frO
having lived so long on islands whej
there are no land predators to attai
them. Even seals on Midway, whi«
have contended with man for onlv ha
a century, are no less tame than tho:
on other, rarely visited islands. Wht
I went spear-fishing, I sometimes sd
them watching me under water.
These behavioral traits were impo
tant clues to the relationships of tl
monk seal. When I later imitated tl
bubbling voice for a biologist froi
ew Zealand, he said it sounded just
ce the leopard seal (Hydrurga lep-
nyx) and other Southern Hemis-
lere species, which share the innate
meness. I have since heard northern
3phant seals (Mirounga angustiros-
Is) utter a similar sound.
As spring advanced, and cool, windy
lys became less frequent, the first
ips were born. We found that when
e females were ready to give birth
their pups they tended to congregate
I certain beaches and islets that were
otected from wave action, either by
substantial barrier reef, or because
ey were on the lee side of the island,
ley were also high enough so that
e pup could crawl out of reach of
gh spring tides. Although mother
als tolerated each other's presence,
ey vigorously repelled all other seals,
rticularly courting males that at-
npted to approach them. Unlike
Black pelage of monk seal pups may
protect them from tropical sun. They
nurse frequently from their mothers'
four functional teats and grow rapidly.
other species, such as the gray seal
(Halichoerus grypusj and the ele-
phant seal, there was no harem for-
mation or other social ties between
individual monk seals.
Most of the pups at Midway were
born on the small islets that could be
visited only by special trips in a small
boat. We placed numbered metal tags
on the flippers of all these pups, but
the weather and our work with the
gooney birds prevented us from exam-
ining them at regular intervals. Finally
one evening in late March a message
arrived from Chief Green of the Com-
munications Unit on Eastern Island
( a restricted area ) — two monk seals
had just given birth to pups. This
would enable us to make the regular
detailed observations necessary to ob-
tain sound biological data. The next
morning we caught the early boat to
Eastern Island. Chief Green led us to
During first five weeks of life, the
pup remains with its mother constantly.
the two mother seals, who were lying
on the beach beside their tiny, jet-
black pups. The mothers were enor-
mously fat. An average non-pregnant
female, 7 feet 6 inches long, will weigh
about 450 pounds, but a pregnant fe-
male may weigh 550 to 600 pounds.
(Males are smaller; they average
about 7 feet in length and 375 pounds
in weight. ) We were soon to learn the
reason for the mother seals' obesity.
The mother seals showed no fear of
us. They were not disturbed by our
presence until we came too close ; then
they threatened us with open mouth
and loud bellows. Karl Kenyon had
to divert the mothers' attention while
I leaped in and kidnapped their pups.
We had to weigh, measure, and tag
each pup quickly, before its angry
mother could get to us. Reunited with
their pups, the mothers sprawled on
their sides, seemingly oblivious to our
presence, and the pups began to nurse.
We were surprised to find that the
mother monk seal has two pairs of
functional teats. All the other species
51
Numbered metal tags were placed on flippers of seals,
which were measured and weighed at regular intervals.
Laysan and Lisianski Islands and Pearl and Hermes
Reef are so remote that seals are undisturbed, right.
Females gather in sheltered areas before parturition,
and will attack courting males when pups are small.
earless seals, except the bearded
I (Erignathus barbatus) of the
;tic, have only one pair. The pos-
iion of two pairs was probably the
dition in the ancestral phocids.
rrE closely followed the develop-
\j ment of these two young. At
lUt eighteen days of age. they began
;hed their velvety-black birth coat,
ch is so different from the woolly,
te or pale-gray birth coats of most
1-water seals (Natural History,
rch, 1962 I . Elephant seals are the
y other phocids whose pups are
n with black pelage. This dark hair
bably protects the species from the
snse sunlight of their near-tropical
ne. The new pelage was short and
rse, and was a dark, silvery-gray
ive, shading to white below, like
t of the adults. By the time they
e four weeks old, their teeth had
:un to appear. This was their per-
nent set of teeth, for unlike most
mmals, the milk teeth of earless
Is are resorbed before birth.
\X birth the pups weighed less than
ty pounds, and were extremely
iny. With frequent nursing periods,
y now began to fill out. By the time
y were four days old, they would
m for brief periods in the shallow
;er. At first they swam weakly, and
jld sometimes rest their fore-
quarters on their mothers' backs. They
soon became strong swimmers and
spent more time in the water. The
mothers' protective reactions were so
strong that, even if they were swim-
ming more than fifty yards offshore
with their pups, they would come
ashore to threaten us if we appeared
on the beach. Since their young alw ays
followed them ashore, we could catch
the pups for periodic weighings.
At Kure Atoll, while trying to dis-
tract a mother seal so we could ex-
amine her pup, I got too close. She
grabbed my field notebook from my
hands, shook it in her teeth, and flung
it dow n into the sand !
Since the mothers remained with
their pups continuously, they had no
opportunity to feed, and the frequent
nursing of the pups was a heavy drain
on their blubber stores. We estimated
one mother seal's weight at about 575
pounds when her pup was born. The
weights of the pups increased at an
unbelievable rate. One of them dou-
bled his birth weight in fifteen days,
tripled it in eleven more. By the time
he was thirty-five days old. he weighed
over 140 pounds, or four times his
birth weight. His length had increased
from .38 to 48 inches. He was so plump
he could hardly move ! His mother was
now a gaunt creature, for she had lost
almost two hundred pounds. For each
two pounds the mother lost, her pup
gained one. Eventually, w'hen she no
longer could nurse her pup she quietly
slipped away and disappeared while
he lay sleeping.
The other pup, whom we named
"Little Herman," was deserted by his
mother when he w as but twenty days
old, and weighed only 82 pounds. His
mother was not as fat as the mother
mentioned above, and evidently was
unable to nurse him any longer.
THE months ahead were critical
ones for the pups, for they had to
learn to catch their own food. Their
blubber stores helped to tide them
through this period. At first they
showed little inclination to leave their
birthplace. We continued to weigh
them at regular intervals. Sometimes
we had to wade into hip-deep water to
catch them; then we dragged them
ashore, amid tremendous splashing.
Their weight steadily fell as they
used up their blubber stores, but they
were slowly learning the ways of adult
seals. We sometimes saw- them playing.
They would dive, pick up a rock or
some other object, bring it to the sur-
face, drop it, and dive again. In this
way they probably discovered what
things were good to eat. They also be-
gan to wander farther from home.
When the hot, still days of July ar-
rived, we could no longer find them
in their old haunts. They had probably
moved to the outer reef, where many
of the adults haul out during the
summer months.
We next saw* the pups when the
windy days of autumn drove the seals
back to the protected islets and sand
bars near the main islands. Both their
appearance and behavior were greatly
changed. They weighed only about a
hundred pounds, but they were longer
—4 feet 3 inches, on the average— and
had the streamlined shape of adult
seals. No longer would they docilely
let us weigh and measure them. It was
a two-man job to wrap them up in a
net to immobilize them and keep their
strong jaws out of mischief.
Although most of the other tagged
pups had survived, we never found
Little Herman again. Apparently his
scant blubber supply failed to last un-
til he learned to find his own food.
This is probably Yiow the food sup-
ply regulates the number of monk
seals. When the seal population is
high, supplies of readily available food
would be somewhat depleted; the fe-
sz
males would be unable to put on much
blubber, and their pups' chances for
survival would be correspondingly re-
duced. Our observations suggest that
female monk seals do not give birth
two years in succession. Only the fe-
males who do not have pups will accept
the advances of the courting males.
The physiological strain of rearing a
pup probably prevents females from
becoming pregnant again until they
have regained their store of blubber
during at least one entire year of un-
interrupted feeding.
THE only sure way to determine an
animal's food habits is to examine
its stomach. Because the monk seal is
one of the world's rarest mammals, we
did not wish to collect many of them.
In fact, we killed only two— both males.
We also found the spewed stomach
contents of two others. This revealed
that they feed principally on octopuses
(Octopus SY>-) aid moray eels (Gym-
nothorax sp.; Echidna sp.), which live
in the crannies among the coral for-
mations, and on conger eels ( Ario-
soma s^.) , which burrow in the sandy
bottoms of the shallow lagoons. They
also take a few bottom fishes and reef
fishes, such as flatfish, puffers, and
goatfish. Octopuses and eels usually
venture out of their hiding places only
at night; this suggested that the monk
seals feed mostly nocturnally. I had a
chance to confirm this during a visit
to Laysan Island, where we camped
just above the beach. During the mid-
dle of the day, we sometimes counted
more than three hundred monk seals
basking in the sun on the beaches. But
on several brightly moonlit nights I
walked the beaches and found not a
single seal, except mothers with pups.
In the summer, after the breeding
season was over, we discovered an-
other surprising fact about the monk
seals. They began to molt their old
pelage, now stained a yellowish brown.
Instead of shedding each hair indi-
vidually, like most mammals, they shed
the epidermis in large, ragged patches.
Shedding the epidermis in this man-
ner is characteristic of reptiles, but of
only one other mammal— the elephant
seal. This, along with other features,
such as the black coat of the pup, sug-
gests that elephant seals and monk
seals are very closely related.
At Midway, the regular boat run
between Sand and Eastern Islands
passed near the islets and sand bars
that were the seals' favorite hauling
54
) y
grounds. We counted the animals on
every trip— sometimes there w ere more
than sixty. Low-altitude photorecon-
naissance flights over the albatross
colonies also gave us an excellent op-
portunity to make periodic counts of
the monk seals on Kure Atoll, Pearl
and Hermes Reef, Lisianski Island,
Laysan Island, and French Frigate
Shoal. We also visited some of these
islands by ship. The total population
in the winter of 1957/58 was about
twelve hundred— a gratifying increase
from earlier years, yet a vulnerably
low number for any animal species.
The reproductive rate of the monk
seal is very low, even for a large
marine mammal. Females apparently
do not breed until they are at least
three years old and then, as has been
said, they probably do not give birth
more often than once every two years.
The bearded seal is the only other
phocid known to have such a breeding
cycle. In the spring of 1958, about one
hundred seventy pups were born, a
birth rate of only 14 per cent.
I saw one seal with a hind flipper
missing, and others carried large scars
on their sides, possibly the results of
shark attacks. We encountered many
sharks, including 12-foot tiger sharks
(Galeocerdo cuvieri) , in the shallow
lagoons, but they seemed to pay no
attention to the seals, not even to pups.
The seals have no other predators to
fear in the shallow lagoons. Our counts
indicated that the annual death rate
must be very low— about 3 per cent.
Like other marine mammals, they tend
to live long. Annular layers in the
cementum layer of the canine tooth of
one adult male that we collected inc
cated that he was twenty years old. j
present the seals seem to be increasii
their numbers by approximately .
per cent each year.
EXCEPT for Midway, which is tl
site of the large U.S. Naval St
tion, all of the islands on which t
monk seals live are part of the Leewa:
Islands Bird Reservation, admin;
tered by the Fish and Wildlife Servic
U.S. Department of the Interior. TI
would seem to insure their surviv;
However, in recent years disturban
by man has become an increasii
threat. The U.S. Coast Guard has
station on Tern Island in Fren
Frigate Shoal, and has recently tak'
over Kure Atoll. Seals still occu]
Midway, in spite of its large hum;
population, but in '57 and '58, at le;
seven of the eighteen pups born at Mi
way failed to survive until weanir
On the other islands, we found on
one dead pup. The causes of the deat
at Midway apparently were the in(
rect results of human activity— detor
tion of explosives in the ship chanii
and perhaps persistent disturbance!
mothers with pups by photographe
beachcombers, boating parties, ai
dogs. But on Laysan and Lisians
Islands, and among the vast expans
of Pearl and Hermes Reef, the moi
seals still spend the quiet, dark nigl
fishing in the warm, coral-studded I
goons, and bask undisturbed under t
glaring tropical sun, as they have do
for uncounted generations. Let us ho
that they may continue to thrive ai
increase for many more. ,
Tameness of monk seals
is remarkable. This may
be a result of living so
long on islands that are
without land predators.
Male, in threat posture,
is molting, when, unlike
most mammals, the seals
shed epidermis itself in
large and raggedpatches.
Huge upper jaws of a European stag
beetle lend insect bizarre appearance.
56
If the pincers are larger than normal,
they will hamper beetle in fighting.
An 'Aiitlered
Grotesque
stag beetle is named for its giant pincers
By Lars Holmberg
Europe's largest beetle and one
of the largest insects found out-
side the tropics, the stag beetle is a
truly impressive sight. Seen close-up
it looks like a science-fiction creation,
but it is really harmless.
The disproportionately large man-
dibles, which in the male may be as
long as the body, resemble antlers,
explaining the beetle's common name.
In fact, the scientific name of the in-
sect, Lucanus cerviis, reflects the ant-
ler-like look of the upper jaws, because
cervus is Latin for red deer. In the
United States the Lucanidae are aptly
called pinch bugs, since some can draw
blood with the mandibles. Curiously,
there seems to be an inverse relation-
ship between the size of the mandibles
and the beetle's fighting efficiency. The
larger the pincers, the more unwieldy
they are, and the less favorable is the
leverage the insect can exert on them.
Male European stag beetles often
attain a length of 'l^o inches, but the
females seldom exceed 1% inches. In
any case, there is great variation in
size among individuals of a given
species. Of the 900 members of the
lucanid family, the largest one by far is
the East Indian Odontolabis alces, in
which the males are frequently more
than 4 inches long.
The stag beetle begins its life as an
egg, which is usually deposited in a
crevice in the bark of a decaying oak
tree or, perhaps, in a pile of sawdust
if the female lays the egg near human
habitation. As the larva grows, it
chews through the rotting wood or
sawdust and soon becomes a fat, white
grub with a brown head. The grub
stage lasts for three or four years,
sometimes as many as five. Eventually,
on a warm day in May or June, the
organism emerges. It is no longer an
TTING WOOD of old oak tree, right,
stag beetle's natural environment.
57
unattractive grub, but a glistening,
brownish-black stag beetle.
A stag beetle's life is short and ends
with the summer. During these weeks,
the insect engages in three principal
activities: mating, eating oak sap and
other nutritive liquids, and fighting
with other stag beetles. Two of these
pursuits involve the pincers, which are
used to hold mates and fight enemies.
Curiously, any sexual selection of the
best fighting males would favor those
with short, efficient jaws. But devel-
opment of large jaws may be linked
with other hereditary factors.
On light summer evenings in north-
ern Europe, when nightingales and
thrushes sing, stag beetles can be seen
and heard, too, as they fly through oak
forests in quest of mates.
The splendid male shown on these
pages never saw a summer day be-
cause, oddly, he "overslept" as a grub.
By the time he emerged from the saw-
dust heap in which he developed, it
was already November, and all of the
other stag beetles had died months be-
fore. He never saw another of his spe-
cies, thus passing an atypical life.
Besides its remarkable form, the
European stag beetle has yet another
claim to fame. It is one of the few
insects ever to have been depicted on a
postage stamp — a Hungarian issue.
Length of mandibles is nearly that
of body, above. The power of the jaws
is evident, below, as the stag beetle
crushes moist lump of sugar to powder.
*(iit^
ICE APPEARANCE of L. cervus does
indicate its eating habits. It exists
on a fluid diet that includes oak sap,
which it licks with brushlike tongue.
59
1
Snow Eaters
of Alberta
Cloud arch heralds quick chinook thaws
By Deryk Bodington
CANADIANS LIVING in southwestern
Alberta— the prairie province east
of the Pacific coastal province of Brit-
ish Columbia— are merely amused
when they hear a retelling of the old
story about a settler driving his sled
frantically across the snow in front of
a swift chinook wind. The wind, says
the tale, followed behind, melting the
snow from beneath the rear half of
the sled's runners, and threatened to
speed up and leave the settler stuck
on the bare ground. If this is a bit too
Bunyanesque, the meteorological facts
60
and economic consequences of the
blows are only slightly less outre.
A chinook, sometimes called a
"snow eater," is a warm, dry wind that
was named for the Chinook Indian
tribes of the West Coast, the direction
from which early settlers knew this
wind always blew. Usually it is her-
alded by a long, dramatic arch of
clouds, like that seen in the above
photo, which seems to reach from
horizon to horizon. Like the Santa Ana
wind of the mountainous area of
southern California and the foehn of
the Alps, the chinook gets its stai
when moist winds— that blow inlar
from the Pacific Ocean— rise and e
pand as they move across the moui
tains. As the air rises above tl
Canadian Rockies it is condense;
and rain falls. It continues inland ar
over the mountains; then the air slid'
down to the prairie on the eastern sid
It is compressed as it meets with tl
cold air mass of the prairie and in tl
process is further heated. The dr
matic chinook arch marks the conta
of warm and cold air masses.
Normally, the base of the clou
stays about two miles above tl
ground. The formation resembles ;
arch when seen from below, becau
its ends are far apart and thus appe
to bend toward the horizon. Benea
this arch, the winds of the chinoi
stream eastward toward Calgary.
My photograph of the magnifice
chinook arch was taken from Sco
man Hill overlooking Calgary, whe
chinooks are common weather pi
nomena during the months of Novel
her, December, and January. Althou]
chinooks come in summer as wel
their dryness often contributes to
causes summer drought conditions
it is as winter phenomena that t
warm winds are welcomed by Albe
They provide interludes of relief
1 the normal sub-zero temperatures
le prairie, and can roll snow away
moothly (if more slowly) as a
er rolls up a rug. In this way thou-
Is of acres of winter pastures are
red for cattle grazing. Alberta's
r-beet industry, as well as her
Is, depends on the chinook for a
tantial extension of the growing
on, and often the wind permits
lers to begin their field work in
:uary. The influence of the winter
lomenon on the smaller vegetable-
ling business is also beneficent,
lage is paid to the chinook locally
le form of business names— more
two dozen of Calgary's businesses
lamesakes of the wind.
L mid-January it is not uncommon
temperatures around Calgary to
as much as sixty degrees within
w hours after the arrival of the
ook. Usually, the winds move in
ng the early morning and may last
several hours or, occasionally, for
)ng as a whole week. In January
963, a series of mild chinooks fol-
id one another into the Calgary
over a period of eight successive
!, bringing unseasonably warm
Deratures of from 40° to 55° F.
ing that time, a few lilacs began
to bud in southern Alberta. Then, just
as suddenly as the winds appeared they
vanished, and thermometers plum-
meted to 2rF. below zero.
THE meteorological bureau in Cal-
gary has compiled comprehensive
statistics on chinooks, some of which
date back to 1893. On several occa-
sions during the past seventy years
there have been variations of as much
as ninety-nine degrees between highs
and lows in the month of January. In
1893, the highest January reading was
51 °F., and the lowest reading was
-48T. In 1929, the high was 54°F.,
the low — 45°F. These fluctuations took
place in Calgary itself, where the av-
erage January temperature over the
years has been calculated at 6°F. How-
ever, the meteorological record shows
that in January, 1958, a month of al-
most constant chinook winds, the
mean temperature was puUed up to a
relatively balmy 28°F. The all-time
January high for the city was recorded
in 1942 at 61 °F. In a recent December,
a chinook raised the temperature by
seventy degrees within a time span of
five hours, and in February, 1908, an-
other brought the temperature from
—14° up to a springlike 76° F. before
the snows again began to fall.
Sometimes the chinooks veer off
course, or rise above the cold air mass
of the prairie. I had an experience of
an erratic chinook several years ago
on a drive from Calgary to Banff. We
left Calgary when it was 20°F. below
zero, and drove onward through the
bitter cold. About thirty miles from
Calgary, we rounded a bend in the
road and were amazed to find our-
selves suddenly driving in pleasant,
45°F. weather. We arrived at Banff,
and enjoyed a warm, sunny day. That
evening, we drove back to Calgary. At
exactly the same bend in the road, we
re-entered the zone of sub-zero tem-
peratures. In this instance, the chinook
must have veered off course, flowed
up the Kananaskis Valley and over the
Highwood Pass to the south, circum-
venting Calgary entirely.
Many incidents have been reported
of other misplaced or erratic chinooks.
A pilot of a small plane once told of
being raised seventy-five feet by an up-
draft as he flew near Calgary. In that
seventy-five foot change in altitude his
plane's thermometer jumped from —8°
to 53°F. But usually chinooks are de-
pendable. When, on a sub-zero winter
morning, Albertans see a great cloud
arch in the Avest they kno^v that relief
from the pervading cold is on the way.
6i
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and think how many,
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About the Authors don't i-emove your glasses
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Address
City
Dr. Philip C. Hammond, the author
of "Rose-Red City of Petra," is Assistant
Professor in Old Testament at Princeton
Theological Seminary. He brings to bear
on his subject studies in Semitics at the
Graduate School of Yale University
(where he also prepared his doctorate
in Near Eastern Archeology), and con-
siderable field work. The latter includes
work with the American School of Ori-
ental Research, Jerusalem (Jordan), as
a Fellow and, in 1961-62, the post of
Director of the American Expedition to
Petra. He is currently Director of the
American Expedition to Hebron.
Fossil fishes are examined in "Fishes
and Climates," by Dr. C. L.wett Smith,
Assistant Curator of the Department of
Ichthyology at The American Museum.
Dr. Smith's interest in Cenozoic fishes
began in 1952, when he participated in
a University of Michigan field party that
was led by Dr. Claude W. Hibbard. Dr.
Smith is still actively studying Cenozoic
fishes. He describes his major profes-
sional interests as the classification of
fishes and the ecology of coral reef fishes,
with particular emphasis on the repro-
ductive mechanisms of the sea basses.
The color changes of the chameleon
are discussed in "Color Change: Cha-
meleon Camouflage," by Dr. Herndon
G. DowUNG, Curator of Reptiles at the
New York Zoological Park (Bronx Zoo) .
Dr. Dowling, who characterizes himself
as "a snake taxonomist by training and
inclination," says that his zoo work has
impelled him to view all reptilian attri-
butes "with interest and appreciation."
He has been especially concerned with
taxonomic studies of colubrid snake
genera and zoogeographic investigations
of amphibians and reptiles. Dr. Dowling
is also a Research Associate in the De-
partment of Herpetology at The Ameri-
can Museum.
Mr. Dale W. Rice, author of "The
Hawaiian Monk Seal." received an M.S.
in biology from the University of Florida
in 195.5, and since then has been em-
ployed as a Wildlife Research Biologist
with the Fish and Wildlife Service. For
the past five years Mr. Rice has been
the biologist in charge of whale research
for the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries,
and he is at the Bureau's Marine Mam-
mal Biological Laboratory in Seattle.
"An 'Antlered' Grotesque" is Mr. Lars
Holmberg's account of the large and
bizarre-looking European stag beetle.
Mr. Holmberg is a Swedish journalist
who writes often on natural history.
Canadian free-lancer Deryk Boding-
TON made the unusual panorama of the
chinook cloud arch that appears in
"Snow Eaters of Alberta." A citizen of
Calgary, Alberta, he writes from years
of experience with the chinook.
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City
62
ATURE and the CAMERA
actices and pitfalls
guile in the wild
David Linton
ILIND is an enclosure designed to
conceal the photographer and his
ratus. A trap, in nature photogra-
is a device by which the subject
; its own picture. Of the two, blinds
nucli more useful, and many of the
pictures of wild animals have been
1 from blinds. Although the develop-
; of long lenses and high-speed films
shifted emphasis in recent years to
res taken at long range, the blind
tins a most useful accessoi-y for the
re photographer.
the early days of nature photog-
y, elaborate attempts were made to
lise blinds as natural objects. Now
now that this is not necessary, since
mals suspect a blind because of its
I rather than its appearance, and
i will become accustomed to any
object— no matter what its shape—
rvill eventually lose their fear of it if
les not make threatening motions,
rds are often accustomed to seeing
nobiles, which, as a result, may
as convenient blinds. Some of the
3r bird species, however, will toler-
he presence of an auto only if it is
ng, and will scatter if it stops. If
is the case, the best compromise is
ive a companion drive the car as
y as possible without dispersing
lirds while you shoot pictures,
turally. a long-focal-length lens and
ck eye are necessary to photograph
a moving automobile. The camera
d be held so that it does not touch
sart of the vehicle; in that way the
)grapher's body and muscles damp
I of the vibration. Most people will
the slowest shutter speed that will
reasonably sharp negatives under
conditions to be about 1/250 sec,
he lowest practical speed will de-
on the length of the lens as well as
e photographer's steadiness. Motion
gnified to the same degree as is the
e formed by the lens; a long lens—
II increases image size— must there-
be held steadier than a short one,
when the camera is in motion the
lens will require a faster shutter
I than will a short lens.
Use Tripod in Car
few birds will accept the presence
completely motionless car as long
ople do not emerge from it. In such
it is vei-y helpful to have a camera
ort in the car. A small tripod can
be set up in many cars if two of the legs
are extended to rest on the floor while
the third is collapsed to rest on a seat.
In many station wagons a tripod can be
set up normally in the back. This is the
best location, because the rear window
gives a wider unobstructed sweep than
any other. The window should, of course,
be opened so as not to distort the photo-
graphic image.
The photographer should be seated
comfortably while working, because
holding an uncomfortable position for
any length of time will make his hands
shake. Even if the camera is on a tripod
he may be unable to operate it smoothly.
A more permanent blind is better than
an auto, of course, when a series of
pictures is to be made over a period of
time. It is a necessity for photographing
shy creatures that may take days to be-
come accustomed to its presence. Some-
times a blind is set up at a distance
from the subjects and moved closer each
day. In other cases a permanent blind
may be left in place for weeks or years.
Characteristics of Blinds
AN ordinary demountable blind is
similar to a small tent. Usually it is
not waterproof, since it will not be used
on rainy days, but the material must be
sufficiently opaque so that subjects will
not see the photographer moving about
inside. Material of a neutral color that
will blend with the surroundings is prob-
ably an advantage. Here. too. the photog-
rapher should be able to sit in comfort ;
otherwise he will not be able to stay
mentally alert and physically relaxed.
In most places, a blind should protect
the photographer from mosquitoes. It
should also have adequate ventilation,
as a blind exposed to the sun can become
insufferably hot. Openings covered with
nylon mosquito netting should admit air
near the bottom of the blind, and other
openings should vent it out near the top.
The opening through which the lens pro-
jects can be provided with a drawstring
or elastic ring to make a snug, mosquito-
proof closure.
The best way to keep a blind cool is
to erect it in a shady place. If there are
no trees at hand, a separate "fly" (an
extra cloth roof over the regular one,
with an open air space between them)
will make the enclosure more livable.
It is not too difficult to make— or to
have made— a blind such as the one just
HOLD
THAT TIGER
WITH A
HONEYWELL
PENTAX!
This cat is not snarling at
the photographer. He likes to have
his picture taken with a Pentax
camera. He knows that his portrait
will be razor sharp because the pho-
tographer is composing and focusing
through the same lens which will
make the picttrre.
Furthermore, the telephoto
lens makes possible dramatic shots
like this from a distance; the subject
is not distracted by the photogra-
pher's presence. There are 13 inter-
changeable lenses for the Pentax,
making possible an infinite variety
of photographic opportunities.
Yotir Honeywell Photo Prod-
ucts dealer will be glad to demon-
strate a Pentax for you. He will show
you the Hla (f /2.0) at $169.50, and
the H3v (f, 1.8) at $229.50.
Write for full-color brochure to
Ron Hubbard (209), Honeywell,
Denver 10, Colorado.
H
Honeyvirell
PHOTOGRAPHIC PRODUCTS
63
OUR NEW
ARCHEOLOGY TOUR
OF
GREECE AND EGYPT
This exciting 29-day tour personally conducted
by Dr. Cyrus Gordon will leave New York via
Lufthansa jet on March 18, 1964.
Among the important sites of Greek and Egyp-
tian antiquity you will visit are: ATHENS-boom-
Ing modern city and rich repository of a glorious
past, still present everywhere. MYCENAE and
TIRYNS-Cyclopean walled citadels renowned in
history and legend. CORINTH-once the epitome
of luxurious living and its antithesis, SPARTA
the austere. OLYMPIA and DELPHI-sacred to the
gods, games, and oracle. THE ISLES OF GREECE
-Crete, Hydra, Delos, Mykonos, Santorin-
sparkling jewels of the Aegean. CAIRO-Moslem
metropolis with its incomparable museum, a
panoply of Pharaonic splendors, and nearby
MEMPHIS, SAKKARA, GIZA, the FAYUM. CRUISING
THE NILE-to ASWAN and the soon-to-be sub-
merged great temple at ABU SIMBEL, to KAR-
NAK, LUXOR, THE VALLEY OF THE KINGS, and
DENDERAH. This will be an unforgettable journey
through time and space to the wellsprings of
Western civilization. $1920.00 all-inclusive. The
limited size of the group makes early reserva-
tions advisable. We will be pleased to send you
without obligation a detailed itinerary and com-
plete information.
Dr. Cyrus Gordon has served
as an archeologist on many
expeditions in the Near East.
'^ *^ He participated in unearthing
_;;;<;A the royal tombs at Ur, in dis-
- '""* covering the mines of King
Solomon, and deciphering the
Tell el-Amarna tablets found
in Egypt.
He is the author of many
books and articles on the ancient East Medi-
terranean. Among the books are Adventures in
the Nearest East, The World of the Old Testa-
ment, and Before the Bible: The Common Back-
ground of Greek and Hebrew Civilization.
For many years he has taught the languages,
history, and archeology of Egypt, Greece, and
many other Near Eastern lands.
He is also an experienced public lecturer on
the subject of this tour.
LINDBLAD TRAVEL, Inc., 1 E. 53 St., N.Y. 22, N.Y.
Please send me details and itinerary of your
forthcoming tour to Greece and Egypt.
NAME
ADDRESS
CITY .'. STATE
64
described, but it is easier to buy a small
tent and convert it for use as a blind by
adding camera ports and observation
peepholes. There is a dome-shaped tent
on the market called a 'Top Tent" that
has a simple frame that fits into sleeves
sewn into the tent. The inside space is
not obstructed by poles, and there are
no shiny metal gadgets outside that
might frighten wildlife. Tents that have
many loose hooks, springs, and lengths
of metal tubing should be avoided. All
tents should be staked down to prevent
the wind from blowing them over, adver-
tising to the contrary notwithstanding.
When Subjects Are Wary
THE bolder birds, such as those that
live along the seashore, will pay no
attention to a photographer once he is
settled in his blind. Some of the more
wary species, however, will not relax
until they feel that the blind is unin-
habited. To deceive them, the photog-
rapher should walk to the blind with a
companion who will leave a few seconds
later. Most birds do not seem to note
the difference between two humans enter-
ing the blind and only one leaving it.
For photographing high nests or ar-
boreal animals, a blind can be built in
a tree. It is best to construct a small
platform at a place where several tree
limbs join the trunk. The blind can then
be erected with the platform as a floor,
and the trunk and perhaps higher
branches as supports. It is best to choose
a large tree, to stay close to the central
trunk, and to go no higher than neces-
sary, because even a very large tree will
move enough in the wind to blur a pic-
ture. It may also be necessary to brace
or tie down the branch that is to be the
scene of the picture.
Blinds for photographing mammals
are usually placed at water holes or ad-
jacent to trails the animals are known to
frequent. Sometimes an artificial attrac-
tion is provided— food, salt, or water.
The animals may avoid the blind at first,
but will usually get used to it in time.
The sense of smell that is so well de-
veloped in mammals is offset, to some
extent, by their curiosity, and they will
often come around to investigate an
unfamiliar object.
INIost animals are seldom seen in the
middle of the day. Except for nocturnal
species, early morning is the best time
to look and late afternoon is second best.
Most large mammals, such as deer,
watch for danger at about their own
level and rarely look for it above their
heads. They often fail to see a tree blind.
Because a high camera viewpoint is
seldom desirable for taking pictures of
mammals, the elevated blind is most use-
ful for remote control photography. The
camera can be set up near the ground
and the photographer can operate it from
a vantage point some distance away. This
arrangement is intermediate between
Photographer takes picture at a distanc
by activating solenoid that trips shutte
shooting from a blind and using a traj
the photographer can see what he :
photographing, even though he is n(
actually at the camera.
Early works on nature photograph
describe how the camera shutter can 1:
tripped with a thread strung out to whei
the photographer lies hidden, and cai
tion that the thread should be ru
through a screw eye at the bottom of or
tripod leg so that a tug on the threa
does not upset the camera. After mal
ing one exposure this way, the photo:
rapher has to emerge from his blind I
reload the camera and cock the shuttt
for another try. by which time the sul
ject is probably far away. The threa
stretches and causes a delay between tl
time it is pulled and the time the shuttf
opens, and it is difficult to gauge tl
tension necessary to open the shutte
Fortunately, we now have a variety 1
devices to make the remote operation (
cameras and lights as simple and ;
automatic as we choose. The least cor
plicated gadget is an air release, a lengl
of thin plastic tubing with a squeeze bul
at one end and a plunger at the othe
The plunger end screws into the car
era's cable release socket and the ph
tographer simply squeezes the bulb 1
activate the shutter. j
Slightly more sophisticated is ti
electrically operated solenoid, which'
basically an electromagnet with a mo
able core. In the early decades of tl
flash bulb era. solenoids were used
synchronize camera shutters with flai
bulbs. Solenoids are still available, ai
are now finding new uses in remote cq:
trol photography. The simplest type '
solenoid screws into a standard cab
release socket, and can be operated fro
any reasonable distance by simply ad
ing more wire between it and the powi
source. The power applied must be suf
cient to overcome the resistance of tl
wire and to deliver enough energy at tl
solenoid to operate it reliably. Two
three flashlight batteries are usually ail
quate for fairly short wires; for loni:
distances use a B/C ("Battery-Capac
I flash gun, which delivers a quick
e of energy from a capacitor that has
charged by a 22.5-volt battery. At
great distances higher voUages may
lecessary. The actual footage at
h a given power source will con-
ntly operate a given solenoid de-
ls on the size of the connecting
3: large-diameter wire offers less re-
nce than thin wire, so it may be
over a greater distance. However,
y wires are harder to conceal,
hen a camera that has flash connec-
is remotely operated it can, in turn,
lash bulbs or electronic flash units.
batteries that power the lights
Id be close to them to minimize loss
jwer in transmission. An electronic
unit is advantageous in that it can
ired repeatedly without replacing
s. But the problem of advancing the
automatically has to be solved, too.
Automatic Photography
ECIALIZED equipment is needed for
automatic camera operation. There
everal cameras that advance the film
wind the shutter automatically after
exposure. Among them are the
)t, the Tessina, and the discontinued
n. There are also a number of cam-
for which accessory motors (spring-
ectric-powered) are available.
)st such cameras use 35 mm. film,
some of the more expensive ones,
rned for technical recording, use
m. film. For situations that require
;er film capacity than the ordinary
Lposure 35 mm. cartridge affords,
; are available for some cameras
;sory backs that accept 50-foot rolls
5 mm. film, which provide several
Ired exposures.
le ultimate in remote control is
;ved with radio-operated tripping
;es, which may be fitted to several
;ras. This method eliminates string-
;ires from the camera to the photog-
sr's hide-out and makes it possible
lerate the camera from a distance of
al miles. Presumably the pliotog-
er could even hover overhead in a
opter. Radio control units have not
ed as efficiently as expected in
E-SHAPED TENT is suitable for use as
to hide photographer and equipment.
This is the New Field Model Questar Telescope.
It weighs less than 3 pounds and costs only
S795. Included in the price are this 4-lb. case,
one eyepiece, and an improved basic camera
couphng set. There is room for cameras and
other accessories.
Twenty-one major changes in this barrel and
control-box assembly permit a much wider
photographic field of view, which now covers
all but the very corners of the 24x36 mm. film
frame at f/16 without extension tubes. Expo-
sures are two f-numbers faster.
The New Field Mode! is optically identical in
quality to all Questars. Since only an average of
one out of three perfect optical systems sur-
passes theory by enough to satisfy us, we can
continue to state that no amount of money,
time or human effort can noticeably improve
Questar's power of resolution. For whereas
Lord Rayleigh's criteria sets 1.4 seconds of arc
as Questar's limit of resolution, a Questar has
resolved two stars but 0.6 second apart.
Because our function is to make the world's
finest small telescopes in limited number, in-
stead of many of ordinary quality, this New
Field Model offers a new experience to the
photographer. We offer him the world's sharp-
est lens, of 89-mm. aperture. We provide him
with a low-power wide-field finder view, like
that of a field glass, to let him locate distant
objects rapidly. With fiick of finger he can bring
to bear a high-power view of 40-80x or 80-160x
to study the object minutely through this super-
fine telescope. Another finger flick and slight
refocusing brings the object to the clear bright
center of his cameras' groundglass.
At this point he is challenged to capture on
the sensitive emulsion what this superb tele-
scope of 56 inches focal length is projecting to
his film. He has seen it in Questar's eyepiece
and in his reflex camera's groundglass. All that
remains is to place the image in exact focus on
the film and expose correctly with no vibration
at all. And at long last we have the only camera
able to do this, the Qucstar-modified Nikon F.
For the first time, then, Questar has a true
photographic model, and a camera without
mirror slap, shutter vibration, or too-dim focus-
ing. Moreover, from now on we can measure
the actual picture-taking light at the ground-
glass, and abandon inexact exposure calculations
entirely, using the new cadmium sulfide meters.
With this new control of vibration, sharp
focus, and correct exposure times, only one
other factor remains to interfere with high
resolution telescopic photography. We need
quiet air for good seeing — which is no problem
at 7 to 100 feet. But how can we get trembling
air to stand still while we take sharp pictures at
great distances? There are several things we can
do to take advantage of nature's moods, and if
you write for literature we will tell you more
about it.
New Field Model, S795 in case with basic
couplings as shown. The 80-160X eyepiece, S35.
Questar-modified Nikon F bodies, from S234.60.
Complete outfit shown, with camera and tripod,
SI 332, postpaid in U.S.
QUESTAIR
BOX 60 NEW HOPE, PENNSYLVANIA
65
Big beaulilul North American Collection.
Genuine, all-different postage stamps of
Greenland (North Pole), St. Pierre, New-
foundland, Canada — Eskimos, Indians,
1862 British Columbia & Van-
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etc. United Nations. United States
Stamps — 19th Centurv, First Plane,
Steamboat. Pony Express, many
others. ALSO, Colonial & Civil War
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EXTHA! Collector's Catalog; exciting
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The list is long (the above being
hut a truncated enumeration), and
inspiration is so often short ivhen
it comes to choosing a gift that is
just right. A subscription to NAT-
URAL HISTORY makes an ad-
mirable expression of your
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marking a memorable occasion.
Though modest in cost, NAT-
URAL HISTORY is a big gift, a
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brimming with out-of-the-ordi-
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through the realm of the yiatural
sciences.
In addition to a succession of stim-
ulating intellectual and aesthetic
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URAL HISTORY also bestoivs the
benefits of Associate Membership
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ural History.
If you have a gift-giving occasion
approaching soon, delight someone
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that tvill be tvarmly appreciated.
Just fill out and mail the coupon
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Circulation Deportment
The American Museum of Natural History
Central Pork West at 79th Street
New York 24, New York
Please enter a subscription to NATURAL
HISTORY including Associate Member-
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ess.
City
Sign
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Two
r for
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F-i
places where there is a lot of electrical
interference, but out in the open they
ought to function well.
Pictures at Night
THE problem that usually comes to
mind first in regard to night photog-
raphy is how the photographer can see
what he is doing. Ideally, he should set
up all his equipment while it is still
light, and he should be sufBciently fa-
miliar with it to operate in the dark
(otherwise he should not be using it in
a blind, anyway) . As for seeing when the
subject arrives in front of the camera,
it is rarely so dark outdoors that a human
cannot see after his eyes adapt.
At permanent or long-term blind sites
it may be possible to leave a small light
on every night until the subjects get
used to it. Many nocturnal mammals
show surprisingly little fear of lights at
night and will enter a pool of brightness
if they have sufficient motivation. Even
more surprising, many will return to an
attractive spot after having had flash
bulbs fired at them, and despite the
scent of man.
If the light used to make the picture
is too disturbing to the subjects, it is pos-
sible to use infrared rays instead. The
camera is loaded with infrared-sensitive
film, and special red flash bulbs or red
filters over the flash reflectors are used.
This technique has one disadvantage-
most creatures present a rather strange
appearance in infrared pictures because
the coloring of skin, eyes, and hair looks
appreciably different from that to which
we are accustomed.
The noise the camera makes may be a
problem, particularly if the camera has
an automatic winding mechanism. The
sound can be muffled somewhat by
swathing the machinery in batting or en-
closing it in a box lined with sound-
absorbing material. Although the lights
must generally be fairly near the subject,
it is well to remember that the camera
does not have to be near either. For ex-
ample, lights could be set up around a
salt lick and connected to a camera
equipped with a long lens, which could
be located some distance from the scene.
The photographer could, if convenient,
operate both lights and camera from yet
a third position.
Knowing where to look for birds and
other animals is a subject in itself. A
good knowledge of the subject's habits
will help, but experience in the field is
the most important factor. Information
given in field guides about habitat, food,
and nesting sites is useful.
The camera trap is an arrangement by
which the subject itself will operate the
camera, and usually any lights that are
required. It is easy to find published in-
structions for making a variety of traps,
but it is hard to find a good picture that
was taken using one. Working with a
camera trap is a form of photograpliic
roulette; one never knows what will tun
up on the film.
The big trick with camera traps is ti
photograph the species one wants am
not something else, and traps have othe
drawbacks, too. When a variety of sulj
jects is wanted, a camera set at the righ
height and distance to photograph
moose will not take a good picture of ;
mouse, even if a mouse triggers it. Am
most traps can be set off by a fallir;
acorn or merely a strong wind. If the de
sired subject does activate the trap, th
picture may show only the tip of the tail
A higher photographic yield— in quai
tity if not in quality— can be expectei
from an automatic camera. Equipment i
arranged much as it would be for a rt
mote control setup except that a trippin
device is added. This can be any gadgt
that will complete an electrical circui
when the subject is in the right placf
For example, some microswitches ar
sensitive enough to be activated by a bir
landing on a branch. There are also ele(
tronic relays that will respond to almoi
any stimulus one could name. Th
familiar "electric eye" operates when
beam of light is interrupted. A simila
cell can be used with an invisible bean
A relay can also be made to respond t
a sound or even to the change in capa(S
tance caused by an object passing near
concealed metal plate.
All such devices share the same di;
advantage: they are too easily triggere
by a host of unforeseeable occurrenc^
The few controls the photographer hi
over the content of his picture are h
skill in aiming the camera appropriat
ly, and in placing and adjusting the tri]
ping devices so that, hopefully, only tl
desired subject will operate them. Eve
the most elaborate equipment gives tl
photographer no control over e.xposui
at the moment the shutter is tripped.
is imperative that automatic camen
used in such setups have a switch (
clutch to turn off or disengage the drii
mechanism when the end of the film
reached. Judging by the results that hai
been published, photographers are in i
danger of being made obsolete by trap
This list details the photographer, artis
or other source of illustrations, by pag
COVER-George Holton
Photoresearctiers
4— Joseph Sedacca
14-25-George Holton
Ptiotoresearcfiers; except
17-AMNH after K.u.K.
Militargeograpiiischen
Institute
26-27-Courtesy of the
Trustees of the British
IVIuseum. tondon
28-Carl Nesjer, European
Pictures, New York
29-31-Courtesy of the
r/letropolitan lifluseum of
Art, New Yorl(
30-31-center, H. A. Giles
32-top, Courtesy of the
N.Y. Public Library;
bottom, Courtesy of the
National Museet, Copen-
hagen
33-Courtesy of the Mu-!
seum of the American '
Indian, New York ]
34-C. W. Hibbard j
35-37-C. Lavett Smith 1
except 37-right, AMNH
after C. Lavett Smith i
38-39-AMNH after C. ]
Lavett Smith
40-43~Lee Boltin j
44-'c) California InstitJ
of Technology |
46-r/lount Wilson j
Observatory |
47-AMNH ;
48-55-Dale W. Rice
56-59-H. Stenbergs ;
lllustrationsbyra
60-61-Deryk Bodington;
64-65-AMNH
ACKMATACK
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ung men, ages 10 to 16. Three trip groups
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HALE TEETH
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Suggested
Additional Reading
ROSE-RED CITY OF PETRA
The Other Side of the Jord.\n. N.
Glueck. American Schools of Oriental
Research, Neiv Haven, 1940.
Petra, The Rock City of Eddm.
M. A. Murray. Blackie & Son, London,
1939.
The Sarcophagus of an Ancient
Civilization. G. L. Robinson. Macmil-
Ian, N. Y., 19.30.
"The Capital of the Nabataeans." P. J.
Parr. Scientific American, Vol. 209, No.
4, pages 94-102; October, 196-3.
ORNAMENTAL EQUINES
Horses. G. G. Simpson. The Natural
History Library: The American Museum
of Natural History and Doubleday, N. Y.,
1961. (Paperback.)
FISHES AND CLIMATES
Essentials of Earth History. W. L.
Stokes. Prentice-Hall, Engleivood Cliffs,
N. J., 1960.
Glacial and Pleistocene Geology.
R. F. Flint. John Wiley & Sons, N. Y .,
1957.
Search for the Past: An Introduc-
tion TO Paleontology. J. R.Beerbower.
Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N. J.,
1960.
SNOW EATERS OF ALBERTA
1001 Questions Answered About the
Weather. F. Forrester. Dodd, Mead &
Co.. N. Y.. 1957.
AN "ANTLERED" GROTESQUE
Living Insects of the World. A. B.
Klots and E. B. Klots. Doubleday, N. Y.,
1959.
A General Textbook of Entomol-
ogy. A. D. Imms. Methuen, London, 9th
ed., 1960.
THE HAWAIIAN MONK SEAL
Seals, Sea Lions and Walruses. V. B.
Scheffer. Stanford University Press, Stan-
ford. Calif., 1958.
"The Hawaiian Monk Seal." A. M.
Bailey. Museum Pictorial: Denver Mu-
seum of Natural History, No. 7, pages
1-32: 19.52.
"Life History of the Hawaiian Monk
Seal." K. W. Kenyon and D. W. Rice.
Pacific Science, Vol. 13, No. 3, pages 215-
252: 1959.
CHAMELEON CAMOUFLAGE
Adaptive Coloration in Animals.
H. B. Cott. Methuen, London, 1940.
Animal Colour Changes and Their
Neurohumours. G. H. Parker. Cam-
bridge University Press, N. Y., 1948.
Color Change Mechanisms of Cold-
blooded Vertebrates. H. Waring. Aca-
demic Press, N. Y., 1963.
17 CENTURY OLD
ROMAN IMPERIAL
PORTRAIT COIN.'-^
This historic Roman coin
represents our ancient col-
lection, excavated from
hidden hoards . . . cen-
turies old!
These magnificent Roman Imperial Portrait coins,
struck by hand at the Imperial Roman Mints in
both Silver & Bronze, date from the 2nd to 4tll
centuries AD. Coin front bears portrait of Emperor
with official titles. Coin back shouts full figurine of
Roman God, goddess, or personification. Classifi-
cation card accompanies each coin.
Portrait Coin S 3 00 each
ent coins S15.0Q
Roman Imperial Silver Portrait Coin S 7 50 each
Collection of 6 different coins S37.50
*SEE "Horizon" magazine, Sept/63, Pg 33
AI^CIENT COIS JEM'ELRY
These ageless Bronze and Silver coins mounted in
attractive Sterling Silver make elegant charms,
pendants, and earrings. Give as oil-occasion Gifts!
CHARM PENDANT EARRINGS
BRONZE COIN: S 7.50 S 9.50 S14.50 _
SILVER COIN: 12.00 14.00 19.50
FREE! Display case v/ith Jewelry • • • prices
include tax and postage!
FREE MlfQUnv CATALOG
32 pages llustrating: Coins, Roman Gla
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Fully iJlustrated
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n AROUND THE WORLD 28 PAGES OF
ITINERARY MAPS, DETAILS.
n SOUTH PACIFIC/NEW ZEALAND/
AUSTRALIA 24 COLORFUL PAGES.
n SOUTH PACIFIC/ORIENT 24 PAGES,
PHOTOS, MAPS, DETAILS.
□ AROUND AFRICA THE COMPLETE
STORY, DAY-TO-DAY DETAILS.
City, State ,
67
GET READY FOR THE SPACE and SCIENCE ERA! SEE SATELLITES, MOON ROCKETS CLOSE-UP,
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^S^ NEW SPILHAUS
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19 DIFFERENT READ-
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Starlling scientific achievement \^
completely practical and function i
Designed for the space — '^' "■''
apace clock has beautiful fruitwood ^„^^ -..- - .—
dials. Blends with decor of any home, office, club ro
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. „ daily
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stage of tide, day and month of year.
in sky.
and
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position of
relationships of — .
time. Left dial shows local
time including major U.S.
wich) time. Operates on hoii^. ■ irt-s oniy o
simple setting for any Eeogriii>i: i I 111:1 .\Uasures 1
liieh X uy. " X 4'/.". Presentation plaque available.
STOCK No. I20I-E $150.00 plus Fed Excise T
New.' 3 in 1 Combination.' Pockef-Size
SO POWER MICROSCOPE
and ]0 POWER TELESCOPE
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Uaeful Telescope and Mli
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Telescope is 10 Power. Microscope raasni.
hes 50 Times. Sharp focus at any ranee.
Handy for sports, looklnc at imail objects
lust plain snooDInc
Order Slock No. 30.059- E S4.50 pod
Terrific Buy! American Made!
OPAQUE PROJECTOR
Projects illustrations up to 3" x 31/2"
and enlarges them to 35" x 30" it
screen is 6% ft. from projector;
larger pictures if screen is further
awaj No film or negatives needed.
J Projects charts, diagrams, pictures,
photos, lettering in full color or
black-and-white. Operates on 115
»olt. i.e. current. 6-ft. extension cord and plug Included.
Operates on GO watt bulb, not included. Size 12" x 8' x
4%" W. 1 lb., 2 oz. Plastic case with built-in handle.
Slock No. 70,199-E S7.95 Postpaid
AGES-OLD FOSSIL COLLECTIONS
Millions of years old! 3 full sets—
M fantastic plant and animal fossils
—all lor J3.75. EAItTlI SCIE.NTIST
SET: Dinosaur hone, crlnotd stem,
ttorn coral, worm tubes, petrifleil
wood, bryozoa stem, lamp shell.
ficallnn. sea urchin, oyster, ciani,
CARBONIFKROUS
rinoij
snail tossi
SET: Brachipnd. worm hurl
coral, bryozoan. snail
SPELLBINDING EXPERIMENTS
SILICON SOLAR CELL
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Produces .3 to .45 volts— 10 to 16 milliamps. 24-
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STOCK NO. 60.216-E $2.25 Ppd.
Same as above, but with 2 elements in series.
STOCK NO. 60.396-E $3.95 Ppd.
Same as above but with high efficiency type current .5 vnlis
STOCK NO. 60.397-E _.... $3.95 Ppd
Same as aliove but with high efficiency type current .0 to ^'
volts.
STOCK NO. 60,398-E $4.95 Ppd.
Selenium Photocell. Lower power, lower price.
STOCK NO. 30.4II-E $1.50 Ppd.
Solar Celi and Photocell Handbook. Fascinating 112 paf;e
handbook on Silicon Cell and Selenium projects, demon-
strations, etc. Explains photo-voltaic theory, performance.
Gives infrared and ultra-violet applicatit
6" X v.
STOCK NO. 9230-E
Paper bound.
$2.00 Ppd.
See the Stars, Moon. Planets Close Up I
3" ASTRONOMICAL REFLECTING TELESCOPE
1 to this Scope fo:
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on the Moon. Pha.ses of
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ver-coated 3" diameter
peed f/10 mirror. Tele-
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vope Valuable STAR CHART
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41/4" Reflecting Telescope — up to 255 Po
pedestal mount.
Stock No. 85.105-E
all-metal
Now . . . TAKE
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to shutter, tlien press bulb for shutter action.
Stock No. 50.227-E _ $7.00 Postpaid
'FISH- WITH A WAR SURPLUS
GIANT MAGNET
Bring Up Under-Water T
Real fun I Profitable, tool Simply trai
powerful 5 lb. Magnet out the stei
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tackle, anchors, other metal valuables.
Alnico V-Tyoe Magnet has terrific lifting
DAZZLING DIFFRACTION JEWELRt
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BRACELET
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MINIATURE WATER PUMP
WdiiUerful for experiments, miniature water
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50.345-E
Tiny
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ah
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NEW SCIENCE PLACE MATS
New and colorful. 10" x 14" place mats.
Set of 100 icludes 5 different patterns
showing (1) Facts about the Moon; (2)
The Solar System: (3) Capsule story of
Astronauts including training facts and
terminology; (4) Weather terms and
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ventors and pictures of their inventions.
Stock No. 70.635-E $2.00 Ppd.
LARGE SIZE OPAQUE PROJECTOR
lileal for photographers, this low-cos
unit projects %Vz ft. sq. image at 6 ft
—7% ft. sq. image at 12 ft. Project
photos, drawings, sketches, clippingE
uny opaque copy up to 6" x 6" — lar^'C
, Lenses are 2 piano
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black wrinkle finish, hakelitc han.lli
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THE WORLD OF DINOSAURS
ONE HUNDRED MILLION
YEARS AGO
In this set of monsters — the dinosaurs that ruled the earth
100,000,000 years ago — you get 45 realistic models molded
from unbreakable plastic. Collection includes the brontho-
saurus. dinietrodon. and others from the earlier species:
the iv,iiniiri-;^tiriis and many more from the final eons ol
the uiii.-.mi pil>. Fascinating study for young and old;
al.^ij i ■ ■ I " Ihmi decorations. Average size apiirnxi-
iiiui.i i^i( includes ferns, trees, caves and otliur
arr-;i : ■ i ■ , ■ ; :iii exciting booklet Prehistoric Animals.
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BLACK LIGHT MAGIC-GLOW KIT
Stock
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.land, invisible waier paints and ink.
1 tracer powder, pen. 3 bruslies. specimens
cUs- wernerite from Canada, n.inriie from
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BIRDWATCHERS SEE WITHOUT
BEING SEEN
The "one-way" mirrors described above ha\
always been fascinating, but their costs cul
■ usefulness. Now Edmund Scient
iturdy plastii
ictlon 0
their cost
Aetna
lly. as the
cot down lieht ti
ansmis
ion 70%
areil to
50% or le
ss lor
the mirro
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For examp
e: yoti
can build
on the
sunny side
or joi
■ house ne
a piece
of this flln
to the
window a:
tch the
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a few
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tn ADU 5nu I UH:>t ur uni i kun bUftKiuKi it.,
All this telescope
^
The Unitron 2.4" altazimuth refractor shown here is now pacl<aged in a new, specially
igned, lighter, more compact carrying case that's much easier to carry, much thriftier on trunk
ce when you're traveling by car. (Weight: just 25 lbs.)
But portability is only the second most important feature of this fine instrument.
Thefirst most important feature of the Unitron 2.4" altazimuth refractor continues to be its
'nright value and upright optical excellence.
Excellence and value — these are enduring qualities, common to every Unitron sold. The best
sible proof: Unitron is the largest selling refractor in the world.
i/mr/^oN
What you'll find inside the new Unitron carrying case:
Model 114 — complete with altazimuth mounting
and slow motion controls for both altitude and azi-
muth, tripod, 5x-16mm viewhnder. standard rack
and pinion mechanism, 4 eyepieces. UNIMEX or
star diagonal and erecting prism system, sunglass.
dewcap, dustcap, instructions. §125
INSTRUMENT COMPANY • TELESCOPE SALES DIV.-66 NEEDHAM ST.. NEWTON HIGHLANDS 61, MASS.
JD FOR IINITRON'S FRFF ^R PAHP riR.t^FRVFR't
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TRAVEL, INC.,
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175 Fifth Avenue
New York 10, N. Y.
Name-
Please send me the following brociiures:
n SOUTH PACIFIC/NEW ZEALAND/ AUSTRALIA
24 COLORFUL PAGES.
n SOUTH PACIFIC/ORIENT 24 PAGES, PHOTOS,
MAPS, DETAILS.
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DAY DETAILS.
II you do nol wi5h lo (
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This is all it takes to mail
the coupon that saves you hundreds of
dollars on the most thrilling, most complete
round-the-world cruises
youVe ever dreamed of.
Around the world by luxury liners. Just
step aboard for 55 of the most glorious
days and nights of your life. Sail the At-
lantic in a great ship like the New France
or the Queen Elizabeth. Spend a wonder-
ful week in Paris and the Riviera. Then
cruise the sunny Mediterranean, thefabled
Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, the China
Seas. Discover the Middle East, India,
Ceylon, Singapore, the Orient, Hawaii.
See more the Four Winds way. You'll
really see each country, meet its people,
enjoy its great restaurants, shops, enter-
tainments. Spend 5 exciting days in Hong
Kong, 9 in unforgettable Japan. You'll
make excursions and tours by car, jet,
train— even by camel!
All atone lowfare. No hidden extras. Your
Four Winds cruise price includes all trans-
portation, tours, excursions, land arrange-
ments, fine hotels, most meals. (Travel
all by sea or combine sea and air.) Sail
eastward round-the-world from New York,
or westward from San Francisco. Choice
of 4 sailings every month. 55 days
. . . from $2295, complete.
Around the South Pacific— 65 days. Live
like a king on a famous Matson liner.
Explore exotic Bora Bora, Tahiti, Raro-
tonga. Take a 15-day grand tour of New
Zealand, a 17-day tour of Australia.
Discover the mysteries of New Caledonia,
Fiji, Tonga— the beauties of Samoa and
the Hawaiian Islands. You'll see it all—
you'll thrill to the excitement of new lands,
new places, new people — a whole new
world of experience— cradled in first-
class luxury all the way! Sailings from
San Francisco every month. 65 days
. . . from $2770, complete.
South Seas and Orient— 50 to 71 days.
Cruise the South Seas in your first-class
stateroom aboard a Matson liner. See
Bora Bora, Tahiti, Rarotonga, New Zea-
land, Australia.
Then circle the entire Orient. Spend 4
magic days in Bali, 2 in Singapore, 3 in
Bangkok, 5 in Hong Kong!
Take a fabulous 8-day tour of Japan . . .
then 4 golden days in Hawaii, and home.
Monthly sailings from San Francisco. 50
to 71 days . . . from $2785, complete.
Around exciting Africa— 69 davs.rriiisain ;
luxurious Cunard and Union-Castle liners
to 22 of the world's most exotic ports. :
From New York to London, then off to '
Madeira, the Canary Islands, and the fun- •
filled cruise to Capetown, your gateway
to Africa.
22,000 thrilling miles.You'll see it all, from j
ultra-modern Lourenco Marques to the i
pyramids of ancient Egypt. You'll visit j
Durban, Mozambique, Dar Es Salaam, j
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cost of all transportation, inland tours,,
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R)UR
Please send me the following brochur
n AROUND THE WORLD 28 PAGES OF ITINERARY
l||||||N^ MAPS, DETAILS.
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Deol NH-3 n AROUND AFRICA THE COMPLETE STORY, DAY-TO-
175 Fifth Avenue DAY DETAILS.
New York 10, N. Y.
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■upon on page 64
SHAKEMASTER
The man in the relaxed position is working. Working hard. He's an engineer operating a velocity
pickup or "prober" to measure and analyze the chassis shake and bending characteristics produced
in the laboratory by a special shake rig. With this equipment, he can simulate the roughest,
bumpiest washboard road you'll ever travel. He can compress years of jouncing into just a few
hours and repeat the experiment under identical conditions time and time again. It's only one of
the exhaustive tests designed to make your General Motors car a better riding, more comfortable car.
This engineer's job is something special — simple to state, difficult to do: improve existing products
and develop new ones. He and thousands of GM engineers and trained technicians are aiming for
this goal every day of the year.
How does he do it? It's not easy. He designs, builds, tests— examines, evaluates, improves. He's a
doer if there ever was one. The end result of his work is the satisfaction which General Motors
products bring to their owners.
All told, there are 19,850 engineers and scientists at General Motors. Five hundred colleges and
universities are represented, extending from the east coast to the west coast and most states
in between.
The engineer is another fine member of the General Motors family— a family which includes not
only employes, but suppliers, shareholders and dealers as well. These people are the basic reason
for the success and progress of GM.
GENERAL MOTORS IS PEOPLE...
Making Better Things For You
PRESIDENT
Alexander M. White
DIRECTOR DEPUTY DIRECTOR
James A. Oliver Walter F. Meister
MANAGING EDITOR
Robert E. Williamson
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Helene Jordan
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Hubert C. Birnbaum. John F. Speicher
COPY EDITORS
Florence Brauner. Florence Klodin
REVIEWS
Francesca von Hartz
PHOTOGRAPHY
Lee Boltin
PRODUCTION
Thomas Page
Mairgreg Ross, Asst.
CONTRIBUTIONS
Ernestine Weindorf. Ruby Macdonald
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Paul M. Tilden, Thomas D. Nicholson
David Linton. Julian D. Corrington
EDITORIAL ADVISERS
Gerard Piel Gordon F. Ekholm
Roy Gallant Gordon Reekie
Donn E. Rosen Richard G. Van Gelder
T. C. Schneirla Richard K. Winslow
ADVERTISING
Frank L. De Franco. Director
Ogden Lowell. Sales
PROMOTION MANAGER
Anne Keating
Anne Ryan, Asst.
Natural History
Incorporating Nature Magazine i
THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTOR.
Vol. LXXIII
MARCH 1964
ARTICLES
SIEGE WARFARE IN PHARAONIC EGYPT
GRIZZLY TERRITORY
INSECT-TRAPPING PLANTS
PSYCHOPHYSICS AND HEARING IN FISH
TRIBAL ART FROM AFRICA
DEPARTMENTS
MUSEUM MEMO:
REPORT FROM THE PRESIDENT
REVIEWS
SKY REPORTER
NATURALISTS' NOTEBOOK:
PREDATOR NETS A SUGAR ANT
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
NATURE AND THE MICROSCOPE
SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL READING
NoJ
Alan R. Schulman 1
A.W.F. Banfield 2
Virgil N. Argo 2
William N. Tavolga 3
Colin M. Turnbull 4
Alexander M. White
William Vogt
Thomas D. Nicholson 4
I
i
5
Julian D. Corrington 5
6
CIRCULATION MANAGER
Joseph Saulina
COVER: Drosera rotundifolia, the common sundew of northeastern Unitei
States, is one of a group of plants sometimes called "carnivorous." Each rouni
sundew leaf is covered with tiny hairs, on the tips of which are very sweetl
scented, mucilaginous drops. The odor attracts an insect; it is snared in thi
viscous hairs, and plant enzymes break down its soft parts. After several days, th
chitinous portion of the body blows away. In this picture, taken by H. J. Jordai
insect remains are visible as a dark shadow at the bottom. For more informatioj
about these and the other insectivorous plant species, please turn to page 2£
The American Museum is open to the public without charge every day
during the year. \ our support, through membership and contributions,
helps make this possible. The Museum is equally in need of support "
for all of its work in the fields of research, education, and exhibition, i
Publication Office: The American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New tm
N. Y. 10024. Published monthly, October through May: bimonthly June to September. Subscription: S5.00
year. In Canada, and all other countries: S5.50 a year. Single copies: S.50. Second class postage paid ;
New York, N. Y., and at additional offices. Copyright, 1964., by The American Museum o( Natural Histor;
No part of this periodical may be reproduced without the written consent of Naturai. Hjstoby. The lit
Nature Magazine, registered U.S. Patent Office. Unsolicited manuscripts and illustrations submitted to ll
editorial office will be handled with all possible care, but we cannot assume responsibility for their safet
The opinions expressed by authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect The American Museum's polic
Museum Memo
Report from the President
T has always been the purpose of The American Museum
of Natural History to make known to the greatest pos-
. sible number of people the full meaning of our program,
1 to set forth our educational objectives.
Because Natural History has always been the official
rnal of the Museum, it is logical that I should use it as
neans of reaching the Museum's far-flung audience of
nbers and subscribers— in fact, all readers and friends of
Museum— for it is my wish to thank you for your interest
1 to report to you on our many plans for progress.
It has been said that an organization of any kind is as
)ng as the people who, in one way or another, contribute
t. In the case of a public-supported institution like ours,
s an uncontrovertible fact. I believe the strength of the
seum is growing in many ways, and I would like to tell
briefly of some of them.
A most encouraging growth area is in attendance. During
last fiscal year 2,442,977 people visited the Museum, and
,771 visited The American Museum-Hayden Planetarium.
s total of 3,061,748 is an increase of more than 150.000
r the previous fiscal year. We believe this increase repre-
ss a worldwide pattern of growing interest in the natural
nces. (This may represent a new and basic philosophy,
ause man has become aware that his world can be de-
yed, he is looking at it today with new and wondering eyes.)
Another area of growth is in exhibition plans, a number
?hich are being geared to culminate five years from now—
ghly significant date in Museum history. On April 6, 1869
; year the Suez Canal opened) a group of prominent
;ens signed the Act of Incorporation of The American
5eum of Natural History. Thus, in 1969 the Museum will
:h the end of its first century of service. By that time, we
e to have completed new halls devoted to ocean life, the
ogy of invertebrates, the primates, the birds of North
;rica, earth history and geology, and the cultures of
tern Woodlands and Plains Indians, Eskimos, the peoples
Lfrica, and the peoples of the Pacific. Each will demon-
te exciting techniques whereby science can be translated
terms everyone can understand, made possible by close
peration among scientists, architects, and artists.
All of the haUs will contain the latest scientific dis-
:ries, and herein lies our third and unquestionably our
t vital area of growth. No exhibit would be possible with-
years of scientific research— the very foundation of the
eum as a vital educational force here and throughout the
Id. There are always some of our scientists studying, col-
ng, or experimenting in such places as New Guinea,
ca, Antarctica, the Amazon. This is fairly common knowl-
;. But our newer members (and even, perhaps, some of
standing) may not be acquainted with several of our
spectacular and, hence, less well-known, activities. For
mce, the Museum maintains four research stations at
;h our own scientists and those from other countries can
ue their own lines of investigation. These range from
lal behavior and astronomy to biophysics, entomology,
thology, and so on through the biological alphabet.
No research activities of any kind are possible without
iries. Our main library is one of the best repositories of
ral history publications in the world. In addition, there
the Osborn Library of Vertebrate Paleontology, the
etarium library on astronomy and allied subjects, and
the photographic library, including a slide lending library.
Perhaps we should also include here mention of Museum
publications. There is, of course. Natural History. There
are, in addition. Curator, a magazine of muscology, and the
widely distributed scientific papers-the Bulletin, Novitates,
Anthropological Papers, and Contributions of the American
Museum-Hayden Planetarium. There is also a new publish-
ing venture, undertaken jointly with Doubleday and Co., under
the name of Natural History Press, which issues Nature and
Science, a magazine for elementary school children, as well
as books on natural history for adults.
While we are on the subject of little-known facts regard-
ing the Museum, I think we should discuss grants. Now, the
Museum is a non-profit institution, and as such must seek
support. However, it also distributes funds that have been
given for specific purposes by individuals, foundations, and
federal agencies. These enable research training to be pro-
vided for students from high school age through those working
for their doctoral degrees.
IT goes without saying that research is never finished.
Every answer has as its concomitant another question.
As a result, the end of our first century is really only a
beginning. The more we plan and accomplish, the more we
must continue to plan and accomplish. Our increasing respon-
sibilities in research, education, and exhibition are a reflection
of that growing interest in science I mentioned earlier— an
interest that could never have been envisioned by even such
far-sighted men as the founding fathers.
The responsibility affects us all equally, whether we are
scientists, non-scientific Museum employees, one of the Board
of Trustees, or Museum members, because we demonstrate
our deep interest in the work done here by being associated
with it in the first place. The association is not parochial.
As a research center in the biological and earth sciences and
as an educational medium. The American Museum is inter-
national in scope. It goes far beyond the country's bound-
aries and into the minds of men who are concerned with
knowledge of the world of which they are a part. We are
constantly turned to for guidance, assistance, and, most im-
portant, for leadership in the scientific disciplines we repre-
sent. Unless we continue to expand and to make the future
always more important than the past, we will be relinquish-
ing our rights of leadership. The status quo only maintains
a reputation ; to be meaningful, a reputation must be enhanced.
You who are members have helped the Museum im-
measurably over the year by heightening public interest in
the meaning of natural history through the simple expedient
of being enthusiastic. An even larger membership could un-
doubtedly create even more excitement in learning. This is
the only way an institution like ours can survive. It mus^ con-
tinue to generate interest and enthusiasm by virtue of its
solid scientific accomplishments, for it is only such accom-
plishments that permit the Museum to speak with a voice of
authority. The results of scientific discovery will, in turn, be
given back to its supporters in the form of broader research
and education programs and more comprehensive exhibits.
In other words, a continually growing membership will, as
it has in the past, enable us to meet the constant and many-
faceted challenge of scientific progress and interpretation in
the context of a rapidly changing world.
Alexander M. White
different' vacation
LAND OF WONDER
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New sights — the towering glory of
Mount Rushmore . . . the Badlands'
savage splendor . . . picturesque ghost
towns and gold mines, colorful folk
festivals . . . guided tours of power
plants at colossal dams that form the
state-wide Great Lakes of South Da-
kota. Pulse-tingling events — hoof-
pounding rodeos . . . gold discovery
celebrations with the hair left on , . .
Custer's Last Stand re-enacted to the
blood-chillingcriesof hundreds of Sioux
warriors. Or just relax with rod and reel
on some of the finest fishing lakes in
America.
Splendid highways throughout the
state, every mile a pleasant memory.
More than 300 free campsites. Motels,
hotels, mountain lodges to fit every
budget — plus real Western hospitahty.
Get away from the commonplace!
Enjoy the different vacation — in South
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-&■
df wick 21 auto i,
s Calendar
Reviews
Man and nature
joined in quiet crisis
By William Vogt *
The Quiet Crisis, by Stewart L. Udall
Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., $5.00;
209 pp., illus. Man and Nature in Amer-
ica, by Arthur A. Ekirch, Jr. Columbia
University Press, $4.50; 231 pp., illus.
THE interrelationships of the human
nervous system with the human en-
vironment have not been widely recog-
nized as part of human ecology but they
are, essentially, the theme of these books.
Ever since European man arrived on this
continent he has been driven and guided
—or misguided— by ideas, ideals, notions,
values, desires, and motivations that were
his own and that were often destructive
of the complex of physical factors mak-
ing up his surroundings. A sense of re-
sponsibility toward the land and its
non-human creatures emerged early only
among such oddballs as Thoreau and the
Bartrams. and a few others including
perhaps the most sapient of our presi-
dents, Thomas Jefferson.
There was little doubt, especially
among those who were guided to the
New World by religious zeal, that the
continent was here for them to subdue,
and they were the most inner-directed of
men. They followed the desires of their
own often flinty hearts, and if water
flowed down hill and took soil with it,
well, so much the worse for soil These
were the adventurers, the exploiters, the
killers, the entrepreneurs, and the de-
velopers, and whether their god was Je-
hovah or Free Enterprise they had few
of the kindly thoughts for fellow crea-
tures that are enjoined by the Buddha.
Their ignorance of nature's laws was, on
the whole, colossal, and their lack of a
sense of responsibility was constructed
on the same scale.
Fear and threat of destitution arising
from land abuse and population pres-
sures have, like cirrhosis of the drunk-
ard's liver, begun to stimulate thoughts
of reform, although one does not have to
jet far to see soil erosion, rugged indi-
vidualists among the stockmen who still
maintain their right to wreck the ranges,
and the dripping faucet that continues
to be a symbol of national wastefulness.
These two books are essentially the
story of the relationships of man's atti-
tude with the land. Mr. Ekirch's book,
Man and Nature in America, is chiefly
concerned with the product of nervous
systems— economics, sociology, history,
bureaucracy, verbalizations of one sort
or another— and its first paragraph ej^
poses an ignorance and resulting confu-
sion concerning natural sciences that
probably has few recent equals, certainly
in books published by university presses.
Incredibly, he does not even mention the
American who has most advanced mod-
ern thinking about man and nature. Aldo
Leopold. Nevertheless, for anyone in-
terested in the story of human attitudes
toward nature in America, althougl
little of the book is devoted to nature
itself, it is a good summary. While il
neglects Leopold, it does include the in
fluence of the Hudson River school ol
painters, which the next book ignores
The Quiet Crisis— which, in this work
of jets, superhighways, jackhammers
bulldozers, and thin-walled apartment!
inhabited (it appears) chiefly by TV's
seems strangely named— is a happy com
bination of critical evaluation of humai
thinking-feeling about the totality oj
land, and the empathic history of thi
land itself. Written (with the acknowl
edged help of his staff) by a man famou:
for enjoying the land as much througl
the soles of his feet as through his mind
such a book could almost certainly no
have been produced by any former Secre
tary of the Interior.
Unlike most who have thought an(
written about conservation, Secretar
Udall recognizes that man is intrinsi
cally a part of nature, and that notion
are a part of man. In one of his man;
trenchant sentences he writes appro\
ingly: "Henry Thoreau would scoff a
the notion that the Gross National Prod
uct should be the chief index to the stat
of the nation. . . ." His concern extend:
far beyond the responsibilities of the D^
partment of the Interior and he almos
—but not quite— comes to grips with th
inevitable necessity of putting a ceilini
on population. This is hard to undei
stand in a Secretary who has only re
cently approved an outstanding repoi
on the need to limit certain animal popii
lations in national parks.
Why a beaver dam is more "natural
than a mill dam has never been satis
You can't
beat the
system
515 leather case
rapid-wind crank
quick-focus hand
Hasselblad 500C
eye-level prism finder
Some cameras look like the Hasselblad. But there's nothingto match
its performance. The reason is simple. Hasselblad is a system of
photography acknowledged to be the finest and most versatile in the
world. The camera is exceptionally precise and absolutely dependable.
Lenses are by Zeiss. Each accessory-and there are more than 120 of
them-has been designed to give you supreme flexibility in photogra-
phy.You neverhave to"goon"from Hasselblad. Isn't it timeyou asked
your dealer for a demonstration? For the name of the one nearest
you, write to: Paillard Inc., 1900 Lower Road, Linden, New Jersey.
Sports action by
Daniel R. Rubin,
official photographer
N.Y. Giants, using his
Hasselblad system.
HASS£LBLAD
1
The friendly face of Alaska says
WeLSOMg VTSiToR!
Getting to know the big-hearted, friendly people of
Alaska is one of the nice things about coming to this
big, adventurous land. Informality and hospitality
are everywhere. Vast mountain ranges, sparkling gla-
ciers, Gold Rush towns and totem poles are all part
of an exciting Alaska vacation. C'mon up this year
— be you a sight-seer, car traveller, or tent pitcher.
See your travel agent or write DeptNH-1, Alaska Tra-
vel Division, Juneau.
You haven't seen your country if you haven't seen
Alaska Travel Div.-Dept of Economic Development & Planning
from Kashntir, . .
An exquisite sample of an ancient craft. Delicately colored by
hand in pastel blue or pink on a shimmering silver background.
This box makes a most attractive and unusual powder con-
tainer. No two exactly alike. 4" in diameter. $10.50 ppd.
'S
A'
P>T
Members of the Museun
t^/Hi\SeMS^tcp
THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, NEW YORK, NEW/ YORK 10024
factorily explained by "nature lovers|
and Mr. Udall, in accepting man asj
part of nature, has many wise things t
say about cities and the density-depent
ent problems created by the human spi
cies. "As the area of conflict and overla
increases we must constantly improv
our decision-making techniques," h
warns. "Nor must we be afraid to decid
the toughest of issues; practices tha
defer necessary decisions can also be
threat to the national welfare."
It is probably inevitable that a bod
by a member of the Cabinet should b'
political, and it is in this area that th
book's slip occasionally shows. The Ci
viHan Conservation Corps is inordinatel
praised with no recognition of their de
struction of large areas of wildlife habi
tat through drainage and other activities
The failure of his own Department (be
fore he became its chief) to protect th
Alaskan salmon is not mentioned, am
while the Secretary points out the "mag
nificent opportunity" to respect Alaskai
wilderness and wildhfe, of the Rampar
Dam deponent sayeth nothing. Franklii
D. Roosevelt is lauded as a conservation
ist; there is no mention of the way Ja^
Darling had to outwit him to get fund
for waterfowl habitat restoration. Thi
Secretary's staff should get lumps foi
depriving the Audubon Society of Cork
screw Swamp and for not updating hifl
on the violation of Olmsted's vision (|
Central Park by Robert Moses and New
bold Morris. But these defects are slight
mere freckles.
This is an outstanding, absorbing, in
spiring book that should be read by ever)
conservationist. It weaves conservation:
an increasingly urgent human activity
into the tight, living web that makes uf
our exploding interrelated world. Yet il
reminds us that we can all play our pari
and. indeed, have a responsibihty to do
so. Writing about the Yellowstone, Secre-
tary Udall says: "The concern of a few
people for the rights of future genera-
tions made the difference, and this factor
of foresight would mean the success of
most future park Proposals." The need
for both the concern and the foresight
grows in importance every year.
The illustrations, both black and wlrite
and colored, are superb, and are quite
worthy of the book itself.
Dr. Vogt, internationally known, atvard-i
winning scientist, specializes in botM
the behavior and the ecology of birds},
and in human ecology and conservation^
Copper Town, by Hortense Powder-i
maker. Harper & Roiv, S7.95; 391 pp.},
illus. I
DR. POWDERMAKER has, over the years,,
demonstrated her ability to dance ai
Uvely gavotte, dropping curtsies with!
equal grace to the disciplines of anthro-
logy, sociology, psychology, and his-
y in such diverse ballrooms as Mela-
sia, Mississippi, and Hollywood. Now
; enters the African scene with a fan-
ngo that is at times somewhat wild,
t always exciting and provocative.
Copper Toivn is no ordinary book about
; problem of social change in an Afri-
1 mining community. For one thing, it
eminently readable; while it is schol-
y. it is at the same time a book that
yone can read with enjoyment. Dr.
wdermaker's success is due in large
rt to the thoroughness with which she
ifiously prepared both her project and
r written account of it.
We must be particularly grateful to
: for explaining, in the Introduction,
ictly how she set about tackling her
d work, and why. This is sound aca-
nic practice, by no means always fol-
ded, and it adds immeasurably to the
ue and interest of the book for the
leral reader.
rhe basic problem is one of change.
1 throughout we are reminded that in
pper Town the process of change af-
ts not only the Africans but also the
ropeans. So that we can understand
process more fully. Dr. Powdermaker
es us a background to both communi-
5. This necessarily involves her in gen-
lizations. and with some of these I
^ht quibble, but the validity of her
in argument is in no way affected,
'n showing how tribal values and cus-
[is persist, even after the tribe had dis-
egrated as a localized political unit,
Powdermaker uses transcripts of con-
sations and interviews, and the reader
ible to sense the tremendous depth of
ling that runs below a not always un-
fled surface. And it is a powerful
hnique. as Dr. Powdermaker allows
ropeans as well as Africans to speak
themselves in this way.
jhe selects her quotations to good ef-
t. She cites an African union member
o approved of calling medical workers
; on strike even though a number of
Idren in the hospital died as a result,
len asked if he still approved in the
ht of the deaths, he said. "Even if they
, they are not my relatives." Dr. Pow-
maker makes use of such examples to
[strate the strength of traditional val-
; — in this case, kinship — that persist
n among the most apparently "de-
Dalized" Africans.
rhe Africans of Copper Town see
mselves as members of the new eco-
nic order, but some of them feel that
y still belong, at least partly, to the old
3al order, and they are still subject to
ch of its powerful tradition. A differ-
iation is drawn between these "in-
nsigents" and the "moderns" who
in the gulf with more ease and success
m many Europeans care to acknowl-
le. While the horizons, or "range of
ntity," of the former remain limited,
BEARS
IN THE
FAMILY
by Peter Krott
Translated by
Ruth Michaelis-J ena
BEAKJS ia.'tib&-»&3&Tm
This is the amusing, heartwarming
and informative story of a man who
reared two bear cubs, Bumsli and
Sepha, along with his own family. It
is one of the most unusual books
ever written on the subject, for the
cubs, Bumsli and Sepha, accepted
Peter Krott as their own mother.
Thus, Krott had the rare opportuni-
ty of observing bears in their natural
state. In the beautiful Trentino Alps
of Italy the author, his wife and
their two young boys bottle fed their
cubs, romped with them, taught them
to hunt for food, taught them self-
protection, and even visited them
while they hibernated. Having made
bears a part of his own family, Krott
was able to make numerous fasci-
nating observations never revealed
before. His adventures with bears in
action are recorded in 16 magnificent
full-color and 20 black-and-white
photographs which also reveal the
breathtaking beauty of the Italian
Alps. The photographs combine with
text to enable the reader vividly to
share in the excitement, beauty and
fascination of this unique adventure
with animals. $4.95
"Enthralling" is the word for this
story of falconry — one of the oldest
and most dramatic sports in the
world — by the man who instructed
Prince Phillip and Prince Charles
in the art. Says Gavin Maxwell of
this book: "...it is that extreme
rarity, a book by a master craftsman
about his craft." For nearly forty
years Phillip Glasier, the last of
Britain's professional falconers, has,
in spite of school, armed services,
and professional duties, found time
to train, fly, and photograph his be-
loved wild creatures in Spain, the
Highlands of Scotland, and London.
In this work, he describes his earlier
years spent learning falconry. He
tells of his later successes — filming
falcons for MGM's Knights of the
Round Table and training falcons
with famous English actor James
Robertson Justice. In hunting with
falcons the goal is not to bring in the
most quarry, but to follow the soar-
ing and plunging flights of the bird.
"The sight of a falcon," he says,
"never fails to quicken my senses."
With this book, you too will feel the
enthusiasm which the author ex-
presses for this most dramatic and
exhilarating sport. 48 pages of su-
perb photographs. Glossary of
falconry terms. $5.95
At all bookstores
AS THE
FAU'M
HEIi
BELLS
P/u//ffi G/as/n
AS THE
FALCON
HER BELLS
by Phillip Glasier
Introduction by
Gavin Maxwell
E.P. DUTTON & CO.
201 Park Avenue South, New York, N. Y. 10003
Two new titles
in Lippincott's
exciting series of
LIVING WORLD
BOOKS
THE WORLD OF
THE BEAVER
By Leonard Lee Rue, III. The life history
of the industrious American beaver told
through marvelous photographs and de-
tailed information about the habitat,
habits, growth, engineering skill, swim-
ming ability, and longevity. Mr. Rue,
remembered for his popular World of
the White-tailed Deer, has accomplished
a portrait of the beaver unparalleled in
the field of nature writing. Profusely il-
lustrated with photographs. $4.95
iHE WOWLu oF
THE BOBCAT
By Joe Van Wormer. Fascinating facts
about the bobcat, one of the least visible
of American mammals, often living close
to civilization but seldom seen by man.
In the wild, in captivity, and as a pet, the
bobcat makes an intriguing subject for
the nature enthusiast and the student;
here is a book for everyone who- enjoys
the best in nature writing. Profusely il-
lustrated with photographs. $4.95
THE WORLD OF THE WHITE-TAILED
DEER. By Leonard Lee Rue, IIL "Ab-
solutely first-rate text and photographs
. . . highly recommended." — The New
Yorker. Profusely illustrated with photo-
graphs. $4.95
J. B. LippinCOtt Company .Good Books Since 1792
East Washington Square • Phila. 5, Pa.
the horizons of the latter are constantly
expanding. Dr. Powdermaker gives a
dramatic picture of the extent and nature
of this expansion, while pointing out that
at the same time the same process is at
work among the Europeans.
I personally query Dr. Powdermaker's
interpretation of witchcraft, and her gen-
eralization that it normally involves re-
venge and "black magic" rather than
"white magic." It seems that there is a
confusion here between magic, witch-
craft, and sorcery, which to the Central
Africans are quite distinct processes in-
volving totally different mental attitudes.
This does not mean, however, that the
author's deductions are necessarily at
fault in this area; it merely means that
I wish she had been allowed enough
space to go into greater detail and tell us
still more. And that is surely the mark of
any first-rate book. I recommend it
wholeheartedly to anyone interested in
human beings and human problems— a
"must" for those interested in Africa.
Colin M. Turnbull
The American Museum
John Clayton: Pioneer of American
Botany, by Edmund Berkeley and Dor-
othy Smith Berkeley. University of North
Carolina, $6.00; 236 pp., illus.
THE dainty, starlike Spring Beauty,
Claytonia virginica L., one of the ear-
liest blooming of all eastern American
wildflowers. is familiar to many, but few
know much about John Clayton (1686-
1773). the American botanist in whose
honor Linnaeus named this delightful
harbinger of spring.
Clayton, a contemporary of John Bart-
ram, Mark Catesby, Peter Collinson, and
Benjamin Franklin, collected plants and
also described them for the first impor-
tant flora of British North America,
Flora Virginica. This work was compiled
by John Frederick Gronovius and was
published at Leiden in two parts, in 1739
and 1743. A second edition, revised and
enlarged, was published in 1762.
Strange as it may seem, little informa-
tion has ever been gathered together con-
cerning the life of this important Ameri-
can botanist. In a letter of January 4. 1751,
to CadwaUader Colden. the botanist Peter
Kalm wrote: "There is nothing we want
so much as a Biographica Botanicorum;
the old were very negligent in that: there
are many of which we hardly know any
other thing but the name; nay, if we seek
yet to the history of their life, we are
obliged to pick up here and there a word
in the writings of their contemporary's;
... I have already got the history of Mr.
Bertram's life; of Clayton I hope D. Gro-
novius will give out his vitae historiam."
Dr. and Mrs. Berkeley, some two hun-
dred years later, fulfilled Kalm's hope
for a life of Clayton. They searched dili-
gently both American and European ar-
chives for authentic correspondence anc
official documents, and have recon-
structed the life, interests, and contribu-
tions of this early American. Their schol
arly work is extremely well documented
most readable, and presents a wealth oi
heretofore unpublished material on eight
eenth-century botany and botanists. j
Elizabeth C. Hali
N .Y . Botanical Garden
Heredity and Human Life, by Hamptor
L. Carson. Columbia University Press
S5.00: 218 pp., illus.
OUR concept of man and the mecha-
nisms that have led to his dilTeren
tiation from other primates has beer
profoundly modified in recent years b)
a number of events. There have been
since the mid-1920's a series of funda-
mental discoveries of fossils relating tr
this story. The nature of the gene and
its behavior has been magnificently clari-
fied in a series of brilliant laboratory
studies. And the way genes interaci
within aggregates of individuals has beer
illuminated in a whole new branch ol
genetics that is concerned with the breed
ing population as the unit of evolution. 1
Much of this new knowledge is eithei
inaccessible to the lay reader or is avail-
able only in specialized language. Pro-
fessor Carson has attempted here to
present this new view in a strictly non-
technical style, and. on the whole, he has
succeeded admirably— if one overlooks
the inevitable omissions that the vested
interests will be quick to point out.
In effect, Carson has written an evolu-
tion of man and race by beginning with
the gene, analyzing the individual as a
product of both heredity and environ:
ment, and applying both genetic and evol
lutionary principles to the specific story
of the differentiation of man and his
diversification into races.
Unfortunately, Carson has oversimpli-
fied in several cases in which the facts
are still obscure. The antiquity of Homo
sapiens, for example, is hardly known as
precisely as he would allow. And it is
still far from certain that the modern
races of man had their beginnings only
40.000 years ago. There is also a polemic
touch to the book that— although on the
side of the angels— is bolstered by faulty
logic. It does not do the case for anti-
racism much good to say that the genetic
factor in intelligence cannot be isolated
and identified because intelligence itself
cannot be measured precisely with our
current techniques, and later to ascribe
group differences in this attribute to cul-
tural environment as though we had the
means for doing so. It may be true, but
this is not the way to resolve the issue.
Nor does it help to minimize the adaptive
nature of pigmentation, for example, by
invoking genetic drift. If this were so.
one might expect far more variation to
SOUTH IFRICI
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Vast, magnificent Kruger National Park is one of several
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natural history tour to South Africa. Be sure to include
Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, Hluhluwe Game Re-
serve, and Umfolosi, home of the rare White Rhino.
Tour all South Africa in carefree comfort, and at surpris-
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ive been preserved in the small isolates
at have survived to our day. Conti-
:ntal uniformity speaks for more than
random effect.
Despite these caveats, Heredity and
uman Life has much to offer any read-
who likes to keep informed of the
■ogress of science.
Harry L. Shapiro
The American Museum
IE Green Turtle and Man, by James
Parsons. University of Florida Press,
100; 126 pp., illus.
IHIS account of Chelonia mydas, the
. green turtle, is an invaluable con-
ibution to our knowledge of the bio-
gical distribution of a highly exploited
eature. Dr. Parsons has traced the his-
ry of the relationship of man and the
een turtle from Chelonia' s use as a
otein-yielding necessity, through its
;port as a luxury food item, to the pres-
it methods for its conservation. The
;tensive bibliography ranges from the
rliest explorers, and includes Francis
rake and Captain Cook, plus modern
ithorities such as William Beebe, James
. Oliver, and Archie Carr— who wrote
e foreword to the book.
This is an account of existing and his-
ric attitudes among various popula-
tions regarding this reptile. It should
aid modern conservationists toward an
effective program to insure the continua-
tion of the species— an important source
of protein, in the form of eggs as well as
meat, for many tropical peoples. The
photographs throughout are of unusual
quality and of outstanding reportorial
content. Among them is a sequence deal-
ing with the project undertaken by the
Caribbean Conservation Corporation—
Dr. Carr is the technical director— which
is seeking to restore Chelonia mydas to
its former numbers. The author, pri-
marily a geographer, has done an out-
standing job in making available to
scientists and interested observers this
compendium of information on the his-
tory and distribution of the green turtle.
Georg Zappler
The American Museum
Animal Worlds, by Marston Bates.
Random House, $15.00; 316 pp., illus.
The Wonders of Wildlife, by Franz
A. Roedelberger and Vera I. Groschoff.
Viking Press, $8.50; 232 pp., illus.
BOTH of these superficially similar
books are large, "conversation piece"
picture books, replete with beautiful, re-
vealing, and sometimes dramatic photo-
graphs. On this ground both will appeal
to many interested in natural history.
Here, however, the resemblance ends.
In Animal Worlds, Professor Bates has
accomplished the sort of tour de force
we have come to expect of him; he has
condensed an enormous number of facts
and ideas while writing simply, inter-
estingly, and authoritatively. Even with-
out the illustrations (horrible thought)
the text would stand alone as a lucid,
thorough description and analysis of the
major environments and habitats of the
world and of the animals that inhabit
them. Without seeming pedantic to the
casual reader, it could ser\'e as a text of
the fundamentals of animal ecology.
Animal W orlds begins with a chapter
on the general conditions of animal life,
and then describes and discusses spe-
cific animal environments in the major
parts of the seas, the wetlands, and the
fresh waters. The chief environmental
divisions of the land are similarly dis-
cussed and range from tundra, grass-
lands, and deserts, to forests, mountains,
and islands. A most timely series of con-
cluding chapters traces something of the
natural history of evolving man, the ef-
fect of modern man in the areas where
he is changing the environments with
terrifying acceleration, and the ways in
which some animals have fitted into the
conditions of even our greatest super-
cities. Throughout the book the reader
is led into a genuine understanding of
the manner in which animals of each
major type of habitat have evolved their
many types of interrelationships, and of
how closely tied to the physical forces of
their environment they are.
I am sorry to note that the author has
ignored the dangerous effects of man's
pollution of much of the world with
chemicals such as insecticides and de-
tergents. This is a major factor that alters
many animals" lives. Perhaps the manu-
script antedated Silent Spring.
The illustrations and their reproduc-
tion are extremely good. In a few in-
stances there is an unfortunate repetition
of "cute" species, such as the raccoon
and the white-footed mouse. Those all-
important Arctic lemmings are not
shown, and the snowshoe "rabbit" is
erroneously illustrated among tundra
animals. However, the special virtue of
the photographs is the way in which
many of them, while effectively portray-
ing the animals, also most revealingly
show the natural environments. Very few
of the photographs look like posed pic-
tures of zoo animals.
In contrast. The IFonders of Wildlife
Now.anAlrican safari
all-inclusive $1419
BOAC has done it again. They've come
up with a 17 day African Safari that
brings the cost of an African adventure
down to an incredibly low $1419. This
price includes everything: economy
class round-trip air fare by Rolls-Royce
707 (from N. Y. to London to Nairobi
and back), hotels, meals and all transfers.
Safari means "journey," not "hunt."
Bring a camera, not a gun. You'll want
to shoot fabulous Nairobi National Park,
Masai tribesmen, Karamojong. Be awed
by the Ngorongoro Crater. Marvel at
Murchison and hundreds of fascinating
sights you couldn't see anywhere in the
world but Africa.
BRITISH OVERSEAS AIRWAYS CORPORATION
Dept. NH-11
S30 Fifth Avenue, New York 36, MU 7-1600
Please send me details on the African Safari
and the Lands of the Bible tour.
NAME-
STREET.
CITY
was obviously written to go between a ■
series of photographs of European ani-
mals. The sequence is confusing and thej
text, although informative and interest- •
ing enough, lacks plan or continuity. Ai
number of fundamental errors, such as;'
calling first the pterodactyls and then.?
the lizards "ancestors"' of the birds, leads i
one to suspect the depth of the authors' j
knowledge. Most of the photographs are I
excellent, and some are superb; butj
others are patently posed, and some loob'
reteuched. Although there are some very^
timely and valuable words about theS
great need for conservation, I can see]
little use for the book in this country
when equally attractive ones dealings
with our own plants and animals are sol
readily available. J
Alexander B. Klots
The American Museujm
Sea Birds, by Charles Vaucher. DufouT-
Editions, $16.50; 254 pp., illus. ':
THIS book, despite its comprehensive^
title, concerns only twenty-odd sea.)
birds and gulls, a couple of ducks, and a)
few shore birds— all photographed on the'
islands and coasts of the British Isles
and the Baltic Sea. A short text accom-
panies the photographs, and a section is:
included that gives descriptions of the'
birds concerned, with notes on theiis
breeding and an outline of their dis-^
tribution. This section is brief, and the^
text, although well written, is sketchy,!
The great majority of photographs arei
outstanding and many are excellent, es-l
pecially those of the birds taken in flight.]
The latter certainly include some of the-
most remarkable ever taken. The series'!
on the gannet is superb and probably'
unmatched, and some of the birds photo-;
graphed on land, such as the fulmar andj
shag, are equally remarkable. There are
255 photographs, fifteen in color (and. Ij
may add. not up to the standard of the
black and white) . The author has wisely |
added some very beautiful seascapes;
evoking different moods, and some strik-]
ing scenes of the coast of Brittany.
This book is not comprehensive ori
"scientific," but it does not pretend to;
be. It is really aimed at those who are
thrilled by the sea and its incomparablel
birds, and in this it is perfectly success-'
ful. A conscientious reviewer should!
note, however, that the present edition,]
prepared in England, is not quite up|
to the standard of the original edition,;
published in Switzerland in 1958. The:
format of the latter was a little bigger,;
the paper was of superior quality, andj
the reproduction of most of the photo-j
graphs was better, but the quality of this)
present edition is still very high. ,
Charles Vaurie;
The American Museum/.
lO
AFRICA AND AFRICANS
Paul Bohannan. From earliest prehis-
■y to the volatile present, a leading an-
opologist explores African art, family
:, religion and economy, and sheds new
ht on African nationalism and neutrality.
Hardbound, $4.50; paperback, $1.25
PHOTOGRAPHING NATURE
David Linton; illustrated with 50 photo-
iphs and drawings. Practical techniques
d basic advice by the author of Natural
story's column, "Nature and the Cam-
i." Paperback, $1.95
4) EXPLORATION OF THE MOON
by Franklyn M. Branley; illustrated with
22 photographs and drawings. A Hayden
Planetarium astronomer sums up man's
lunar observation to date and looks to a
future lunar colony.
Hardbound, $3.50; paperback, 95c^
5) BIOLOGY OF BIRDS
by Wesley E. Lanyon; illustrated with 64
drawings. A vivid introduction to ornithol-
ogy describing birds' evolution, flight de-
sign, classification, migration, and varied
life cycles.
Hardbound, $3.95; paperback, $1.25
INVITATION TO ANTHROPOLOGY 6) INDIANS OF THE PLAINS
Douglas L. Oliver. A lucid presentation
fundamental ideas and methods, with
amples ranging from the Dobu Islanders
a fashionable American bride.
Paperback, 95(5
by Robert H. Lowie; illustrated with 80
photographs and line drawings. The classic
study of the 'Buffalo Plains' tribes — in-
cluding the Cheyenne, Sioux, Crow, and
Blackfoot. Paperback, $1.95
7) WASP FARM
by Howard Ensign Evans: illustrated with
41 photographs and drawings. An eminent
entomologist's record of thousands of hours
observing the ways of wasps. "This is na-
ture writing of the highest integrity."— N.y.
Times Book Review. "Firsthand authority
... a joy to read . . . few recent books on
natural history are likely to give more
pleasure."— /4«t/M6o/z Magazine
Hardbound only, $3.95
8) A SHORT HISTORY OF BIOLOGY
by Isaac Asimov. The science of life, from
400 B.C. to the molecular biology that is
revolutionizing genetics and medicine to-
day. Hardbound, $3.95; paperback, $1.25
9) INDIANS OF THE NORTHWEST
COAST
by Pliilip Drucker; illustrated with 77 pho-
tographs and drawings. The definitive study
of the Indians who lived from Alaska to
northern California — from prehistory to
potlatch. Paperback. $1.95
And don't miss these
NATURAL HISTORY LIBRARY paperbacks... from
DOUBLEDAY ANCHOR BOOKS
10) RETURN TO
LAUGHTER
An anthropological novel by Ele-
nore Smith Bowen; Foreword by
David Riesman. A remarkable
novel about an American an-
thropologist who becomes per-
sonally involved in the tribal life
of a primitive bush tribe in Cen-
tral Africa. $1.45
11) SNAKES IN FACT
AND FICTION
by James A. Oliver. Legend and
science are side by side in this
fascinating survey of herpetolog-
ical fact and fancy — from the
serpent in the Garden of Eden to
the Loch Ness monster. 8 pages
of photographs. $1.25
12) BACK OF HISTORY
Revised Edition
by William Howells. A brilliantly
written study of man's origins
and the vital steps in his coming
of age — from the dawn of lan-
guage to the sophisticated socie-
ties of the ancient world. 60
drawings. $1.45
13) A HERD OF RED DEER
by F. Fraser Darling. A recog-
nized classic in the study of ani-
mal behavior, written by an ecol-
ogist who spent nearly two years
in northern Scotland, stalking,
scrutinizing, and living with a
herd of red deer. 17 line draw-
ings. $1.25
■ ■FREE EXAMINATION COUPONm-i
To your bookseller or to
THE NATURAL HISTORY PRESS
DOUBLEDAY & COMPANY, INC.
Dept. 4-NH-3
Garden City, New York
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Animals, symbolic of the Egyptian tribes,
hack at forts. Slate dates ca. 3000 B.C.
By
Alan R.
schulman
Siege
Warfare in
Pharaonic Egypt
V LLusioNS TO SIEGE WARFARE in the written and pic-
Xtorial records of Pharaonic Egypt are compara-
'ely rare, and yet siege operations must have been
rried on extensively during the approximately three
ousand years that the rule of the Pharaohs flourished
the land of the Nile. Siege warfare, which entailed
:hniques and tactics of attack against, and defense of,
ed fortifications, was radically different from the mode
fighting employed by troops campaigning against
her troops in the open field. In the latter case, the
o opposing forces met head on in battle, and the out-
me hinged on many factors, such as superior numbers,
lining, discipHne, tactics, physical stamina, courage,
occasionally, the introduction of some new weapon
perhaps a new mode of warfare.
In an attack against a fortified area, however, the de-
tiding force had a decided initial advantage. The wide-
read custom, in antiquity, of situating strongholds on
e highest ground available compelled an attacking
emy force to fight continuously uphill. Thus the at-
ckers were exposed to the deadly missile fire of the
;fenders, who were protected from retaliation in kind
' walls and ramparts. Weh-constructed and well-pro-
sioned fortifications — garrisoned by determined, dis-
plined, and brave soldiers — were, in the millenniums
;fore the invention of explosives, virtually impregnable
cene from Khaemhesy's tomb, ca. 2500 B.C.,
first-known depiction of the siege ladder.
to ordinary methods of attack. Consequently, new mili-
tary doctrines and new weapons of war had to be devised
for their reduction. It was probably for this reason that
siege warfare and military engineering were born.
An operation against a fortified area, whether a single
small fortress or a large, walled city, made use of two
seemingly opposed tactics: on the one hand, the swift,
direct assault; on the other, the slow, more formal siege
that isolated the defending garrison until it was ulti-
mately starved into submission. Although either tactic
could be used independently, it was customary to com-
bine them during a protracted siege.
EVIDENCE of this mode of warfare in Egypt prior to
the start of the New Kingdom {ca. 1585 B.C.) con-
sists, for all practical purposes, only of pictures showing
the direct assault. The earliest of these is preserved on
a ceremonial slate palette of the Archaic Period (ca.
3000 B.C.), now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. On
it the king is depicted in a highly symbolic manner as
Horus, the falcon-god, hacking away with a mattock at
the bastion of a walled city that is seen from above in
plan view. This motif is repeated six more times on the
palette, each time with the figure of the falcon replaced
by a different heraldic emblem. These emblems may be
different personifications of the king or of his tribal
allies. As each of the walled fortifications shown on the
ceremonial slate palette encloses signs that are ap-
parently the names of the towns, we may consider this
scene to be the recorded summary of the actual con-
13
quests of an unknown early dynastic ruler of Egypt.
At Sakkara, in the tomb of Khaemhesy, a royal car-
penter and overseer of building in the palace who lived
during the Fifth Dynasty {ca. 2560 — 2425 B.C.) , a paint-
ing vividly portrays the assault of a walled fortification.
At the top of the scene, an Egyptian soldier uses a mat-
tock to attack a wall in a manner similar to that of the
mattock wielders depicted on the Archaic palette of
some five hundred years earlier. When I remember the
ease with which workmen, using only this simple agri-
cultural implement, tore down the walls of a mudbrick
structure during the 1962 Pennsylvania-Yale exca-
vation at Arminna in Egyptian Nubia, I can easily
understand how effective the mattock must have been
as a primitive siege weapon. The mudbrick with which
the ancients built their fortifications would have pre-
sented no obstacle to a number of determined and en-
ergetic men so armed. However, to assault a wall in this
manner would have left the attackers highly vulnerable
to the defenders' fire, and undoubtedly would have re-
R.
SITES OF
EGYPTIAN SIEGES
• AWRIS
LOWER EGYPT
K^, sakkara; MEMPHIS
HERAKLEOPOLIS* C^
MIDDLE EGYPT
• BENl HASAN
HERMOPOLIS*
ABYDOS*
THEBES
r I lynn •• I^ARNAK
UPPER EGYPT .ELKAS
^am's crew, middle right, is protected by a shed,
a Middle Kingdom tactical innovation.
suited in heavy casualties. During the Metropolita
Museum of Art's excavations at Thebes in the fin
quarter of this century, a number of mummified bodif
of soldiers of one of the Eleventh Dynasty king:
Nebhepetre-Mentuhotep (ca. 2060 — 2010 b.c), wei
discovered. These all bore arrow wounds, the angles (
which showed that the arrows had entered from abovi
this suggests that the arrows had been fired from a wa
at men attacking on the ground below. Obviously, lei
costly assault tactics had to be developed.
THERE are three ways to penetrate hostile walls: b
going through them (breaching); by going ovt
them (scaling); by going under them (tunneling, <
sapping). The Khaemhesy painting shows the secon
of these tactics in use: a scaling ladder with whee
affixed to its lower end to facilitate movement has bee
placed against the wall; a file of soldiers armed wit
copper or bronze battle-axes are shown swarming u]
brandishing weapons against the defenders as they reac
the top of the wall. At the base of the ladder are tw
more soldiers armed with long picks. They may t
digging at the base of the wall, but some scholars inte
pret the picks as supports that are held before and behin
the base of the ladder to prevent it from shifting whij
it is being climbed. ;
The siege ladder also figures prominently in a secon
painting from the Old Kingdom, made about a centur
later for the tomb of Iny at Deshasheh. Here the ladde
is shown without wheels, and a soldier holds it at i;
base as if to steady it for his fellows who have alread
ascended or as if he himself is about to climb up. A
another part of the wall an officer, leaning on a staff an
with a battle-ax tucked in his girdle, supervises tw
soldiers who seem to be using two pointed crowbars t
weaken a wall, or perhaps a gateway. It is also possihl
that this scene illustrates a form of sapping, the thir
method of penetrating a wall. Since so much of the seen
is unpreserved, it is impossible to determine if, as i
the Khaemhesy painting, a soldier was depicted elss
where in the composition using a mattock to hack dow
the wall. It is likely that this was the case, as the tacti
is alluded to in a passage of the tomb-biography of
contemporary noble, Uni, who was buried at Abydos
14
"This army returned in safety, after it had hacked
up the land of the Sand-Dwellers . . . after it had
destroyed the land of the Sand-Dwellers . . . after it
had demolished its fortresses . . . after it had
chopped down its orchards and vineyards."
If we are to credit certain texts literally, siege assault
tics were described in literature from the onset of the
w Kingdom (after 1585 B.C.)- I will move on to this
terial after discussing some pictorial evidence from
Middle Kingdom.
The tombs of some of the nobles of the Middle King-
n (ca. 2130 — 1785 B.C.) at Beni Hasan in Upper
ypt provided the only records of siege warfare that
preserved from the Middle Kingdom. These are five
iresentations of assaults on fortresses, but all are
5ies of a single, conventional scene; they differ only
the most trivial details, so that a description of one
luld suffice. In this example, for the first time the
tress under attack is shown in a side view. It domi-
es the center of the composition. At one corner of the
tress is a gate, on each side of which is a clearly
ineated, sloping glacis. A series of crenelated bastions
turrets line the summit of the wall. These are occupied
the defending archers. The attackers are shown in
) registers on each side of the stronghold. Those
sest to the wall are archers who keep up a barrage of
ow fire against the defenders. Behind the archers
nd other soldiers armed with shields, axes, and thrust-
ing-spears, as well as reserve supplies of arrows. Near
the gate several soldiers, sheltered by a mantelet (a
covered shed), manipulate a long pole — obviously a
battering-ram — against the gate (Natural History,
August-September, 1963). It is also possible that they
were working it against the weakest portion of the wall,
where the wall forms an angle with the glacis. Standing
or kneeling archers are always shown before or behind
the ram, where they undoubtedly were stationed to give
the ram and its crew covering fire. Neither scaling ladders
nor individual sappers appear at the base of the wall,
perhaps because the artist who composed the scene
wished to emphasize the new weapon, the mantelet-
covered battering-ram.
NOT until the beginning of the New Kingdom do
we begin, finally, to find verbal descriptions of
siege warfare. The first references to formal investments
of cities are noted in the tomb-biography of an Egyptian
soldier who participated in the campaigns. He was a
native of El-Kab, in Upper Egypt, named Ahmose, the
son of Ebana, and he served in the army of King Neb-
pehty-Re Ahmose I, the founder of the Eighteenth
Dynasty (ca. 1585 — 1308 B.C.). It was Ahmose I who
continued the war of liberation against Egypt's Asiatic
overlords, the Hyksos, and brought the struggle to a
In painting in tomb of Iny, soldiers, under ladder,
sap a wall by using crowbars.
15
victorious conclusion when he took the enemy capital
of Avaris in the delta, then reduced Sharuhen, the princi-
pal Hyksos stronghold and advance base in northern
Sinai. Of the siege and fall of Avaris, the tomb-biography
of Ahmose, the son of Ebana, records:
"I followed the sovereign on my feet when he
advanced on his chariot. When the city of Avaris
was besieged, then I was valorous on foot in the
presence of his majesty and was transferred to the
ship 'Manifest in Memphis.' Then there was fight-
ing in the Padjeku-canal of Avaris. . . . Then fight-
ing was renewed in this place. . . . Then there was
fighting in the Egypt south of this city .... Then
this city was taken."
Ahmose's account of the siege and capture of
Sharuhen is even more matter of fact;
"Then Sharuhen was besieged for three years. Then
his majesty took it."
THERE are no further detailed records of sieges until
the middle of the Eighteenth Dynasty, during the
reign of the great warrior-king, Menkheperre-Thutmose
III, who made no fewer than seventeen expeditions into
west Asia after he took the throne of Egypt. It was during
his first invasion of Palestine {ca. 1470 B.C.) that he
smashed a powerful Syro-Palestinian coalition in open
battle on the Plain of Esdralon. The survivors fled into
nearby Megiddo, the biblical Armageddon, and took
refuge there, but the immediate capture of the city was
prevented by the eagerness of the Egyptian army to
plunder the deserted enemy camp that lay between it and
Megiddo. This lost opportunity infuriated the king, who
was well aware that:
". . . every chief of every northern country which
had revolted was within it, so that the capture of
Megiddo was the capture of a thousand cities . . . ."
Restoring the discipline of his army, the king laic
siege to the city. The importance of this operation ii
emphasized by the fact that six separate accounts of it
all of them highly fragmentary today, are preserved. Th(
fullest is that given in the annals of the king that an
carved on a wall in the great temple of Amun — thi
paramount god of Egypt in the New Kingdom — a
Karnak in Thebes. It is, unhappily, rather badly muti
lated, but enough remains to give a very lucid picture o
the earliest fully documented siege attested in ai
Egyptian record. The beginning of the text is now lost
but it certainly must have contained a description of th(
king's instructions to his army on how to begin the siege
Picking up with the siege in progress, the preserved nar
rative reads: {
"[The officers of] the infantry [were instructed] ]
to command [their soldiers, and to assign] every j
[man] his place. They invested [this] city, sur- j
rounding it with a ditch and enclosing it with the j
fresh timbers of all their pleasant trees, while his j
majesty himself was upon a fortification east of i
this city, watching [over it by night as well as by
day]."
A long lacuna in the text follows, ending with a refei
ence to either the city or a siegework: j
". . . it was enclosed with a thick wall . . . with its i
thick wall, and it was named 'Menkheperre, the ]
Surrounder of Asiatics.' People were stationed to
in Luxor temple relief, Ramesses II
is idealized as vanquisher of the city of Dapur.
ffi'
watch over [this] enclosure of his majesty, and
were instructed 'Be steady of heart! Be [very]
watchful!' Then his majesty. . . . [Here a lengthy
portion of the text is lost and what follows is too
fragmentary for translation here.]"
The length and inevitable outcome of the siege are
)ted on a stela that Thutmose erected at the temple of
mun at Gebel Barkal in the Sudan:
"My majesty imprisoned them [the enemy princes]
for a period of seven months before they came out
into the open, pleading to my majesty and saying
'Grant us thy breath, O our lord! [i.e., show mercy
to us].' "
The siege operations that Thutmose carried on
gainst another enemy city, Kadesh, are briefly noted
the annals at Karnak and again in the Theban tomb-
ography of one of the veterans of the campaigns, a
;rtain Amenemheb.
^ADESH was attacked twice, the Karnak annals re-
^^ veal, in the course of seventeen invasions that the
ng made into Palestine-Syria. During the sixth Pales-
lian expedition Thutmose is said, in the annals, to have
irrived at Kadesh, attacked it, chopped down its groves,
id ripped up its grain." During the seventeenth and final
impaign he is said to have "arrived at the region of
adesh and taken three cities there." Amenemheb's
iography also contains two terse references to this:
"Again I saw his [the king's] bravery while I was
in his entourage: when he took [the city of]
Kadesh, I was not absent from the place where he
was. . . . Then his majesty sent every valiant man
of his army forth to breach the new wall which
had been made for Kadesh. I am the one who
breached it, being the foremost of every valiant
man."
The policy of the Egyptians — chopping down the
lemy's orchards and ripping out their planted grain —
lentioned in connection with the fall of Kadesh, was
common feature of their doctrine of siege warfare,
nd is noted in a number of texts and pictures. The ob-
Lous reason for such plunder is that it permitted the
ttacking Egyptians to live off the land they were in-
ading and to utilize the wood of the enemy's forests
tid orchards for their own construction, including the
taking of siege equipment. By this same destructive
:tion, the enemy was denied the use of these resources.
; is possible that the strategy was even more far-reach-
ig. The Egyptians themselves may not have had any
itention of permanently garrisoning the cities once they
ere captured. Instead they may have hoped to make
lem untenable for reoccupation by the enemy when
i'entually the conquering forces withdrew.
The only other possible allusion to a siege in the
ighteenth Dynasty sources known to me forms the
ackground of the hterary narrative of the taking of
3ppa by Djehuty, a general of Thutmose III. The town
;11 to a proto-"Trojan Horse" stratagem, whereby an
gyptian commando force was sent into the city, con-
;aled in large wicker hampers, which ostensibly con-
lined gifts for the Joppan prince. Since no details of
le actual siege are otherwise given, the taking of the
V^onventional view of king, awesome,
the sole author of victory, is from temple of Luxor.
city of Joppa will be excluded from further discussion.
There are no real written accounts of sieges per se
stemming from the Ramesside period (ca. 1308 — 1090
B.C.), but the conquest of hostile cities frequently forms
the motif of the magnificent battle rehefs that are pre-
served on the walls of the Ramesside temples at Thebes
and elsewhere. The conquest theme is usually treated
in a highly stereotyped manner designed to magnify
and emphasize the king's prowess as a conquering god;
although his infantry and chariotry sometimes trail be-
hind him to watch the attack, they offer no assistance.
Indeed, none is necessary, for the king's mere presence
is presumed sufficient to cause the gateways of the be-
leaguered fortresses to crumble and to terrify the craven
enemy into surrender. There are occasional departures,
however, from idealized representations, and these are
highly instructive.
The fall of a "city which his majesty carried in the
land of Hatti, Dapur," is pictured in a relief of Ramesses
II (ca. 1290 — 1224 B.C.) in the temple of Luxor on the
east bank of the Nile at Thebes. It shows the king on
foot "fighting the city of the enemy of Hatti, in front of
his infantry and his chariotry." The king is accompanied
by Egyptian soldiers and foreign auxiliaries, but the im-
pression conveyed is that it is he, and he alone, who is
responsible for the Hittite city's fall. But a different
version of this same incident appears in a relief found
in the king's mortuary temple on the west bank of the
river at Thebes — the Ramesseum. There, the same types
of siege equipment that are shown in the Sakkara,
Deshasheh, and Beni Hasan tomb paintings of the Old
and Middle Kingdoms have been brought into action
against Dapur. The Hitthe city is a large, well-defended
stronghold, enclosed by a complex of girdle-walls and
situated high on a sloping glacis. At the base of this
glacis, half-obscured by the figures of four princes, are
four mantelets of a shape that differs slightly from those
of the Eleventh Dynasty. Beneath the protection of the
mantelets, battering-rams are being worked against the
wall. A covering party of infantrymen shields this opera-
tion from a possible Hittite attack, while assault troops
have mounted a wheelless scaling ladder and have climbed
to the top of the wall. In the text accompanying this
17
tm'-'^]>
ibyrian city, pictured in Luxor temple,
is reduced to desolation by Egyptian armies.
scene, Ramesses is described as "one who hurls down
their possessions, who makes all of their places into
desolate mounds."
At Karnak, still another relief of this king depicts the
fall of "a wretched city which his majesty carried, for
it was evil, Askalon." Here, too, the use of siege equip-
ment is shown: at one side of the fortification a scaling
ladder has been raised up to the wall and an assaulting
foot soldier has mounted it; at the opposite side of the
fort another soldier, armed with a battle-ax, chops at
the left gate of the stronghold's two portals; at the base
of the glacis an attacking force defiantly brandishes
weapons against the embattled town.
To portray an attack against a gate by an ax-wielding
soldier might have been the intent of the creator of the
relief of Ramesses II in the Nubian temple of Beit el-
Wali. The scene is dominated by the conventional view
of the king, on foot, charging against the fortified city,
but beside and slightly in front of him is the figure of a
prince, waving an ax and charging toward the fort. The
fall of the city of "Mutir which the mighty sword of his
majesty took," pictured in reliefs of Ramesses II at the
Luxor temple and at the Karnak temple, show that the
city was taken after the gate had been breached. In the
Luxor scene, the king charges the city from his chariot.
The panic-stricken enemy flee before him, driving their
flocks into the shelter of the town. No siege equipment
at all is visible, and yet Egyptian soldiers have gained
the walls, for one stands on the battlements, brandish-
ing a bow and stabbing an enemy, while a second drags
a struggling foe through a window. The Karnak scene
shows that the gates of the town have been battered in.
EGYPTIAN soldiers are also pictured in a relief of
Ramesses III (1192 — 1160 b.c.) from his mortu-
ary temple at Medinet Habu, on the west bank of Thebes.
Without the visible presence of any siege weapons, the
soldiers have gained the wall of a Hittite town. One of
the gateways of the fort has been smashed open, so that
we may assume that the Egyptians effected their pene-
tration into the city by breaching the gate. This is not
the case with the last of the pictorial accounts of the
fall of a city, also from a relief of Ramesses III at Medi-
net Habu. Here the Syrian town of Tunip has been as-
saulted by the Egyptians. Scaling ladders have been
placed at each side of the gate and have been mounted
by Egyptian assault troops. Other Egyptians have already
gained the wall and are systematically clearing it of de-
fenders. An Egyptian trumpeter stands on a battlement
and gives a signal while another soldier stands behind him j
and holds a standard aloft. Meanwhile, a squad of j
soldiers is smashing the gate below with battle-axes. Out- ;
side of the fortress, to the right, more Egyptians destroy
the surrounding countryside. One chops down a tree
while another seems to be casting fire into a hayrick.
On the written side of the picture there is a passage in !
Papyrus Anastasi I, a literary text from the time of Ram- 1
esses II. This text is usually considered an outstanding j
example of literary satire by means of which its author, |
the scribe Hori, pokes fun at and rebuffs the pretensions i
to knowledge of a brash young colleague of his, a certain j
Amenemope. While this is so, the essential military I
nature of the text is usually overlooked. Time and again j
Hori refers both to himself and to Amenemope as >
soldiers, and the latter half of the papyrus, which is con- I
cerned with Amenemope's ignorance of Syria and Pales- 1
tine, stresses his need for knowledge of matters that
would be of the highest interest to a soldier: terrain and
topography, locations of various Asiatic towns, the
march distances between them and. significantly, the {
nature and condition of their fortifications, as well as the j
locations of river-crossings and mountain passes.
AMENEMOPE is frequently confronted with elaborate i
L descriptions of the living conditions encountered
when on active service in the field, and then chided for :
his inexperience of them. In an earlier portion of the text
Amenemope is given a series of problems to solve. These i
deal with the provisioning of a military expedition to '
Syria, with the transport of an obelisk and the erection
of a colossus, with the digging of a moat, or ditch, and
with the building of a rather large ramp. That the army
was involved in supplying the man power necessary for ''
such projects is not only implied in the passages cited, j
but is also expressly stated in other documents of the j
period. A portion of particular interest in connection !
with siege warfare is that dealing with the difficulties in- i
curred in the making of the ramp and the moat: j
"What has been given to you is a ditch to be dug,
and you have come to me to ask about the giving .
of rations to the military people. . . . Now you are
the clever scribe who is at the head of soldiers!
[Well], a ramp is to be made, 730 cubits [long], ;
with a width of 55 cubits, [containing] 120 com- I
partments filled with reeds and beams. [It shall be] ;
60 cubits in height at its top, 30 cubits [at] its
middle. Its batter [shall be] 15 cubits, and its base
5 cubits. The amount of bricks needed for it must
be asked from the military officers, [but] all the
scribes together lack the knowledge among them- '
selves, and they each confide in you, saying 'You're
a clever scribe, my friend! Decide for us quickly, |
and see, your name will emerge. Let someone be !
found here to magnify the other thirty [scribes]. [
Don't let it be said about you that there exists [even]
some small matter about which you're ignorant!
Tell us the required number of bricks!' See, its
measurements are 30 cubits [by] 7 cubits wide." i
If the inherent military substratum of Papyrus Anastasi I [
is kept in mind, then the probable purpose for a ramp of
such large dimensions seems clear: Amenemope was not
being tested merely on his ability to solve a difficult
mathematical problem; he was confronted with the mili-
tary engineering problem of constructing a siege ramp,
a piece of equipment mentioned perhaps for the first time
in connection with the siege of Megiddo by Thutmose III.
To anticipate, such a ramp was certainly used when the
Nubian conqueror Piankhy laid siege to Memphis some
five hundred years after Papyrus Anastasi I was written.
Similarly, the ditch to be dug in Amenemope's problem
could very well have been meant to refer to a ditch like
that with which Thutmose III encircled Megiddo.
Direct references to siege warfare are not found in
Egyptian documents covering the period from the end
of the Empire until the foundation of the Twenty-third
Dynasty {ca. 1085 — 720 B.C.), but this means only that
the Egyptian records containing such references either
have not survived or have not yet been found. That such
operations undoubtedly took place is implied by the con-
temporary non-Egyptian documents — for example, the
bibhcal account in I Kings 14: 25-26 of the Egyptian in-
vasion and the plundering of Palestine in about 918 B.C.
More than compensating for this gap in our knowledge
is the great stela of Piankhy, the energetic, puritanical,
cavalier king of the Twenty-third Dynasty. Piankhy set
up the stela in the temple of Amun of Napata at Gebel
Barkal in the Sudan to commemorate his conquest of
Egypt in 720 B.C. The stela is a veritable textbook of
Egyptian military strategy and tactics in the post-Empire
period, and its descriptions of sieges are the fullest that
are preserved in any written Egyptian sources. Of the
several sieges described, the first may be considered as
the immediate caiisiis belli: Tefnakht, prince of Sais, had
invaded the Upper Egypt in an attempt to enlarge his
dominion. Meeting stubborn resistance at Herakleopolis,
he laid siege to it. The graphic description of what hap-
pened was related to Piankhy at his capital in Napata:
"Behold, [he] is [now] assaulting Herakleopolis. He
has completely ringed it around, allowing neither
reinforcements [literally: enterers] to enter nor ref-
ugees [literally: departers] to depart, but [rather]
fights daily. He has invested it in its entire circum-
ference. Every leader knows [his own sector of the]
rampart, that he may cause every man among the
leaders and tribal sheikhs to lay siege from his own
sector."
Piankhy was quick to act, and dispatched a relief army
at once. At its approach Tefnakht abandoned the siege
Ur
nlike earlier Ramesside art, this relief
shows assault techniques of army with weapons.
and retreated northward. The pursuit by Piankhy's troops
was delayed by the necessity of reducing the cities of
Tefnakht's alhes that barred the way, the most important
of which was HermopoHs, which proved a tough nut.
The siege did not proceed to Piankhy's satisfaction
and he personally came to Egypt to take matters in hand:
"Then his majesty wrote to the leaders and the
military commanders who were in Egypt. . . .
'Hasten into battle array and join battle. Surround
Hermopolis. Capture its people, its herds, its ships
which are on the river. Don't let the field hands go
into the field and don't let the plowmen plow.
Assault the frontier of Hermopolis and fight against
it daily!' Then they did the like. . . . They sur-
rounded Hermopolis on its four sides, without let-
ting reinforcements enter and without letting refu-
gees depart. . . . | Piankhy takes personal charge.]
He set a command post up for himself at the south-
west of Hermopolis, assaulting it daily. A protec-
tive wall was made to cover the wall and a
'wooden-servant' [some kind of siege engine] was
raised up high against it. Archers shot arrows and
catapuhs hurled stones, slaughtering people among
them [the besieged] every day. Days passed and
Hermopolis gave forth a foul stench to the nose
Then Hermopohs prostrated itself."
Just before Piankhy's arrival at Hermopolis, part of his
army attacked and reduced a neighboring stronghold,
Tatehen:
"Then they fought against the fortified region of
Tatehen [named] 'Great of Strength.' They found
h filled with soldiers and with all the valiant men
of the Deltaland. Then a battering-ram was made
and used against it. Its walls were demolished, and
a great slaughter was made among them."
WITH the surrounding countryside reduced and with
Hermopolis fallen, Piankhy was free to advance
against the Nile Delta. Town after town on his route
opened its gates at the approach of his army, and finally
the ultimate object, Memphis, the capital of the delta,
was reached:
"Very early the next morning his majesty arrived
at the White Wall. He anchored to the north of it.
He discovered that the water [of the river] had
risen up to the wall tops and that ships [could be]
moored at [the top of the wall] of Memphis. Then
his majesty saw that it was [otherwise] a strong-
hold, the rampart having been heightened with a
new wall, and the bastions equipped with [such]
strength that no toe hold for fighting against it
might be found. Thereupon every man among the
soldiers of his majesty spoke his mind with respect
to every doctrine of fighting. Some men said 'Come,
let us assault [it, attacking it every day]. See, its
garrison is numerous.' Others said 'Let a ramp be
made against it. Let us raise the earth against its
ramparts. Let us tie a "wooden-servant" together.
Let us erect towers. Let us make hangings on the
sides against it. Let us divide it in this [way] on all
of its sides with a counterwall and a ... at its north
[end], [that] we may find a path for our feet.' Then
he caused his soldiers to cross [the river] and to ]
fight at the harbor of Memphis. They carried away
for him every ferry, every yacht, every barge, and I
every transport which had been anchored at the I
harbor of Memphis, their prow ropes being tied i
at its buildings. . . . Then his majesty personally |
crossed over to draw up all the ships. His majesty j
commanded his soldiers 'Advance against it. Mount j
the wall tops. Enter the houses overlooking the I
river. If one of you gains the rampart, let no one *
stand in its vicinity. Don't let [hostile] gangs oppose •
you. . . .' Then Memphis was taken."
With this text, then, the purely Egyptian documenta
tion comes to an end. Mention of siege tactics carrie
on by and against the Egyptians occurs occasionally l
Assyrian, biblical, and Greek sources, but these fall oul
side the realm of this paper. Egyptian tactical doctrin
for the reduction of enemy strongholds, and its gradu:
development may be summed up as follows:
The earliest form of attack was a direct assault b
soldiers armed with a very primitive weapon, the ma
tock, with which they literally hacked down the opposin
walls. As this tactic undoubtedly proved to be wastefi
of life, other modes of attacking enemy walls were sough
By the end of the Old Kingdom, assaults on towns ii
eluded the chopping method plus the use of scaling lac
ders and sapping at the foundations of walls and gate.
The Middle Kingdom saw the introduction of battel
ing-rams, which were protected by mantelets to give cove
to their crews. Although they are not pictured in an
preserved scenes from the Middle Kingdom, we ma
assume that the earlier weapons, equipment, and tactic
continued in use.
In the New Kingdom, we see the first full-scale siej
operations. The beleaguered city was cut off by a counte
wall and ditch. It was continually harassed by attacks i
which all the previously mentioned techniques and in
plements were used; at the same time, the city was bi
sieged until it fell to an assault or finally was starved im
submission. The training of full-fledged military ens
neers probably took place at this time, and may hai
begun earlier. Certainly the ramp mentioned in Papyri
Aruistasi I points to this, as well as to the fact that tl
siegeworks and equipment had already become elaborat
By the Twenty-third Dynasty, this prior agglomer
tion of different tactics developed into a highly technic
doctrine. The city was invested. Various types of sici
weapons — including battering-rams, siege ramps, siej
towers, catapults, and wooden servants, whose exa
nature is still unknown — all were employed against :
The effectiveness of this ultimate combination of Egv]
tian siege weapons is best illustrated by a rehef of Ran
essess II in the temple of Luxor. An unnamed Syri;
city is shown after the Egyptian army has passed. Tl
gateways are battered in, the walls broken. Bricks f;
crumbling to the ground. In the nearby countryside, tl
trees and bushes are hacked and chopped. It is a scei
of desolation calling to mind the Latin proverb: "Thi
make a solitude and call it peace."
J\..arnak temple relief details the demi
of Askalon — "a wretched city ... it was evil
21
Arctic grizzlies, this one a
ill-grown adult, range across
the continent's far north
rom Hudson Bay into Alaska.
Grizzlies are squirrel-sized
at birth, and are born in
winter. Cubs, below, are in
the early months of life.
Grrizzly Territory
!xact range of Arctic bears is obscured by old rumors
y A.W.F. Banfield
rHE ARCTIC, or barren-ground, griz-
zly bear is one of the largest and
ost powerful predators on the North
nerican continent. Yet, formidable
these animals are, their exact distri-
ition across North America is still
ily incompletely known. As this paper
ill show, hearsay accounts of grizzlies
ive misled scientists more often than
it, perhaps most in the case of the
mored presence of the bears in the
ngava peninsula of northern Quebec
id Labrador, which I will discuss later
the light of present-day surveys.
«4k^.
-'^■mtf--
In recent years, most American
mammalogists have accepted the pro-
posal that the North American grizzlies
are New World representatives of the
Old World brown bears, Ursus arctos.
The earliest scientific name applied to
the barren-ground, or Arctic, grizzlies
was Swainson's richardsoni in 1838.
This may be considered the appropri-
ate scientific name of the Arctic grizzly
population if it is a distinct subspecies,
as scientists believe is likely.
In their natural environments, griz-
zlies breed every other year in June or
July. As is the case with many car-
nivores, delayed implantation of the
fertilized ovum is involved, and the
embryos do not commence their devel-
opment until autumn. The cubs, which
are usually twins but may number
from one to four, are born between
January and March while their mother
is in winter dormancy. They are squir-
rel-sized at birth — only nine to ten
inches long. In spite of their small
birth size, the cubs may grow to weigh
one thousand pounds at maturity. Ex-
cept during the brief breeding period,
the bears are solitary. They spend the
severest months — November to March
— sleeping in caves or other shelters.
WHEN Europeans arrived in the
New World, the grizzly's domain
had spread from the snowy, Arctic
mountains of Alaska to the arid pla-
teau of Mexico, and from the salmon-
filled rivers of the Pacific coast across
the Great Plains to the fringe of the
eastern hardwood forests. The Boreal
forest that spreads its broad evergreen
band across the continent from Maine
to Alaska probably was not penetrated
by grizzlies in significant numbers.
Only in mountainous, northwestern
America have these bears occupied the
coniferous forest. They seem to prefer
to make their homes in open country-
plains, alpine tundra, or the Arctic
tundra — beyond treeline on the roof
of the continent. Occasionally, grizzlies
stray short distances into the taiga, the
swampy "land of little sticks" that lies
on the southern border of the tundra.
In the early days, most observations
were made along canoe routes, at por-
tages, and on spring sled journeys.
Today, the use of aircraft in the north
may be responsible for greatly in-
creased numbers of observations of
bears on the tundra. Recent geological,
geographical, and wildlife surveys have
also produced many sightings. Com-
parison of these contemporary reports
with early explorers' accounts gives
me the impression that the bears have
been increasing, and that their dis-
tribution has been expanding. But is
this the result of changes affecting
the observed or merely the observers?
TO help answer this question, 1 made
a search of the literature concern-
ing early exploration of the Canadian
north, where grizzlies might be ex-
pected to occur. Most of the reports. I
found, were straightforward, often sub-
stantiated by the taking of a specimen
bear. But there are more than a few
doubtful secondhand accounts. Except
for two of these questionable reports,
which will be mentioned later, all griz-
zly records before 1899 were limited to
the western continental tundra, from
Aklavik to Bathurst Inlet, and inland
to the source of Coppermine River.
Samuel Hearne, an English fur
trader with Hudson's Bay Company
and, in 1771, the first European to
reach the Arctic Ocean by overland
route, observed the Arctic grizzlies
more than 25 years before Lewis and
Clarke met the bears on the upper Mis-
souri River. On July 8, 1771, Hearne
found a grizzly den in a mound of
earth, possibly a frost-heaved "pingo,"
a small hill of mud pushed up by con-
tinual frost action. This site was about
125 miles southeast of the Coppermine
River, an area in the present-day
Northwest Territories. He also noted
troughs dug by the bears in search of
Arctic ground squirrels (Citellus un-
dulatus), and named the prominence
"Grizzled Bear Hill."
The two questionable secondhand
reports mentioned are those of a Cap-
tain Lyon, in 1824, and of the popular
23
r
■-If
Mature Arctic grizzly may weigh as much as 1,000 pounds.
rf^-ig^
Grizzly roams open country — the alpine or Arctic tundra.
Male is solitary except in the summer breeding period.
24
mthor Frederick Schwatka, in 1885.
liaptain Lyon wintered at Igloolik at
he northwest corner of Fox Basin in
L821-22, and interviewed an Eskimo
Tom Wager Bay, which is on the west
;oast of Hudson Bay. The Eskimo told
lim that both black and white bears
vere numerous in his region. His
'black bears" were probably grizzlies,
)ut it is also likely the Eskimo was re-
)orting in very general terms. Eskimos
ire great travelers, and many have vis-
ted distant parts of the Arctic coast,
lis reference might have been based
in observations made far to the west.
Since the Eskimos rely upon game re-
ources for their sustenance, they are
amiliar with the Arctic and subarctic
auna well beyond their immediate
lunting grounds. For instance, Eskimo
[unters of the Ungava, east of Hudson
5ay, are familiar with the musk ox,
'omingmuk," even though its range
loes not extend far enough eastward to
iccur in their country. They can quite
IS easily describe "aklak," the barren-
;round grizzly, to a European inquirer.
FREDERICK Schwatka, who gave the
second of the two nineteenth-cen-
ury reports on Arctic grizzlies, trav-
led overland with W.H. Gilder from
ilarble Island, Hudson Bay, to Chan-
rey Inlet on the Arctic Ocean in 1879-
10, looking for relics of the ill-fated
'ranklin expedition. I Sir John Frank-
in's Second Expedition to find the
Northwest Passage, 1845, was lost
without survivors. The great search
hat followed delineated most of the
lorth coast of the continent. )
From Gilder's report we know that
they made no direct observations, but
Schwatka's popular account, Nimrod
of the North, contains two secondhand
references to grizzly bears. The Eski-
mos of Adelaide Peninsula reported
that on rare occasions they met grizzly-
like animals during summer caribou
hunts; the Chesterfield Inlet Eskimos
reportedly had killed a few bears. We
know that the summer caribou hunts
for skins often took the Eskimos far
inland, so these reports might well have
been based on localities miles away
from the camps mentioned. Schwatka
supposed that all American grizzlies
wandered north to the Arctic Ocean
during the summer, then retreated
southward to treeline in the autumn.
With such a broad but erroneous im-
pression, it is doubtful that he would
be critical of distribution reports.
On the other hand, we have the ac-
counts of many competent nineteenth-
century observers such as Sir George
Back, George Simpson, James Ander-
son, Warburton Pike, J.B. Tyrrell,
Caspar Whitney, and "Buffalo" Jones,
all of whom traversed the eastern bar-
ren lands during the same period as
Schwatka without finding grizzlies.
During the first forty years of the
twentieth century, grizzly bears in-
creased markedly in the upper Thelon
River Valley, and to a lesser extent
along the Arctic coast, including the
Perry River region. Although a few
naturalists visited Keewatin District
during this period, they failed to meet
any bears. At the same time, a dubious
reference to grizzly bears in Keewatin
District came from the Danish explorer
Peter Freuchen, on the Fifth Thule Ex-
pedition of 1921-24. He reported black
bears ('"akdla," in Eskimo) occurred
south of Baker Lake and Eskimo Point,
but without substantiation by observa-
tion or specimen. Here again we note
the possibility of confusion of black
with grizzly bears. The known occur-
rences of black bears (Ursus ameri-
canus) near timberline at Padlei and
Nueltin Lake makes it even more diffi-
cult to appraise this reference. Our
confidence in the report is hardly en-
couraged when Freuchen continues to
say that the bears suck their forepaws
during "hibernation" until they are
pink and tender!
WHEN a Royal Canadian Mounted
Police patrol from Baker Lake
observed a grizzly on the lower Thelon
River, east of Schultz Lake on July 23,
1940, the patrol was witnessing the
start of a grizzly dispersal to the south-
eastward that has continued to the
present day. An eastward wanderer
was killed near Padlei in April or May,
1943; Dr. G.M. Wright, a geologist of
the Geological Survey of Canada, saw
two grizzlies near Wholdaia Lake on
July 29, 1956; A.G. Loughrey, a biolo-
gist of the Canadian Wildlife Service,
saw one at MacQuoyd Lake, southeast
of Baker Lake, on May 7, 1958, and
obtained a skull of a specimen taken
at Nicholson Lake (on the Dubawnt
River) the same season. According to
Eskimos who had lived at Garry Lake
on the Back River, grizzly bears were
encountered there with increasing fre-
quency in the late 1940's and 1950's.
(Many of these later records were
gathered by Harington, Macpherson,
and Kelsall, field officers of the Cana-
dian Wildlife Service, for their article
in the December, 1962 issue of Arctic.)
There are even indications that griz-
zlies have invaded the offshore Arctic
islands. A bear was shot on Banks Is-
land during the winter of 1951-52;
two others were observed on the ice
off Southampton Island by Eskimos,
one in the autumn of 1948, the other
in 1950. These were reported by an
Eskimo in an interview with Richard
Harington in 1962. George Sutton
spent a year, 1929-30, on that island
without hearing of grizzlies.
From this summary of observations
it is evident that grizzlies were rela-
tively rare in the experience of men on
the Arctic tundra during the eighteenth
and nineteenth centuries; most fre-
quent occurrences were on the western
shores of the Arctic Ocean as far east-
ward as Bathurst Inlet and the upper
Coppermine River. Unsubstantiated
reports from northern Keewatin Dis-
trict might indicate a few stragglers
in that region. But at the beginning of
the present century, the bears moved
into the upper Thelon River Valley,
and by 1940 reached the Baker Lake
area. Within the past two decades, the
grizzly population has grown and dis-
persal has progressed as far as the
Dubawnt and Kazan valleys. At the
same time, the bears have spread down
the Back River into the barren lands
of the northern Keewatin District.
LET us inquire further into the sig-
j nificance of this dispersal. Where
did the grizzly bears come from origi-
nally? As stated previously, American
grizzlies are considered to be repre-
sentatives of the Eurasian brown bear
and separable only on the subspecific
level. The American fossil record is not
extensive, but a few specimens from
western Ohio, Oklahoma, California,
Alaska, and northern Mexico have
been considered to represent ancestral
grizzlies. The oldest specimen dates
from the last interglacial (Sangamon)
period and suggests that grizzlies are
relatively recent immigrants to this
continent, much like the elk and moose.
It is certain that the bears reached
America across the Bering land bridge,
perhaps during the penultimate glacia-
tion (lllinoian).
It is noteworthy that their present
distribution has a western concentra-
tion. The fossil record suggests that
this has always been the case; good
Wisconsin glacial faunal assemblages
26
in Pennsjdvania, Virginia, New York,
Florida, Michigan, and Ontario have
lacked representatives of the grizzly.
The exception, the Ohio specimen,
came from a prairie peninsula of the
Great Plains now characterized by
many western species, such as the
prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster)
and the thirteen-lined ground squirrel
(Cilellus tridecemlineatus) . At this lo-
cation, the grizzly specimen is about
four hundred miles east of the bear's
known historical range.
At the time of the last (Wisconsin)
glaciation, grizzly bears were driven
out of much of their northern range by
the advancing continental ice sheet.
They survived south of the ice front,
and in the unglaciated refuge in
Alaska and Yukon territory. Between
12,000 and 7,000 years ago, the Lau-
rentian Ice Sheet, which covered the
grizzlies' present range, melted back
rapidly northeastward toward its crest
west of Hudson Bay, and the tundra
vegetation and animal life followed.
It appears that the bears' route has
similarly been eastward, for their dis-
tribution is discontinuous southward
through the Boreal forest. The closest
population in that direction is that of
the recently discovered grizzlies in the
Swan Hills, south of Lesser Slave Lake
in northwestern Alberta. However,
those bears are more closely related
geographically and morphologically to
the Rockies and Great Plains grizzlies.
The period between the middle of
the fourteenth and nineteenth centu-
ries is sometimes referred to as the
"Little Ice Age" because of lower tem-
peratures and lengthening glaciers in
the Northern Hemisphere during that
time. The earliest explorers' accounts
of grizzlies were given during this
period; the recent population growth
and dispersal of the bears may well be
associated with the amelioration of
Arctic climate that started only at the
beginning of the present century.
An interesting correlation exists be-
tween the distribution of ground squir-
rels ( Citellus sp. ) and grizzly bears in
North America. Although these large
carnivores are primarily vegetarians,
animals do form important seasonal
food supplies for them. Ground squir-
rels are prey for the Arctic grizzlies
in early spring, before the vegetation
turns green, and again in the autumn
after the vegetation has been frosted.
In the fall, the bears dig out the hiber-
nating ground squirrels before the
ground freezes. Naturalists have not
been unanimous in their appraisal of i
the importance of ground squirrels in
the grizzly diet, however. Adolph
Murie, writing about central Alaska in
The Wolves of Mount McKinley, esti- I
mated that the squirrel species made
up only 5 per cent of the summer diet,
while James W. Bee and E.R. Hall,
who studied the present race on the |
Arctic coast, reported, in Mammals of i
Northern Alaska on the Arctic Slope, ]
that grizzlies are more commonly ob-
served where ground squirrels live !
than anywhere else. Other studies in
the Rocky Mountains and Mackenzie
Delta have underlined the importance :
of ground squirrels in grizzly diet. The i
Arctic ground squirrel has the same ;
general distribution as the barren- :
ground grizzly in northern Canada, ,
and even invades the stunted timberline I
forest. Only the rediscovered grizzlies
of the Swan Hills appear to occupy a
range devoid of ground squirrels. '
I
FOR many years, rumors have per-
sisted of the existence of grizzly 1
bears in the Ungava peninsula of north- ■
ern Quebec and Labrador. Charles
Elton, British ecologist at Oxford Uni- j
versity, reviewed the accounts of trad-
ers, travelers, and missionaries in the •
region, and accepted several of their \
stories as evidence of the former oc- j
currence of grizzlies there, particularly ;
in the Torngat Mountains. Later writ-
ers have also accepted several of these |
references. In the absence of speci-
mens, recognition of the Ungava griz- <
zly rests solely upon the descriptions ;
by several traders and missionaries of
rare gray, grizzled, or brown bear ;
hides brought in by natives. Trader i
John McLean, post manager for Hud- !
son's Bay Company at Fort Chimo, in '
the province of Quebec, from 1837-42, {
offered what is probably the strongest '
evidence for the existence of the Un- ;
gava grizzly. He had previously served '
in British Columbia, in about the i
years 1834-37, and thus should have !
been familiar with the species there.-'
John McLean published, in 1849, ■
Notes of a Twenty-five Years' Service
in the Hudson's Bay Territory. In i
Volume II, he wrote that black, brown, ]
grizzly, and polar bears occur in the
district. He went on: "When we con- ;
sider the great extent of country that I
intervenes between Ungava and the i
plains of the 'far west,' it seems quite I
inexplicable that the grisly bear 1
should be found in so insulated a sit- !
nation, and none in the intermediate i
juntry; the fact of their being here,
Dwever, does not admit of a doubt,
ir I have traded and sent to England
iveral of their skins." However, sev-
al of his statements undermine the
dentist's confidence in his identifica-
on. For instance, McLean states: "The
[formation I have received from the
itives induces me to think that the
irieties of colour in bears mark them
; distinct species, and not the produce
■ the same litter, as some writers af-
rm." Because of the great variety in
;lage color of grizzly and black bears,
e identification of bear hides is not
ways an easy matter. Moreover, there
e seasonal and individual variations
claw length to consider. The trench-
it differences between the grizzly and
ack bear species are in dentition and
)dy proportions, yet McLean took no
ulls to confirm identifications.
The tenuousness of hearsay accounts
attested by Outram Bangs, one of
e early authorities on the Labrador
ammals, who wrote in 1910: "In my
former list I included Ursus richard-
soni Swainson, the barren-ground
bear, on the strength of reports that
Low had of it from the Nascoupee In-
dians. I am now- inclined to discredit
these, so far as Labrador is concerned.
Indians everywhere have many tradi-
tions that persist in a remarkable man-
ner, and often they are borrowed from
tribes that live at a distance. I can find
no evidence that the barren-ground
bear occurs in the barrens of Labrador,
and until it is actually known to be
there it must be struck from a list of
the mammals of Labrador." A later in-
vestigator, W.D. Strong, came to the
same conclusion in 1930, after spend-
ing a year with the Naskapi Indians
in the interior of Labrador.
Oshin Agathon and Donald Carter
of The v^jnerican Museum of Natural
History conducted an unsuccessful
search for the Ungava grizzly during
the summer of 1953. I searched for the
animal during extensive aerial caribou
surveys in 1954 and 1956, and made
local inquiries, but to no avail. Consid-
ering the history and present distribu-
tion of the Arctic grizzlies west of
Hudson Bay, I would doubt that there
ever was an Ungava grizzly. There is
no known eastern ancestor: therefore
an Ungava population of this species
would be incompatible with the cur-
rent distribution in North America.
While the grizzly bear of the Rocky
Mountain region seems to be in full
retreat in the face of human encroach-
ment of its wilderness habitat, the
Arctic grizzlies are apparently expand-
ing their territory eastward across the
tundra, prospering because of the more
natural conditions.
Editor's Note: As this issue went
to press, the Canadian Northwest Ter-
ritories Council, over the opposition of
the Canadian Wildlife Service, moved
to cancel its former protection of the
barren-ground grizzlies, and to insti-
tute a year-round open season on the
bears, of which some five hundred are
believed to inhabit affected regions.
These young are from one litter, although the average litter size is two.
'V.
A
Insect-
ANIMAL-TRAPPING PLANTS have
_ aroused interest and stimulated
speculation among laymen and biolo-j
gists for many years. The mass ol
literature on the subject that has ap-
peared in scientific publications dur-l
ing the past one hundred years is most
impressive. Most of these writings!
have dealt with the intricate mor^
phology of the traps, and with theirj
"carnivorous" significance. This car-|
nivorous aspect was most fascinating'
when attributed to chlorophyll-bear-i
ing, flowering plants. Fungi have longi
been known to parasitize animals,:
even to the extent of consuming thej
whole body of the host. There are'
colorless, flowering plants that para-:
sitize the roots of other plants. Yet to
Venus' fly traps bloom, left. Their
insectivorous leaves appear at boltom.
trapping Plants
By Virgil N. Argo
rid green, flowering plants catching,
lling, and eating animals was a bo-
nical heresy demanding inquiry.
Of the plants that so behave, one has
traded particular attention — Dio-
tea muscipula, the Venus' fly trap,
digenous to the Carolina coastal
ain. Yet the microscopic vesicles of
e many widespread species of Utri-
daria, the bladder wort, are just as
•amatic and astonishing in their ac-
Dn when viewed under the micro-
ope. Moreover, the passive traps of
e hollow-leaved Sarracenia, the
tcher plants, the sticky leaves of Dro-
ra, the sundew, and Pinguicula, the
itterwort, have long been competi-
rs for equal attention. A study of
e literature and a field acquaintance
with these remarkable plants give rise
to speculation as to whether some au-
thors did not let enthusiasm narrow
the scope of their studies or influence
their interpretations.
IN many respects, the remarkable
Venus' fly trap is a baffling plant.
Dionaea muscipula does catch insects
and in a most dramatic fashion. The
leaves snap shut with startling speed
and vigor. But exact knowledge of
what happens to the trapped victim is
not easily demonstrated. A fluid is
secreted about the bodies of the insect
prey, but one doubts that all the nutri-
tious material of the insect bodies is
digested and absorbed, since ants regu-
larly gnaw holes in the leaf traps and
feed on the dry carcasses, which must
retain something that offers more nu-
trition than chitin.
The genus Drosera has many species
scattered over the world. Three species
occurring along the Atlantic coast
wherever acid, boggy spots exist are
D. rotundifolia, D. intermedia, and D.
filiformis. The first two have small
paddle-shaped leaves, bearing numer-
ous adhesive-tipped hairs on their
upper surfaces. The third species, D.
filiformis, has extremely slender, erect
leaves, which are closely covered on
all sides by these same insect-trapping
hairs. A variety of D. filiformis occurs
on the Gulf coast; these have leaves
that may reach a length of sixteen
inches, and flower stalks that unroll
Mouths of traps, above, have trigger
hairs on the inside. If the hairs are
touched, spiny leaves close and form
tight purse, bottom center, around prey.
29
racemes of blossoms that are taller.
The leaves of all Drosera species de-
velop from circinately coiled leaf pri-
mordia quite similar to the fiddleheads
of ferns. When the plant enters its dor-
mant season in the fall, a compact,
bulblike mass of these minute, tightly
coiled embryonic leaves will be found
buried under the past season's dead
leaves. In the spring, these embryonic
masses grow and unwind rapidly and
are followed immediately by the flower
stalks. Leaves that develop later grow
to be larger than these overwintering
ones, especially in the case of D. fili-
formis. The leaves of D. filifonnis
sometimes catch enough insects to
cause the rancid odor of their car-
casses to be perceptible more than a
yard away. Flies and other insects have
been observed to be attracted to such
prey-laden leaves after following the
odor upwind. It is not easy to under-
stand how D. fiUjorinis is able to digest
and absorb any nourishment from the
insects it catches. Their bodies have
but slight, if any, contact with the
slender leaf body. Insects that have
been seen to come to the odor of the
decaying catch may have some role in
the pollination of the species, which
produces a succession of blossoms
throughout the summer from its slowly
unrolling racemes.
IT is not the present purpose to re-
fute what has been said about in-
sectivorous plants in the past. But it
would seem that there are soine ap-
proaches that could be much more
thoroughly explored, particularly in
relation to pollination. This article
will be principally concerned with a
consideration of pitcher plants, specifi-
cally the five, easily recognized species
of the genus Sarracenia of the low, flat
lands along the Atlantic and Gulf
coast region of the eastern United
States: S. purpurea, S. minor, S. jlava,
S. drummondii. and S. psittacina.
S. purpurea has the most northern
distribution of these five pitcher
plants, occurring as far north as
Canada; it extends south into Vir-
ginia, below which it is recognized as a
subspecies, 5. purpurea venosa . S.
flava can be found along the coastal
plain from the Carolinas to northern
Florida and Alabama. 5. minor occurs
from South Carolina to southern
Georgia and northern Florida. S. psit-
tacina is found in southern Georgia,
northern Florida, and the coastal plain
of Alabama, Mississippi, and
30
Louisiana. S. drummondii is abundant
along the Styx River in Alabama, but
less so in Mississippi and Georgia. The
different species hybridize readily in
nature, resulting in a number of in-
tegrating forms. The illustrations on
these pages are of the above-named
coastal species only. There are other,
entirely valid species in the genus, but
either they are less abundant or are
indigenous to the higher elevations
back from the seacoast.
PITCHER plants can claim beauty
by virtue of both flowers and
leaves. The former are large and stand
up conspicuously on strong vertical
stems. In some species they are yellow;
in others they are combinations of
rose or red petals and reddish-purple
sepals. After the petals fall there is
no wilting of the highly decorative
sepals; instead they remain as fresh,
fully colored floral structures until
the seeds are matured; often they
have been mistaken for petals. The
pistil's remarkable style is at the distal
end. expanded into a large, inverted,
five-ribbed umbrella with the tips of
the five ribs acting as tiny stigmas.
Like the sepals, this brightly colored,
showy structure persists until the time
of seed dispersal. This habit of style
and sepals remaining as living tissue
long after pollination is uncoinmon
among the angiosperms: whatever the
advantage may be to the plants, if
there be any, it is not at all apparent.
Curiously, in a number of species the
production of flowers and the com-
pletion of pollination occur before any
new leaves appear. This has not yet
warranted any discussion or inquiry
by most students of the group.
This gap between flower and leaf
production is a particularly striking
phenomenon in the cases of 5. flava, S.
drummondii, and S. psittacina, and
would tend to refute any theory that
the insect-trapping leaves also attract
pollinating agents.
The leaves of the different species
of Sarracenia vary a great deal in
structure and color, and are all aston-
ishing culminations of anatomical
evolution. They have one thing in
common— a hollow, tubular reservoir
in the leaf, which may stand erect or
may lie wholly or partially prostrate.
The funnel-shaped leaf cavity may be
completely shielded from, or partially
or completely open to, the rain. The
leaf of 5. purpurea has been held to be
a classic example of the insect-trapping
pitcher. The semiprostrate leaves are
open to the rain and insects alike.
Downward-pointing and overlapping
hairs line the scoop-shaped flap that
leads to the tubular part of the leaf.
Directly below the rim of the tubular
part, the lining epidermis is entirely
hairless and extremely smooth and
waxy. This polished, slippery surface
leads down to the water into which the
insect victims invariably fall. Below
this slippery zone is a final one, nor- •
mally submerged, which also has
downward-pointing hairs, sparser and
weaker than those on the lip flap, but '
which might offer a real barrier to
any bedraggled bug that had fallen
Insects enter at pitcher's top, end as
dark remains seen in section, right.
ito the trap during a period of
rought when the water level was ab-
jrmally low in the pitcher.
The erect pitcher of S. minor is well
)vered by a hood that keeps out all
lin except that which might be blown
I by a high wind. Rain water does
Dt seem to be entirely necessary to
lable the insect trap to function,
eaves of this species were examined
ttensively in a region that had been
Growth of Drosera filiformis occurs
at each uncoiling leaf tip. In photo
below, distinct basal stubs are the
remains of previous season's growth.
without rain for a period of weeks,
and there was liquid, apparently se-
creted by the plants, in each one.
Outside water can enter the hori-
zontal, hooded leaves of S. psiltacina
only if the leaves are submerged by
flooding. Examinations of many leaves
during a prolonged drought showed
a small amount of liquid present in
the basal part of each slender, tubular
leaf cavity, together with some very
small trapped insects. A slipperv sur-
face leading to the liquid would be of
no advantage in such a prostrate leaf,
but as we might expect, we find that
the downward-pointing hairs extend
into the region of the trapping fluid.
These hairs are long, flexible, and meet
in the center of the tube cross section.
Any small ant, mite, or other tiny
arthropod that crawls into the passage
finds itself in a one-way street from
which there is no return; it perishes
in the small amount of fluid at the end
of the cavity.
IN the leaves of the pitcher plants
we find a number of species of in-
sect larvae living in the trap liquid.
Some of these feed on the living pa-
renchyma tissue just under the lining
epidermis of the pitcher. They are the
caterpillars of a few species of small
moths in the genus Exyra and are
found quite frequently in the pitchers
of S. flava, drummondii, minor, and
purpurea. The carnivorous larvae be-
long to the genus of flesh flies, Sar-
cophaga, and there are at least six
species that feed on the insects trapped
by the plants. We have found them
widespread in the pitchers of all
species of Sarracenia with the excep-
tion of psittacina. The frequency of
occurrence of these larvae varies.
Patches of flava have been found in
which every leaf examined contained
a maggot; at other times, in other
patches, only about half of the leaves
examined were occupied. One of the
many interesting characteristics of the
life history of this fly is its habit of
limiting its occupancy to one maggot
per pitcher, even though the female
fly may have deposited upward of a
dozen living larvae in each. This
limitation of the number of larvae to
one per pitcher is also observed in
the moth genus. How they avoid the
economic problems of a population
explosion is not easily explained, but
the value of the procedure is certainly
apparent so far as the food supply of
the larvae is concerned.
THE adult lives of these fly ailc
moth larvae might be more closel)
examined to discover if they play a
role in the pollination of the pitchei
plants. It should be borne in mind
that the wet, boggy habitat of thess
plants is not an ideal place to find
hibernating insects that might func-
tion as pollinators in the early spring.
Some of the species bloom and are
pollinated before the first leaves ap-
pear, as has been mentioned above!
The adult sarcophagids have been ob-
served in abundance around the
flowers and leaves of S. flava after the
blooming period. The previous year s
dead pitchers, and other trash above
the sphagnum and wet muck, would
make a proper refuge for pupae or
adults until warm weather initiated
plant growth. Field observations have
indicated that these sarcophagid adults
might play an important part in pol-
lination. At any rate, the problem
seems to have been efficiently solved
because, complex as the flowers are,
the fruits are uniformly packed with
the maximum number of seeds.
Another question that could be
answered by more controlled investi-
gation is rather complex: do carniv-
orous plants actually need nitroge-i
nous food in the form of insect bodies?
And if so, is the boggy soil in whicW
the plants grow markedly deficient in
available nitrogen? The first view is
held by many people, and culturalj
directions for the growth of Dionaed
muscipula, the Venus' fly trap, have
often included an admonition against
failing to provide occasional insects'
or even tiny bits of raw meat if robust;
growth is to be assured. Yet, the fewj
specimens of pitcher plants, as well
as "fly traps," which we have beeni
able to grow successfully in "cap-
tivity," with apparent health ands
vigor, have thrived for years without;
any insect or meat tidbits. '
I
REGARDLESS of the often contradic-j
tory literature built up around]
them, the pitcher plants are reward-,
ing to the observer. No need to make'
treks to obscure wilderness fastnesses;
they are to be found alongside tliei
highways of the flat lands bordering
the coastline, and seem to have ai
particularly comforting ability to sur-i
vive human contact. The areas ini
Tubular leaves of Sarracenia minor
have hooded shields that keep out rain. ;
32
lich they thrive best are those that
; slow to be taken over by agricul-
e or by human habitation, and their
jged rootstocks are most resistant
rough treatment, even to the fre-
snt roadside grass burnings in late
iter or earlv spring,
rhe case of the Venus' fly trap is
Ferent. Its unorthodox, predatory
lavior has placed it in grave jeop-
ly. It is the sole species in a unique
1 isolated genus, and is extremely
ited in its distribution, occurring
vhere in the world except special
habitats in the coastal plain region of
North and South Carolina. It is not
easily grown in captivity. Even under
natural conditions there is a black
rot that commonly kills all the leaves
by the time the seeds are mature. A
great reduction in numbers has oc-
curred in the past two decades, and
this decrease has been conspicuously
accelerated in the last few years. It
might be necessary to develop more
efiicient methods of cultivation for the
successful propagation of specimens
both in botanical and private gardens.
Aquatic maggot of flesh fly lives
in secretion of pitcher, and thrives.
n
^ ^
'ffi5^*„
Displacement (^hite rings) and pressure wave
(gray rings) are two forms of underwater sound
energy. Displacement, or near-field effect, is
probably received by the lateral line (1), and
pressure wave, or far-field effect, is received by
the swim bladder and the inner ear complex (2).
ESSU RE
''\.,
sychophysi
^Ji
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^y
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PULSATING
AIR
BUBBLE
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igenious
By William N. Tavolga
IHE QUESTION OF WHETHER FISH CAN HEAR seemed tO
be well established as long ago as 1820, when E. H.
;ber, along with his excellent anatomical studies of the
man ear, described the ears of fishes. He theorized
it, although the fish has no external ear, the swrtn
idder acts in a manner analogous to the middle ear of
,n. That is, it receives the sound energ)' and transforms
nto vibrations of the fluids of the inner ear. It has taken
lost 150 years to prove Weber's contention. Around the
n of the century, some well-controlled experiments
arly demonstrated that fish could hear. Sounds of buz-
s, struck objects, and all sorts of natural and artificial
mds were used, and lish were found to respond to many
them. Karl von Frisch even trained a catfish to come
him when he whistled. In the early 1900's, G. H. Parker
lorized that a fish can detect sound under water in two
ys. In addition to receiving sounds by way of the swim
dder and inner ear, he said, the lateral line system is
0 sensitive to sounds. This lateral line consists of a series
minute sense organs imbedded in pits ;ind tubes that
lally form a thin, visible, lengthwise line on each side
the body surface of most fish. There are also a number
interlacing tubes and separate pits on the head. This
;ire system was thought to be primarily sensitive to
ivements of water currents and low-frequency vibrations.
Once it was established that fishes could hear, the next
Bstion was how" well? For instance, what frequencies
1 a fish detect? What is the minimum sound intensity
It a fish can hear? The first of these seemed to interest
rst investigators, particularl) the peripheral question:
at is the highest frequency a fish can hear?
Most of the experiments to determine the frequency
range of fish hearing were behavioral. That is, some re-
sponse on the part of the entire animal was used as a
criterion, although a few observations have been made
in which the responsiveness of the sense organ was studied
directly. In the latter cases, electrodes were placed on the
nerve fibers coming from a receptor and the signal was
"wire tapped." This technique is extremely difficult, as the
auditory nerve is short and deeply imbedded in bone.
Some success was achieved in sharks, whose large size^
and cartilaginous skulls made the technique possible. Tliis
wire tapping has also been done with the lateral line,
where it is a bit easier. Such data, however, are useful
only to show the potentialities of the sense organ. That is,
we can tell what stimuli the sense organ can react to and
what messages it sends along the nerves leading from it
to the central nervous system, but we cannot know, from
such information, what the animal will do with these
signals. A classic example of this is one in which electro-
physiological techniques have shown that the ordinary
cat should be able to discriminate colors. Behaviorally,
however, the cat is color-blind. It is apparent that some-
W'here in the central nervous system this color information
is discarded. Thus, if one is primarily interested in the
behavior and ecology of the organism, it is more desir-
able to determine what the whole animal wiU respond to,
rather than to measure the capabilities of the sense organ.
The methods that have been used to determine auditory
capacities have, for the most part, involved conditioning
the animals to respond positively to a sound associated
in time with the presentation of food. Another technique.
Bii.i.iiFAn's inner ear. above, has enlarged sac (1) at tlie
posterior end that receives sound vibrations from Weberian
apparatus. In human's inner ear, below, the hearing part is
formed into a cochlea (2), where frequency discrimination
takes place. Both have three canals for sense of balance.
utilized primarily by investigators in the Soviet Union,
is that of classical conditioning. Here the fish is exposed
to the test sound and this is followed shortly by a mild
electric shock. A positive response is any sudden move-
ment, involuntary reaction, or even a respiratory or heart
rate change that occurs every time the sound is made.
To summarize the results of all these investigations,
fishes must be separated into two groups. The majority
of species has an upper frequency limit of about 2,000
or 2,500 cycles per second (abbreviated to c.p.s.). This is
a pitch about two and a half octaves above the standard
middle A on the piano. The second, and smaller, group
belong to the order Cypriniformes, and are considered
the hearing "specialists." This order includes the catfishes
(including bullheads), carps, minnows, characids, and
gymnotid eels. It has been reported that bullheads have
responded to frequencies up to 4,000 c.p.s., and certain
minnows may hear as high as 8,000. This last is almost
an octave above the highest note on a piano— a C at 4,186
c.p.s. (The Cypriniformes and others show a close associa-
36
tion between the swim bladder and the inner ear, whicli
will be discussed later.)
Sound intensity must also be measured. What is the
minimum level at any specific frequency to which the
animal will respond? Some investigators attempted to
measure this, but in most cases they only tested one of a
few frequencies. Only two reports I know of attempted to
determine the complete hearing curve for a fish. Autruni
and Poggendorf, in 1951, worked out the audiogram foi
the fresh-water brow^n bullhead (Iclalurus nehulosus, page
39). In this sort of graph, the sound level is given on the
left side (ordinate) and the frequency along the base line
(abscissa). The lower the point on the curve, the lower the
threshold, that is, the greater the sensitivity at that fre-
quency. In 1961, Kritzler and Wood made a similar audio-
gram of the bull shark, Carcharhinus leiicas, at the Lerner
Marine Laboratory at Bimini, Bahamas (page 39).
In practice, sound intensity is measured by suspending
an underwater microphone (hydrophone) in the water.
Since the hydrophone transforms sound pressure into elec-
Bhown iirr.i.iiF VI) i^i one of lietirijif! '"f]io<i;ili?lr." ujkI haj^
\5i cbf'riim ajtparalni; ( A) ihiil (•on.■^i>:l^ ol fine large and lliree
^llIaller lionpr; lliat Iransmil ihe fcoiunJ vi})ralionir Ironi the
swim bladder and its chambers (B ) to the inner ear roniplex.
ical pressure, llie voltage output of the hydrophone is
actly proportional to the pressure of the surrounding
und field. If the hydrophone and its amplifier are
operly calibrated, the sound pressure can be determined
ith considerable precision. Sound can be measured in
rms of pressure, that is, force per unit area. The units
; use are dynes per square centimeter— one dyne per
uare centimeter is known as a microbar. This, in turn,
approximately equal to one-millionth of average atmos-
leric pressure.
N human hearing (out of water, of course), the thresh-
old at 1,000 c.p.s., based on an average of many individ-
ds with "normal" hearing, is .0002 microbar (page 39).
his value is often used as a standard, and all other sound
-essures are related to it. If a person is asked to discrimi-
Jte one sound intensity from another, the minimum differ-
ice he can detect is defined as a decibel, but the absolute
agnitude of a decibel depends on where one starts. At
low sound level, a decibel is much smaller than it would
be at a high level. The decibel scale is a logarithmic one
that is based upon an equation in which it is assumed that
human hearing, and that of all other animals, follows a
logarithmic law. Although most evidence indicates that
human hearing follows some other type of equation, and
that there is no reliable evidence for any other species,
we stick to this decibel scale and use it in acoustics, elec-
tronics, and many other fields because it is convenient.
We can decide, for example, to choose the .0002 microbar
value as a reference value. This would then equal 0 decibels
—as in the human audiogram. The graph and table on
page 41 give a few well-known examples of sound pres-
sure values and their equivalents in decibels. A sound
pressure of 1 microbar equals about 74 decibels.
In many phases of acoustics, especially in underwater
work, the I microbar value, rather than the .0002, is taken
as the reference level of 0 decibels. This is actually a more
objective reference and has come into wider usage in re-
cent years. The audiograms for the catfish and shark
shown on page 39 were drawn to that scale. Conversion
37
from one reference level to another is a simple matter of
adding or subtracting 74.
Water is much more resistant to the propagation of
sound than is air. This means that to produce the same
effect, sound pressure in water must be much greater. Con-
versely, at the same pressure, the acoustic energy in air
is greater than in water. Sound volume can be expressed in
two ways. The usual, and more convenient, way is in terms
of pressure in decibels with reference to some standard
pressure value such as 1 microbar. However, we can also
express acoustic energy in terms of intensity or power.
This is normally given in watts per square centimeter.
IN air, the human hearing threshold is .0002 microbar
at 1,000 c.p.s. This can also be expressed in acoustic
power as some fraction of a watt/cm-. It happens to be
one ten-quadrillionth of a watt, more simply written as
10"^*' watts/cm-. Actually, we are primarily concerned
with this power figure, since it is the energy of the sound
wave that we receive. Pressure is a more convenient
measure to use, but we must insert a correction if we
compare acoustic pressure in air with that in water. This
correction is approximately 36 decibels. That is, .0002
microbar in air is actually 36 decibels (of power) higher
than .0002 microbar in water. To put it another way, given
the same power, the pressure in air is 36 decibels low-er
than in water. All this is because of the higher density and
incompressibility of water. Because most measurements
are made in pressures, we now have to convert all our
figures into equivalent power units if we are to make a
proper comparison of sound in air and in water. Such a
comparison is shown on page 41.
In an attempt to answer the question of how well a fish
hears, I collaborated with Dr. Jerome Wodinsky, a psy-
chologist at Brandeis University, to find a conditioning
experiment that would allow a fish to give a reliable, re-
peatable, and unequivocal answer to a question. The sim-
plest answers are, of course, "yes" or "no." A "maybe"
cannot be tolerated. (An animal must be placed in a situa-
tion in which it has only to say "yes." It need do nothing
to say "no.") This sort of limitation is particularly im-
?PP.QOPP.— SOUND SOURCE
Hearing tests were run in two-compartmented tank. Fish,
subjected to sound followed by electric shock, learned to
cross the barrier on hearing soimd, thus avoiding the shock.
38
portant in sensory studies. As the stimulus approaches
its lowest detectable level, the subject, be it human or fish,
becomes unsure of whether he detects it or not, and begins
to try to say "maybe."
The objective technique we used is called "avoidance-
conditioning." It was first demonstrated in dogs by the
famous Russian psychologist LP. Pavlov. At the sound
of a bell or the flash of a light, the dog had to lift its fore-
paw. If it did not do so, it would receive a mild, but
annoying, electric shock. By raising the paw immediately
upon the presentation of the sound or light, the animal
"avoids" being shocked. This is a potent form of con-
ditioning, and is retained for long periods. It also forces
a clear, unambiguous response from the subject.
Most theoreticians now agree that the acquisition ol
this avoidance response takes place in two stages. First,
the animal learns to make the response that will turn ofi
the noxious stimulus. This has been variously called classi-
cal, or Pavlovian. conditioning. The animal, therefore,
learns to escape from the noxious stimulus. In the second
stage it learns that the sound precedes the shock and that
the same escape response can be used to avoid the shock.
In applying this method to the study of hearing in fish,
we used a "shuttle box" (below.) This is an aquarium
with two compartments separated by a shallow barrier.
The water level is adjusted so that the fish can swim from
one side to the other, yet will not remain on the barrier,
because the water is too shallow. The sound source is con-
cealed beneath the center barrier, and the entire tank is
shock-mounted and insulated to reduce the noise level in-
side, reduce reverberations, and prevent the animal from
seeing anything that might serve as an additional cue. The
procedure is to turn on the sound and, after a predeter-
mined period of five or ten seconds, administer a series
of short, intermittent electric shocks. The fish first learns
to escape the shock by crossing the barrier, because as
soon as it does so. both shock and sound are stopped.
This phase takes only a few trials. Each time the fish musi
move from one compartment into the other and can starl
from either one for the next trial. The spacing of the trials
must be varied, or the fish learns the length of the inter-
trial interval and begins to anticipate the shock. 1
THE second stage of learning takes a little longer. In
most species, three to six days of twenty-five trials
a day are required before the subject begins to avoiil
regularly. A positive response, then, is one in which tlit
fish swims across the barrier as soon as the sound goes
on. but before it receives a shock. The response eventually
becomes extremely reliable— so much so that the shock
administration becomes unnecessary.
Once the avoidance-conditioning was well established
we changed the sound level. Generally we started with a
pure tone— a single frequency— at an intensity we felt sun
the fish could hear. After each avoidance, the sound level
was lowered in steps of 2 or 5 decibels, so that the inten
sity would be lower at the next trial. This was continued
until the animal missed— that is, did not avoid, but receiver
the shock and escaped. This was recorded as a "no" answer
After each "no" the sound level was raised for the nex!
trial. When the results are plotted on a graph, a zigzag
line stretching across the paper is produced. If the tops oi
the "zigs" and bottoms of the "zags" are averaged, we car
calculate the threshold for that frequency. It must be re
;mbered that a sensory threshold is not an all-or-none
uation, and there is a degree of probability that we will
t some "yes" answers below the threshold and some "no"
swers above it. A "threshold" is a stimulus level the sub-
;t can detect and respond to 50 per cent of the time,
d is thus a statistical value, not an absolute one.
It is necessary to repeat such determinations a number
times using different subjects, so that the value ob-
ned for the given frequency is more reliable. Eventually,
s is repeated at different frequencies, and an audio-
im for the species can be plotted. For example, an audio-
am for the squirrelfish (Holocentrus ascensionis) , a
irine species, is shown at right.
)THER species have given us similar curves, but as
many as 20 decibels higher or lower. So far we have
irked out these audiograms for nine species of marine
b. They represent a large majority of salt-water fish,
hough none is a so-called specialist in hearing.
In order to make the determination less subject to human
or and bias, the equipment for this study has been
rtially automated, to allow us to graduate from w orking
th a pair of hand-operated switches and watching the
)vements of the fish by means of a mirror. The observer
3 before a control panel and pushes a button. This button
tomatically starts and continues a trial. The sound goes
and, if the fish does not avoid, the shock continues
:ording to a preset schedule. When the fish crosses the
rrier, a beam to a photoelectric cell is broken and the
ind and shock are automatically turned off. A clock is
o part of this apparatus, so that the time it takes a
DJect to respond is recorded. In addition, a counter
5ps track of the number of times the animal crosses the
rrier during the intertrial interval. These data are im-
rtant because we want to be informed of the activity of
; animal — how often it crosses the barrier and if these
ertrial crossings represent "false alarm" responses. All
s is multiplied by six in our apparatus, so that we can
serve and test six animals in six different tanks simul-
leously. Eventually, we may have to feed our data into
computer so that all the calculations and analyses can be
rformed on a large number of figures in a short time.
At this point, we can begin to make some generalizations
to Avhat fish— at least marine fish— can hear. For most
;cies, the upper limit is about 1,500 to 2,000 c.p.s., which
about one and a half to tw'o octaves above middle A.
)ove this point, the sound levels become so high that
;y may actually cause the animal physical discomfort
pain. The most sensitive range is from about 200 to 800
).s., or a little more than the center octave on a piano,
this range, the sensitivity of some species comes close
that of the human ear, but we must remember that we are
mparing a fish hearing in water to the human ear in air,
d this may not be a fair or meaningful comparison. The
iver frequency limits are difficult to set, because it he-
mes a matter of definition as to how low we can go and
11 call it "sound." Many fish seem to be at least as
isitive to a 20 c.p.s. sound as we are, but sound under
Iter presents a special situation, because water is much
user than air, and is not easily compressible. This den-
y and incompressibility offer resistance to the flow of
oustic energy, and although the transmission may be
Dre efficient— the velocity of sound in air is about 1,080
3t (330 meters) per second, while in sea water it is
AUDIOGRAMS OF FISH AND MAN
■ 40
SOUND PRESSURE JOO.O"
IN MICROBARS
- 30
*
- 20
^^^ / "•""
^^tH
- 0
/ 1.0-
- -10
/
•-20
/
■Jv/""^^
'^•11 liiil^^ .01-.
Brown bullliead. Ictiiliirus ncliiilosiis. is Iiearinjj specialist.
■ AO
SOUND PRESSURE
IN MICROBARS
100.0"
- 30 ^^^^^»
^^ ■r—
^^^^^
^^^^
10.0-
S^o
/
- 0 ^V
/
1.0-
--10 ^iv
/
--20
0.1-
--SO
-<0
_^
Bull shark, Carcharinus leucas, has narrower hearing range.
" ',0
SOUND PRESSURE IQOlo"
IN MICROBARS
- 30
/
- ^
t< /
-10 ^^
/
N^^
/ i-o-
'°^^\.
/
^v^
'•'"^ 0.1-
- -30
-to
01
1:000 lo.cro ^0 000
FREQUENCY IN CYCLES PER SECOND
Squirrelfish, Holocentrus ascensionis, also makes sounds.
Human threshold shows the reference value of 1,000 cycles,
which is often used as a standard. All areas below graph
line represent frequencies and intensities that are inaudible.
39
Squirrelfish had the most sensitive ears and the broadest
frequency range of many marine species tested. It lacks a
Weberian apparatus, but its unusually large swim bladde
lies near portion of the skull that contains the inner eai
about 4,900 feet (1,500 meters) per second— the amount of
energy required to propagate a sound in water is almost
150,000 times greater than in air. Because of this, another
factor becomes important— the actual particle displacement
that results from the vibration of a sound source. This
displacement— called the near-field effect— is of consider-
able significance at low frequencies and at a short range
from the source. Close to the sound source, therefore, the
acoustic energy is in two forms: one is the pressure wave
(as exists in airborne sound) and the other is an actual
physical vibration of the water itself. Which is it that the
fi.sh receives? We can safely say that at frequencies above
800 c.p.s. the fish can respond only to the pressure wave,
and at lower frequencies and at distances of 20 or 30
feet or more, the pressure wave is still paramount. In the
range of the near-field, however, the displacement effect
is probably most important. Even when dealing with a
pure far-field pressure phenomenon, however, we still get
into complications. If a bubble of air is placed in the path
of a pressure wave, the bubble will vibrate and produce
a near-field effect in its vicinity. Two scientists at the Bell
Telephone Laboratories, G. G. Harris and W. A. van
Bergeijk, proposed that the swim bladder of a fish may
act in such a manner. The inner ear, then, would receive
this local near-field effect. In addition, there are the com-
plications of all the reflections and reverberations that can
take place under water. Not only is 99.9 per cent of sound
energy reflected back from the water surface, but layers of
water at different temperatures can serve as sound mirrors.
These factors become exaggerated in the small aquariums
in which we test the fish's hearing. All we can say at this
time is that we can obtain thresholds for some form of
acoustic energy, but cannot say exactly in what form that
energy is received.
Now let us approach the problem of hoiv a fish hears.
Compared to the human ear, that of the fish appears simple.
This is deceptive. The fish does not have a helical cochlea.
Rather, the inner ear is a sac of fluid, with areas of hai
cells protruding into a liquid (endolymph) in which flof
one large and two smaller bones. Movements of the ea
bones (otoliths) and liquid stimulate the hair cells, ari
signals are sent along the auditory nerve to the braii
Thanks to the brilliant work of von Bekesy, we know somi
thing about how our cochlea operates to discriminate on
frequency from another, but there is nothing comparab]
in the fish ear. How does a fish discriminate pitch— or doe
it? Some studies on the goldfish indicate they may, but tli
evidence is not clear as to whether there is a true frequenc
discrimination or if the apparent discrimination is actual)
based on intensity differences.
HOW does the acoustic stimulus reach the inner eai
In the hearing specialists, like the catfish, there
a series of four pairs of small bones leading from the swii
bladder to the inner ear fluids. Experiments have sho^v
that damage to these bones reduces the hearing capacit;
The bones and their probable functions were first describe
by Weber, and he proposed that they act in a manner ai
alogous to human middle ear bones in transmitting air \
brations to the endolymphatic fluids. These ossicles ha\
since been named the Weberian apparatus. As mentions
before, the swim bladder— even in fishes without the Webe
ian apparatus— can function as a middle ear by creating]
local near-field effect. It is quite possible for sound vibr;
tions to reach the inner ear directly by way of bone coi
duction through the skull. Sharks do not have a swii
bladder, but it can be shown that they have as good hearir
as some bony fishes with swim bladders. In our own worl
differences in the sensitivity of marine fishes cannot 1
correlated with size and location of the swim bladder. '
The swim bladder of fishes has a number of function
In most cases it serves as a hydrostatic organ— that is, tl
buoyancy of this bubble of air counteracts the tendenc
of the fish to sink. By changing the volume of the bladde
40
he fish can change its own buoyancy. In some cases, the
ladder is used as a temporary reservoir of oxygen, and in
few forms it even acts as a lung for breathing air directlv.
n many species, the swim bladder acts as a "loud-speaker"
3r sound production. As a hearing organ, it is undoubtedlv
iiportant, because the bodv of a fish is almost transparent
) water-borne sound. The bladder, therefore, can act as
oth a loud-speaker and a microphone. If we project pulses
f sound, as in sonar, we can locate fish by the reflections
f the sound pulses. Most of this reflected sound comes
om the swim bladders, and verv little from the rest of
le fish's body. The swim bladder, therefore, serves as an
[^oustical discontinuity and. presumably, is of prime im-
ortance as a sound detector.
r^7"E must not neglect the function of the lateral line
W system in sound detection. The structure of the sys-
ms individual sense organs is ideally suited for the
etection of movements of water. Indeed, it was shown by
Dutch scientist, Sven Dijkgraaf, that the lateral line can
ive the fish information about water currents and moving
bjects, and can even be used to locate the position of ob-
acles in complete darkness. As underwater sound pro-
iices a significant displacement at close range to the sound
)urce, that is, the near-field effect, this, too, can be re-
jived by the lateral line. Therefore, at close ranse and at
low frequencies, the lateral line is also a hearing organ.
In this respect, the lateral line has certain advantages
over the ear. Sound pressure, as such, is not directional.
In humans, if one ear is plugged, it is impossible to de-
termine the direction from which a sound comes. By using
both ears, directionalization is possible, because of the
different times it takes sound to arrive at each ear. In
essence, the fish has only one ear. because the spacing be-
tween the two receptors is so small and the speed of sound
is so high. In the near-field, however, the displacement
energy is directional, and the lateral line organs are dis-
persed widely on the animal's body. Harris and van
Bergeijk propose that the fish can locate the sound source,
but only within the limitations of the near-field.
It is clear, then, that fishes can respond to subsonic
vibrations of the water, and to sonic vibrations up to at
least 2,000 c.p.s.. with some specialists able to perceive up
to 8.000 c.p.s. The most sensitive range is below 800 c.p.s.,
and here many species appear to have a sensitivity com-
parable to that of the human ear. The swim bladder is the
main sound receiver, transmitting its vibrations to the
inner ear, but the lateral line system is also a hearing
organ. The latter is particularly sensitive in the low-fre-
quency and subsonic range, and at short distances it can
locate sound sources. Such conclusions are based on co-
operation among psychologists, physicists and biologists.
ACOUSTIC
ACOUSTIC PRESSURE
ACOUSTIC PRESSURE
POWER IN
IN AIR
IN WATER
WA"rTS/cm2
IN DB RE 1 MICROBAR
IN DB RE 1 MICROBAR
10-3
- F-84 JET TAKEOFF AT 80 FEET
:
90
-
10 +
50
~ THRESHOLD OF FEELING AT 1000 C.P.S.
) RANGE OF DYNAMITE EXPLOSIONS
40
80
- I
10-5
-
30
_ SINGLE MOTOR AIRPLANE AT 15 FEET
70
v
10-6
-
20
_ SUBWAY TRAIN
60
_/
10-7
_
SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AT 20 FEET
10
50
_ NEARBY OUTBOARD MOTOR
10-8
-
40
0
_ VERY NOISY OFFICE
~ FOGHORN BLAST FROM NEARBY TOADFISH
109
_
—10
AVERAGE HOME RADIO
30
- VERY ROUGH SEA (SHALLOW LOCATION)
10-10
_
-20
AVERAGE OFFICE
20
-
10-11
-
10
_ SHIPPING NOISE (CARGO VESSELS)
10-12
—30
- PRIVATE BUSINESS OFFICE
-
0
CLICKING OF MANY SNAPPING SHRIMP
—40
_
10-13
~*
—50
QUIET CITY RESIDENCE
—10
_ CALM SEA
10-14
-
-20
_ THRESHOLD OF HEARING FOR
-60
_ QUIET WHISPER
SQUIRRELFISH AT 800 C.P.S.
10-15
-
—70
—30
-
10-16
~ THRESHOLD OF HUMAN HEARING
—80
AT 1000 C.P.S.
-40
- PROBABLE THRESHOLD OF HEARING
FOR "SPECIALIST" FISHES
10-17
-
SCALE REFERENCE VALUE: 0 DECIBELS:^:! MICROBAR. TO CONVERT TO
.0002 MICROBAR REFERENCE, ADD 74 DECIBELS— TEXT PG. 38. 1
41
SKY
REPORTER
Gregorian calendar was meant
to keep seasons in their places
By Thomas D. Nicholson
WHEN THE MODERN FORM of the calendar was first in-
troduced on January 1, in the year 45 B.C., one of the
innovations was the shifting of the first day of the year
from March to January, which had previously been the
eleventh month. The calendar was called the Julian cal-
endar, after its inaugurator, Julius Caesar. In the year the
Julian calendar was adopted, the sun arrived at the vernal
equinox— and spring began— on March 25.
More than sixteen centuries later, in the year 1582, in-
herent inaccuracies in the Julian calendar had accumu-
lated to the extent that spring began in the Northern
Hemisphere on March 10. That year. Pope Gregory XIII
recommended that two major revisions be made in the
Julian calendar. In one, ten days were dropped from Octo-
ber, so that the date following October 4, 1582, became
October 15. In the other revision, the leap year rule of the
Julian calendar, which had provided for a leap year every
fourth year, was modified so that there would be 97 (rather
than 100) leap years each four centuries. These altera-
tions were made in order to restore the first day of spring
to March 21 and to keep it there. This date was selected
because, at the time of the Council of Nicaea in a.d. 325,
when the rules were established for determining the date
of Easter and its associated events each year, the sun was
arriving at the vernal equinox about March 21. The Julian
calendar as modified in 1582 is called the Gregorian cal-
endar. This revised calendar was adopted by nearly all
nations for civil purposes, although it was not adopted
until 1752 in England and its colonies, and 1923 in Russia,
Greece, and other east European countries.
This year, spring commences in the Northern Hemis-
phere at 9:14 a.m., EST, on March 20, although the exact
time is different in other time zones in the United States.
Last year, however, spring began on March 21 in the con-
terminous United States and on March 20 in Alaska and
Hawaii, because of local time differences. In 1965, spring
will again begin on March 20 throughout the United States"
THUS, in spite of the Gregorian calendar reform, and
contrary to the popular belief that spring in the North-
ern Hemisphere is supposed to begin on March 21, the date
when the sun arrives at the vernal equinox— an imaginary
point in space on both the celestial equator and the" eclip-
tic—varies from year to year and even varies, in any given
year, from place to place around the world. In many parts
of the world, such as the conterminous United States, the
beginning of spring occurs more often (three years out of
four 1 on March 20 than on March 21. In other places, such
42
1
]
k: ^
1. 'i
M. '
^^^
^B
^B
^H
^B
^B
^^^I^M^^^^H^H^^^
■
Jj
^1^-1
■r
wBSmtKBKBEI^tBl^K^t^K^K^M^m^^M
■■■^^B^^^p^"'""""'^^
^^^^H^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^I^^^^^^H^^^^^^^^^^
■
Evolution of the calendar is shown graphically, abov
At top left, 365-day Roman years were 6 hours short evei
year. Julius Caesar introduced leap years of 366 days :
45 B.C., but average Julian year was more than 11 minut
as Alaska and Hawaii, it occurs on March 20 every yea
Although spring now begins on either March 20 or S
every year, this has been so only since the start of th
century, and will change before the century ends.
The trouble, of course, still lies with the calendar. Tl
Gregorian calendar allows the first day of spring to chanj
as easily as did the Julian calendar. But the Gregorian ca
endar has a built-in mechanism to bring the event ba(
to the desired date every so often. This mechanism is i
revision of the leap year rule. Three times in every foi
centuries the leap year is suspended, and each time tl
date of the beginning of spring returns to March 21. Bi
the mechanism of the Gregorian calendar, too, as it no
exists, will be in need of revision eventually.
nA
^■^
/ '
L
/
r•■^...
'Omitting leap years at endof cenfury
produces an error of almost 1 day In
400 years (dot-and-dash line, right).
The Gregorian rule restores leap year
in centuries divisible by 400, thus
oniittingJ_Jeap years in 4 centuries.
:__i-/-p--A!--/"-ir
a. 42-
'-< /
""'C
=24]
-0 ■-
JP
Julian calendar
3 daysin error
,;fayA.DSi5:„ J
^^^H^^^^H^Hm^^ ' 1582 1752 1
923 's^H^m^^^^i
2000 ^^- ■"'-* " HOO ' -^^^ ^
long, shown at lower left. Leap year rules are similar
le Julian and the Gregorian calendars, but Gregorian
omits leap year at the end of the century, top right.
e of the Gregorian calendar, with 97 leap years in
4 centuries, repeats every 400 years (center diagram), but
the average year is slightly long, so error slowly builds up.
Although the Julian calendar was 13 days in error by
1582, only 10 days were dropped by the Gregorian reforms.
bare is no real reason why the first day of spring
lid fall on the 21st or any other day of the third month
le calendar year. It does not, of course, in some cal-
irs that are still in use today (principally for religious
)oses), such as the Jewish, Mohammedan, Indian, and
intine calendars. In the early Egyptian and Roman
ndars, the beginning of the year usually occurred in
spring, and the first day of spring was generally the
day of the new year.
ctually, no calendar could keep the beginning of spring
he same date inflexibly. In the interval between suc-
ive arrivals of the sun at the vernal equinox, 36.5 days,
)urs, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds of mean solar time
se. This interval, the tropical year, is the true length
of the year of the seasons, or, in other words, the average
period in which the seasons of earth repeat themselves.
A calendar year, however, must have a discrete number
of days, obviously either 365 or 366. If there are 365
days in a calendar year, then it will be 5 hours, 48 minutes,
and 46 seconds short of the period in which the first day
of spring repeats itself. If there are 366 days, then the
calendar year is 17 hours, 26 minutes, and 18 seconds
longer than the interval from spring to spring. In either
case, the moment when spring begins cannot be the same
year after year in the calendar, and it will inevitably fall
on a different date. By suitably juggling 365-day and
366-day years, however, the date of the arrival of spring
43
Astrolabe, early navigation instrument to determine time
and latitude by star sighting, was made in 1581. It antedates
the Gregorian reforms and shows the equinox on March 10.
can be kept within certain limits. The leap year rule of
a calendar is simply a guide to help us juggle the years of
different lengths suitably.
When the Julian calendar was adopted it was believed
that the duration of the tropical year was 3651/4 days. In
that calendar, therefore, ordinary years were given 365
days, and each fourth year 366 days in order to keep the
new calendar in step with the seasons and to keep seasonal
events at the same calendar date each year.
As we know today, the true length of the tropical year
is actually 11 minutes and 14 seconds shorter than
the average length of the Julian year (365^/4 days). In
128 years, the accumulated error in the Julian calendar
amounted to a full day. In other words, the arrival of the
sun at the vernal equinox came earlier by one day.
As mentioned before, spring began on March 10 in 1582,
and, if the Julian calendar had been retained, it would
have continued to come still earlier, until it gradually
slipped back into February and then January. This would
have meant that the Easter date would come, eventually,
in the winter months of the calendar (although the season
would still be spring) .
In view of the Gregorian reforms that restored the first
day of spring to March 21, it is interesting to explore the
reasons why March 20 is the first day of spring some years
in the present era (most and even all years in some parts
of the world) . This happens because, in a given century,
the effect of the Gregorian calendar on the date of spring
is the same as the effect of the Julian calendar; the leap
year rules— the juggling of 365-day and 366-day years-
are the same in both calendars in any one century.
Within a century, the average length of the Gregorian
year, like the Julian year, is 365^/4 days, or 11 minutes and
14 second^ longer than the true interval between successive
arrivals of the sun at the vernal equinox. Thus, as in the
Julian calendar, the beginning of spring comes earlier by
nearly 45 minutes every fourth year. The cumulative effect
of this difference is enough to bring the date of the sun's
arrival at the vernal equinox to March 20, and even to
March 19, in most centuries. But three times every four
centuries (each century year except those divisible by
400) , the leap year is suspended in the Gregorian calendar,
and the date of the spring equinox reverts to March 21.
AT the end of a century, the cumulative error of the
Julian calendar was 18 hours, 43 minutes, and 20
seconds. In the Gregorian calendar, the last leap year of
the century is omitted, so the Gregorian century is 5
hours, 16 minutes, and 40 seconds short. Four Gregorian
centuries, therefore, would be 21 hours, 6 minutes, and
40 seconds short, and this, if uncorrected, would cause
the date of spring to advance one day (to March 22) in
a little more than four centuries.
To correct this, the leap year is restored in the fourth
century year (hence the rule that provides 97 leap years
every 400 years) . The cumulative error (21 hours, 6 min-
utes, and 40 seconds short) in four Gregorian centuries is,
therefore, reduced by the addition of one day, which
then restores the spring equinox to March 21. The net
error in four Gregorian centuries is 2 hours, 53 minutes,
and 20 seconds. In 32 Gregorian centuries, this will ac-
cumulate to an error of 23 hours, 6 minutes, and 40 sec-
onds. By the end of that period, the date of the spring
equinox in the Gregorian calendar will be permanently
advanced to March 20, unless the present leap year rule
is somehow modified by that time.
The effect of the leap year rule on the date spring begins
is reflected in the calendars of recent years. In the last
decade of the nineteenth century, the arrival of spring in
the United States fell each year on either March 19 or
March 20 (on the 20th three years out of four). The
year 1900, however, was not a leap year. It was an ordinary
year of 365 days. In the first decade of the twentieth cen-
tury, therefore, the first day of spring came on either
March 20 or March 21, more often on the latter date.
Since 1900, the arrival of the sun at the vernal equinox
has been coming about 45 minutes earlier each four years.
As a result, the beginning of spring during the 1960's oc-
curs more often on March 20 in the United States, and the
trend to earlier arrival of the beginning of spring will
continue during the century. In the last decade of the
twentieth century, the arrival of spring in the United
States will fall again on either March 19 or March 20.
In most centuries, this tendency toward an earlier oc-
currence of spring would be corrected by the omission of
the leap year in the century year, but the next century
year, a.d. 2000, will not be a leap year by the Gregorian
rule. The trend to earlier dates for spring's arrival will
continue unchecked into the twenty-first century. By the
end of the twent}'-first century, spring will begin on March
19 in most years everywhere in the United States. Finally,
in the year 2100, the leap year will be omitted again, and
the first day of spring will revert to March 21, in at least
some years in all parts of the world.
Dr. Nicholson is Assistant Chairman. Astronomer, and a
lecturer at The American Museum-Hayden Planetarium.
44
HE SKY
I MARCH
:■* n^•^^'7
,. noNW vsun
MAGNITUDE SCALE
* —0.1 and brighter
* 0.0 to +0.9
* -r 1.0 to +1.9
* +2.0 to +2.9
+ +3.0 to +3.9
* +4.0 and fainter
■\f "K«' .
;? *---fM
^ ^\.
,• * %. >
'--^-^^
*- -l^---
.* +---\
% ••-. :-
•-....<!(> \ ' -•
*:x--| - *^yT
o^: ^ ^ V
..^.•- .n^-
TIMETABLE
irch 1 11:00 p.M
h 15 10:00 P-M.
h 31 9:00 p-M.
(Local Ml_ _,
March 3: Pluto is at opposition and is farthest from earth
s year, 2.964 billion miles.
March 13: Mercury is at superior conjunction, that is, in
3 with the sun but on the far side of the sun from earth.
rcury now enters the evening sky.
March 15: Jupiter and the moon are in conjunction at 9:00
I., EST. Although moonset occurs approximately one hour
-lier, Jupiter and the slender crescent moon should appear
proximity to each other in the twilight sky this evening at
Dut 7:00 P.M.
March 16-17: The conjunction of Venus and the three-day
iscent moon takes place at 1:00 a.m., EST, March 17. In
! early evening sky on the 16th, the moon appears below
d to the right of Venus, and on the 17th, above and to the
t of Venus.
March 20: The sun arrives at the vernal equinox at 9:10
1., EST. Winter comes to an end and spring commences
the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, on
J other hand, this date marks the end of summer and the
ginning of autumn.
March 31: On the last day of the month. Mercury and
Jupiter are in conjunction, but both are too close to the sun
in the evening sky to be visible.
Venus and Jupiter are evening stars in March, Mars and
Saturn are morning stars, and Mercury moves from the morn-
ing to the evening sky during the month.
Mercury, which enters the evening sky on March 13, is
too close to the sun for observation during most of the month.
By the 31st, however, the magnitude of the planet is 0.7, and
it may be seen low in the west soon after sunset. Mars and
Saturn, although morning stars, are too close to the sun to
be visible during March.
In the evening sky, Jupiter is easily visible in the early part
of the moiith, setting approximately three hours after sunset.
By the end of the month, however, the planet is too close to
the sun for observation. Venus continues to separate from
the sun throughout March and it continues to become
brighter, attaining magnitude —3.9 on March 31. During the
entire month, Venus first appears high in the western sky
soon after sundown and it remains visible for nearly three
hours. By the end of March, Venus is approaching the Pie -
iades, the familiar star cluster in the constellation Taurus.
Royal procession, like works on facing page, is cast in brass.
;v'*2Je'.
Dahomean horseman cocks and aims his rifle.
Eider appears in the trappings of a wise man.
Orass genre figurines made by the tribesmen of Da-
homey—formerly a part of French West Africa but now
an independent republic— are often passed over by
connoisseurs of African art because such sculpture is
of very recent origin. To the eyes of some Western col-
lectors, the figures may also seem to be inferior aes-
thetically to older forms of African wood and metal-
work. Nonetheless, Dahomean figurines merit attention
because they represent an important type of African art.
The bulk of so-called African art is actually craft.
However beautiful the execution of a sculpture may seem
to a non-African collector, beauty has little if any-
thing to do with the value placed upon the work of art
by the tribesman. For him, the prime purpose of what
we call art lies in its traditional context and in its
fulfihment of a very specific function, usually ritual.
Dahomean figurines seem to have been made first for
the sole purpose of pleasing a nineteenth-century
tribal king; these were used to decorate the royal
palace at Abomey. In this respect, that is, as aesthetic
decor, Dahomean figures more nearly meet some pres-
ent Western standards for fine art than do the older,
more sought-after African ritual carvings.
Today, Dahomean figures remain faithful indicators
of the tribe's focuses of interest. The large royal pro-
cession pictured on this page conveys the vitality of
a tribal group united in the belief that all men are de-
scendants of the living king. Other figures shown on
these two pages— all cast in brass— illustrate a re-
liance upon strength of arms for the tribe's security,
and the respect paid to the wisdom that, throughout
all Africa, is assumed to accrue to the community s aged.
47
Preying jackal probably carries domesticated animal.
Menagerie of totems and death symbols
Back of a totemic alligator supports a small oil lamp.
48
A,
.mong the major interests of Dahomean
tribesmen is tlie wild animal population that
shares their environment. Some beasts, like
the young gazelle shown below, are regarded
mainly as sources of food; others, hke the
jackal, are feared because they attack and
carry away domesticated animals on which
the tribesman's livelihood may depend. Large
predators, such as the oversized leopard
shown here standing on a man's chest, are
both feared and respected. In this example,
the leopard is a symbol of death itself:
unpredictably, silently, swiftly, death will
strike man down. Nearly all animals may
be subjects of the craftsman's art because
they are thought of as totemic insignia.
They are not direct representations of ances-
tors, but instead are the heraldic images by
which various families identify themselves.
Standing on man it has killed, leopard symbolizes death.
This young gazelle has importance as a source of food.
Archer and others on these two pages are aluminum. This woman pounds rice in a traditional tribal method.
Inland representational figurines
50
Goat is important part of the wealth of African family.
exhibiting a more primitive style than Dahomean
istal figurines, these examples of the sculptor's art
re produced further inland. They result from a cast-
; process similar to that used elsewhere, but they
made of light aluminum alloys rather than pure
iss. The symbolism of sculptures shown on these
jes differs from that of the menageries and pro-
sions seen on preceding pages. Here, figurines
ebrate everyday sights — men hunting; a woman with
irtar and pestle; a cock; a lolling, domesticated goat.
Around some villages, strutting cock is familiar sight.
With quiver, bow, and club, hunter pursues his quarry.
51
Dahomean humor is manifest in this caricature of a lazy female.
Sophisticated modes of the tribal artist
Tribeswoman gracefully supports native wares on her head.
I
t is perhaps the sophistication of subject
matter and treatment that is the most out-
standing feature of this art from Dahomey.
One sculpture, shown here at left, is the
representation of a domestic scene, accurately
portraying a humble activity in a naturalistic
manner. The photo at the top of the page
pictures a caricature in metal that pokes
subtle fun at the vain preoccupations of a
woman of the tribe. And, at right, is shown
a figurine that conveys with exceptional
power another woman's deep underlying
sense of religious devotion.
Life, to the tribal African, is not made
up of separate activities performed at set
times for set motives; it is an integrated
whole. As seen on this and previous pages,
every aspect of life, however prosaic, may
be thought worthy of the attention and
respect of tribal artists. The production of
their figurines was encouraged under the
French and became an important tourist in-
dustry. Nevertheless, today such art re-
mains a valid expression of African culture.
52
-^
igure of a woman, below, might suggest her deep religious feeling.
^0_? .*
1 t'
NATURALISTS' NOTEBOOK
PREDATOR
NETS A
SUGAR ANT
Storied Australian spider hunts by throwing web
TALES OF A SPIDER that casts a net over its prey
have long been related in South Africa and
Australia. The Australian netting spider (Deino-
pis subrufaj, shown slightly larger than life-size
in this picture sequence, practices this strange
predatory method. It is a member of the family
Deinopidae, which comprises the cribellate spi-
ders. In the United States, only one genus of Dei-
nopidae with one species is known— the ogre-faced
spider (D. spinosus) of Florida and Alabama.
At the top, a long-bodied female Australian
netting spider is seen supporting herself on a guy
strand as, with her fourth pair of legs, she combs
out the first fluffy threads from the spinnerets
(organs for producing threads of silk from the
secretions of the silk glands). In succeeding
frames she is depicted in more-advanced stages of
web-construction. Below, at right, is the finished
web suspended from support threads. The spider
takes hold of the corners of the web and awaits
her prey, in this case a sugar ant. She then
stretches the web taut and hurls it down over the
ant, as seen in the final picture. Afterward, the
voracious spider ingests both the ant and web.
54
J^CORPlNGg
r N£>.3of Droll>&nKee5 5eapop1:Sepie3
■ SOUHDS OF THE SEA is a 7" x 33 RPM LP
recording thai fits regular turntabLea,
and pLays for 12 minutes. On one side
we walk along the shore listening to
the gulls and the surf, on the other we
sail out of Newport on a foggy morning
listening to the whistles and the bells.
■ WE SEA AT CASTLE HILL is a 12" mono LP
for those who are perfectly satisfied
to hear the surf without any comment.
In places the bell in the lighthouse is
heard above the waves. One listener
writes: "THE SEA AT CASTU HILL is the
best yet ! I have practically worn it
out listening to it, but it could never
wear me out because it is so tranquil-
lizing." On Side B of this record is a
recording of the side-wheeler ALEXANDER
HAMILTON on a trip up the Hudson River.
Beautiful whistles, and the rythmic
sighs and clanks of the steam engine.
1 BIRDS ON A HAY HORNING is another 12"
giving on Side A thirty-six bird songs
Just as you would hear them in the East
in Spring. A narration identifies the
birds heard. On Side B the same songs
are given without any talking, Alfred
L.Hawkes of the Audubon Society of R.I.
says of this: "Designed for simple lis-
tening enjoyment, it can also be used to
sharpen up one's ear for identification
or to recall the pleasure of a Spring
morning in the country. "
Birds on a fllaii IHornina
Prices, including postage:
CD SOUNDS OF THE SEA, 7" x 33, S 7.25
CD THE SEA AT CASTLE HIU, 12" S 5.00
CZl BIRDS ON A HAY MORNING, 12" $5.00
^^All three of the above for $ 10.00
DROLL -Yankees inq
PROVIDENCE, R.I. 02906
name
address.
Full refund if not satisfied. A list of
our records mailed on request. Try One!
56
About the Authors
Dr. Alan Richard Schulman. author
of "Siege Warfare in Pharaonic Egypt,"
is an Egyptologist who is currently teach-
ing in the History Department of Co-
lumbia University. In addition to his
teaching activities, Dr. Schulman— under
a grant from the American Philosophical
Society— has been engaged in research
on the cult of Ptah at Memphis, as de-
picted on private stelae from that site. He
is also a Fellow of the American Council
of Learned Societies and is a member of
the American Research Center in Egypt.
Dr. Schulman's field work includes par-
ticipation in the 1962 Joint Excavation
of the University Museum (University
of Pennsylvania) and Peabody Museum
(Yale University) in Egyptian Nubia.
The distribution of grizzly bears-
past and present— is the subject of Dr.
A. W. F. Banfield's article, entitled
'"Grizzly Territory." The author is Chief
Zoologist of the National Museum of
Canada, in Ottawa. Before assuming his
present position. Dr. Banfield was Chief
Mammalogist of the Canadian Wildlife
Service, Department of Northern Affairs
and National Resources. Among Dr. Ban-
field's special interests are feeding habits
of the short-eared owl, big game manage-
ment, barren-ground caribou investiga-
tion, Arctic mammalogy, and systematics.
Dr. Virgil N. Argo, an entomologist
who has written previously for Natural
History, wrote the article about insect-
trapping plants. Before his retirement,
Dr. Argo was Associate Professor of Bi-
ology at The City College of New York.
"Psychophysics and Hearing in Fish"
is the work of Dr. William N. Tavolga.
Research Associate in the Department of
Animal Behavior at The American Mu-
seum and an Associate Professor in the
Department of Biology at The City Col-
lege of New York. Dr. Tavolga's studies
include the embryology of teleost fish,
fish parasitology, endocrinology and be-
havior of fish, and underwater sounds.
Vagaries of various calendar systems
and why they occur are explained in this
month's "Sky Reporter" column, which is
regularly presided over by Dr. Thomas
D. Nicholson. Dr. Nicholson is Assist-
ant Chairman and Astronomer at The
American Museum-Hayden Planetarium.
In "Tribal Art from Africa," Mr. Col-
in M. Turnbull discusses the origins
and significance of Dahomean figurines
made of brass and aluminum alloys, and
their equivocal position in the field of
African art. Mr. Turnbull is Assistant
Curator of African Ethnology in The
American Museum's Department of An-
thropology, and is the author of The For-
est People and The Lonely Ajrican. The
photographs of the figurines that illus-
trate the article were made by Lee Boltin.
LAND
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write for interesting free boo/det
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UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE SOCIETY FOR HELLENIC TRAVEL
A LATE SUMMER CRUISE
to GREECE
the GREEK ISLANDS
and TURKEY
3 to 24 September, 1964
in.he M.S. MOLEDET
Guest lecturers on the summer cruise are:
Professor R. M. Cook, M.A., Professor of Classical Archaeology in the
University of Cambridge, and President of the Society for Hellenic
Travel.
Mr J. V. H. Eames, M.A., F.S.A., Lecturer in Classical Archaeology in
the University of Liverpool.
Professor A. W. Lawrence, M.A., F.S.A., Professor of Classical Archaeo-
logy in the University of Cambridge {1944-51) and Professor of
Archaeology at the University College of Ghana {1951-7).
Professor H. W. Parke, M.A., Litt.D., Professor of Ancient History at
Trinity College, Dublin.
Mr Oleg Polunin, M.A., F.L.S., of Charterhouse School, who will talk on
birds and identify them.
All inclusive cost from New York starts at $967. 00
Trans Atlantic air transportation by B. O. A. C.
OPTIONAL EXTENSION:
ROMAN FRANCE - SOME SITES AND CITIES IN
PROVENCE.
For complete information about the cruise
mail coupon below;
■■ ^^ mm ■■ ^HH ^Mi ^^ ^B ■■■ ^^ "^ ■*" 1" "^ ^^ ^* '
LINDBLAD TRAVEL, INC.
One East 53rd. Street, New York 22, N. Y.
Please send folder describing the summer cruise
to Greece.
NAME-
ADDRESS-
CITY
JONE_
_STATE_
DO YOUR
EAGLE WATCHING
WITH A
HONEYWELL
PENTAX!
The purposefiil stare of an
Olympian bird has nothing on the
eagle-eye of a Pentax camera. Its
sharp lens captures every photo
for you in exact detail— whether
you are using a standard 55 mm
lens or another in the Pentax sys-
tem of thirteen interchangeable
lenses.
Remember that the Pentax
"eye" sees on film exactly what
you see in the viewfinder, because
you actually focus and compose
your picture through the taking
lens. Until you've tried this your-
self, it's hard to visualize how
much a Pentax can help your
photography.
Your Honeywell Photo Prod-
ucts Dealer wUl be pleased to show
you the H3v at $229.50 and the
Hla at just $169.50. Ask him for
a demonstration soon!
For your copy of "Lenses for the
Honeywell Pentax,"
send 20c to Herb Roberts
(209), Honeywell, Den-
ver, Colorado 80210.
HONEYWELL PRESENTS . ^^
SCiEKSS ALL. STARS ■ <*^
SUNDAYS 4:30 E.S.T.
Honeyurell
PHOTOGRAPHIC PRODUCTS
NATURE and the
MICROSCOPE i
Looking closely at light ;
By Julian D. Corrington
IT IS ESSENTIAL to Understand some-
thing of the nature of light and what
happens in its passage through the ob-
ject and the microscope. Theories in op-
tics lead into the most rarefied areas of
higher mathematics, but a few of the
simpler principles can be of great assist-
ance to the microscopist. Light is one
manifestation of radiant energy, the type
of kinetic energy that radiates away in
all directions from its source. Light con-
stitutes one octave in the whole electro-
magnetic spectrum, which includes radio
waves, high-frequency waves, micro-
waves, infrared rays (heat), ultraviolet
rays, X rays, and cosmic rays.
All of these emanations have certain
features in common: they are produced
by a power source, such as an electric
generator, a radio transmitter, a hot stove,
the sun, an electric light bulb, a cathode
tube, or by atomic disintegration; they
proceed in wave fronts that are vertical
to the line of propagation and pass in
all directions at a uniform velocity of
186.285 miles per second; they travel
in straight lines (rectilinear propaga-
tion) ; their course and velocity may be
altered if their progress is impeded, giv-
ing rise to absorption, reflection, refrac-
tion, diffraction, and interference, which
are important in microscopy.
The various forms of radiant energy
differ from one another in the frequency
of their vibrations (number per second)
and the consequent wavelengths; in their
source and in the type of receiver
adapted to their recognition, such as
radio receivers, heat-sensitive corpuscles
in the skin, or rod and cone cells in the
retina of the eye; and in our psychologi-
cal interpretation of them.
Early Theories about Light
THOSE emanations toward the lower
end of the spectrum are designated
as waves (radio waves, microwaves),
whereas those toward the higher end are
rays (X rays, cosmic rays). This reflects
the dual nature of all the forms of radi-
ant energy and recalls the history of
their discovery. In the seventeenth cen-
tury Newton advocated a corpuscular, or
emission, theory of light, regarding it as
made up of minute particles, like ultra-
microscopic bullets shot from the source.
The gamma rays of radioactive nuclear
disintegration would be a modern ex-
ample. Newton's contemporary advei
sary was Huygens, who argued for
wave theory of light, contending tb
light does not consist of matter at alj
but of undulatory vibrations propagate
as waves in a hypothetical "ether."
Owing to the great influence of Nev
ton upon scientific thought, the corpui
cular theory dominated in his day an
throughout the eighteenth century. A
the beginning of the nineteenth centur
Young, and later Fresnel. demonstrate
that the phenomena of diffraction an
interference demanded an undulatory, o
wave, theory of light, and the emissio
theory was abandoned. Maxwell showe
that light waves were electromagnet]
waves of a particular band of frequei
cies. With the twentieth century cam
the discovery that a beam of light pla^
ing upon the cathode of a photoelectri
cell causes the production of an electri
current. This phenomenon, called tli
photoelectric effect, demanded a retui
to the corpuscular theory of light. Mon
over, Planck showed that the energy (
radiation was not emitted continuous!
but in discrete packets, which he calle
quanta. A quantum of light energy Wc
designated a photon.
Early in this century, physicists teacl
ing optics were in a difficult positioi
One wag suggested that professors teac
the corpuscular theory of light on Moi
days, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and tE
wave theory of light on Tuesdays, Thur
days, and Saturdays. Today light is r
garded as an emission of photons ai
companied by wave action, but a fu
explanation of this dualistic interpret
tion and reconciliation of conflictir
views remains a task for future scientist
Vibrations Cause Waves
WHEN a stone is thrown into a qui
pool of water we see concentr
circles of waves spreading outward, an
it is difficult to realize that water pari
cles do not move outward from the centi
of the disturbance. On a windless da
for example, a cork in the path of tl
waves bobs up and down but does ni
move laterally. Vibrations, then, resu
in undulations, which are measured :
frequency (the number of vibrations pi
second ) ; in wavelength (the distani
from the crest of one wave to the crest
the next) ; and in amplitude (the amou
58
he vertical displacement of a wave).
n the electromagnetic spectrum,
sehold electricity of the 60-cycle al-
lating current variety consists of
es with lengths measured in thou-
ds of kilometers; wireless and radio
es are hundreds of meters long;
rt radio waves and microwaves are
isured in meters and centimeters,
h infrared, we need new yardsticks
void unwieldy figures. The common
isurement for objects seen under the
roscope is the micron {ij-) , a thou-
ith of a millimeter; the millimicron
i) is the thousandth part of a
ron; and finally the Angstrom (A) is
ten-thousandth of a micron. Since all
isurements in modern physics use the
:imeter (cm.) as the standard unit, a
imeter is 0.1 cm., a micron is 0.0001
, a millimicron is 0.0000001 cm., and
Angstrom is 0.00000001 cm., the hun-
i-millionth part of a centimeter.
Shorthand" for Big Numbers
HESE are extremely awkward figures
to use and they invite typographical
irs. Therefore the denary system— in
:h the number of zeros is expressed
sxponents— is now almost universal,
he denary system a micron is lO"*
, a millimicron is 10' cm., and an
;strom is 10'^ cm. Millimicrons and
stroms are used in measurements of
elengths of light, ultraviolet, X rays,
ima radiation, and cosmic rays. The
d in the spectrum occupied by
elengths of visible light runs from
3'^ to 4x10'^ cm., which can also be
ressed as 8,100 to 3.900 A. The fre-
ncy of light waves runs from 4.3x10*''
.SxlO''' vibrations per second,
igures in such categories stagger the
gination. It is easy to understand
physicists are not fond of trying to
sent mechanical models for the lay-
1, but themselves deal almost wholly
mathematical expressions. The ve-
ty of light is such that an electro-
;netic wave in the light band (or any
;r) will travel more than seven times
md the earth at the Equator in one
ind. Light from the sun, at a distance
3 million miles, will reach the earth
little more than eight minutes, and
n Alpha Centauri. the nearest star,
3ur years. Astronomical distances are
red in light-years, the distance a
e of light travels in one year, and far-
y galaxies are on the order of two
on light-years from earth. This
ins that we view them, as with the
•inch telescope on Mount Palomar,
as they may be today but as they
e two billion years ago.
Phenomena that Affect Light
SERS of optical instruments, such as
the microscope, are particularly in-
sted in what can happen to a ray of
,t as it proceeds from its source.
y^n historically interestin^j
fine hotel on
NANTUCKET
ISLAND
JaredCo^nJ-fouse
Far at sea on this wonderfully pre-
served island you will find a world all
its own. This gracious hotel has long
been a part of that world, its great whal-
ing days, and the enchanting spirit of
Nantucket, its people, and its ways.
Now completely restored to its original
1845 character, with authentic interiors
and furnishings, the hotel offers superb
accommodations, fine dining, tap room,
lounge, open the year 'round. For infor-
mation and brochure, please write:
Jared Coffin House
Nantucket Island, Massachusetts
RESTORED BY
NANTUCKET HISTORICAL TRUST
DESIGNED and
t^FIELD TESTED
/(^ by a group of
ORNITHOLOGISTS
The finest nature study binocular
available. Extra power is matched
by extra-broad field (420 ft.) to
reveal details at dawn or dusk.
Extra-close focusing brings wild-
life to within 18" equivalent dis-
tance. Finest Barium Crown glass
prisms, tight weight magnesium
body. Packed with extras such as
retractable eyecups for eyeglass
wearers, tripod adapter and vee-
slotted case for quick removal of
binocular. Top quality case and
straps. $130.00 plus tax.
Write for free illustrated brochure
and name of nearest dealer.
SWIFT INSTRUMENTS, INC.
Dept. N-3
Boston 25, Mass., San Jose 12, Cal.
Going to Europe? You1l need a Car there!
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] Delivery Plans and name of nearest Citroen Dealer.
I
59
OUR NEW
ARCHEOLOGY TOUR
GREECE AND EGYPT
This exciting 29-day tour personally conducted
by Dr. Cyrus Gordon will leave New York via
Lufthansa jet on March 18, 1964.
Among the important sites of Greek and Egyp-
tian antiquity you will visit are: ATHENS— boom-
ing modern city and rich repository of a glorious
past, still present everywhere. MYCENAE and
TIRYNS-Cyclopean walled citadels renowned in
history and legend. CORINTH-once the epitome
of luxurious living and its antithesis, SPARTA
the austere. OLYMPIA and DELPHI-sacred to the
gods, games, and oracle. THE ISLES OF GREECE
-Crete, Hydra, Delos, Mykoncs, Santorin-
sparkling jewels of the Aegean. CAIRO— Moslem
metropolis with its incomparable museum, a
panoply of Pharaonic splendors, and nearby
MEMPHIS, SAKKARA, GIZA, the FAYUM. CRUISING
THE NILE-to ASWAN and the soon-to-be sub-
merged great temple at ABU SIMBEL. to KAR-
NAK, LUXOR, THE VALLEY OF THE KINGS, and
DENDERAH. This will be an unforgettable journey
through time and space to the wellsprlngs of
Western civilization. $1920.00 all-inclusive. The
limited size of the group makes early reserva-
tions advisable. We will be pleased to send you
without obligation a detailed itinerary and com-
plete information.
Dr. Cyrus Gordon has served
as an archeologist on many
expeditions in the Near East.
'#''?' He participated in unearthing
the royal tombs at Ur, in dis-
covering the mines of King
Solomon, and deciphering the
Tell el-Amarna tablets found
in Egypt.
He is the author of many
books and articles on the ancient East Medi-
terranean. Among the books are Adventures in
the Nearest East, The World of the Old Testa-
ment, and Before the Bible: The Common Back-
ground of Greek and Hebrew Civilization.
For many years he has taught the languages,
history, and archeology of Egypt, Greece, and
many other Near Eastern lands.
He is also an experienced public lecturer on
the subject of this tour.
LINDBLAD TRAVEL, Inc., 1 E. 53 St., N.Y. 22, N.Y.
Please send me details and itinerary of your
forthcoming tour to Greece and Egypt.
mm
ADDRESS
CITY STATE
6o
Image of pencil seen through a hlock
of glass does not line up with object
Light, like other emanations of the elec-
tromagnetic spectrum, can show absorp-
tion, reflection, refraction, diffraction,
interference, and the Doppler effect
when its passage is impeded. We dis-
cussed reflection in Natural History,
November. 1963, so we will now define
the other effects briefly.
Radiant energy may be absorbed by
the substance upon which it falls. Thus
a black cloth will absorb more and re-
flect less light than will a white cloth. A
certain amount of the light passing
through lens systems in a microscope
will be absorbed and lost, and this is one
reason why high-power optical systems,
with their numerous optical components,
require stronger illumination than do
low-power objectives.
Refraction is the bending of light rays
as they pass from a medium of one
density into another medium of a differ-
ent density, as from air into glass. This
bending, also termed deviation, enables
the construction of glass lenses that di-
verge or converge light rays that pass
through an objective and, along with
diffraction, permits the formation of
magnified images.
Diffraction is the slight bending of
light rays as they pass by an edge of an
opaque body or through a narrow slit.
To observe this phenomenon, cut a slit
in a card, hold it close to and directly in
front of one eye, and look through the
slit toward a light. You will see a num-
ber of fine black vertical lines in the slit
that are spurious images of the slit
caused by diffraction. A fine-toothed
comb makes another good demonstrator.
Light diffracts around particles in the
because of deviation. Prism breaks wli
light into spectrum through dispersion
fine detail of an object observed w
the microscope, and continues on to ;
produce this detail in the image.
Interference occurs when beams
light from two different sources hit I
same target. If the two waves arrive
phase— with their crests coinciding— ii
constructive interference, or reinfor
ment. If they arrive out of step by h
a wavelength, so that the crest of c
wave coincides with the trough of
other, we have destructive interfereii
or cancellation. Thomas Young, abi
1803, demonstrated to amazed Lond
audiences that it is possible to achi<
blackness on a screen by throwing t
beams of light upon it if they are out
phase. Thus, the alternating light a
dark bands seen when looking throu
the slit in the card or the teeth of a coi
result from the combined effects of c
fraction and interference.
Apparent Frequency Changes:
THE Doppler effect— which is impc
ant astronomically but has no be
ing on microscopy— occurs when I
emission source, the observer, or b<
are in motion with respect to each oth
If you approach the light source >
will encounter more waves per seco
than if you stand still, and if you retri
you encounter fewer waves per secoi
This means, for example, that there
an apparent increase in frequency :
Dk. Cokrincton, who is well knowi
in the field of microscopy, recently
retired as Professor of Zoology ai
the University of Miami in Florida
1
^^^^^^'^'^^tli:^^^
/
\ /
\ /
A
rivex lens refracts a beam of light
lat the light is brought to focus.
ease in wavelength of light from a
int galaxy of stars if that galaxy is
■caching our own, and the converse
is receding.
ght also exhibits the phenonienon
Dlarization, and certain microscopes
accessories are designed for use with
rized light. This subject will be
:ed in a future column,
ne of Newton's important discoveries
that white light, as from the sun,
be broken up into a rainbow of col-
by passage through a glass prism,
distinguished red, orange, yellow,
n, blue, indigo, and violet, each color
ding into another to form a con-
ous spectrum. This is the phenom-
1 of dispersion, which occurs because
e light does not consist of uniformly
ogeneous wavelengths, but is com-
d of all those between 8,100 and
0 Angstroms. Each wavelength re-
ts at a slightly different angle as it
es from air into the prism and out
air again. The longer wavelengths
refracted less than the shorter waves,
;h bend more sharply, so the beam
ihhe light is spread out into many
net components. Actually, they are
:olored; they are simply electromag-
c waves of differing lengths, but sub-
ively they appear to us and to certain
;r animals as colored bands. They
ct nerve endings in the eye and pro-
5 the psychological sensations we call
r. We see longer wavelengths as red
range, shorter ones as blue or violet,
otally color-blind person lacks this
ity to see color; everything appears
arying tones of gray. Newton carried
experiment further by placing a sec-
^"^
^
^
Decorative as well as
useful. Lacquered black
with handpainted gold
markings. Burmese
craftsmanship at its
best. $5.35 ppd.
Members of the Museum are entitled to a 10% discount.
Please send your check or money order to... T/x^/nuseu^/wp
THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY New York, New York 10024
'^
m
o
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MAKE YOUR OWN NATURE AND ART TILES
The tiles illustrated are 4V4-inch square, same size as standard ceramic and
plastic tiles with which they can be combined for use in your Idtchen or
bathroom, or for making trays or table tiles and many other decorative
accessories. We supply the special molds. No heat nor pressure is required
and no special tools. For tile booklet containing complete directions, mail
25(! to Dept. 91-C.
With Embedments of Colorful Leaves, Flowers, Butterflies,
Art Objects, Travel Mementos, Your Own Designs
All Permanently Protected and Preserved
THE CASTOLITE COMPANY • Woodstock, Illinois
a .
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RROW
CANOE TRIPS
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nen. ages 10 to 16. Three trip groups
ording to age and experience. Seven
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nada: Allagash, Mira-
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nd Campcraft training.
ork camp. Quaker lead-
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placed ace
weeks. Se
trips in Maine and
michi, St. Croi.x Riv<
Base camp located on
Junior Maine Guide
One week post season
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PRE AND POST SEASON FAMILY CANOE
TRIPS PLANNED AND OUTFITTED
Write : George N. Darrow
Oakwood School, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
Phone: 914-454-2341
Wildwood Nature Camp
Operated by
Massachusetts
Audubon Society
Boys and Girls
9-14 years
A program of NATURAL SCIENCE de
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MAGNIFIERi
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FASCINATING GUIDE
YOURS FREE!
Read these valuable facts be-
fore buying any telescope. Mail
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complimentary copy of this
helpful guide.
Criterion Manufacturing Co.
331 Church St., Hartford 1, Conn.
®TM Registered U.S. Pat. Office
CRITERION MANUFACTURING CO.
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Please send your free Telescope Guide.
Address.
City
ond, inverted prism after the first one.
The second prism recombined the spec-
tral color band into white light.
Aberration and Magnification
ONE conclusion that must be drawn
from Newton's experiments is that
we cannot refract light without breaking
it up: deviation compels dispersion.
Lenses for the microscope or telescope
must cause deviation of light in order
to produce magnification, but the con-
comitant undesirable dispersion causes
color halos in the enlarged image. In the
early days of optical instruments, micro-
scopes and telescopes had single lenses
and the objective was called an object
glass. Today we refer to such objectives
as uncorrected. In contrast, modern ob-
jectives contain optical elements made
up of two or more lens components that
are calculated to cancel out each other's
deficiencies as much as possible. These
objectives are called corrected and are
termed achromatic (without color), al-
though correction can never be perfect.
So objectionable was the chromatic
aberration of early instruments that
Newton and later obsen'ers gave up mak-
ing refracting telescopes and turned to
designing reflecting telescopes that used
the concave mirror. Since light rays
do not enter the mirror but are reflected
from its surface, there can be no disper-
sion and hence no chromatic aberration.
Today we use both kinds of telescopes,
but the reflectors are superior for ob-
servations of such far-distant objects as
galaxies. Reflecting microscopes have
also been made but have not as yet estab-
lished themselves as successful competi-
tors with the usual refracting instrument.
The case of the spectroscope is very
different. Here, dispersion is the essen-
tial phenomenon in providing what the
operator desires— a spectrum. A slit light
source passes rays through a prism and
the resukant spectrum is examined with
a low-power telescope. Thus the physical
occurrences of deviation and dispersion
play their various roles in our three
primary families of optical instruments.
This list details the
or other source of i
COVER-H. J. Jordan
4-Joseph Sedacca
12— Imprimerie de
I'Institut Frangais
d'archSologie orientale
13-Petrie Scholarship
Foundation
14-top, W.M. Flinders
Petrie; bot. AMNH after
Alan R. Schulman
15-W.M. Flinders Petrie
16-21-W. Wreszinski
except 19-Courtesy of
the Oriental Institute,
Univ. of Chicago
22— top. James Simon,
Photo Researchers, Inc.;
bot.. National Geo-
graphic Society
24— National Museum of
Canada
photographer, artist,
llustrations, by page.
27-fop, Annan Photo
Features; bot., F.&J.
Craighead, National
Geographic Society
28-33-Virgil N. Argo
34-41-AMNH except 36-
top, AMNH after Grasse;
bot., AMNH after Gray and
39-from top, AMNH after
Hubbs. Lagler, Breder
and Gregory
42-43-Helmut Wimmer
45-AMNH
46-53-Lee Boltin
54-55-Noel L. Roberts,
Annan Photo Features
60-61-AMNH
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PRE-COLUMBIAN HEADS
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Each head elegantly dis-
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Average Specimen/
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BUSH NEGRO ART FROM SURINAM
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Combs. Food Paddles, Canoe Paddles, Stools, Drums
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Fun and Adventure in the Woods
Suggested
Additional Reading
SIEGE WARFARE
IN PHARAONIC EGYPT
The Art of Warfare in Biblical
Lands. Y. Yadin. McGraiv-Hill, N.Y.,
1963.
"The n'rn at the Battle of Kadesh."
A. R. Schulman. Journal of the Ameri-
can Research Center in Egypt, Vol. 1,
pages 47-53, Boston, 1962.
"Egyptian Military Organization." R.
0. Faulkner. Journal of Egyptian Ar-
chaeology, Vol. 39, pages 32-47, 1953.
GRIZZLY TERRITORY
McLean's Notes of a Twenty-Five
Year's Service in the Hudson's Bay
Territory. Edited by W. S. Wallace.
The Champlain Society, Toronto, 1932.
"The Barren Ground Grizzly Bear in
Northern Canada." C. R. Harington, A.
H. Macpherson, and J. P. Kelsall. Arctic,
Vol. 15. No. 4, pages 294-298, December,
1962.
The Grizzly. E. A. Mills. Houghton
Mifflin, N.Y., 1919.
INSECT-TRAPPING PLANTS
Gray's Manual of Botany. M. L.
Fernald. American Book Co., N.Y., 1950.
Insectivorous Plants. C. Darwin. D.
Appleton & Co., N.Y., 1883.
PSYCHOPHYSICS
AND HEARING IN FISH
Underwater Acoustics Handbook.
V. M. Albers. Pennsylvania State Uni-
versity Press, University Park, 1960.
Marine Bio-Acoustics. W. N. Ta-
volga. Pergamon Press, N.Y., 1963.
"Auditory Capacities of Fishes. Pure
Tone Thresholds in Nine Species of Ma-
rine Teleosts." W. N. Tavolga and J.
Wodinsky. Bulletin AMNH, Vol. 126,
pages 177-240, 1963.
TRIBAL ART FROM AFRICA
African Art Studies. L. Segy. JFit-
tenborn & Co., N.Y., 1956.
African Arts and Crafts. M. Tro-
well. Longmans, Green & Co., London,
1937.
Dahomean Narrative: A Cross-Cul-
tural Analysis. M. J. Herskovits & F. S.
Herskovits. Northivestern University
Press, Evanston, 1958.
Dahomey: An Ancient West Afri-
can Kingdom. M. J. Herskovits. /. /.
Augustin, N.Y., 1938
PREDATOR NETS A SUGAR ANT
The Spider Book. J. H. Comstock.
Revised and edited by W. J. Gertsch.
Doubleday, Doran & Co., N.Y., 1940.
Spider Wonders of Australia. K. C.
McKeown. Angus & Robertson, Ltd.,
Sydney, 1936.
Spiders. Scorpions, Centipedes and
Mites. J. L. Cloudsley-Thompson. Per-
gamon Press, N.Y., 1958.
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Fail- will be the General Motoi's Futui-ama. This magnificent, ultra-modern building
and the wonders it contains represent the skill and work of GM people — stylists,
engineers, scientists, architects, show specialists.
The building is 680 feet in length (a very long par thi-ee on any golf coui'se). It's 200
feet wide (forty more than a football field ) , and from the stark beauty of the ten-story-
high canopy entrance to the wide scope of the domed pavilion at the rear, it expresses
one thing very cleai'ly: tomorrow!
A high spot of the Futui'ama is a ride that suiTOunds you with wonders. In an unfor-
gettable experience, you'll be carried thi-ough time and space — thi-ough desert and
jungle — to polar regions and across the ocean floor. In a single day this dramatic ride
can accommodate 70,000 people — the entire population, for instance, of Muncie, Indiana
or Boulder, Colorado.
In the Futurama's Avenue of Progress, you'll see the newest sources of power described
and demonstrated in fascinating ways. Also shown are research projects in transporta-
tion mobilitv. including a vehicle traversing jungle terrain and a moon-rover conquering
a rugged lunar landscape .At the Futurama \ou can visit a host of other colorful dis-
plays designed to attract, interest and challenge the imagination of every member of
your family.
Futui-ama, in an inspiring way. symbohzes the progi-e.ss of GM. And the major reason
behind this progi-ess is people — the people of General Motors.
; ^ J-
GEXEML MOTORS IS PEOPLE...
Makiii'^ Better Tliiii»s For You
five unusual and
rewarding tours
to tlie four corners
of the world
CLASSICAL STUDY TOURS WITH AUTHORITATIVE GUEST LECTURERS
IT-LT-3081
TWO WINTER CRUISES TO EGYPT AND UP THE NILE
y Air and River Boat to the Sites and Temples of Egypt and Nubia Tours depart on
November 5 and November 27. Guest lecturers accompanying the two cruises are:
r. T. G. H. James, M.A., Asst. Keeper of Egyptian Antiquities at the British Museum.
essor H. W. Fairman, M.A., Professor of Egyptology at the University of Liverpool.
Professor C. A. Trypanis, M.A., Ph.D., the University of Oxford.
These Nile Cruises have been immediate "sell-outs" in the past, due to the
high quality of leadership and services provided.
IT-LT-3085
ROMAN FRANCE-SOME SITES AND CITIES IN PROVENCE
This 18-day tour starts on September 7 and the all-inclusive cost is only $790.00.
in-Provence, the oldest Roman colony in Gaul is the starting point— and from here
we begin our tour which includes Apt. Roussilon, Avignon, Villeneuve, Orange,
charming Vaison-la-Romaine, St. Remy with its newly discovered Glanum, Aries,
Nimes, les Saintes-Maries, Aigues-Mortes, Les Baux, Marseilles, and Paris.
This is a tour into one of Europe's most beautiful regions— a region full of color
and atmosphere— in addition to the thousands of monuments to the past.
This is a tour completely different from other tours— concentration on ONE of the
provinces of France. The tour is also for those who love good food and wines.
IT-LT-3076
CRUSADER CASTLES, SITES AND MONUMENTS IN
LEBANON, SYRIA, JORDAN AND ISRAEL
22-day tour departs on October 27. All-inclusive cost only $1,175.00.
Professor A. W. LAWRENCE will be the guest lecturer on a most unusual and
iting tour of the Near East. Included in the program are the Krak of the Knights and
Hama, Aleppo and Palmyra, a full day at Jerash, Petra, Karak. Acre and Caesarea
-itima— all in addition to .more easily accessible places as Beirut, Baalbek, Damascus,
Amman, Jerusalem and Haifa. Early bookings are essential to guarantee your seat,
number of participants on these tours is strictly limited to a maximum of thirty
sons- in some cases even fewer— and early booking is essential. Please send in
coupon at the foot of this page, requesting the details on the particular tour you
interested in.
INDBLAD TRAVEL, INC.
ne East 53rd Street • New York 22, N. Y.
3l. PLaza 5-8882
1
ndblad Travel, Inc., One East 53rd Street, Ne
« York 22, N. Y.
ease send folder describing your tour
IT-LT-3073 D IT-LT-3053 D IT-LT-3081
amp
n IT-LT-3085
D IT-LT-3076 [
trirpss 1
tv
State
1
IT-LT-3073
AN EXPLORER'S TOUR THROUGH ASIA visiting
JAPAN • SIBERIA • OUTER MONGOLIA
CENTRAL ASIATIC REPUBLICS OF THE USSR
IRAN • SYRIA • LEBANON • JORDAN
Crossing from Japan to Siberia by steamer-Khaborovsk and
Irkutsk in Siberia-Ulan Bator, Karakoram and a day
with Mongolian tribesmen in the Gobi desert-the ancient cities
of Bokhara and Samarkand-by steamer across
the Caspian Sea-Persepolis, Shiraz and Isfahan in
Persia— archeological sites in Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan.
Tour conducted by Lars-Eric Lindblad, departs
from New York and San Francisco on July 6, circles the Globe,
and lasts two months.
$3,600,00
IT-LT-3053
WITH DR. J. ALDEN MASON TO THE
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES IN PERU, GUATEMALA
AND MEXICO
The two tours in 1963 were so successful and sold out so early,
that Dr. J. Alden Mason has agreed to lead one
(but only one) tour in October, 1964 to the
pre-Columbian sites in South and Central America.
This year we have added four days for leisure, making
the tour 25 days. Departure will be on October 24-and
the cost will be $1,450.00.
PRESIDENT
Alexander M. White
DIRECTOR DEPUTY DIRECTOR
James A. Oliver Walter F. Meister
MANAGING EDITOR
Robert E. Williamson
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Helene Jordan
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Hubert C. Birnbauni. John F. Speicher
COPY EDITORS
Florence Brainier. Florence Klodin
REVIEWS
Francesca von Hartz
PHOTOGRAPHY
Lee Boltin
PRODUCTION
Thomas Page
Mairgreg Ross, Asst.
CONTRIBUTIONS
Ernestine Weindorf
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Paul M. Tilden, Thomas D. Nicholson
David Linton. Julian D. Corrington
EDITORIAL ADVISERS
Gerard Piel Gordon F. Ekholm
Roy Gallant Gordon Reekie
Donn E. Rosen Richard G. Van Gelder
T. C. Schneirla Richard K. Winslow
ADVERTISING
Frank L. De Franco, Director
Ogden Lowell, Sales
PROMOTION MANAGER
Anne Keating
Anne Ryan, Asst.
Natural HistorA
Incorporating Nature Magazine
THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTOl
Vol. LXXIII
APPJL 1964 No,
ARTICLES
OLD AFRICA-S "PEOPLE OF THE VILLAGE"
DINOSAURS OF THE ARCTIC
MULTICOLORED WORLD OF CATERPILLARS
BASS ROCK GANNETS
CROSS-POLLINATION OF AN ORCHID
MEGALITHS AND MEN
Arthur Leipzig i
Edivin H. Colbert j
Pftid Villiard \
Bryan Nelson I
H. Lou Gibson
Glyn E. Daniel
DEPARTMENTS
REVIEWS
NATURALISTS' NOTEBOOK:
EXPLORATION AT THE POND
SKY REPORTER
NATURE IN ROCK AND MINERAL
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
SCIENCE IN ACTION:
LAUNCHING AN EXPEDITION
ADDITIONAL READING
Lee Boltin
Photographs by Arline Strong
Thomas D. Nicholson
Paul Mason Tilden
Richard G. Van Gelder
CIRCULATION MANAGER
Joseph Saulina
COVER: The polychromatic, dragon-like apparition rearing up from the twig .
which it rests is a caterpillar of Brahmaea wallichii, a moth that is found
India and parts of Southeast Asia. The larva shown here is in its fifth inst
and has consequently shed— with its old skin— the four hornlike head process
that lent it a formidable appearance in previous stages. Pale blue opalesce
spots, two of which are visible in the picture, replace the processes and lo(
like eyes when the caterpillar assumes this defensive position. The photograj
was taken by Paul Villiard. whose article about caterpillars begins on page 2
The American Museum is open to the public without charge every day
during the year, lour support, through membership and contributions, I
helps make this possible. The Museum is equally in need of support I
for all of its work in the fields of research, education, and exhibition. \
Publication Office: The American .Museum of Natural History, Cenlral Park West at 79lh Street, New Yc
N. Y. 10024. Published monthly, October through May: bimonthly June to September. Subscription: S5.0C
year. In Canada, and all other countries: S5.50 a year. Single copies: S.50. Second class postage paid
New York, N. Y., and at additional offices. Copyright, 1964, by The American .Museum of Natural Histo
No part of this periodical may be reproduced without the written consent of Natural Hjsiorv. The ti
Nature NUgazine, registered U.S. Patent Office. Unsolicited manuscripts and illustrations submitted to I
editorial office will be handled with all possible care, but we cannot assume responsibility for their safe
The opinions expressed by authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect The American Museum's polii
Good Hunting with Bolex
r nature motion pictures, Bolex is
answer. It is lightweight, yet the
able Swiss precision manufacture
o dependable that it has been from
highest mountains to the depths of
sea, from the arctic to the tropics.
." .Jlii^ j^L^. .'
S COME TO LIFE IN CLOSE-UPD V/ITH ANY OF SEV-
BOLEX TELEPHOTO LENSES.
ny professional film-makers de-
id on it completely,
n addition to Swiss-made, world-
•wn precision manufacture, you
with each H-16 these features:
s flexibility from extreme wide-
;le to extreme telephoto to the
!St zoom lenses; indoor or outdoor
And for economy where audiences are
small and big-screen repro-
duction is not needed,
the Bolex H-8 has
all the above fea-
tures plus a 100'
8mm film capacity.
utility; speeds from 12 to 64 frames
per second; frame counter and single-
frame shooting for recording natural
phenomena; time lapse; full film re-
wind; a registration claw that assures
professional film steadiness. The Rex
models offer, in addition, reflex view-
ing while filming, variable shutter,
and push-button spool ejectors.
For options, you may have these
(plus others not listed): motor drive;
matte box; microscope adapter; exten-
sion tubes for macrophotography; un-
derwater housing; light meter; tripod.
No wonder the Bolex is favored by
so many scientific photographers.
Paillard Inc.
1900 Lower Road
Linden, New Jersey
Please send me more information
a bout nature photography with the
Bolex. I am especially interested in:
MINERALOGY
FOR AMATEURS
By John Sinkankas
The full sweep of mineralogy:
how atoms form crystals, why
crystals possess properties dis-
tinct from each other, how to
identify them, and where to look
for excellent specimens. Includes
full descriptions of over 250
minerals, with 136 photographs;
191 drawings. $9.75
Through your bookseller
D. VAN NOSTRAND
COMPANY, INC.
120 Alexander Street,
Princeton, N. J.
GAVIN DE BEER
Charles Darwin
Finally -a definitive,
twentieth century biography
"The first Darwin biography in
which an attempt is made to give
us a balanced picture of Darwin
the man, the explorer-naturalist
the geologist, the evolutionist, and
the experimental botanist. Sir
Gavin has made good use not only
of the new information on Darwin
that has been uncovered in recent
years, but also of the most recent
fmdmgs and interpretations in evo-
lutionary biology . . . Written in
easy style, free of technical jargon
. . . [Sir Gavin's biography] will
help to eliminate much erroneous
information and misconception
concerning Darwin. "-ERNST mayr
Director of the IVluseum of Compar-
ative Zoology, Harvard University
^'"^ PiiofoefaPhs, drawings, maps;
$4.95 at all booksellers
DOUBLEDAY
Reviews
Photographer of convictic
The Eloquent Light, text by Nancy
Newhall, photographs by Ansel Adams.
Sierra Club, $20.00; 175 pp., illus.
THE miracle of photography is so
much an accepted element of our
time that, sadly, little notice is made
of its many variables. The large area this
system of reproduction embraces is too
often considered commonplace. There is,
however, a range beyond the ordinary
spectrum of photography that few prac-
titioners of the art achieve. For, while
there are thousands of users of the pho-
tographic system, there are compara-
tively few true photographers. Several
conditioning factors are involved: one
is time— time in the sense that so much
has gone before that an uncommon ap-
proach is not easily come by— another is
conviction. The making of a photograph
must be by conviction, else routinely and
sadly, it is simply a job, with a corre-
lative banality and boredom. As Nancy
Newhall shows in her book, Ansel Adams
grasped time and. ignoring previously
established patterns, brought a new clar-
ity and a new depth to his expressive
use of the camera. The sense of convic-
tion is evident in every photograph
printed, and there can be no question as
to what the photographer sought and
what he achieved.
Ansel Adams is one of the formidable
giants, pioneers, convinced practitioners
—call it what you will— of the photo-
graphic art. Perhaps it was his good luck
that he was born and raised in that far-
away California of sixty years ago, but
the strong feeling that comes from this
ideally printed volume assures the
reader that the man embraced his en-
vironment and extracted from it the ele-
ments on which to nurture himself. He
then returned its gifts many times in his
life's work. By the second decade of the
century he was an accomplished musi-
cian and could have elected a career as
a pianist. Happily for his inheritors he
chose to express himself in photography,
and thus left a wondrous legacy of visual
images— pertinent and wise comments on
what can be contained in photographic
expression. As a battler for conservation
he stands above the crowd.
Mrs. Newhall, Mr. Adams, and the
Sierra Club are to be complimented on
this handsome work. In a time when the
so-called art books are redundant,
first part of a two-volume biograph'
Mr. Adams is unique. Perhaps becc
I, too, am a toiler in the photograj
vineyard and thus know that ph
graphs are seen in their original qu;
by very few, I also know that the
mate form on the printed page suffe
major loss in quality and presence. I
therefore, with particular pleasure l
I salute the book's engravers and pi
ers. They prove that a photograj
image in reproduction can bring the]
of the photographer to each viewei
though he were the possessor of an oi
nal print. The Eloquent Light tells b«
tifuUy of an eloquent man.
Flight, by Jacques F. Ormond. Hill ,
Wang, Inc., $6.95; 92 pp., illus.
THE poetry of flight is achieved in I
volume of European photograf
Rarely has the world of wings b'
given such coherent expression. 1
tempo of visual change is beautifi
realized and. with minor exceptions,
book accomplishes its purpose.
A small cavil is the quartet of I
drawings and renderings that are sup
fluous, and nothing is gained by
author's comments on his photograp
technique. This is essentially a coll
tion of photographic illustrations an(
needless burden of words does nothi
to improve the effect of the pictures.
The book begins with a striking i
ture of a night heron in climbing flig
the power of the wing stroke formi
a pattern of strength and line that fai
lessly conveys the sense of a rise towa
the sky. Immediately following tl
opening we are exposed to a hodgepod
of woodcuts that almost founders 1
work. Fanciful they doubtless are, 1
their inclusion reduces the impact
the photographs in the early pages
the book. It is only after this false st;
that the sense of soaring, fluid flight i
presses itself again; and it continii
ever stronger until the conclusion,
foldout at the end of the book supplies
complete listing of the picture and bi
identifications. Buy it and fly!
Mr. Boltin, who acts as contributii
photographer for Natural History,
knoii'n for his pictures of primitive a
:es, by H. W. Parker. W.W. Norton
)., $5.95; 191 pp., illus. Snakes of
CA, by Richard M. Isemonger.
las Nelson & Sons, $4.00; 236 pp..
Life with Ionides, by Margaret
. Viking Press, .$5.00; 180 pp., illus.
w human beings can ignore snakes.
lost of us know at least enough
t them to be biased, whether we re-
them with suspicion, fear, awe. re-
on, or admiration. For snakes,
lUgh they evolved much later than
)ther major group of reptiles, moved
nearly all habitable parts of the
d long before man did, and he en-
tered snakes virtually everywhere—
he penetrated the coldest regions.
)mous snakes closely resembling
:an cobras inhabited Europe when
ancestors were just beginning to di-
e from the apes. For more than
ty million years, therefore, we have
associating with snakes and worry-
ibout them.
jr knowledge of snakes in recent
s has expanded almost as rapidly as
lemand for new books dealing with
I. Of the three new books reviewed
, two are about snakes themselves
one recounts the exploits of a snake
ler in Africa. Despite some overlap
leir coverage, these books differ as
•ly as the backgrounds, interests, and
;s of their respective authors.
. W. Parker, long recognized as the
ing British herpetologist. provides
nost erudite of the three accounts in
Snakes. Without resorting to techni-
argon, he deals with snakes from the
dpoint of the anatomist, the ecolo-
and the student of animal behavior,
lough earlier books on snakes also
ir such topics as locomotion, feeding,
oduction, and sensory mechanisms,
iei adds new information or novel
rpretations to his discussions. His
V is avowedly a summary, but never-
ess it contains an impressive amount
nformation in fewer than two hun-
l pages. The style is lucid, despite
ier's tendency to ride for a page
a half without changing paragraphs.
nakes of Africa is more provincial
overage and is intended primarily as
ride to the snakes found south of the
ara and east of the Congo. Richard
Isemonger's chatty discussions of
hs, venom, snake-catching, and simi-
topics make it readable. The author's
it entertaining accounts are those de-
bing his personal adventures. His
;ussions of reptiles outside the con-
is of Africa, however, reveal a woeful
i of knowledge.
'or obscure reasons a chapter entitled
A'ana Nyoka"' is inserted between the
s of species and their peculiarities,
ana Nyoka proves to be an intelli-
it, engaging non-conformist, C. J. P.
ides, who went through Rugby and
Sandhurst before he became a snake
hunter— and something of a celebrity—
in Tanganyika.
He receives fuller treatment in Mar-
garet Lane's Life with Ionides, which
provides a sympathetic but unbiased ac-
count of life in this part of Africa, where
the author stayed with the old hunter. In
her well-written book she describes
Ionides, seen from the side, as having
the appearance of "an emaciated and
aristocratic goat." Miss Lane"s descrip-
tions of snakes and other animals are
equally as interesting.
The illustrations in all three books
vary in quality from good to inferior.
Parker's book could profitably have been
better illustrated; Isemonger's book con-
tains a few plates in color that are not
bad, but the figures leave much to be de-
sired; Ionides appears in several of the
plates in Miss Lane's book, along with
his African assistants, a snake or so, and
occasionally a photogenic young lady.
Presumably this is Miss Lane, who de-
scribes the difficulties she encountered in
her efforts to obtain photographs of
snakes. Those reproduced show that she
was not exaggerating. Her talents are
tliose of a writer, not of a photographer.
C. M. BOGERT
The
ican Museum
The Reptiles, by Archie Carr. Time,
Inc., $3.95; 192 pp., illus.
THIS is a scientifically impeccable ac-
count of reptiles— their place in
nature, their relationships and history.
and their way of life. Dr. Carr is to be
complimented on his clear, well-written,
and well-organized text dealing with the
reptile "fraternity." The editors of the
"Life Nature Library" also deserve praise
for their selection of illustrations, many
of which are photographic firsts of out-
standing interest and merit.
Too often in popular books on natural
history, the public is cheated with a tired
and jumbled rehash of third-hand infor-
mation, but not in this book compiled by
an outstanding herpetologist. who is a
dedicated naturalist and a fine writer.
The reader, if this is his introduction
to the world of reptiles, should learn a
great deal. He should also assimilate
some of Dr. Carr's empathy and true un-
derstanding for this frequently perse-
cuted group. The gruesome fascination
that leads many people to their first con-
tact with reptiles may be dispelled by
new insight that can be gathered here.
Reptiles have had a long and diversified
history— they "ruled" the earth, only to
fall from their seat of biological domi-
nance. But their descendants are still
about us. leading their respective cold-
blooded lives in many ways.
Dr. Carr's final chapter is an unsenti-
mental reminder that the destruction of
all primitive nature, including the rep-
tiles, is but a matter of time, unless hu-
Beautiful, authoritative
bool(s on
nature's wonders
THE NATURAL HISTORY
OF NORTH AMERICAN
AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES
James A. Oliver, Director, American
Museum of Natural History. A fasci-
nating account of the foll<lore, life
histories, mating habits, and idio-
syncrasies of the lizards, frogs,
toads, turtles, and snakes of North
America. 86 illustrations provide
unique records of their life stages.
?, $7.95
AMERICAN SPIDERS
Willis J. Gertsch, American Museum
of Natural History. How spiders live,
worl<, and reproduce. "Dr. Gertsch's
book," says Edwin Way Teale in
Natural History, "is, and is likely to
remain for years to come, the book
on the natural history of North Amer-
ican spiders." 119 plates, 45 in
color. $7.95
AMERICAN SEA SHELLS
R. Tucker Abbott, Academy of Nat-
ural Sciences of Philadelphia.
RACHEL CARSON SAYS— "In my
opinion Dr. Abbott has done a superb
job.. .There are many books on
shells, but Dr. Abbott has achieved
a fresh and distinctively modern
treatment." Illustrated by 40 color
and black-and-white plates, and 100
line drawings. $15.00
THE BOOK OF BIRD LIFE, s ^.
2ntl ed.
Arthur A. Allen, formerly of Cornell
University. A complete revision of
this classic work. 250 illustrations,
many in full color. $9.75
10 DAY FREE EXAMINATION !
D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc.
Dept.T-NH-4, 120 Alexander St., Princeton, N.J.
Please sena me:
QTHE NATURAL HISTORY OF NORTH AMERI-
CAN AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES @ $7.95
n AMERICAN SPIDERS @ $7.95
□ AMERICAN SEA SHELLS @ $15.00
□ THE BOOK OF BIRD LIFE, 2nd ed. @ $9.75
Within 10 days 1 will remit purchase price,
plus small delivery cost, or return book(s)
and owe nothing.
Name-
SAVE! Remit with order and we pay delivery.
Same return privilege guaranteed.
Identification . . .
conservation . . .
cultivation . . .
never before has
a wild flower
book covered
all three.
WILD FLOWERS TO KNOW AND
GROW is worth its price for the unique
identification section alone— arranged
first by color, second by blooming time,
and illustrated with zoo color drawings,
to help you identify flowers you see in
a fraction of the time required with
other guides.
For gardening enthusiasts, Mrs. Hersey,
who grows more than a hundred kinds
of wild flowers herself, explains the
cultural needs of each plant, tells how
to propagate by seeds and cuttings,
how to transplant, how to make ter-
rariams and enjoy native plants as
food, suggests places to look for wild
flowers and tells which ones never to
pick or dig. A whole section devoted to
the need and methods for wild flower
conservation tells exactly how you can
help this rich heritage. Send check for
$6.95 to the publishers today. Money
refunded if you're not delighted. VAN
NOSTRAND, Dept. T-NH-4, Prince-
ton. N. J.
don't remove your glasses
]
^^
.--*T^9||^^sS^
i^s^Hiii
ii '.
■
1
1^
...just raise your
Zeiss binoculars!
Carl Zeiss makes compact sports binocu-
lars, with 20 optical elements and con-
vertible, soft-rubber eyecups, designed for
use with or without eyeglasses or sun-
glasses. They practically double your field
of view. Strong enough to withstand all
climatic conditions. Models 8X30B
7X50B and 8X50B. At leading photo, sports
dealers, and Guild opticians. W/rite Dept.
28 for free binoculars booklet.
Carl Zeiss, Inc, 444 Fifth Ave., New York 18, N.Y.
6
manity"s conscience and responsibility
are somehow awakened. He visualizes,
sometime in the future, the last snake as
it confronts a man. The latter unthink-
ingly picks up the last stick lying on the
ground. He raises the stick, then lowers
it, then raises it again. Dr. Carr's vision
fades at this point.
More books like this one may make
such a vision more remote.
Georg Zappler
The American Museum
1001 Questions Answered About
Flowers, by Norman Taylor. Dodd,
Mead & Co., $6.00; .335 pp., illus.
The question-and-answer method of
nature study instruction lends a
certain zestful and entertaining quality
to a self-teaching text such as the present
book, which is similar in format to the
previously published titles in the popular
"1001 Questions Answered" series.
Norman Taylor, the well-known au-
thor of numerous botanical and horti-
cultural works and editor of Taylor's
Encyclopedia of Gardening, has ar-
ranged his 1001 questions and answers
in eight main categories and has sub-
divided these under more specific sub-
jects. The major groups include: "Form
and Function of Flowers," "The Or-
chids," "Eastern Wildflowers." "West-
ern Wildflowers." "Older Cultivated
Flowers." "Cultivated Flowers Today,"
"Flowers from Trees and Shrubs,"
and "Some Tropical and Subtropical
Flowers." As examples of the smaller
sections, under "Eastern Wildflowers"
we find: flowers in swamps, bogs, or
water; flowers in moist places; wood-
land flowers; shrubs and trees; flowers
in open, but not dry places: flowers in
open, dry places; introduced flowers.
Here is a helpful, informative book
for junior groups and a refresher-stimu-
lant for older readers. An excellent in-
dex adds to its usefulness as a ready-
reference guide.
Eliz.abeth C. Hall
A'. Y. Botanical Garden
Biology of Birds, by Wesley E. Lanyon.
Natural History Press. Paperback.
SI. 25: 186 pp., illus. Cloth. S3. 95: 175
pp., illus.
BIRD biology books used to be few in
number; they deah with such topics
as fossil record, comparative anatomy,
feathers, migration routes, schedules, and
breeding habits. Of late, general trea-
tises have been bulky and costly or rather
limited in coverage. Lanyon's book is of
field guide size. It includes the older
standard topics, usually tersely ("Classi-
fication of Birds" gets twenty lines ) , then
goes beyond into many of the concepts
from the current broad spectrum of avian
biology. The reader encounters the bio-
logical species, the physiological basis
migratory behavior, navigation, orien
tion. habitat selection, functions of <
plays, population turnover, and so on
smattering of fairly technical terms (
ample: Homoiothermy) are defined w!
used. The sixty-four illustrations rt-l
closely to the accompanying text; set
is worldwide. There is an appendix
vernacular and technical names, sugj
tions for further reading, and a good ind
Anyone with a field guide level of
terest in birds will do well to broac
his store of general information by re;
ing this book. It will impart an idea
all sorts of variations in birds and j<
vide an introduction to the diversity'
approaches currently applied to study
the living bird. This is a good book, avi
able at a modest price.
Ralph S. Palm
Vniv. of the State of New Yt
The View From a Distant Star. '
Harlow Shapley. Basic Books, In
S4.95: 212 pp.
Advice from a wise man of tremendo
. experience is presented by a gre
astronomer in this small book. The nai
of Harlow Shapley is surely as wi
known throughout the world as is t
name of any living astronomer. Wliat !
has to say about Homo sapiens—his pla
in the universe, his possible chances
survival wherever in the universe he m:
have appeared, and what he had belt
do to insure that survival-is well woil
reading and pondering.
Many men have written about the ii
possibility of complex life on any of tl
other planets of the solar system ai
about the statistical possibility of life <
planets in orbit about stars other th;
the sun. but few have done so as well ar
as excitingly as Dr. Shapley. His opinic
is "we are in a proper position to say co'
fidently that there must be life-livir
biochemicals— all over the universe." \^
know that there is, in any event, an obje
that must be a planet in orbit about oi
of our neighbor stars-Barnard's Star.
Having made his point in explicit d'
tail. Dr. Shapley goes on to present tl
narrow range of essentials for the d.
velopment of human beings from certai
of these biochemicals, and the equall
narrow range of conduct that must b
observed if man, once developed, is t
survive. The last and probably most in
portant of the rules for survival is tha
living creatures must be "so conditione
by ignorance or morality that they wil
not destroy all life, including their owr
by poisons or planet disruption."
As for the inhabitants of this partic
ular "minor object in one small corne
of the immense universe of planets, stars
and galaxies," they would do well to rea(
and think deeply on these words of ;
wise and, I believe, a great man so tha
ir days may be long in the land. The
t half of the book is a prescription
survival on our planet and should be
;rnationally required reading.
James S. Pickering
The American Museum-
Hayden Planetarium
E Insects, by Peter Farb. Time, Inc.,
95; 192 pp.,iUus.
LTHOUGH an increasing number of
L popular books dealing with one or
ither aspect of entomology is appeai--
today, few encompass the entire field.
s gratifying, therefore, to see that this
)k is a good introduction to the ecol-
', evolution, anatomy, physiology, de-
Dpment, and behavior of the six-legged
liropods. The author, Peter Farb, not
y presents a balanced account of in-
ts; he does so in a most masterful
bion. I have never seen so much in-
jsting and entertaining material in-
porated in such a small space for
sentation to the lay public. The lucid,
ilanatory style paves a smooth path
the reader through such complicated
jects as hormonal control of metamor-
isis, and communication among the
leybees. Especially welcome is the
iplete avoidance of the entomology
tbook approach so often encountered
rolumes for a general audience.
Ls in other books of the "Life Nature
rary," illustrations and photographs
an important feature of the presenta-
1. Relatively simple but effective
wings placed in the margins illustrate
cific points in the text. To supplement
text, the editors have included after
h chapter a pictorial— primarily pho-
raphic— essay. For example, the chap-
dealing with insect metamorphosis is
owed by "Forms in Flux," demon-
iting the extremely interesting work
hormonal control of metamorphosis in
Cecropia moth and showing the vari-
. stages in the development of a num-
of insect groups. The quality of the
tures throughout the book is gener-
/ superb and, combined with the text,
kes this a vivid, exciting view into the
:-history of insects.
Jerome G. Rozen, Jr.
The American Museum
Study of Bird Song, by Edward A.
tnstrong. Oxford University Press,
1.50; 335 pp., illus.
I some respects this book is a com-
plementary volume to W. H. Thorpe's
'd-Song, for much of Edward Arm-
ong's material in A Study of Bird
%g is taken from field natural history,
ereas Thorpe's approach was largely
experimental one. Both works use the
m "song" in the very broad sense to
lude all utterances, as well as non-
;al sounds, and therefore are treatises
acoustic communication in birds.
Attracts Song Birds Alt Winter
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1
Armstrong's book, the culmination of
a lifelong interest in bird behavior, is
similar in format to his earlier volume,
Bird Display, which became a classic in
its field. Some of the photographs from
this earlier volume v^^ere re-used, and
those that have been added are not espe-
cially informative or well chosen— they
only add to the cost of a volume that is
already excessively high in price. By con-
trast, the many graphs and tables add
considerably to the text. Included in the
text is a consideration and classification
of vocalizations according to the informa-
tion they presumably convey, their form
and structure, and their relationships to
the birds' annual cycle. There is a re-
view of the development of vocahzations
and the subject of mimicry. The subject
of geographical variation and the use of
avian vocalizations in systematic work
appears to have been better covered here
than in Thorpe's book. However, there is
only superficial treatment of sound pro-
duction and hearing, subjects that were
given greater emphasis by Thorpe. The
influence of the physical environment on
vocalizations, and bird song as "play"
and "art" round out the coverage.
Naturalists and biologists in general
will find much of interest in this care-
fully executed treatment of a very popu-
lar subject. Some may take issue with
Armstrong on certain of his views, for
example, his concept of "subsong" and
the degree of plasticity that he ascribes
to song after the latter has become fully
developed. The author maintains that it
is probable the songs of blue-winged and
golden-winged warblers are "inborn,"
but this seems quite improbable to me.
Research-minded ornithologists will
find A Study of Bird Song most useful,
however, for its review of the literature
and for the provocative problems it
raises and leaves unsolved. In addition,
there is an impressive bibliography and
an addenda section that includes literary
citations as recent as 1962. The volume
has been carefully indexed, further in-
creasing its usefulness as a research tool.
Wesley E. Lanyon
The American Museum
The Mammals, by Richard Carrington.
Time, Inc., $3.95; 192 pp., illus.
THE increasing interest in mammals
is reflected in the large number of
books devoted to them in the past dec-
ade. This volume in the "Life Nature
Library" series is an excellent contribu-
tion and should add measurably to this
awakening interest. The book is divided
into eight parts, the first of which exam-
ines the variety of mammals, including
characteristics of the orders and adapta-
tions for life in different environments.
Mammalian evolution is adequately dis- '
cussed, with excellent representation of !
some evolutionary highlights. Modes of '
movement are then presented, followed ,
by mammal diets. Adaptations for food- ■':
getting, feeding habits, specialized feed- |
ers, and food storage are included. I
Methods of attack, defense, and sur- )
vival are outlined, followed by an ac- 1
count of predation and survival devices.!
Home life, migration, and hibernation j
are discussed in some detail. Reproduc- -
tion, the life of the young, and family i
behavior are ably presented. The last
part of the book deals with the evolution- )
ary history of man, with emphasis on ;
primate radiation into a variety of sue- ^
cessful types. Eighty-three well-selected^
references and a suitable index complete ]
this interesting volume. ,
The illustrations, both colored and j
line drawings, are the best this reviewer :
has seen. Not a single one has been j
selected merely to embellish the text; ;
rather, they complement it. The marginal j
picture essays are particularly good and
briefly but accurately detail a fine bio- j
logical account of the mammals. This 1
very readable work will be of consider- j
able value to the student of biology, and i
should find a place as supplemental
reading in every mammalogy course. [
W. J. Hamilton, Jr. !
Cornell University .
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AND PENDANT
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cestor, and he was considered a culture hero of the
)rthwest Coast tribes. $6.00 ppd.
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mbers of the Museum are entitled to a 10% discount
Please send your ctieck or money order to .
The American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York 10024
by HRTHUR LEIPZIG
OR many years, doctors and scientists had
hoped to find and examine a population that
lived in virtual silence, so that they could assess
the hearing capability of the human ear in a
natural environment uncontaminated by the
noises of a modern industrial society.
In the 1950's, stories circulated in medical
circles in Europe and the United States of an
African tribe known as the Meban, which in-
habited an isolated and extremely quiet part of
the bush country of the Sudan near the Ethi-
opian border. Reliable information on the
Meban was scanty because the tribe had been
almost totally bypassed by anthropologists.
Neighbors of the Meban— the Nuer, Dinka, and
Shilluk tribes, among others— have been the
subjects of some thoroughgoing anthropologi-
cal studies, but literature ofl the Meban is spec-
ulative and contradictory even today. There is
no consensus about the name of the tribe, which
has been variously referred to as Barun, Burun,
Mabaan, and Maban in some literature, and is
known by other names locally.
In the past three years, however, three ex-
peditions went into the Sudan to study the
Meban. All were under the leadership of Dr.
Samuel Rosen, consulting ear surgeon at Mount
leban villagers are seen in a hamlet
111 the bush country of Sudan. Meban
culture, physiology, and hearing were
the subjects of recent scientific study.
' ':"^-"'\i "
i
:<■%. ..-V*.-i- '']..
.,JyJ^^;
Sinai Hospital, New York, and a mem
ber of the faculty of the College o
Physicians and Surgeons, Columbii
University. Expedition members con
ducted broad studies of the hearinj
and physiology of the Meban tribes
people, and gathered informatioi
about their culture. '
In March, 1963, in Khartoum, capi
tal city of the Sudan, I joined the mos^
recent of Dr. Rosen's expeditions a;
an observer and photographer. Wher
I arrived, most members of the expedi
tion were already in Khartoum anc
had nearly completed preparations foi
the coming 650-mile trip into bush
country. Expedition headquarter;
were in the Grand Hotel, which stands
liasoline can is used to carry water.
Woman bearing can is married, which I
is signified by "tail" of beads she wears. |
;s the street from the Blue Nile
:. Around the hotel one saw the
ish in white shorts, white knee
;, white shirts, and pith helmets,
when 1 met the members of the
dition, many were similarly
;ed. Dr. Rosen's team included ear
eye specialists, physiologists, a
iologist, an epidemiologist, and a
hiatrist. Dr. Mohamed Satti, the
;miologist, was Sudanese, and had
1 as chief expediter for the trip,
he time of my arrival, he had se-
d trucks. Land Rovers, drivers,
Sudanese personnel.
. the company of Drs. Satti and
!n, I went to the warehouse to in-
t the expedition's gear. The equip-
t included noise-level meters
;hing forty to fifty pounds each,
four audiometers of about thirty
ids each. The latter were tran-
tlderly woman smokes a pipe that is a
special example of tribe's handicraft.
Most local artifacts are much simpler.
Illeban live in the southeastern Sudan.
From Khartoum, doctors went toBoing,
where study of tribe was carried out.
sistorized and battery powered, am
had been "tropicalized" to withstam
high temperatures and humidity. I wa
also shown a variety of more familia'
medical equipment, including bloo(
pressure gauges, tongue depressors
ear and nose speculums, and ea
syringes. In the same warehouse weri
our provisions and hundreds o
pounds of beads, safety pins, rings
toys, and other trinkets that were t<
be gifts for the Meban.
During the short time that remaine(
for us in Khartoum, I could not hel)
acting the part of the tourist. The cit;
of small brown adobe houses, with th^
Heration removes moisture from dura,
a millet seed that is used in making a
gray gruel, various breads, and a beer. !
..^%.
:#
yc.- "jsi*^^
«^i,^.
h,Z
-"'■■ ^"^-^
a^S^disSS
ert in the distance, reminded me
countless French Foreign Legion
[IS I had watched as a boy. Arabs
1 native markets are reminiscent of
days of Gordon and Kitchener;
sques bring alive the Mahdi and his
latic followers.
was on a Thursday that the first
section of the expedition— lorries
ded with equipment and provisions
sft the city. Drs. Schulze and Jans-
1, physiologists of the Max Planck
ititute in Germany, traveled with
; caravan in their own vehicle. Most
ambers, including Dr. Rosen and his
fe, left by air two days after the
)tor caravan had gone. I was in the
st plane to depart— a two-engine
ssna that would take us to a mission-
y landing strip at Doro, near Boing,
^<^Skh&lLiLA.
j-?W^
our final objective. Once inside the
plane, the pilot had second thoughts;
he argued that he did not know how to
reach Doro, nor did he want to make
the attempt, for he believed the mission
runway would be too small for the
Cessna to land safely. Dr. Dietrich Ples-
ter, of DiJsseldorf, Germany, and Dr.
Satti assured the pilot that they knew
the way from previous expeditions,
and he took off. When we were air-
borne, the two men handled the naviga-
tion, pointing out familiar landmarks.
When the Cessna finally put down
at Doro, we were welcomed by some
1.50 beautifully bluish-black Meban
and a few white missionaries. After
those following by air joined us, the
expedition drove to Boing in the com-
pany of missionaries and local ofifi-
cials. In the language of the Meban,
III oilier and a child grind dura with
pole outside their home. The tribe is
polygamous, and each wife has own hut.
Boing means "Arab settlement." It is
the main center of trade for the tribe,
which numbers 20,000. The tribespeo-
ple exchange their agricultural surplus
for the clothing, jewelry, pottery, and
hardware of the merchants. I dis-
covered later that a merchant who
desires some specific article of Meban
craftsmanship— a musical instrument
for instance— will send a runner through
the countryside to make the announce-
ment. Anyone who owns the specified
instrument brings it to the merchant
if he wants to make a trade. Boing is
made up of the shops of the Arabs, a
shoemaker, a slaughterhouse, a gov-
ernment radio shack, a newly built
15
public school with dormitories, and a
prison. On Sunday evening, the motor
caravan finally arrived in Boing, and
the expedition's woi'k began in earnest
the next morning.
■n the weeks that followed, hundreds
' of Meban came to Boing to offer
themselves as test subjects. At the sug-
gestion of the Sudanese, we gave gifts
of clothing to each testee. For this pur-
pose, local merchants had made hun-
dreds of pairs of pants and shirts.
When given a choice, however, the
Meban preferred trinkets, such as
safety pins and dime store jewelry,
because they had little need for clothes.
Of the many gifts taken to induce the
Meban to co-operate back in 1961,
those things that Dr. Rosen had be-
l6
lieved most likely to please them often
proved least effective. For example, on
his first expedition he anticipated that
women would like shiny bottle caps,
perhaps to string like beads and wear
around their abdomens. When he took
inventory, he found that thousands of
the bottle caps were left over, but that
almost the entire supply of safety pins
had been taken. Traditionally, both
men and women have worn jewelry
made of snail shells in their ears, noses,
and lips, and the pins proved popular
as decorations for the same parts of
the body. But gadgets that made
sparks were the most successful gifts
offered. Crowds of Meban, Dr. Rosen
recalled, gathered whenever anyone
operated a sparking toy.
The Meban are an extremely comely
Doul Boady, who has on his forehead
lines incised when he was a Nuer slave,
is Meban tribal council's elected chief.
people. They have a graceful carriage,
well-developed muscles, and erect pos-
ture. Until recently, if they wore any
clothing it was no more than a loin-
cloth. These days, though, the women
may sometimes dress in a simple shift,
and the men occasionally wear the
undershirts and shorts provided by
missionaries. School children dress for
classes. In addition to the jewelry men
and women wear in their noses, ears,
and lips, necklaces and finger rings are
common, and married women usually
wear a colorful, beaded "tail" sus-
pended from a waistband.
Facial markings are traditional and
ubiquitous. The Meban marks, made
Slivers of wood in this boy's lower
lip and nose keep open holes pierced
for the tribe's traditional ornaments.
Illother shows cosmetic marks cut into
her skin when she was young girl. Lip
and nose rings are gifts from doctors.
n both men and women, are three
lashes on each cheek. These begin at
le cheekbone and extend down the
[leek about two inches. Children re-
eive these marks when they are eight
r nine, and we were told that the
larking is done by women. Four
romen hold a child down; a fifth
lakes the marks with a sharp stone
nd then puts hot ashes into the
rounds to prevent smooth healing. At
ome point after puberty, boys and
iris mark their own bodies; some
lay ask other members of the tribe to
o it for them. The designs are elabor-
te representations of plants and ani-
tials, or are geometric abstractions,
"he tribe produces very little pottery,
,0 metalwork, some beautifully shaped
lipes, and simple musical instruments,
lut the rare decorations that I saw on
heir earthenware and woodwork were
ruder than the designs the people
nade on their skins.
At puberty, all children have the
wo lower incisors removed. Boys are
xpected to conceal pain, but girls may
;ry out. If a boy is remembered for
lis lack of courage during the tooth
)ulling, he may well be rejected when
he time comes for him to seek a mate.
The Meban. unlike many tribes, do not
circumcise children. The few circum-
cised adults we encountered were old,
onetime captives of the more aggres-
sive neighbors of the Meban— Arabs,
Nuers, and others— and had been cir-
cumcised in their days of slavery.
TODAY, the Meban are still far more
peaceful than their neighbors. Me-
ban, in the tribe's language, means
"people of the village." According to
George P. Murdock, an eminent eth-
nologist now with the University of
Pittsburgh, Meban life runs true to the
pattern of all early Negro settlers of
the Nile. They live in large, compact
villages or groups of hamlets, and are
sedentary in that they do not go far
from home either to hunt or for any
other purpose. Meban houses are usu-
ally round huts, with walls of wattle
and mud, and a cone-shaped, thatched
roof. The tribe practices polygamy,
but Sudanese law limits each man to
four wives. Normally, a family occu-
pies a compound within which each
wife has a hut to raise children.
Most Meban marry at seventeen or
eighteen, and the newly married cou-
ples live in seclusion for about ten
days, with simple cloth pennants flying
from the tops of their huts. They some-
times fast while in seclusion, drinking
water brought to them by a relative.
The parents of the couple generally ar-
range the marriage at the request of
the man, but not against the woman's
wishes. The marriage contract may
include some cattle, paid to the parents
of the bride by the groom. More often
the groom will make payment in
spears, goats, or pigs, because the
Meban are cattle poor.
A young man without the means to
purchase his wife can pay for her by
working for her father. Sometimes
suitors have toiled for as long as two
years. A popular woman has many
suitors, all of whom may be working
for her father at the same time, and it
was such a situation that led to the
only altercation we observed while in
Boing. Briefly, the mother of a rejected
suitor was accused of casting a spell on
a young woman because she had mar-
ried a man other than her son. The
spell was believed to have caused the
bride to miscarry. In retaliation, her
groom killed the accused witch's son.
In this agrarian society, the division
of labor does not appear to be influ-
17
enced by magical or religious consid-
erations. In general, men and boys do
the heavy work and women and girls
busy themselves with less exhausting
but myriad chores. During the harvest,
for example, parties of men— with as
many as thirty in each group— pool
their efforts and work the land of each
member of the group in turn. The
wives of the property owner whose
crop is being harvested prepare meals
for the workmen, and send a midday
drink into the fields. The chief grain
food is a millet seed (Sorghum vul-
gare) , locally called dura, which grows
to maturity in three months. Several
crops are planted annually. After the
men harvest (iura— stamping the stalks
with their feet, or cutting them to the
ground— the stalks are sun-dried for
about a month. Women take over at
this stage and go into the fields to
separate the grain from the stalk by
hand. Then they store the grain in
family bins. Girls make flour by pour-
ing dura into a hole or hoUowed-out
log and pounding the grain with poles.
The chief product of dura flour is
a gruel that looks like gray mud. Dura
is also used to brew a beer, marisa, and
to make a hard bread that is also
known as dura, as well as a thin, fer-
mented bread called kisra.
Dry-season fishing, in the marshes
along the Yabus River and in the river
itself, provides fair quantities of fish
as a dietary supplement from Novem-
ber through May. The women cook the
fish, often together with okra, in oil
extracted from dried wild dates. Men
and boys spear some of the fish, but
the great majority are caught by the
women. They form a line across the
river and move slowly upstream in an
unbroken rank, using cone-shaped
baskets like a broad dragnet.
In addition to the above foods, the
men raise small patches of maize and
tobacco near the village, and women
keep a few chickens near their huts.
Finally, the tribesmen kill, with curved
throwing sticks, some small game,
such as rodents and wild guinea hens.
IIarvest is traditionally a time for
■1 choosing mates. Men and women
dance every night during the period
of reaping, and drink considerable
amounts of marisa. The accompanying
instruments include a five-string lyre,
a log spHt in half and hit with a stick,
and one-note woodwind pipes up to
three feet long— the typical band has
ten woodwinds. The dance is informal
and unpatterned, depends on improvi-
sation, and looks to a Westerner like
a combination of the twist and cha-
cha. Men and women usually face each
other during a dance, but dancers of
opposite sexes rarely if ever touch one
another. The harvest festivities begin
about 7:30 p.m. and often go on until
3:00 in the morning. Yet at 6:00 in
the morning, the Meban get up and go
back into the fields. I joined the fes-
tivities one night, and had the privilege
of dancing opposite the best woman
dancer in the tribe. By 10:30 p.m. I
was exhausted and half-choked with
dust raised by the shuffling feet.
Except for slight contact with mer-
chants and Sudanese officials, the Me-
ban have lived in cultural isolation for
many, many generations. One of the
main concerns of the Rosen expedi-
tions was to record the way of life of
the Meban, because more and more oi
the tribe's children are being educated
in Sudanese schools, where they learn
about the Moslem religion, the United
Nations, and the awakening Africa be-
yond their own borders. To many oi
these children, the tribal ways may
soon appear shamefully primitive. In
a changing Africa, the customs that
existed at the time of Dr. Rosen's ex-
peditions may soon vanish forever,
(To be continued in May) ,
uring harvest, all evenings are spent
ncing and mates are chosen. Usually,
me sex dance together, as seen at left.
Excitement of harvest dance shows in
face of musician, who has put down his
one-note woodwind pipe for a breather.
■C-,i^'^»
:-tsii
u&
-- Xl^^ -^
'i.^
• >, *
-mi-i,!^
Footprint of a Festningen Iguanodon,
left, is over 2 feet long and almost as
wide. Casts of 13 prints are made on
nearly vertical sandstone wall, above.
Dinosaurs of
The Arctic
New find extends Cretaceous tropics
By Edwin H. Colbert
IN THE LATE AFTERNOON of AugUSt 3,
1960, a small group of geologists
from several countries made its way
along the top of a sandstone cliff on
the coast of West Spitsbergen, one of
the islands halfway between the north-
ern tip of the Scandinavian Peninsula
and the North Pole.
They were members of a field ex-
cursion under the leadership of Pro-
fessor Anatol Heintz of the University
of Oslo and his associates, arranged
and sponsored by the Twenty-first
International Geological Congress.
This particular excursion had sailed to
Spitsbergen on the ship Valkyrien,
from which, as a base, the members of
the group explored the island.
They reached the Festningsodden
beacon, located on a vertical sand-
stone cliff of Cretaceous age, and two
members of the group — Professor
Albert F. de Lapparent of Paris and
Robert Laffitte - climbed down the
cliff to the shore. As they looked up
at the wall towering above them, they
saw on its surface, highlighted by the
long, slanting rays of the late after-
noon sun, the impressions of huge
footprints. Within a few moments the
rest of the group had clambered down
the cliff to look at the tracks.
They counted thirteen footprints,
each distinctly three-toed, and each
about thirty inches in length. Seven
of the prints formed a trackway some
twenty feet long, quite obviously made
by an animal walking on its hind legs.
The other footprints were scattered in
various directions. There could be no
doubt in the minds of the viewers that
they were looking at the footprints of
a large dinosaur. At first the geologists
were inclined to think that the impres-
sions were those of a gigantic, meat-
eating dinosaur of Cretaceous age,
similar to Tyrannosaurus or Gorgo-
saurus. But careful examination of the
prints showed no traces of claws, and
it was therefore concluded that they
were probably made by one of the
large, blunt-toed, herbivorous dino-
saurs. Subsequent study of the prints
convinced Professor de Lapparent on
several counts that these were made by
the Lower Cretaceous plant-eating
dinosaur Iguanodon.
The discovery of these dinosaurian
footprints was exciting and frustrat-
ing. In the words of de Lapparent:
"As this discovery was entirely unex-
pected, we were unable to make cast-
"^4 S NoIth
1S^
ings. . . . We did not even have a piece
of chalk, to show up the outlines of
the prints. . . . After having measured
the footmarks and made sketches, we
were obliged to leave, as the Valkyrien
was waiting to depart. . . ."
THE importance of these tracks was
such, however, that plans were
made to return for the express purpose
of making some casts. (The problems
of trying to cut any of the tracks out
of the rock were too great for any such
attempt to be seriously considered.)
Accordingly, members of the staff of
the Paleontological Museum in Oslo,
notably Miss Lily Monsen and Mr.
Arne W. Martinsen, experimented dur-
ing the winter of 1960-61 with differ-
ent casting methods and materials, in
preparation for the trip. The cliff on
which the tracks are exposed is ver-
tical — even slightly overhanging —
raised to this position from its original
horizontal condition by earth forces
acting through geologic time, and this
presented great difficulties to mold-
making. Second, temperatures are low
even in summer. Finally, the air is
humid and the cliff is frequently
moistened by salt spray, which, to-
gether with the low temperatures, af-
fects the setting of casting compounds.
With all experiments and plans
made, the expedition set out to make
the casts in August, 1961. Miss Monsen
and Mr. Martinsen were among the
party, as were Dr. Natascha Heintz of
the Norwegian Polar Institute, who
had been especially concerned with the
organization of the previous year's
trip, and Mr. E. Stahl of the University
of Uppsala. Dogged persistence, com-
bined with hard work and ingenuity,
enabled the party to complete a series
of latex emulsion molds, and the ex-
pedition returned to Oslo with some
excellent casts as a record of the
Iguanodon of Festningen.
If the members of the 1960 field con-
ference were rightly astonished with
their discovery of these large dino-
saurian tracks in Spitsbergen, it is fair
to say that since then many paleon-
tologists throughout the world have
been equally astonished. Iguanodon
is a dinosaur hitherto known from
England and northern Europe, where
numerous skeletons and some foot-
prints have been unearthed and de-
scribed during the past century and a
half. To find indications of this large
dinosaur in Spitsbergen means, of
course, that in Early Cretaceous times
there must have been some sort of land
connection between what is now an
Arctic island and the European con-
tinent. It requires no great stretch of
the imagination to think of Spitsber-
gen as part of the continent in a former
geologic age, for today the ocean be-
tween Spitsbergen and North Cape is
less than three hundred fathoms deep.
What is of particular importance
is that this discovery extends the range
of Cretaceous dinosaurs— of any dino-
saurs, for that matter— far north of
previous limits. Festningen Point is at
Lat. 78° 06' N. In other words, it is
12 degrees from the North Pole.
Hitherto, the most northerly records
for dinosaurs have been at somewhat
less than 60 degrees, and for Cre-
taceous forms at about 52 degrees in
Eurasia and 56 degrees in North
America. We have long known that
dinosaurs were spread across the globe
during Cretaceous times, but the dis-
covery in Spitsbergen has extended
their range to much greater limits.
The northwardly extension of the
dinosaurs of Cretaceous age, interest-
ing though it may be in expanding the
recorded range of these reptiles during
the culminating phases of their evolu-
tionary development, is of added
significance in its implications con-
cerning the environments and climates
in which they lived. We may assume,
and quite rightly, if our knowledge of
modern reptiles is to have any bearing
on reptiles long extinct, that the giant
dinosaurs of Mesozoic times were
tropical and subtropical animals. We
may also suppose that the dinosaurs,
like modern reptiles, were ectothermic
vertebrates, animals in which there
were no internal temperature controls,
and in which the body temperatures
were closely correlated with the tem-
peratures of their environments. Such
being the case, the dinosaurs ura
have lived in tropical and subtropig
climes, as do modern crocodiles. Ce
tainly they were far too large to bu
row underground to escape co'
waters, as the lizards and snakes d
Upon the basis of this reasoning it ci
be stipulated that the footprints
large dinosaurs were made, and the
bones were buried, in lands of p«
petual summer, no cooler than soirf
ern Florida is today. i
Consequently, the discovery
I guanodon tracks in Spitsbergen rei
forces and even extends the idea, loi
held by many geologists and paleo
tologists, that the Cretaceous woi
was largely tropical. Equable climal
allowed large dinosaurs to exist frc
the tips of the southern continents ai
from Australia through the mid(
latitudes and north into what is ni
Canada, northern Eurasia, and on
Spitsbergen. It would seem to h;i
been a world in which there were
polar icecaps and in which there w(
probably very poorly defined temp
ature belts. If there were temper:
regions as we know them, they mi
have been at the poles, while all I
rest of the globe enjoyed subtropii
and tropical climates.
How is such an ancient world toi
explained? One explanation, essi
tially the one that has just been
counted, supposes a world of gene
climatic uniformity, with the coi
nents in their present positions. 1
evidence for such a supposition is
the rocks; one need only to postul
that for some unknown reason, p
haps extraterrestrial, climates of thi
ancient days were not zoned. j
MANY geologists today are, he
ever, not satisfied with such
explanation. For more than hall
century numerous students of ea
history have favored the theory of c
tinental drift, which supposes that
present land masses were originj
combined in a single ancestral c
tinent, Pangaea, and which furtl
supposes that Pangaea fragmented,:
different components drifting throi
time to their present positions. .
cording to this theory most of
drifting was along the lines of latitm
consequently, continental drift d
not offer any explanation beyond
previous one to account for dinosa
—and, correlatively, tropical dims
—being found in high latitudes.
In recent years another theory, t
polar wandering, based on studies
paleomagnetism, has attracted much
tention and gained many adherents,
le study of rock magnetism would
em to indicate (if certain assump-
)ns are made) that in former geo-
gic ages the poles were not situated
they are now in relation to the
mtinents. Thus, the interpretation of
leomagnetism in Cretaceous rocks
ight show, according to some author-
es, that the North Pole during that
ologic period was at a point in
irthern Siberia or, according to
her authorities, near the tip of
aska. But in either of these inter-
etations, Spitsbergen would have
en in far northern latitudes— say at
I or 60 degrees— and we are still
ced with the necessity of supposing
widely tropical world to account for
B Festningen footprints.
Consequently, no matter which
eory of past continental relation-
ips or polar positions is advocated,
; must almost, perforce, postulate a
rgely tropical world to explain the
ide range of Cretaceous dinosaurs,
ider no theory is the significance of
s Spitsbergen footprints diminished.
Iguanodon was first described in
25 by Gideon Mantell, a rather ce-
ntric physician-scientist, who spent
nch of his life collecting and study-
g fossil bones from the Lower Cre-
ceous, or Wealden beds, of southern
igland. To Mantell, the bones of the
ealden revealed an England of an-
;nt ages quite unlike the England of
neteenth-century days— one of tropi-
1 aspect, inhabited by gigantic rep-
es. Through the years this concept
s been extended by the successors
Mantell until today it encompasses
e world. And it has grown by the ac-
mulation of separate discoveries,
le by one, and year after year. The
otprints of Festningen constitute one
the latest and especially important
scoveries in the long sequence of
ientific effort that began almost a
ntury and a half ago. They confirm
id extend the tropical world of Cre-
ceous times and they record the wide
inderings of Iguanodon through
ngies that can now be seen only
ithin the limits of the Tropic of Can-
r and the Tropic of Capricorn,
ley take us back to a vanished world.
ECONSTRUCTION shows the dinosaur's
obable appearance. It may have been
lout 40 feet long and 16 feet high.
Mixlticolored World
of Caterpillars
\yy Paul Villiard
J^luch has been written about but-
terflies and moths, their beauty, and
the strange and wonderful defense me-
chanisms they exhibit, but compara-
tively little has been said about the
earlier stages of these insects. Actually,
in the ferval stage, butterflies and
moths are often as beautiful as the
adult form, and many put the adult to
shame in design, color, and "person-
ality." Despite the gaudy colors many
caterpillars exhibit, their camouflage
effect is such that most people go
through life without seeing more than
a few stragglers of the commoner spe-
cies, and generally these are dis-
covered by accident.
Several types of camouflage occur
in caterpillars. Cryptic mimicry, for
example, consists of patterns or appar-
ently random designs that allow the
insect to blend into its background un-
til it is almost invisible, or at least very
inconspicuous. Often caterpillars are
brilliantly colored, yet, when they are
feeding on the leaves of a bush or tree
they are almost impossible to detect by
virtue of their gaudiness. The mark-
ings take the form of zigzag lines, dots,
and short lines running horizontally,
vertically, or diagonally on each of the
segments. Bright colors in irregular
blotches or patches all help to break up
the continuous outline of a caterpillar.
Many species have brilliant metallic
spots on their sides. Gold in some
cases, silver in others, these mirror-like
areas simulate sunshine or moonlight
glimmering through the leaves. The
result of this simple device is that the
predator loses sight of the outline of
the caterpillar itself. This, coupled
with the ability of caterpillars to re-
main motionless for extended periods
of time helps create the illusion that
they are not actually there.
Often this mimicry is assisted by a
characteristic attitude assumed in time
of danger. Because of their short vi-
sion and poor hearing ability, if any,
probably the first danger warning
caterpillars receive is the shaking of
the branch as a bird alights. This trig-
gers an instantaneous assumption of a
defense posture, and it is often at such
times that the greatest beauty of the
caterpillar can be seen.
In aposematic mimicry, the cater-
pillar adopts the warning colors of
some creature inimical to a predator,
or of some unpalatable substance. An
example of the latter is the almost per-
fect resemblance to bird droppings
found in the early instars (periods be-
tween molts) of many species.
Combinations of coloration and as-
pect can sometimes be very striking.
CTecond stage Brahmaea ivallichii has
four large, black head processes. They
disappear after the insect's fourth molt.
One such example is the "horned" cat- i
erpillar of Brahmaea ivallichii (for a
picture of the adult of this moth, seej
Natural History, June-July, 1963).!
In time of danger, the head and first]
two segments curve down tightly un-
der the ventral surface. This posture i
exposes and stretches the skin between 5
the third and fourth segments, enlarg-
ing two oval black spots located be-;
tween them, and two smaller spots in '
the fold between the second and third i
segments. The latter form the "nos-j
trils," and the large spots are thai
"eyes" of what appears to be a great]
staring face surrounded by four men-'
acing "horns" that stand straight out;
from the body. The caterpillar whips]
its fore parts back and forth across the|
branch, as though it were about toj
spring at its foe. After the fourth instar \
the horns on this caterpillar disappear. ,
They are shed with the skin and re-j
placed with four pale blue, pearlyi
spots. The sides of the first three seg-;
ments are now lined with black in such|
fashion that when the head is lowered!
in its characteristic defense position, ,
the caterpillar resembles a scaly rep-j
tile. When the body rears up on the'
branch, it looks extraordinarily like a\
Chinese dragon in miniature.
I
..C^nother important defense mecha- '
nism found in a large number of spe-
cies is the growth on the bodies of
urticating (stinging) spines in greater-
or lesser abundance. Perhaps this does ,
not afford too much protection for ;
some individual specimens, but a bird |
or other predator will learn to avoid 1
a species after having been irritated I
enough times, and the remaining '
members survive. However, the hirsute'
coverings, whether or not they are'
urticating, provide no defense against 1
parasitizing enemies, and so even these ■
well-armed species form the food sup-
iN ative to Japan and other parts of |
Asia, a Dictyoploca japonica is shown '
here at more than twice its actual size, i
24
Xjunched spines of Automeris io, at
the left, are highly urticating. It spins
fragile cocoon on ground under leaves.
Vt hite stripes of this Rothschildii
speculifera caterpillar become orang<
when larva is about to begin pupation
jA. n Eacles imperialis in green phase
clings to twig, left, as it feeds on pine.
The caterpillar also has a brown phase.
_A. frican species Nudaurelia cytherei
was raised on sumac, Rhus glabra. Th'
insect passes pupal period in ground
y for a host of other creatures. It is
tonishing that any at all survive
hen one considers the tremendous
edation pressures under which these
sects constantly live. Michael Collins
id Robert Weast, in their studies of
Ik moths of the United States, esti-
aled that it would take about 40,000
rtile ova to maintain a race of 200
lulls of a given species.
Some non-indigenous caterpillar
lecies seem to have a limited adapta-
lity to temperature. Below 65° F.
ost tropical and exotic species show
insiderable reduction of their feeding
te and' the attendant rate of growth.
)r instance, Atlacus alias edwardsi
rvae feed sporadically or not at all,
ing quiescently along the twig or on
e leaf for days at a time. If they
rvive to pupate, the majority either
) not live through that process, or
ey die later in the pupal stage. The
w who may emerge as adults are gen-
ally weak and fail to expand their
ings completely. Progeny from such
lults are rarely healthy and vigorous,
t temperatures ranging below 55° F.,
number of exotic species and most
opical caterpillars fail to survive if
e cold continues for a long time.
Jn the other hand, the feeding rate
many caterpillars accelerates tre-
endously as the temperature rises,
ouble-brooded species, such as
ctias luna or Anlheraea pernyi, main-
ined in a constant temperature of
)out 85° F. will feed to maturity,
ipate, emerge, mate, and oviposit,
id the second brood larvae will be
arted, while members of the same
•ood kept at a temperature of 65° F.
ill be only in their second or third
star. Temperature differences affect
e rate of growth of domestic species,
so, but not to nearly so great a de-
ee. Moreover, species that are in-
genous to the temperate zones seem
itter able to withstand prolonged
;riods of cold than do those from
armer regions, although they may be
itarded for a considerable period if
:e temperature drops suddenly or if
rains for many days. During this
me they either stop feeding or eat
;ry little. However, when the weather
arms again and the sun dries the
iliage, the larvae will recommence
;eding, and apparently the only efEect
E the hiatus is to move the time of
aturation back by the approximate
ngth of time the larvae were deterred
om feeding by the cold spell.
JJ ickory-horned devil is one common
appellation of the Citheronia regalis,
which is frequently seven inches long.
It pupates in the ground and, despite
the caterpillar's large size, it develops
into a relatively small, orange moth.
In addition to temperature, humid-
ity—or the lack of it— is the cause of
many failures in the rearing of foreign
species. Antheraea mylitta of central
and southern India and Ceylon, for
instance, demands a great amount of
humidity. In fact, actually dripping
foliage is even more to its advantage.
That this insect is highly adapted to
wet conditions is brought strongly to
our attention when we note that the
camouflage of the caterpillar simulates
drops of water to a remarkable degree.
Almost all tropical species do best in
a fairly humid environment. On the
other hand, some larvae— such as our
domestic species, Pseudohazis hera—
that feed on sagebrush in hot desert
areas of the western states can tolerate
extremely dry and arid conditions, if
they have enough fresh food.
X^nother important factor govern-
ing the growth rate of caterpillars is
the freshness of their food. Certain of
them survive only with difficulty when
cage-reared on cut leaves or branches.
Many times they mature as stunted or
crippled adults, and the second brood
is very weak. Unless the American
breeder of the exotic species lives in
one of the few areas where tropical
plants can be grown or has access to a
greenhouse that he can stock with the
proper growing food plants, he must
depend on substitute foods in order to
rear the species.
Frequently the insect does not
readily accept substitutes and gener-
ally, in these cases, drags out a long
and miserable existence, nibbling at
whatever leaf supplies a chemical stim-
ulus to feeding and, for the most part,
expiring in the pupal stage or before.
However, many species readily accept
alternate foods, and can be reared
quite successfully under unnatural
conditions on unnatural food plants.
It is often found that such species are
polyphytophagous in their natural
habitat (that is, they feed on a variety
of plants) and that one or more of
their natural foods is identical with
or closely related to our northern
varieties of trees. Often, too, these in-
sects are not much smaller or less ro-
bust than those that have been reared
in their natural habitat.
In two studies of the species Samia
cecropia in the summer of 1961 and of
Actias selene in the summer of 1962 I
obtained some interesting results. In
the case of S. cecropia, their natural
food— the- wild cherry (PrunusJ—-was
1
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XJefore each molt, the Attacus atlas
edwardsi develops adhesive white coat,
above, resembling zinc oxide ointment.
JL he Rothschildia orizaba seen above
has distinguishing traits that include
a hirsute underbody and bare back. A
almost obscures the pale, translucent
eenish-blue hue of larva. Discarded
in is left on the twig, at right above.
>cile and phlegmatic insect, Antheraea
•rnyi feeds on an oak, above. Adult is
lovfn as the "Chinese oak silk moth."
used. A tree was topped to about seven
feet and enclosed within a four-foot-
square cage eight feet high. Fertile ova
were collected from a pair of moths
selected for their color and size and
refrigerated for three weeks at a tem-
perature of 40° F. to retard them
enough to allow the caterpillars to
carry over into July and August before
hatching. Some of the ova were
hatched in a plastic sandwich box, to
be reared in a cage indoors. The re-
maining ova were placed outside to
hatch on the tree. Leaves from the
same tree were used to feed both
broods. Approximately 60 per cent of
the inside brood reached maturity as
compared with better than 95 per cent
of the outdoor brood. The disparity in
size between the mature insects was
considerable. A typical male was se-
lected from both lots. The specimen
from the living tree measured 14.7 cm.
across the forewings. That from the in-
door group spanned but 11.5 cm.
The results obtained with Actios
selene were even more dramatic, be-
cause they were reared on alternate
food plants in an unnatural climate.
Apple was selected as being the most
readily accepted alternate food. Be-
cause the tree was very large, I resorted
to sleeving individual branches rather
than topping and caging entire trees.
(Sleeving is a method of surrounding
a branch loosely with some sort of
material— usually netting— and tying it
at each end. This prevents escape or
predation from the trunk terminus of
the branch, and at the same time per-
mits access by the breeder from the
tip end of the sleeve.)
-CaLgain, leaves from the same tree
were used to feed the indoor brood,
which showed a marked tendency to-
ward stunting, and pupated at a much
smaller size and about ten days earlier
than those on the outdoor tree. This
seemed to indicate an adaptation to ad-
verse conditions, because the cut food
dried out considerably during the
course of the day, with the result that
for much of the time the caterpillars
fed on hard leaves or on scraps that
had fallen to the bottom of the cage.
The gradual accumulation of frass—
refuse or excrement of larvae— in the
bottom of the cage also created a con-
dition not found in their natural sur-
roundings. The lack of changing light,
sunshine, and circulating air were all
contributing factors toward the total
condition. The early pupating time
29
Hjxtremely rare Argenia mittrei is a
lative of Madagascar. Not until 1963
vas one raised in captivity off the island.
thus could be seen as an escape from
these conditions. As in the case of 5.
cecropia. typical specimens showed
great differences in size after emer-
gence. From the growing tree a male
measured 13.3 cm. across the fore-
wings and 12.8 cm. from the tip of
the forewing to the bottom of the
hind wing process. The cage-reared
specimen that had developed indoors
spanned 9.3 cm. across and only 8.7
cm. from top to bottom.
As a final note on adaptability, the
frequent inability to adapt to foreign
climatic conditions often results in
tropical species' exercising their pro-
clivity toward a second brood so late
in the year that the rearing of the
larvae is virtually impossible because
of a lack of food plants. Many attempts
have been made to augment the nutri-
tive value of sere leaves by means of
chemicals or combinations of chemi-
cals applied to the leaves before
feeding them to the larvae. These
methods have met with some success,
and there is room for much more work
in this field. Most caterpillars show a
general reluctance to accept dry leaves,
even after they have been soaked in
water to make them pliable. Perhaps
there is a "way to make such food a bit
30
more palatable for specimens, in which
case fall broods would pose fewer prob-
lems to breeders.
Anyone who has reared a number
of species of lepidopterous larvae has
learned that the caterpillars possess
"personalities." Some are highly nerv-
ous in captivity, and react strongly
each time they are disturbed for feed-
ing or cage cleaning. They exhibit all
their defense mechanisms and show
many distress signs. At the opposite
extreme are phlegmatic species that
seldom react to anything done to or
around them. If the twig upon which
they are feeding is snipped off they
will continue to munch until the leaf is
finished and then look for more. One
may find a range of behavior between
these two extremes. Some caterpillars,
such as Rhodinia fiigax from Japan
and our native Citheronia regalis,
squeak when disturbed. Many species
seem constantly active, restlessly wan-
dering about the cage or within the
sleeve. Sometimes this wandering is so
unrelieved that the insects suffer from
lack of nourishment, as they seldom
stay in one place long enough to eat
much. Completely covering their cages
with some sort of light barrier to
darken the interior may help to quiet
them. A paper sack inverted over small
cages or a cloth draped around larger
ones will often be all that is needed. If
this barrier is kept in place until after
the second molt, at least, the caterpil-
lars will usually feed normally and
cease their incessant wandering.
»^ome species do well in their cages,
and are undisturbed by the introduc-
tion of fresh food or by cage cleaning.
However, as soon as they are taken
from the cage for photographic or
other study, they begin to move about
actively. One of the worst offenders in
this category is Dirphia curitiba. In-
digenous to the Argentine and other
sections of South America. D. curitiba
is also one of the severely urticating
species. The photograph on page 31
is the result of more than thirty at-
tempts to make it remain quiet long
enough for me to focus on it.
Gregariousness marks some species
during their entire larval life. Others
group together only in the first one or
two instars, while still others lead soli-
tary existences from the time they are
hatched. Some of the latter carry this
to the extreme of being unable to sur-
vive if an attempt is made to rear them
in a high population density.
One habit displayed by some cater-
pillars is that of releasing their hold
on their support when approached and
dropping to the ground, where they
quickly disappear among the leaves
and grasses. Often they curl into a
tight ring as they land, which makes
them even more difficult to detect. A
number of the "dropping" species do
not fall all the way to the ground, but
let themselves down with astonishing
rapidity on a delicate strand of silk. If
left alone, they will climb back to the
perch after a few minutes, ingesting
the silk as they go.
Many species are adept at finding
ways to get out of their cages. Cracks
or holes in frames, or slight gaps in
doors that appear to be impassable are
broad avenues of escape to them. The
unusual caterpillar of the beautiful
little East Indian moth, Loepa kalinka,
is a classic example of escaping ability,
possibly because it has a small head in
relation to its body size. Once it suc-
ceeds in working its head through a
crevice, it can stretch its soft body out
enough to pull itself through.
Most species remain in the cater-
pillar stage for only a few weeks or a
couple of months during the summer,
pupating in the fall in preparation for
the dormant period that precedes
emergence. There are, of course, ex-
ceptions to this rule. Some caterpillars
feed for a week or two, become semi-
dormant (they may come out and
wander on warm, sunny days), and
finally emerge in the spring to finish
feeding. They pupate in the summer,
emerge as adults within a week or two,
and start the new cycle. Still other spe-
cies remain for two years or even
longer in the caterpillar stage. Cossus
is one of these. This genus feeds only
on the living wood of trees, and re-
mains within the trunk, boring tunnels
until the tree is killed, after which the
caterpillars move to another host. Cos-
sus has been called the goat moth, be-
cause of the caterpillar's disagreeable
smell. Such species are impractical to
rear because of the specialized food
requirements and the length of time
involved. Literally hundreds of other
varieties, however, are available for
persons who are interested in the life
histories of these insects, or who wish
to raise them solely for their beauty.
Xjrazil's Dirphia curitiba is one of the
most urticating. It has "a pinkish-gray
color, with magenta and black tracery.
v.y^ ^j
m
^»ii:*''i^T-
^,
■#*.
<»^.H
Bass Rock Gannet
c
Aggression seems dominant theme in behavior of these bird:
\-S|t;^v,'^
E GANNETS fight with interlocked
dibles in territorial dispute. Bill
ions are altered with great speed.
By Bryan Nelson
rHE SULIDAE is a compact family
of plunge-diving, fish-eating birds
[visible into the pantropical boobies
jenus Sula) and the true gannets of
mperate or relatively cool-current
igions. The latter form a closely re-
ted trio comprising the North At-
ntic Gannet, the South African, or
ape Gannet, Sula capensis, and the
acific, or Australasian Gannet, Sula
rrator (some authors use Moras as
e generic name ) . These may perhaps
;st be regarded as three forms of one
lecies, although more usually they
e given specific rank.
The lovely old Gaelic name for the
innet is Ian Ban an Sgadan, "White
ird of the Herring." No bird more
;serves such a fine name. Gannets are
;autiful, strong birds— bold fliers
ith a six-foot wingspread, spectacu-
r plunge divers, and fascinating
)lonial nesters that mate for life.
hey are of striking appearance, with
low-white plumage, black primaries,
)lden or orange-buff heads, pale blue
'es, and a conspicuous facial pat-
rn of black lines. A fold of black skin
ms centrally between the rami of the
wer mandible and stretches enor-
ously to accommodate large fish.
In February, 1961, soon after the
rst adult birds had returned to the
imous Bass Rock, from which they
;rive their specific name Sula bas-
ma, my wife and I took up residence
1 a small hut perched on the wind-
vept south face. The Bass Rock, three
liles from the mainland, is the last in
chain of volcanic outcrops that
retch across country just north of
le England-Scotland border country.
bout a mile round the base, 340 feet
Bass rock, three miles from mainland
ofF English-Scottish border, gave the
specific name to gannet, Sula bassana.
high, and bluntly conical, with some
seven acres of "top," it rises sheer on
three sides, and more gradually on the
south-facing slope. Apart from three
lighthouse keepers, it is inhabited
mainly by hordes of sea fowl.
Between February and October for
three successive years we seldom left
the Bass. Our aim was to keep a con-
tinuous record of the gannets' return
to the breeding colony from their
oceanic winter life, their method of
establishing a site and forming a
breeding pair, their egg-laying, incu-
bation, and chick-rearing behavior
and, in particular, the striking dis-
plays shown at the breeding colony.
From blinds we watched a study area
containing about 250 pairs, many of
them individually recognizable by dif-
ferent combinations of colored bands,
and we mapped their nests in relation
to features of the local landscape.
World gannet numbers are at pres-
ent increasing— the Bass colony as a
whole grew from about 12,000 indi-
viduals in 1949 (including the non-
breeding birds) to about 18.000 in
1962— and we were able to follow the
expansion of our study group very
closely. Gannets are long lived—
usually they do not even breed until
their fifth year, and our mortality
figures indicated that adult gannets
have a life expectancy of approxi-
mately sixteen years.
Part of a gannet's life is spent far
from land, and once a juvenile has
made its spectacular leap from the cliff
down to the sea, we can only piece
together fragments of information to
follow its life until it returns to the
breeding colony. As juveniles. North
Atlantic Gannets migrate south from
the British Isles as far as equatorial
Africa, then gradually work their way
back into northern waters. Thereafter,
they do not usually migrate far south
again. From records of banded birds,
it seems that many, perhaps most, re-
turn to the colony of their birth,
usually when they are two or three
years old, but occasionally in their
first year. Sometimes an old colony
becomes so densely packed that new-
comers in excess of the numbers
required to replace dead members can-
not find a footing and are forced out.
Immature birds fly endlessly over
and around the colony— a process that
probably familiarizes them with the
colony, and perhaps particularly the
area on which they later nest. They
gather mainly near the top of the
windward side of the Bass in "non-
breeding clubs," where they form
temporary pairs, usually made up of
birds the same age. Although there is
no reason to suspect that a club pair
afterward becomes a permanent pair
in the colony proper, they at least go
through the rites of pair formation
under the less competitive conditions
of the club. Also, time spent around
the breeding colony probably helps
them learn the local wind conditions
(often very tricky) and the colony's
main feeding grounds. For a time,
then, immature birds lead a nomadic
life, fishing far afield and returning
periodically to the now-familiar Bass.
We have noticed that gannets continue
their fishing trips even in dense mist
and seem very little inconvenienced.
AN important period in the male's
^ life occurs in his fourth year,
when he establishes his permanent
nest site. By the time he returns from
his oceanic winter life, most of the
birds that have bred previously at least
once have been back for a long time
and have reclaimed their previous
year's nests. The older the bird, the
earlier it tends to return to the colony.
Indeed, some sit out the icy gales of
February on the barren rock, and may
remain until early November. How-
ever, some old males have died,
usually through accident (our color-
banded male 5068 ended up in a native
stewpot in Senegal in the winter of
1962/63, and each year several are
drowned in fishermen's nets or killed
at sea), and a few others return late.
There are thus several unoccupied
nests even in April. These attract site-
hunting males, which fly low over the
colony looking for empty spaces. Site
Observation colony of some 250 pairs
was studied for three successive years.
Rotary, HEAD shake and wing flapping
at nest are "comfort movements." Bird
Maps were made of nest sites, the birds
were banded, and behavior recorded.
in this way loosens its feathers and
then settles down on the nesting site.
34
hment becomes strong only after
or three days of undisputed pos-
on, so, if newcomers settle on a
that turns out to be already
led, they relinquish it without a
;gle. In territorial species, owner-
confers great advantage in dis-
;; the owning bird lights more
rously and usually wins. In the
first stages of site establishment
IS much a part of a bird's adaptive
vior to flee as it is, later, to stand
fight. Some authors believe that
ig birds can only acquire "in-
r" sites at the fringe of the group,
must later graduate to better ones,
ever, in a stable population, and
rds tend to keep permanently the
hey first establish— as gannets do
s belief cannot be true. The new-
;rs merely take over the nests of
ased birds. Such nests occur with
1 likelihood at all points in a
p unless one area— the edge, say—
irticularly prone to predation.
TER a few days on the site, per-
haps with short absences or none
1 (male gannets may remain at
lest site for five days at a stretch ) ,
site owners are extremely hostile
I other males. A high proportion
II established sites involves the
in at least one and sometimes
ral severe fights. Gannets were
ably cliff nesters originally, al-
gh they now nest on flatter ground
ell, and it may be at least partly
because their fighting method is pri-
marily adapted to cliff ledges that it
becomes so damaging on flatter
ground, where contestants cannot fall
off, be pushed off, or escape.
Gannets are gregarious in activities
other than breeding— for instance,
they fish in flocks, gather nest ma-
terial communally, and rest on the sea
in groups— and fighting of the male
birds is entirely restricted to terri-
torial disputes. Their bills are usually
the focus of attack, although other
parts of the face, head, and neck are
also frequently gripped, as are some-
times wings, legs, or feet. Mandibles
of fighting birds are strongly inter-
locked, so that withdrawal is often im-
possible unless the contestants break
off simultaneously. With extended
neck, they attempt to drive the oppo-
nent in front of them, tightening and
relaxing their grip convulsively, the
dominant bird shaking his opponent
violently. Bill positions are altered
with lightning speed, and often the tip
of the upper mandible is pushed into
the opponent's eye. However, gan-
nets' eyes can withstand a great deal of
punishment. After fighting in mud—
perhaps for up to two hours— the
plumage may be so filthy and matted
that normal flight is impossible, and
the birds career from the cliff top into
the sea, leaving a muddy wake when
they hit the water. Yet, we have known
such a contestant to return, immacu-
late, from the sea in 48 hours.
Birds on adjoining nest sites watch
a typical fight, which may be between
either two males or two females. The
bills are always the focus of attack.
Even old males may have to fight
occasionally, but usually they success-
fully defend their nests either by
threat behavior or by a specific dis-
play that is aggressively motivated,
announces ownership, and repels other
males. The display is a good example
of "ritualized" behavior— that which,
by a process of evolutionary change,
has acquired enhanced value as a sig-
nal. The movement resembles a bow;
the bird sweeps its head down beneath
its outspread wings, raises its head,
shakes it from side to side, and repeats
the procedure, meanwhile calling ag-
gressively. This is related to the ag-
gressive nest-building behavior.
After a fight, victorious males bow
to show their ownership of the nest
site, but beaten ones never bow. Ex-
hausted individuals may sleep for
three days— a phenomenon compar-
able to battle fatigue in soldiers. Even
if the frenzy of the fight takes both
birds yards from the site, the winner
rushes back and bows only from the
site. Bowing in this context occurs
most frequently early and late in the
season when, we know from other evi-
dence, the males are most aggressive.
Sometimes the bow elicits attack,
rather than repelling other males. Dur-
ing his lifetime, a male gannet bows
thousands of times in response to in-
35
Advertising male, at right, does not call, and wings are]
tightly closed. Female, heak slightly elevated, approaches.]
E.4CH TIME male returns to nest site he bites mate hard '
enough to dislodge feathers; she averts head from attack.
Aggression is also present during copulation, when male'
repeatedly bites female vigorously with his powerful bill, j
traders, and often when there is no
particular threat to his supremacy. I
have seen gannets suddenly wake from
a sound sleep, bow vigorously, and im-
mediately return to sleep.
It is interesting that females give a
less complete and less frequent version
of the site ownership display. This is in
keeping with their weaker attachment
to the site. Thus, they do not establish
the site in the first place, do not spend
as much time on it as the male does,
and on the death of their partner they
are not as likely to remain faithful to
36
the site (77 per cent as against 94 per
cent in the male) .
Young females, usually in their
fourth year, begin to look for a mate
within the colony— I call them "pros-
pecting" females. These behave rather
like site-hunting males; they fly over
the colony and then settle on a suitable
vantage point— perhaps a rocky spur
or an empty spot between nests. Un-
mated males do not restrict their
metaphorical advances to prospecting
females; they will "advertise" to any
female, mated or not, that passes
nearby. The male's advertising is]
rather like an extremely modified ver- 1
sion of his site ownership display, with '
the aggressive bowing elements re-'
duced, the wings tightly closed, and no j
calling. Advertising males look faintly
ludicrous as they shake their heads
vigorously and make slight reaching'
movements and inhibited bows toward
the object of attention. 1
If unmated males advertised only toj
unmated females and stopped ad-j
vertising as soon as a female had;
responded, and if such a female re-|
Nests of gannets are about 2^2 feet
apart on the average and are often
ined with the first male she ap-
)ached, all would be well. However,
'emale may respond to an adver-
ng male and remain with him, but
;e he goes off to fish she may have
interest in the nest site as such and
ickly respond to another advertis-
: male. Therefore even a "success-
male must continue to advertise
risk finding himself mateless. Thus,
continuing to advertise, males
lally acquire more than one mate,
1 some acquire as many as six. If
) females chance to meet on the site
3r both are strongly attached to one
le, they fight viciously. The males
not consistent in this situation—
tietimes they accept the winner, but
sn they reject her. Frequently, they
fer the one with whom they have
in most recently.
When the female approaches the ad-
tising male, often hesitantly, he
y attack her vigorously. Her pres-
;e within his territory releases
jression strong enough to express
;lf by a real attack, despite the in-
ition resulting from sexual "in-
3st" in her. Aggression is one of the
met's most striking features and is
ispicuous both toward intruders
1 in the normal pair relationship.
:h time the male returns to the nest
; he bites his mate emphatically
)ugh to dislodge feathers, even if
y are an old established pair. He
0 bites her during copulation— at
st one hundred times each season —
i whenever a neighbor threatens or
cemented to the precarious site by
the excrement of the breeding pair.
attacks him, he turns on his mate in
redirected attack. The female accepts
an astonishing amount of punishment
without retaliation, but has a behavior
pattern that tends to reduce the
severity of the male's attack. She turns
her bill away from him, or "faces
away." This is one of three gannet
"appeasement postures." The other
two are the "pelican posture" of
adults, in which the bill is tucked
medianally into the breast, and the
"beak hiding" of the chick, in which
the bill is hidden beneath the ventral
surface of the body. There is also a
fourth posture, in which the bill is di-
rected vertically upward, usually per-
formed immediately before flight or
movement on foot away from the nest
site. However, there is considerable
doubt about its function as an ap-
peasement posture.
NEW pairs usually attend the nest
site and defend it vigorously for
a six-month season— or part of one, if
they are late in establishing them-
selves—before attempting to breed.
This is not necessarily because of their
age. Although five is the usual breed-
ing age, four-year-olds of both sexes
can breed without a preparatory sea-
son. However, young females lay later
than old ones and also have eggs
lighter in weight. Before the single egg
is laid the pair copulates whenever one
returns from a long fishing trip (some-
times they remain away for three days
or more). The frequency of copula-
tion increases in the two or three
weeks prior to egg laying, and since
the male almost always gathers nest
material after copulation, an extra
spate of nest building precedes laying
and produces a well-built nest to re-
ceive the single egg.
Gannets frequently depress their
tails while excreting and "direct" the
excreta onto the side of the nest. This
enables the birds to cement their nests
to otherwise untenable places.
On several occasions we saw gan-
nets lay eggs and noticed how they
used the tail to direct the egg into the
nest— a nice adaptation for a cliff-
nesting bird, where a misplaced egg
cannot be retrieved. Even on flat
ground gannets are usually unable to
retrieve eggs that ground-nesting spe-
cies could easily roll back into the nest.
MAY JUNE JULY AUG.
QUARTER-MONTH PERIODS
Total time adults spent at or away
from nest is graphed. Aggregate of
times (broken or solid lines) in
any one period equals 100 per cent.
37
If the male is present, he takes the
first long incubation stint almost im-
mediately after the egg is laid and. in
fact, takes slightly longer spells than
the female throughout incubation.
However, she is less willing than is
the male to leave the egg when brood-
ing periods on the nest are reversed.
Like other members of the family,
gannets lack a brood patch and incu-
bate their egg by overlapping their
webbed feet on top of it. There is some
question whether heat is transmitted
through the webs, but these certainly
become vascularized and warm during
the incubation period and are prob-
ably a better source of heat than is the
bird's feathered body. Broken or
stolen eggs are replaced, usually
within a fortnight, although new pairs
have a much weaker tendency to pro-
duce replacement eggs than have ex-
perienced birds. Gannets invariably
lav single-egg clutches (any observed
exceptions were probably due to two
females laying in one nest), which
hatch in 43 or 44 days. Soon after the
egg begins to pip, the adult transfers
it to the top of the webs and so pre-
vents the weakened shell from crushing
and lacerating the chick, which is
brooded on top of or between the webs.
BASS ROCK gannets have no serious
predators except man. Herring
Gulls dare not venture within the nest-
ing ranks to steal eggs unless the gan-
nets are disturbed and fly off tempor-
arily. Young gulls, unsteady on the
\\'ing, i\"ere torn to pieces when they
fell among gannets. Yet, small birds
like Rock Pipits ran between the nests
with impunity. In undisturbed groups,
the hatching success averaged 82 per
cent of all eggs laid, although females
breeding for the first time were less
successful at incubating than were the
older ones.
Newly hatched gannet chicks weigh
less than 80 per cent of the newlv laid
egg and lose more weight during the
first day. They are blind and naked
and, unlike newly hatched young of
many other species, appear to be fed
without having to beg. The adult
gently "engulfs" the chick, which ap-
parently wallows about in the mass of
semidigested, regurgitated fish in the
parent's mouth and often emerges with
fish piled on top of its head.
A large chick begs for food by whet-
ting its bill against that of the adult
and "yipping" loudly. Then it pushes
its head into its parent's mouth, and
38
isith vigorous pumping movements
manages to move fish from the adult's
throat to its own. Whole mackerel
slide from adult to young in this man-
ner, which efficiently transfers food
and keeps the nest relatively free from
fragments. The chick is fed several
times a day, unlike some sea bird
young, which are fed at infrequent in-
tervals, and at the age of six weeks a
gannet weighs as much as its parents.
Strangely, the adults do not appear
hard pressed to gather enough food
for their offspring, and the only time
that we recorded chick starvation was
when one of the parents died.
One parent or the other (and, for
Chicks— this one may be four or five
days old— are hatched following an
incubation period of 43 or 44 days.
At about ten weeks the young bird
is speckled and oddly ruffed. The
old name for gannets at this stagi
of life is "parliamentarian goose.'
Dark replica of parents exercises
its wings at 13 weeks, just prior to
its departure from nest. Once it has
left the nest, it does not return.
Zll4
^^K
-**»-%..»s^..j;^
out a sixth of the daylight hours,
th) constantly guards the nest. This
lecessary in the gannet, because un-
ided chicks, even if they do not
nder, are liable to be attacked and
led by neighboring adults. Al-
lugh the chick attempts to reduce
: severity of such attacks by hiding
beak beneath its body in a submis-
e attitude, this appeasing behavior
netimes does not work. We saw four
cks killed by strange adults.
"iHE adults' fishing trips usually
take between six and fifteen hours,
i probably cover a normal range of
least a hundred miles from the
Bs. If food is hard to find, the range
certainly much greater— perhaps as
ch as three to four hundred miles,
rhe gannet's capabilities in feeding
voracious chick, which at about
16 weeks weighs one and a half times
adult weight, were so impressive
t we tested it with two offspring by
lating an extra egg or chick to a
ies of nests. These artificial twins
re weighed regularly, and their
)wth compared with ordinary single
cks. To our surprise, the extra bur-
1 made little difference either to the
growth of the twins or to their fledging
success, although we found that the
twins survived only if they were very
nearly the same age. They took an
average of 94 days to fledge against
90 days for a single chick. However,
the final weight of the twins was not
significantly different from that of the
normal single chick, so it is likely that
their survival to adulthood would not
be significantly less successful.
The main question raised by this ex-
periment is why, if gannets can incu-
bate two eggs and feed two chicks,
they lay only one. It is possible that
the extra strain endured by the par-
ents shortens their reproductive life,
so the advantage of rearing two in-
stead of one might be offset by the
harmful effect on the parents. There
is some evidence from the lore of the
old gannet hunters that adults are fat
in spring and lean in autumn, which
suggests that the rearing of a chick
imposes some strain. To set against
this unproved statement are the facts
that gannets, like other large sea birds,
have adaptations permitting them to
withstand great temporary weight loss,
and that the period during which the
chicks make heavy feeding demands
Gannets invariably lay clutches of
one egg. They have no brood spot, and
incubate egg under their feet. Broken
eggs are usually replaced in two weeks.
on adults is limited to about two
months out of the twelve. I have de-
scribed this aspect at some length be-
cause, together with other aspects of
gannet breeding biology— notably the
extended period before it first breeds-
it raises basic questions about the fac-
tors controlling the reproductive rate
of sea birds.
During the thirteen weeks that the
young gannet spends in the nest, it
changes from a ball of fat covered
with long, white down, into a somber
replica of the adult— in shape, stance,
and size, but utterly different in color,
being slaty-black, finely speckled with
white. It is fed until the day it leaves
the nest; the widely held idea that
adults refuse to feed the chick during
its last two or three weeks on the nest
to induce it to fly is false. Until then
it dare not move from the nest, either
for fear of falling, if on a cliff ledge,
or attack from neighbors, if on flatter
ground. Thus, large chicks tend to run
away from humans on more level
areas, but young of the same age on
39
cliff sites usually stay firmly on the
nest. Gannets have therefore no need
to recognize their own young— only
the nest site. In fact, they will readily
accept strange chicks in place of their
own, even when there is a wide age
difference. It is very important, how-
ever, that the substituted chick should
be on the nest when the adult returns.
If any chick approaches the nest when
an adult is on guard, it is attacked like
any other trespasser.
Several hours before jumping off
their nests in the fledging flight, the
young gannets seem to "concentrate"
for long periods, staring into the sea.
(They are too large to be attacked by
gulls, so they can leave at any time of
Mutual display occurs when a pair
meets at nest after feeding flight.
They stand breast to breast, wings
spread, and fence with their bills.
Fencing increases in duration toward
the end of the breeding season. During
this display, both the birds call loudly,
and actions may cement the pair bond.
40
Gannets are active at the Bass Rock
long after all other colonial nesters
have flown south. They are also the
first to return the following spring.
day, unlike young guillemots, whicli
usually leave their nests at dusk, pre-
sumably to reduce the risk of gull at-
tack.) When a young gannet does
jump it either flounders through the
nesting ranks and is vigorously at
tacked on the way (it may even be
killed) or, if lucky, it becomes air-
borne immediately. The first flight is
naturally a little wobbly, but even sc
the young bird can fly for several miles
at the first attempt and may even gain
considerable height. Once it alights
however, it is unable to rise again, and
swims out to sea— at least in the cases
we have witnessed. Even now its
troubles are not over, since many
young gannets, particularly those thai
have fledged early in the season, are
severely attacked on the sea by adults.
The parents do not show any interest
in the departure of their offspring, and
linly do not accompany them to
Instead, they remain together on
nest until October or early Novem-
performing their ownership dis-
s, adding to the nest, and showing
3surgence of "interest" in each
r, including actual copulation.
HE conspicuous and well-known
mutual display, which occurs
never the pair meet at the nest
r an absence of some hours, in-
ses in duration toward the end of
season, although it also occurs
ughout the entire breeding cycle.
11 it "mutual fencing," because the
s stand breast to breast with out-
ad wings and fence with their
, calling loudly. Occasionally they
their heads in a movement similar
)owing. The whole spectacle im-
3 a friendly, sometimes an ecstatic,
reunion, and in fact one function of
the display is to cement the pair bond.
It provides a friendly outlet for ele-
ments of fear and aggression, which,
together with strong sexual interest,
are engendered when they meet on the
site after a long absence.
When the pair is newly formed, and
particularly in those cases in which the
male is uncommonly aggressive to the
female, the mutual fencing is always
particularly lengthy and intensive. In
a stable pair and in midseason, when
aggression is at its lowest, mutual
fencing may be perfunctory.
A visit to a gannet colony in late
October could, weather permitting,
still reveal a scene of tremendous ac-
tivity. Long after all the other colonial
sea birds have left the Bass Rock, gan-
nets continue to sail round the cliffs
and display at their nests. Well before
the others return for the new season
the gannets are back. The nest site, for
the gannet, has become of prime im-
portance, and apparently its successful
defense has favored unusually long
seasonal attendance and, above all,
aggression so strong as to be unique
among British colonial sea birds—
perhaps even among all such species.
Whether fighting, threatening, or bow-
ing, whether males are attacking their
mates, or both are attacking chicks,
aggression seems a dominant theme in
the birds' lives. For the juvenile, this
all lies four or five years ahead. Before
then it must perfect its fishing skills,
return over the seas from great dis-
tances to the speck that is its nesting
colony, and gradually acquire adult
plumage and behavior. Then it will
take up its position in the colony and
the cycle will once again be completed.
'^^^^-
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■'-^ ^^m^^ir' -^i^ v-^'.
Cross-Pbllinatioi]
of an Orchic
structure of C. reginae makes insects Instruments of survive
By H. Lou Gibson
THE FLOWERS of orchids, members
of the large family Orchidaceae,
have remarkably specialized structures
that insure cross-pollination by in-
sects. The photographs on the opposite
page were taken during the visit of a
bee to a Showy Lady"s-slipper, Cyp-
ripedium reginae, an orchid that
grows in swamps and wet woods from
Newfoundland to Georgia, and west
as far as North Dakota. Its large flow-
ers are single on a stem, and their in-
tricate construction has the effect of
making self-pollination unlikely. Self-
pollination tends to keep a species
unchanged, slowing, but not elimi-
nating, its evolution. Consequently,
the self-pollinating plants are often less
adaptive to environmental changes and
are thus less likely to survive over long
evolutionary periods.
From the time insects appeared dur-
ing the Tertiary Period some seventy
million years ago, their relationship
with plants has proved in most in-
stances to be mutually beneficial.
Flowering plants have furnished food
and occasionally shelter for insects,
and insects have cross-fertilized plants,
a function that was performed in pre-
A Third, or sterile, stamen
B Chamber
C Smooth floor and hairs
D Staminate bodies
E Pistil
F Protuberance A
vious millenniums mainly by the wind.
Flowers are exclusively reproduc-
tive organs. In most species, a color,
shape, and odor have evolved that
attract only those particular insects
with anatomy suited to transferring
the pollen of that flower. Thousands of
plant species would disappear if this
were not so. Plant-insect relationships
have become so specialized that some
flowers may be visited only by bees,
while others are cross-pollinated ex-
clusively by wasps, moths, or flies.
Insects are not the only animal-pol-
linators of plants, however. In the
tropics and in South America, birds
are pre-eminent in the role, and some
part is played by nectar-drinking bats
and other mammals.
The parts of the Showy Lady's-slip-
per that virtually guarantee cross-
pollination are the same structures
that make the flower exotic to the
human eye. The third, or sterile, sta-
men (A in diagram), which is thick
and in the shape of an elongated heart.
is yellow at the tip and is spotted with
crimson. This infertile stamen attracts
insects such as the bee seen in the
photographs. The construction of the
orchid is such that a bee alighting on
or near this stamen practically falls
into the chamber (B I that is formed by
the enlarged posterior petal. At the mo-
ment the photograph at the upper left
was taken, the fore parts of the bee had
already entered the chamber.
A cross section of the interior of
the chamber is shown in the bottom
picture. Once inside, the bee crawls
over the smooth floor (C) toward the
pistil (El. The bee is encouraged to
move in this direction by fine, slanting
hairs that are inclined forward along
a route to the pistil and prevent the bee
from reversing its path. Moreover, the
inner walls of the chamber are smooth
and steep. Therefore, the bee has litl
choice but to advance toward the tu
nel that leads under the stigma— tl
part of the pistil that receives polL
grains, and on which they germinal
There are actually two tunnels in tl
Showy Lady's-slipper, but both w
bring the pollen-bearing bee into co^
tact with the pistil. The sticky stign
catches and removes from the bee
back any pollen the insect carries fro:
other flowers it has visited, and cros
pollination is thus achieved.
In the top right photograph, the h\
has squeezed past the pistil in its I
tempt to crawl through the narrol
passageway and leave the flower. One
past the pistil, the bee cannot bad
track. If it should try to move bad
ward, the exit lips and the protubej
ance (F) of the Showy Lady's-slippe
will tighten around it. If this were nc
the case, the bee, after having mad
contact with a staminate body (D)
might carry back to the orchid's pisti
pollen from one of the flower's sta
mens, causing self-pollination.
AFTER the bee has picked up pollei
, from a staminate bodv and es
caped. it may then fall into the trap o
another member of the species am
again effect cross-pollination. But i
an unusually large bee were to enter 1
Showy Lady's-slipper, it would prob-
ably be unable to move all the waj
through the flower's passages. In fact-
many large bees do become trapped ir
these orchids and perish.
In the field it would have been ex-
tremely difficult, if not impossible, tc
photograph a bee entering a Showy
Lady"s-slipper because of the speed
with which entrance is accomplished.
This technical problem was solved by
chilling a bee until it became suffi-
ciently sluggish to use as a model.
3WY Lady's-slipper, an orchid, is cross-pollinated by
!, which is attracted by infertile stamen (yellow tip).
e enters chamber formed by a large petal, above left. The
chamber's smooth walls and "hairy" floor, below, prevent
bee from moving in direction other than toward the pistil,
staminate bodies, and, ultimately, exit lips, above right.
.^
t. ->, V»\ J**;
il-J
NATURALISTS'
NOTEBOOK
£>.
,#•
^4 wery young toad is scTUtii
i
A snail has withdrawn into .
Pond is site of nature adventur
Exploration at the Pond
'hotographs by Arline Strong
,ate spring and early summer are a special time of year
3r the young. A puddle, pool, or pond may mean wet
;et, but it also means a laboratory where living things are
iscovered, admired, and— sometimes to parental dismay
■are brought proudly home. In or near these wet places,
iiildren may be first exposed to the lives of other animals,
nd, through curiosity and observation, generate an in-
irest in the natural sciences. There are so many questions
) be answered. Will it bite? Does it grow any bigger?
inhere does it go in winter? What does it eat? And on
lese same questions are based adult studies in biology,
ixonomy, animal behavior, physiology, and ecology.
Snapping turtle is held gingerly.
%^
Tadpole comes to light in sieve.
'^■'m- j^, "S
Texture of garter snake is felt. Fowler's toad is chiles handful.
ISTORIC MENHIR, OF
e-standing stone,
s the symbols of its
tianization, which
place ca. a.d. 900.
■IGNMENTS AT CaRNAC,
ance, are creations of
ehistoric people who
ly have used them
: religious ceremony.
Megaliths and Men
uropean rock monuments are relics of nascent civilizations
/ Glyn E. Daniel
lOME FIVE THOUSAND years ago,
) three millenniums before the Age
Pericles in Greece, the rain forests
western Europe were gradually
ing thinned by men engaged in mak-
; the most important social and eco-
mic revolution the world had ever
own— the New Stone Age. For the
St time in Europe, people had be-
n to domesticate animals, to till the
il, and to establish villages.
In this era, not very remote from
; days of European man's complete
pendence upon cave shelters and
ture's bounty, Egypt and the Aegean
untries had already extended arms
primitive commerce across the
jditerranean Sea. The routes sailed
were in sight of shore much of the way,
and reached to the Spanish peninsula,
Brittany, the British Isles, and Nor-
way. Colonizations, migrations, and
invasions pressed westward on the
coastline of the continent parallel to
the sea lanes. It was during this era
that the European megaliths (from
Greek megas, "large," and lithos,
"stone") made their appearance.
Early in this period, the distribution
of megalithic monuments and tombs
appears most concentrated near the
waters that carried trade, but eventu-
ally the megaliths spread across much
of the Western world. Objects buried
with the dead always help to recon-
struct the culture of the builders, and
these abound: polished stone axes,
decorated and plain pottery, beads.
objects of copper, and the remains of
animals— perhaps leftovers from fu-
neral feasts, or burial offerings.
Significantly, Mediterranean cham-
ber tombs often contain small figures
of the Earth Mother Goddess carved in
bone or flat stone. Because the eyes of
the goddess are emphasized, she is
sometimes called the Eye Goddess.
The eye motif frequently appears as
a spiral on pottery, and some western
European tombs were decorated with
pocked or incised motifs of the god-
dess figure. These motifs and the cus-
tom of collective burial can be traced
back from tombs like New Grange, in
Ireland, and Gavrinis, in Brittany, to
the Sicilian and east Mediterranean
cultures of the beginning of the third
millennium B.C., when Egypt was in
47
Mounded tomb at Los IMillares. Spain,
held remains of prehistoric seafarers.
incipient stages of unification and
Troy had only recently been founded.
The builders of European tombs
and monuments, which almost cer-
tainly originated in the east Mediter-
ranean, colonized the central and west-
ern Mediterranean. They set up small
townships, such as Los Millares in
Spain, and were precursors of the
Minoans, Mycenaeans, Phoenicians,
and Greeks. They established sea
routes that modern Basque, Breton,
and Galician fishing boats still use
today— from Portugal and Brittany to
Ireland and Britain, and then on to
Scandinavia.
MEGALITHS comprise the oldest
surviving buildings in western
Europe, although groups of holes in
which posts to support walls once
rested are evidence of earlier struc-
tures of wood and wattle and daub.
Many of the stones used in the surviv-
ing megalithic monuments are truly
enormous. At Stonehenge, the largest
is 29 feet 8 inches in length. In south-
ern Brittany, the Grand Menhir Brise,
which now lies broken into three
pieces, was once some 68 feet long.
The capstone, or roofing slab, of a
megalithic tomb in County Carlow,
Ireland, weighed about 100 tons, and
one of the capstones of the great mega-
lithic tomb of Bagneux near Saumur
in central France weighed more than
86 tons and provided a roof area of
some 23 square feet.
In most European monuments and
tombs, the great stones usually appear
to be undressed, or only very roughly
dressed by stone mauls. The surfaces
of some were smoothed and polished,
though, and the highly finished inner
"walls" of Stonehenge provide a su-
preme example of this dressing. So do
some of the megalithic temples in
Malta, which lies farther back along
the east-to-west path by which the
megalithic tradition reached Iberia, or
the Spanish peninsula, and Britain.
Including those in Britain, five main
types of megalithic monuments existed
in prehistoric western Europe: first,
the single standing stones, or menhirs,
from two Breton words, maen, "stone,"
and hir, "long" ; second, rows of stand-
ing stones, or alignments as they are
called in Brittany; third, stone circles,
of which Stonehenge is an exalted and
elaborate example; fourth, roofed or
open temples, such as those in Malta;
fifth, the commonest form of prehis-
toric megalithic monument, the roofed
tomb, often called a chamber tomb,
because it is a large structure into
which one can walk.
Menhirs, or single standing stones,
are common in Brittany: they vary in
size from two or three feet up to seven-
teen or twenty feet. The largest of all
is the Grand Menhir Brise. What the
present-day visitor sees at this site in
France is three great pieces of stone,
the broken remnants of a single giant
menhir that once stood 68 feet high
and weighed 330 tons. In comparison,
Cleopatra's Needle on the Thames
Embankment in London (where it was
brought from Egypt) is 68 feet 6
inches, and weighs 180 tons.
Because menhirs come to us without
inscriptions from the preliterate past,
their purpose can only be guessed at.
Excavation around and near them
does not indicate either that they are
the marking stones for graves, or that
they evolved on or near a burial site,
as did Stonehenge. They may be
memorial stones or just stones that
were worshiped. It is certain that they
were also worshiped into historical
times, and that the Church eventually
Christianized many of them by carv-
ing or erecting crosses on them.
A LIGNMENTS, or stone rows, the sec-
_£~\_ ond type of monument, are found
in southwestern Britain and in north-
western France, but unquestionably
the most famous are those at Carnac in
southern Brittany. The main Carnac
alignments extend for a distance oi
several miles and consist of thousands
of stones. They fall into three groups;
the alignments of Menec, of Kermario,
and of Kerlescant. The Menec series
the largest, is 3,827 feet long and con
sists of 1,169 single-standing stones
arranged in eleven parallel rows with
a half-circle erected at the eastern end,
The purpose of these great stone
rows is as questionable as that of thf
menhirs, but surely they were proces
sional ways of some sacred, ritual, oi
religious nature along which Neolithic
peoples passed toward appointed cere
monies in the half-circles. There cer
tainly can be no question that there
was a great flourishing of megalithic
culture in southern Brittany betweer
2500 and 1500 B.C.
A prehistoric origin is attributed tc
the temples of Malta, such as Ha
Tarxien, Mnajdra, and Hagiar Kim or
the main island, and the Gigantija or
the neighboring island of Gozo. Thest
magnificent temples are superb ex
amples of megalithic architecture but
unlike the British stone circles, wen
roofed over. Whatever ceremoniei
went on inside were connected wit!
the Earth Mother Goddess cult. Rep
resentations of the goddess have beer
found in these temples. Some are smal
figurines, but one is the broken part o
a large statue that, when whole, mus
have stood about twelve feet tall.
48
)NEHENGE "avenue," indicated by arrows, is seen in 1921
ial photo. As result of air survey, the avenue was found
to reach Avon River, suggesting a pathway to move stones
from boats. The white areas near road are excavation sites.
Portuguese dolmen, a place of burial,
is constructed of natural rock slabs.
rhe most common megalithic monu-
nts are the chamber tombs, which
'ill discuss in terms of their exca-
ed contents in Britain. Some twenty
usand of these tombs survive in
item Europe. We know that many
'e been destroyed, but can estimate
original number of perhaps two or
ee times those still extant. Although
le of them were cut into natural
k, the surface tombs attract most
;ntion. Many are covered with great
unds of earth and stones, while
ers are completely free-standing,
long the latter is the Grand Dol-
n of Bagneux at Saumur, in central
ince. Its interior measures 61 feet
16 feet, and from 8 feet 6 inches to
set high. And among the most im-
ssive of mounded surface tombs is
w Grange in Ireland. There a pas-
49
Passageway in Sardinian fortress of first millennium is sei
at left. Hypogeum on island of Malta, above, is catacomb ai
sage 63 feet long leads to a chamber
roofed with a corbeled vault, the top
of which is nearly 20 feet from the
floor. The whole stands in a round
mound 265 feet in diameter and 45
feet high, the height of a modern five-
story building.
THE most significant archeological
evidence of the ritual use of these
tombs in Britain and Iberia consists
of buried human bones. Exhumations
from megalithic tombs near Stone-
henge indicate that the interred were
probably somewhat long-skulled men
who averaged between 5 feet 4 inches
and 5 feet 8 inches in height. In con-
nection with the skeletons, two curiosi-
ties have been remarked generally by
prehistorians. First, the number of
bones found in many of these tombs
during modern excavations indicates
a quantity of buried dead that would
seem far too large for entombment in
one mass burial. Second, many bones
are broken in a way that suggests ritual
breakage, and perhaps are instances
of human sacrifice. There is also evi-
dence that fires were lit in tombs, often
simply for lustral or ceremonial pur-
poses, although occasionally crema-
tion was practiced. In some cases, only
certain bones in a single skeleton were
burned. Most corpses were interred
50
with knees drawn up to the chin or in
a squatting or sitting position on the
floor of the chamber.
There is little dispute about the
interpretation of much of the evidence.
Deposits of bones outside the portal
in the tomb's forecourts clearly indi-
cate a tomb-closing ritual, and the
tools and goods buried with the dead
are ritual offerings, perhaps posses-
sions of the dead persons. In the evi-
dence from some communities that
practiced collective burial of the dead,
such as the prehistoric sites in south
Wiltshire, Hampshire, and Dorset,
there is little to suggest that tombs
were ever reopened to put in fresh
corpses. But in many instances, we
know that tombs were reopened for
such a purpose. Regarding damage to
bones, it is thought likely that, in a cold
winter, when many of the old perished,
their bodies were collected in a com-
mon ossuary, where decay of the body
was considerable before the corpses
were moved. Therefore, during trans-
port from the ossuary to final en-
tombment, inevitable minor accidents
would cause the loss or breakage of
some bones. The most recent corpses
probably were entombed with their
skin intact, and decayed in the crypt.
Megalithic tombs for the burial of
the dead in prehistoric Europe are not
especially mysterious phenomena, I:
cause stone vaults and tombs are coj
monly employed for the same purpo
today. Cremation and multiple burii
in family tombs are also still commo
place, if modified, practices. Specul
tion, therefore, has been focused (
megalithic buildings with significan
not necessarily related to the grave.
CERTAINLY the most discussed of i
such megalithic architecture
Stonehenge, on Salisbury Plain, Wi
shire, in southwestern Britain.
At Stonehenge, pillar and bea
architecture was employed to produ
trilithons— two uprights with a linl
across the top— and linteled circles.
is the appearance of these lintels a
parently hanging in the air that seer
to have given the site its name, whi(
means hanging stones. Less comp
Gated prehistoric stone circles are r
ferred to as henge monuments, a ter
that includes circles with wooden ;
well as stone posts, and even mon
ments like Woodhenge (in Wiltshi
not far from Stonehenge), which w;
a circular structure of wooden pos
and survives to the present day on
as pestholes visible on an aerial phot'
Recent excavations suggest th
Stonehenge, like a medieval cathedrE
was built, modified, and rebuilt sever
lie. uliicli dates back to the third niillenniuin. In tonih at
5t Kennet, England, right, remains of corpses were found.
3S. It was first constructed between
0 and 1700 B.C., and its final recon-
iction took place about 1400 B.C.
se estimates are based on radio-
3on dates and on archeological cor-
tions with dated contexts in the
: Mediterranean, where many of
artifacts excavated at Stonehenge
ost certainly originated.
Hose contact between Britain and
east Mediterranean and Aegean
is from 1500 to 1300 B.C. is at-
sd by the appearance in Britain of
nented faience beads, made in
pt and traded by Minoan and My-
aean merchants. There is a gold
from Rillaton in Cornwall that is
f like one from the shaft graves at
;enae, and a Mycenaean dagger was
id at Pelynt in Cornwall. More-
r, engravings depicting flat copper
3 were discovered recently on some
he stones at Stonehenge. One en-
ding is of a hafted dagger that
bably is Mycenaean. Thus, I have
ioubt that the brilliant prehistoric
litect who planned and built Stone-
ge— as a tour de force within the
i^iously established tradition of
^alithic stone circles in Britain-
acquainted with the older cyclo-
n architecture of the Aegean area,
f Stonehenge has been associated
ularly and erroneously with the
Druids, it is because neo-Druids hold
celebrations there Midsummer Eve by
permission of the British Ministry of
Public Buildings and Works, not
because there is any archeological
evidence that the real Druids built
Stonehenge. The real Druids of an-
tiquity were the Celtic philosopher-
priests in Gaul and Britain just before
the Roman Conquest. They may at one
time have used Stonehenge, although
we have no evidence even of this. In
any case, theirs would have been a
re-use after the passing of more than
a thousand years.
THE origin of the megalithic stone
circles— a pattern that seems in-
digenous to the British Isles— may lie
in the wooden circles, which may be
mere representations of older circular
clearings in woods. The sequence of
development might well have been
from natural forest clearings to artifi-
cial wooden circles, to stone circles,
and, finally, to Stonehenge, merging
the old earthbound religion of the
West with newly arrived celestial reli-
gions from the Mediterranean.
According to Gordon Childe, whose
influence on the study of European
prehistory has been enormous, apostles
of a megalithic faith probably arrived
in Britain by the Atlantic seaway be-
tween 3000 and 2000 B.C., settling in
the southwestern part of the island
where Stonehenge is located. It is a
matter of record that the initial tombs
fan out from the west coasts of Britain
and around the Irish Sea. In fact, the
vast majority of the burial chambers
in southern Britain are found within
twenty miles of the shore. Proximity
to water, which was necessary for
transport, and to local stone supplies,
were the factors governing the location
of these early megalithic sites.
Childe hypothesizes that in Britain
megalith builders were not merely
fresh contingents of migrating Iberian
farmers, but were probably a religious
aristocracy of the Iberian Peninsula
who first came to Britain as mission-
aries. Close parallels to the plans of
these early British tombs can be found
in western Europe, particularly in
Iberia. When much later in time the
Beaker folk, makers of bell-shaped
pottery beakers, invaded Britain, they
must have displaced this Iberian mis-
sionary aristocracy, whose dead had
been inhumed in the megalithic tombs.
In Childe's view, the Beaker folk
liberated native British farmers and
herdsmen from much of megalithic
superstition, but found it provident to
patronize native cults, giving them a
celestial orientation to replace their
51
obsession with the subterranean graves.
As a consequence, the first stage of
the great stone circles at Stonehenge,
many archeologists believe, was set up
by the new Beaker ruling class on or
near the sites of sacred megalithic
burial grounds. The fact that the final
entrance to Stonehenge points to the
place where the sun rises on Midsum-
mer Day has been used as an argument
for a sun cult; the sun was an early
symbol of resurrection.
RECENT findings of Professor G. S.
Hawkins, of Boston University
and the Harvard-Smithsonian Obser-
vatory, have encouraged adherents to
the hypothesis that Stonehenge, in its
final prehistoric form, was constructed
as a celestial observatory. Using a
computer. Professor Hawkins has es-
tablished definite correlations between
the position of the stones and the hori-
zon positions of the rising sun and
moon at midsummer and midwinter in
1500 B.C. According to an article in
New Scientist, in October, 1963, the
alignment of certain principal stones
with the direction of the sun was
shown by Hawkins to exist with only
one degree of error. Correlations with
the moon were demonstrated to within
one and a half degrees. The proba-
bility that these alignments could have
come about, not through the intent of
the builders, but from chance, is small.
The main elements of Stonehenge
include an outer circle of so-called
Aubrey holes, an inner circle of sarsen
stones, and within this a horseshoe of
bluestone. On the outer circle are two
so-called station stones, and two others
that once existed have vanished. By
joining the positions of the station
stones, a rectangle is formed and the
point where its diagonals meet is taken
to be the center of the monument. The
formal entrance is known as the "ave-
nue." The avenue has always been
assumed to point roughly to midsum-
mer sunrise. Hawkins has shown that
it is substantially correct to say the
axis of the avenue did point toward
the rising sun on June 21, 1500 B.C.
Archeologists agree that the fantas-
tic communal achievement in Stone-
henge and the feat of constructing a
huge henge of 1.400 feet diameter at
Avebury. in England, are testimony to
a high degree of tribal political accord
—or perhaps a sacred peace enforced
by warrior heirs of the Beaker aristoc-
racy. Certainly work of this complexity
and .jcale— the transport of enormous
52
stone blocks 140 miles from quarry to
building site— would require an or-
ganized effort by the existing societ)'.
It is possible that archeologists may
one day establish worldwide interre-
lationships between some or all pre-
historic structures built with large
stones. (Examples also exist in Africa
and the Orient, but some were built in
very recent times. ) But certainly there
never was a megalithic master race
that spread from Ireland to Easter
Island, in the South Pacific, construct-
ing monuments wherever it migrated.
With respect to the tombs and mega-
lithic statuary of the Easter Islanders,
skeletal evidence excavated from
graves shows conclusively that the
oldest interred corpses are of the same
racial stock as that of the recent inhabi-
tants—Polynesian with Negroid traces.
Therefore, these megaliths must repre-
sent the efforts of an indigenous South
Pacific island population. Moreover,
the Easter Island monuments are un-
doubtedly of more recent origin than
the great stone architecture of New
Stone and Bronze Age Europe.
From their skeletal remains, the
European megalith builders appear to
belong to what physical anthropolo-
gists describe as the Mediterranean
subrace. Probably they spoke a pre-
Indo-European language, of which
the present-day Berber and Basque
tongues may be modified vestiges. If
one wished to see peoples like the
Ruins of Mnajdra shrine on Maha,
below, are nearly 4,000 years old and
are situated on cliff overlooking sea.
megalith builders in the Europi
world of today, one would go to
seacoast villages and seek out the en
of contemporary Basque, Galician.
Breton fishing boats.
IT must not be inferred that
varieties of megalithic architect
in western Europe are all necessa:
related. The architect of Stonehe
need not have belonged to the sa
culture as the builders of the Car
stone rows or of Spain's Antequ
tombs, nor the architect of ]>
Grange to the society that produ
the structures at Bagneux. Bv wa>
comparison, the builders of Christ
churches and cathedrals in post-Ron
western Europe differed widelv in 1
guage. political loyalty, and culti
In Europe, megaliths were the h
mark of an early, expanding civil
tion. Megalithic architecture was
characteristic of those times as i
contemporary, international style ii
the current, heterogeneous world,
megalithic monuments and tombs h
seemed remarkable and even myst
ous in a human sense, they w
spread abroad in a most normal ;
predictable way— through trade,
grations. and colonization— in the v
that much of the world was Weste
ized in the past century. All of the \^
was once in the grip of a nascent, p
European civilization, of which m
aliths remain as endurins; evider
Temple of H.4L Tarxien, at right,
on Malta. Spiral motif on center w
symbolizes the Earth Mother Goddi
SKY
REPORTER
Daylight saving is one result
of international time standard
By Thomas D. Nicholson
IN LAST month's "Sky REPORTER," We discussed factors
that affect an annual chronological event, the beginning
of spring. A related event occurs this month— the change
from standard to daylight saving time. In most communi-
ties, the change is made on the fourth Sunday of April—
this year, on April 26. At 2:00 a.m. on this date, clocks
will be advanced by one hour and remain so until autumn.
The question of whether or not to go on daylight time
each spring is a matter of state and local option in the
United States. Even the choice of standard time is left to
the states or local communities, for there is no national
standard of time. The federal government regulates only
the time used by government offices and stations, interstate
commerce, the Armed Forces, and districts and territories
of the federal government.
With respect to daylight time, there are communities in
our country where the issue is still debated annually. Be-
fore reviewing the pros and cons of the argument, we
should examine daylight time itself and see just what it is
and what happens when we adopt it.
Daylight saving time is simply a form of standard time,
which was introduced in the United States in the latter
part of the nineteenth century. Previously, each community
kept time by the sun. setting its clocks to twelve noon when
the sun's shadow pointed north. As a result, the time refer-
ence at any one instant was different in each community,
even in cities quite close to one another. Furthermore,
timepieces were continually falling into error. Even a per-
fect watch set to noon by the sun on January 1 would be
ten minutes fast at solar noon on January 31, not because
of any malfunction in the watch, but because the solar days
in January are longer by about twenty seconds per day
than the average for the year.
These defects in local solar time— local apparent time is
its correct name-became significant with the rapid growth
of commerce, transportation, and communications that
took place after the Civil War. The problems were particu-
larly troublesome for railroads responsible for setting up
and keeping timetables and for the careful scheduling of
equipment along tracks and in terminals. Faced wit1r a
different standard of time in each community they served,
some railroads designated a uniform time to be kept alons
certain sections of their line. This, however, sometimes led
to confusion when several lines used the same terminal.
At Pittsburgh, for example, six different kinds of time were
maintained in order to conform to the schedules of the
many railroads using the station.
Soon after the Civil War, plans for standardizing time
withm the United States were presented to Congress and
54
International zone time map shows breakdown of worh
into 24 standard meridians, each exactly 15 degrees apart
to the railroads, but after many years of waiting for Con
gress to take action, the railroads finally moved inde
pendently to introduce a more orderly plan. In 1883 thf
majority of railroads agreed to adopt a system of standarc
time similar to the one used in England, based upon th«
meridian of Greenwich, England, as the origin for the
measurement of longitude and time.
The mean solar time at the meridian of Greenwich had
been used as standard time throughout England, Scotland,
and Wales since 1848. This meant that it was noon all over
England at the exact moment when noon occurred al
Greenwich. The use of mean solar time, rather than ap-
NUMBERED ZONE
■JTRIES WHERE STANDARD TIME DIFFERS
■ AN HOUR FROM NEIGHBORING ZONES
'JTRIES AND AREAS WHICH HAVE NOT
'TED THE ZONE SYSTEM
zone containing longitude 180. the International Date
, is divided into halves that differ from one another
by 24 hours. Numbers in Europe and Asia are time settings
of Soviet Union, which remains on daylight time all year.
nt (true) solar time, avoided the confusion of a noon
t (by the true sun), which ran ahead of and behind
3lock during certain periods of the year.
[NCE the United States had officially adopted the
Greenwich meridian as the basis for longitude
surement in 1850, the plan adopted by the railroads,
Dugh without government sanction, was at least cou-
nt with the policy of the government. The railroad
1 divided the United States into four zones about 15
•ees wide in longitude. At the approximate center of
1 zone were the meridians 75 west longitude, 90 west,
105 west, and 120 west, designated as the standard
meridians for the zones. The time within each zone was
to be the local mean time of the standard meridian in the
zone. The zone boundaries did not extend directly north
and south, but were modified to conform to local political
and natural borders. Some states requested, and were
granted, uniform railroad time throughout; other states
were divided between two zones, but in no case did a city
lie in two zones.
The standard time system was put into effect by railroads
on Sunday, November 18, 1883, and the more than 70
different kinds of time previously used in railroading were
55
Royal Observatory at Greenwich, England, built in 1675,
was for advancement of navigation and nautical astronomy.
reduced to four— those we now call Eastern, Central, Moun-
tain, and Pacific Standard Time. Since the standard
meridians in each zone were exact multiples of 15, the
time in each zone differed from adjacent zones b)' one hour,
and from Greenwich Mean Time (at the zero meridian)
by 5 hours (at 75° west), 6 hours (at 90° west), 7 hours
(at 105° west), and 8 hours (at 120° west).
The extension of the standard time zones into an inter-
national system resulted from a series of conferences held
at Washington, D. C, in 1884. The nations participating
agreed to divide the world into 24 zones, each 15 degrees
wide in longitude, in which the central meridian was a
multiple of 15 degrees. The time throughout each zone
was the local mean time of its central meridian, and dif-
fered from the time in adjacent zones by exactly one hour.
The Prime Meridian (zero degrees longitude) was the
standard meridian in the zone designated as zero. Zones
in west longitude were numbered -j-l^ +2, -(-3, etc., to
-(-12 in the zone adjacent to the 180th meridian. Zones
east longitude were designated by negative numbers
to — 12 in the zone containing the 180th meridian.
THERE are actually 25 zones in the International Zone
Time system, although there are only 24 different
standard meridians and watch settings. The zone contain-
ing longitude 180 is divided in half: the half in west longi-
tude is 12 hours earlier than Greenwich, the half in east
longitude 12 hours later. As a result, the time on either side
of longitude 180 differs by exactly 24 hours. Thus the 180th
meridian became the International Date Line. On the east
longitude side of that meridian the calendar is always one
day later than on the west longitude side, although the
clocks in the two halves bordering the International Date
Line are always set to the same hour.
Today most nations of the world use time standards
that are based on the international time system, modified
somewhat to political or natural boundaries in order to
maintain uniform time throughout a certain area. Thus,
for example, Eastern Standard Time is the same as zone
-\-5 time. Central Standard is -\-6 time, Mountain Standard
is -{-7 time, and Pacific Standard is -(-8 time.
Daylight saving time is the standard time of the zone
directly east of the one in which a region or community
actually falls. When a community adopts daylight time, it
substitutes for its usual standard meridian the one that
is one hour, or 15 degrees in longitude, to the east. For
example. Eastern Standard Time is the local mean time o|
the 75th meridian, but Eastern Daylight Time is the local
mean time of the 60th meridian.
Obviously, the important effect of daylight saving time
is in transferring the long hours of sunlight in the spring
and summer months from the early morning, when most
of us prefer to sleep, to the early evening, when we can
make more efficient use of them in work and leisure. Hence
the "saving" of daylight. The practice was first introduced
during World War I in Germany and England as a means
of conserving coal and electricity during the late working
hours of the day by transferring daylight to those hours.
It was adopted nationally in the United States in 1918 as
part of the war effort, but it reverted to state or community
option after the war.
DURING World War II, the entire United States was
again directed to observe daylight saving time the
year round, not just in spring and summer months. During
the years 1942-45, some communities adopted a double
daylight time during the spring and summer, advancing the
standard time meridian an additional 15 degrees to the
east, to the 45th meridian in the eastern time zone.
There is still some agitation to adopt daylight saving
time as a year-round standard rather than to continue the
present, somewhat confusing practice of local option. The
entire Soviet Union, for example, which includes ten dif-
ferent time zones, uses daylight time throughout the year.
There is some justification for reform in our practice, since
even the communities in the United States that use day-
light time do not keep the same schedule. Some continue
daylight time until the fourth Sunday in September, others
until the fourth Sunday in October.
The arguments presented against the use of daylight
saving time are also reasonable, however. Some communi-
ties in the United States, such as the western portion of
Texas, western Oklahoma, parts of North Dakota, and parts
of Michigan, are already so far west of their standard
meridians that their standard time is practically a daylight
saving time. Farming communities are generally opposed
to daylight time because many farming activities are
closely related to sunlight hours rather than to clock hours.
Farm animals are not easily induced to change their
schedules by an hour when the community changes from
standard to daylight time and back again.
Finally, it is pointed out. the effect of daylight time can
be achieved by adjusting our daily schedule to the changes
in daylight. Thus we can arise, go to work, and come home
an hour earlier during spring and summer months with-
out rearranging our clock time. But somehow it seems less
painful to rise an hour earlier during the spring and
summer months if the clock still reassures us it is our
normal rising time. This, in the long run, may be the only
real advantage that daylight saving time has to offer us.
Dr. Nicholson is Assistant Chairman. Astronomer, and a
lecturer at The American Museum-Hayden Planetarium.
56
J no** . ,•- 0310.
-+ V-
'*' "*V»'-Jr sasiNiod
MAGNITUDE SCALE
* -0.1 and brighter
* 0.0 to +0.9
* tI.O to +1.9
* +2.0 to +2.9
+ +3.0 to +3.9
* +4.0 and fainter
,1 -■T^
/ • vi^^^
.\ - ' ■«■ - *
TIMETABLE
April 1 10:00 p.m.
April 15 9:00 P.M.
April 30 8:00 P.M.
{Local Mean Time)
ril 7: Greatest eastern elongation of Mercury occurs on
date. For several evenings before and after, it may be
low in the west shortly after sunset,
ril 8: Look for Saturn in the morning sky before sunrise
eft of the late crescent moon. In the morning sky of the
Saturn is to the right of the moon,
ril 10: Venus reaches greatest distance east of the sun.
ril 12: Venus, in the evening sky tonight, shows us ex-
half of its illuminated disk, resembling in appearance
rst quarter moon.
ril 15: In the afternoon sky today, the crescent moon
3S between Venus and Aldebaran. By nightfall, the moon
le some distance to the east, but the three objects form
teresting triangle in the evening sky.
iril 20-22: The Lyrid meteors, reaching maximum about
P.M., EST, on April 21, may be seen in the early morning
s. Although not a good shower, the radiant— near the
it star Vega— is^ nearly overhead after moonset. The
ly rate per observer is about 15.
iril 22: Jupiter is in conjunction with the sun on this
date and begins to enter the morning sky for the first time.
April 27: Mercury is at inferior conjunction, passing between
earth and sun at 5:00 p.m., EST, and enters the morning sky.
With the exception of Venus and the opportunity to see
Mercury during its favorable elongation, April is not impres-
sive for its planets. Jupiter, which enters the morning sky late
in the month, and Mars are too close to the sun. Saturn is
beginning to be easily visible in the morning sky (the moon
will help in locating It on the 8th and 9th).
Venus dominates the evening sky, appearing in the west
shortly after sundown and setting four hours after the sun.
Brightening from magnitude —3.9 to —4.1 in April, it passes
through Taurus, south of the Pleiades in early April and north
of Aldebaran at midmonth.
The elongation of Mercury on the 7th is considered favor-
able because the planet is east of the sun on the ascending
branch of the ecliptic; hence its setting, with respect to sun-
set, is retarded as much as possible. Mercury's stellar mag-
nitude Is —0.1 at elongation, and the planet remains In the
sky for a period of about an hour and a half after sundown.
Her name is Patricia Brigiit Eagle, a forgotten
child witli a proud tradition. Patricia's home is
made of mud and sticl(S; her food consists mainly
of fried bread and corn.
Lil(e other six-year-old children, Patricia
started school this year. It was a frightening
experience for her. Unable to speak but a few
words of English, Patricia suddenly found her-
self in a world where she became self-con-
scious and ashamed of her clothes, of her name,
of her appearance... of herself. She stays apart,
bewildered and lonely.
Patricia will soon learn to speak English, but
there are some things school cannot give her,
things that the other children have. She needs
new shoes, decent clothes, money for school
activities and school supplies— and for an oc-
casional luxury such as a bracelet or a small
toy. She needs the help of someone who cares...
someone to give her the confidence and assur-
ance she needs so desperately to participate in
voluntary school and community services.
If not you... who?
You— or your club or office group— can give
these things to Patricia or another needy Indian
child through SAVE THE CHILDREN FEDERATION.
Your contribution of just $10.00 a month,
$120.00 a year, will provide a child with funds
to buy suitable clothing, books and a cash al-
lowance for school activities.
You will receive a photograph, a case history,
and progress reports on the child you sponsor.
You may also correspond with the child, so that
your generous material aid becomes part of a
larger gift of understanding and friendship.
Won't you please help?
save the children f
Serving Children for 31 Years
SAVE THE CHILDREN FEDERATION
Norwalk, Connecticut
I wish to contribute $120.00 annually to help an
American Indian Girl Q Boy n
Enclosed is my first payment;
$10.00 a month □ $60.00 semi-annually □
$30.00 a quarter D $120.00 annually Q
I cannot sponsor a child; enclosed is a contribu-
tion of $
Name_
Contributions are tax deductible,
state j
ble. NH-4-4 I
NOVACULITE, often referred to popu-
larly as "oilstone" or "whetstone."
is a type of quartz that has proved ex-
tremely valuable to artisans and indus-
try in the honing of cutting edges. Before
examining this rather enigmatic mineral,
it will be helpful to review the proper-
ties that characterize quartz.
Quartz— silica to the mineralogist-
represents a union of two of the most
abundant elements known, the non-me-
tallic element silicon and the ordinarily
gaseous element oxygen. Collectively,
these two elements account for some 75
per cent of the matter comprising the
earth's atmosphere, oceans, and crustal
locks. It is not surprising that their union
in the form of the dioxide of silicon
should be one of the major constituents
of the earth's crust. Nor does it seem un-
reasonable that the silicate minerals as a
class— those minerals that consist of sili-
con and oxygen in combination with one
or even several of the metallic elements
—should equal or perhaps outnumber all
other minerals.
By Paul Mason Tildi
There are many varieties of sili
most of which are to be found in ev
the most rudimentai^ of mineral coll(
tions. In its coarsely crystallized sta
silica, in the form of common quartz, ft
nishes such basic but nonetheless han
some collectibles as water-clear "ro
crystal"; amethyst in various shades
purple or reddish purple; pale-brown
purplish-brown "smoky quartz"; "ro
quartz" (highly prized when specime
exhibit one or more crystal faces) ; ai
milky-white quartz known to miners
"bull quartz"— often one of the first mi
erals to go into the collections of youn
sters. Less common examples inclui
transparent or translucent yellowish ai
greenish quartz.
In addition, there are many who!
opaque varieties of silica, usually of
more somber color and tougher natui
Varieties include agate, carnelian, ja
per. chert, and hard-to-define chert h
brids of unexciting gray or brown coloi
tion. All of the minerals in this cla
travel under the general description
58
Rainbow novaculite shows concentric
bands of rose, gray, orange, and white.
The patterns in this specimen vary froi
one quarter-inch to two inches in widtl
:edonic silica." They are com-
known as cryptocrystalline, but
Orographic microscope and X ray
that while some are aggregations
ute crystalline silica grains, others
;tually composed of myriad fibers
:ths of silica, probably not crystal-
Jovaculite falls under the granular
>f quartz classification.
Novaculite Defined
ould be said that the word "novacu-
" will be used here in a rather
lized way— that is, in reference to
articular kind of rock. It is neces-
;o point this out, because during
r days in America the name was
only applied to a rather wide
of rock types, the only criterion
that when a piece was properly
jr sawed out and shaped— dressed
.s the saying was— it would serve
with or without oil to make a keen
g edge on scythes, axes, knives, and
tools. Such stones could be sandy
, shales, gritstones, or even sandy
s with sufficient free silica in small,
grains to cut the steel of a blade,
ock type answered this description
i likely to be quarried and called
ulite, or oilstone. "The goodness of
stone." said a New England geolo-
n 1844, "depends on its wearing
evenly, so as not to glaze, and al-
to present new surfaces of fine
Dus particles which cut . . . steel."
nust also be said here— not argu-
itively, for the time has long since
d for that, but merely as an added
of interest— that the originator of
/ord novaculite was guilty of a
r odd error in terminology. Novacu-
ems from the Latin word for razor,
ula. But to the Romans a razor was
strument that served to give the
face a new appearance; the root of
ord was nova, something new. The
ness of the instrument was not in
, Thus the promulgator of the term
unded the razor with the stone that
ened it. It is late in the day to sug-
that the term "cosite" might have
more appropriate, stemming as it
from the Latin co5— a hone, or a
itone. (Such a change might also
to confusion with the newly cata-
d quartz polymorph coesite. first
ed artificially by Loring Goes, Jr. in
then discovered as a natural min-
it Barringer Crater in Arizona in
and subsequently found in other
)r craters as a polymorph of ordi-
quartz created by enormous shock
;xtreme temperature.)
texture, a sample of pure novaculite
ids one of the maple sugar in a
ne; in color, the mineral ranges
snow- and creamy-white through
us shades of buff and green; from
lue to dark blue; and from light
to a dull black. Traces of iron— and
Mr. Tilden, author and editor, writes
regular columns for this magazine both
on rocks and minerals and on current
conservation legislation in Washington.
perhaps manganese, also— in various
states of oxidation may produce rainbow-
like halos of color in lighter-hued
specimens. The rock is quite brittle in
its pure condition, and breaks out in
sharp flakes and sherds typical of the
silica family of minerals. Held in the
hand and struck lightly with a metallic
object, a large fragment rings musically
like a fine piece of cut glass.
The petrographic microscope reveals
the individual grains of silica in novacu-
lite to be of remarkably uniform size and
fitted together with few or no open
spaces or "pores" around them. In de-
scribing this uniform array, one inves-
tigator has made the comment that the
grains "are not cemented, but seem
merely to be jammed together, the te-
nacity of the stone apparently being due
to the interlocking of the edges of the
grains." In parts of the novaculite for-
mation there have been found traces of
floral and faunal life; sponge spicules,
radiolarian capsules, brachiopods, mi-
crospores, and other relics— even an oc-
casional piece of petrified wood.
The novaculite discussed in this article
is a type of quartz rock that outcrops
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59
over a wide portion of the 12,000-
square-mile province of the Ouachita
Mountains of western Arkansas and
southeastern Oklahoma. This so-called
Arkansas novaculite is a rock formation
that varies in thickness from 250 to 900
feet or so. although the beds of novacu-
lite are separated by layers of shale. It
has been well established that the forma-
tion was laid down during the late
Devonian and early Mississippian pe-
riods, perhaps some 350 million years
ago. Exactly how it was laid down, how-
ever, has been one of the challenges
American geology. Since the middle
the past century no fewer than thirle
competent geologists or geological p;
ties have investigated the Arkansas i
vaculite and the silica-rich rock fort
tions that lie above and below it. 1
number of resulting theories as to I
mode and circumstances of dispositi
almost equals the number of invest!]
tions. Some sample theories: novacul
is a metamorphosed sandstone; a me
morphosed chert ; the result of hot-wa
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60
Foreign minerals in polished slab of
novaculite produced dime-size "sore."
The inclusions present in this specii
are deposits of hematite and limoii
Unpolished buff specimen is readily
identifiable as a "blackheart." Black
center is not an inclusion, but a s
probably made by disseminated carl
r>
ts; was originally a limestone,
replaced by silica; represents a
ea chemical precipitate; was vol-
ash that later became silicified.
Practical Uses
ATEVER the antecedents of this un-
gual and extensive sheet of silica,
ck itself has been turned to good
It by man. In the vicinity of Hot
;s, Arkansas, where it outcrops in
icularly pure form, quarrying of
tone, and its fabrication into
nsas oilstones" has for many years
n industry— not large, but a steady
;er of hones for all manner of cut-
dges. These oilstones are used
vide for sharpening carpenters'
jngravers' tools, for surgeons'
and for precision cutting instru-
-even for the pointing of hypo-
; and other needles,
e of the color variations of novacu-
jve given rise to an interesting
man's jargon. For example, a gray
slab with a black center is known
ackheart." "Rainbow" describes,
)riately enough, specimens that
; bright bands of color in concen-
.tterns of rose, orange, gray, and
A dark inclusion of some foreign
il within a light-colored slab of
ilite is called a "sore," and dis-
ss the piece for commercial pur-
The dead-black variety of the
is known as "blueberry," and
be considered worthless, save for
lited and quite unusual purpose—
)f "blueberry" find a use in the
lops of Europe. There, when a
er enters with a "gold" item for
the proprietor merely rubs it
a piece of the black novaculite
sts the resulting metallic smear
3id— just to be sure that it really
I! It is understandable that an-
lame for the black novaculite is
;ouchstone."
e there is a superabundance of
ick variety of novaculite, it was
I that the quarrymen should have
ted to find some wider market for
lie manufacture of table and coun-
, for example, since the stone
very high polish. It was soon dis-
i that this notion was not practi-
hen a hot dish was placed on a
lite tabletop, the stone beneath
h developed cracks; thus the de-
for "blueberry" still comes only
Europe's pawnbrokers.
)ite the beauty of these fabricated
jnes, the serious mineral collector
doubtless prefer his novaculite
ens "in the rough." This way, they
it only furnish his collection with
ige variety of one of the earth's
inest minerals; they will serve
remind him that there is many a
in the past history of the earth
mains to be unraveled.
^
You'll like the friendly face of Alaska
Today, the vast, wild, hauntingly beautiful Alaska Arctic
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you exquisite carvings of jade or ivory— to buy or admire.
This year, enjoy kingsize adventure in friendly Alaska.
Write Dept.NH-2, Alaska Travel Division, Juneau.
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After a month in these fabled regions,
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tour of Latin America, Mexico City,
Guanajuato, Oaxaca, Vera Cruz and the
Mayan sites around Merida in Mexico,
Guatemala City and the "Great City" of
the Mayans, Tikal, in Guatemala, Quito,
the Indian Villages in the Valley of Los
Chillos, Sasquisili and Otavalo in
Ecuador; Lima, the Inca citadel of
Cajarmaqilla, Cuzco, Machu Picchu and
Pisac in Peru; Lake Titicaca, La Paz,
the Inca ruins of the Empire's ancient
capital Tiahuanacu, Oruro, Potosi.
Sucre and Cochabamba in Bolivia are
the places to be visited — an array
rarely, if ever combined into one single
tour.
EXTENSION TOURS covering Paraguay
and Brazil or Exploring the Amazon
are also available.
New York to New York, July 2-August 10,
All-inclusive $1740.00
First-class accommodations throughout
on both tours.
ATA also offers other workshops and
study lours to Western Europe, the
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For details write to:
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62 '
About the Authors
Mr. Arthur Leipzig, author of "Old
Africa's 'People of the Village,' " is a
wide-ranging photographer whose home
is in New York. His article about the
Meban people, to be concluded next
month, is based on several weeks he
spent with Dr. Samuel Rosen's third ex-
pedition to investigate Meban health.
The significance of the discovery of an
Iguanodons footprints on the island of
West Spitsbergen is discussed in "Dino-
saurs of the Arctic." by Dr. Edwin H.
Colbert. He is Chairman and Curator
of the Department of Vertebrate Paleon-
tology at The American Museum, where
casts of two I guanodon footprints are
scheduled for display. Among Dr. Col-
bert's special interests is the investiga-
tion of past distribution and interconti-
nental migrations of land vertebrates.
Mr. Paul Villiard, who wrote "Mul-
ticolored World of Caterpillars" and
took the accompanying photos, is a bio-
photographer and writer on natural his-
tory subjects. Originally a mechanical
engineer. ]\Ir. Villiard became interested
in Lepidoptera during travels in South
America, and he began to concentrate
on rearing, identifying, and photograph-
ing this group of insects. He is now com-
pleting a book on lepidopterous larvae,
and is planning one on marine shells.
Dr. Bryan Nelson, who describes the
gannetry on the Bass Rock, an isolated
islet at the mouth of the Firth of Forth,
has concentrated on studies of the gan-
net for the past three years. Dr. Nelson
did his undergraduate work at Saint
Andrews University in Scotland, and re-
ceived a Nature Conservancy scholarship
to Oxford, He has been awarded a post-
doctoral Senior Carnegie grant to extend
his gannet work to boobies, assisted by
the Frank M. Chapman Memorial Fund,
which is administered by the Depart-
ment of Ornithology at The American
Museum. Dr. Nelson and his wife, who
acts as his field assistant, are now pur-
suing ornithological researches for a
year on uninhabited Tower Island, in
the Galapagos.
The photographs and description of a
bee cross-pollinating an orchid are the
work of Mr. H. Lou Gibson, a special-
ist in scientific and medical photography
with the Eastman Kodak Co. His hobby
is growing wildflowers. of which he has
raised more than 300 species.
Dr. Glyn E. Daniel, author of "Meg-
aliths and Men." is an archeologist who
specializes in the study of prehistoric
chamber tombs of England and Wales.
A Fellow of St. John's College, Cam-
bridge University (England), Dr. Dan-
iel is General Editor of the "Ancient
Peoples and Places" series, published
in the U. S. by Frederick A. Praeger.
The i
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Honeyivell
SCIENCE IN ACTION
iLaunching an expeditioi
PHOTOGRAPHIC PRODUCTS
I By Richard G. Van Gelder
IN MANY WAYS, basic research could
be called "anticipatory research."
It is the material from which a new con-
cept may come. It may form the foun-
dation of a new theory when added to
other similar bodies of knowledge. It
may remain dormant in the literature
until just that moment, for instance,
when the solution of some medical prob-
lem requires that certain bit of infor-
mation. Basic research anticipates fu-
ture use of knowledge, but no one can
say precisely the way it will be used.
An example of this combination of
basic research and pragmatism can be
found in an expedition now being
planned by The American Museum's
Department of Mammalogy. But before
discussing the program, it might be well
to describe some of the thinking that
governs a department like this one.
One of the main concerns of any such
department is the collecting of speci-
mens—and this involves a sizable pro-
portion of our time. But why collect
mammals at all? The museums of North
America have about 1.500.000 specimens
from all parts of the world, and if all
the other collections were added, the
total number of study specimens would
come close to 2.500.000. As there are
only about 5.000 species of mammals
recognized today, is there any need to
collect any more material? The answer
to this lies in the three phases of biology:
What is it? How does it work? Why
does it exist and function as it does?
For a few parts of the world the
"what'' phase is nearing completion. The
mammals of North America are pretty
well known, and research on them is now
moving into the "how" and even to the
"why"' stage. But in other areas of the
world the mammals have not been
studied so thoroughly. Parts of Asia,
Africa, New Guinea, and especially
South America are still in the "what-is-
it?" stage. It is in these places that
collecting still goes on and still is needed.
Another question has been asked:
Aside from satisfying the intellectual
curiosity of a few individuals and aside
from adding to the general knowledge
of the world, is there any practical ap-
plication to classification of mammals?
The answer is: Unquestionably!
As an example, some years ago a
mammalogist did a taxonomic study of
the rabbits of California. In addition to
telling how to identify California rab-
bits, the author recorded whatever ob-
servations he had made or could find in
the literature. A few years later his pi
fessor received a letter from some coi
mercial flower growers in the state, clai
ing that they were losing thousands
dollars because rabbits were eating
many of their plants. The profess
wrote back and asked what kind of ra
bits were doing the damage. The fan
ers didn't know. "A rabbit is a rabbil
they said. The professor insisted on mo
precise information. A rabbit was sh
and sent to him. Using his studen
published work on the subject, the p:
fessor identified the rabbit as a bru;
rabbit. Under "remarks" the author hi
written that brush rabbits are not knov
to venture more than a few yards fro
cover. So the professor told the flow
growers to cut the brush back 40 fe
from the edges of their fields. The ne
year he received a letter saying that tt
simple method had saved the growe
$6,000 during one year.
This is but one simple case of app]i(
taxonomy. Knowing the kind of rabl
made control possible. No biological i
search can be done competently witho
the scientists' knowing ivhat species, <
even subspecies, he is dealing with, ai
something about their widely difierii
biologies. And here the odd avocatic
of flea-picking enters mammal researc
Fleas and the Mammalogist
ALTHOUGH fleas, ticks, mites, and h
, have always been a part of norm
field work in mammalogy, it is only r
cently that a great deal of attention
being paid to this facet— which brings i
back to the currently planned expec
tion. Recently the Museum's Depai
ment of Mammalogy received a gra
from the U.S. Army Medical Resear(
and Development Command to do fie
work in South America— collecting mai
mals and their ectoparasites. We decidi
to work in Uruguay, Bolivia, and A
gentina. Late in 1962 our field party le
and spent six months collecting in Ur
guay. At this writing, a year from tl
time we started the field work, son
thousands of specimens are being cat
logued in preparation for study a:
eventual publication. During this peril
we also began to make plans for tl
Bolivian expedition. Then somethii
new entered the picture.
In 1959 hemorrhagic fever, a \ix\
disease that is characterized by fev
and internal bleeding, broke out in ti
places in the Bolivian lowlands. Tl
human mortality has been at least
64
;ent and possibly higher. In 1963 an
emiological team from the Middle
rica Research Unit began an inten-
study in the town of San Joaquin,
virus is believed to be transmitted
n ectoparasite carried by a mam-
but the vectors have never been
ed dovi-n in the parts of the world
e hemorrhagic fevers occur— Argen-
Korea, and Tibet, among others,
le work of the Middle America Re-
;h Unit has involved studying the
)gy of the disease. The animals, sus-
;d or not. must be trapped, the ecto-
sites removed and preserved, and
everything sent to specialists for
dfication. The American Museum
f will be working in co-operation
the M.A.R.U. team, collecting
mals and their ectoparasites in the
inds to try to determine the extent
e plague in the wild. But if we had
in tills area five years ago, what
dy of knowledge might have been
able: mammal specimens identi-
habitats recorded in our notes, to-
er with information on food and
ity, and lists of ectoparasites known
^e on certain species. We might not
had the answer for the medical re-
;hers, but we surely would have had
1 information that might have been
;e to them. Now, all the time we are
dng, people may be dying for lack
little basic research.
D one could have anticipated hemor-
ic fever in Bolivia. No one can ac-
tely predict any biological develop-
ts, except with long and careful
r study. So, when people ask me
the Army is supporting mammal
irch in South America. I tell them
It Bolivia and the basic research
we had planned to do— basic re-
:h that became applied before we
even started.
Expedition work falls into three sec-
tions. First, it must be planned; second,
it must be done; third, the collected
material must be worked up. Each facet
is discrete, in which the work may be
just as arduous as in any other facet.
The planning segment breaks into divi-
sions we might label "where," "when,"
and "how." We like to choose areas that
either have not been studied before, or
that still leave promising problems. In
deciding to work in South America, we
built our plans around the scientists we
knew in various countries. The presence
of a thoughtful, helpful, enthusiastic
colleague who is native to the country
is the greatest help one can have in an
initial expedition program. Thus far,
our colleagues in the South American
venture have come through with flying
colors— and getting things through some
of the governmental red tape in foreign
countries can be a real chore. I remem-
ber one day in Uruguay signing seven
long documents— nine copies of each—
that granted us duty-free import and
export. But it was thanks to the weeks
of groundwork by our mammalogist as-
sociates in Montevideo and the people
at the American Embassy there that the
papers were ready when needed.
Once the selection of the expedition
site has been made, the next decision is
when to go. In some countries the choice
is made for you. We are going to Bolivia
this year during the six-month dry sea-
son, which begins in April. In Uruguay
we did not face the problem of rainy
and dry seasons, and so we went as soon
as we could. We started ordering our
materials on October 1 and were in the
field on December 3— which may have
set some sort of a record. Among the
considerations that must be borne in
mind in the "when" stage are the length
of time it takes for supplies to be or-
Tlie Exploradora will soon house fifteen scientists and crew members.
Latitude 43-46' N. — Loyigituile eO'W W.
THE
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For here the crowds and confusion
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Unexpected species reward birders
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This is the New Field Model Questar Telescope.
It weighs less than 3 pounds and costs only
$795. Included in the price are this 4-lb. case,
one eyepiece, and an improved basic camera
coupling set. There is room for cameras and
other accessories.
Twenty-one major changes in this barrel and
control-box assembly permit a much wider
photographic field of view, which now covers
all but the very corners of the 24x36 mm. film
frame at f/I6 without extension tubes. Expo-
sures are two f-numbers faster.
The New Field Model is optically identical in
quality to all Questars. Since only an average of
one out of three perfect optical systems sur-
passes theory by enough to satisfy us, we can
continue to state that no amount of money,
time or human effort can noticeably improve
Questar's power of resolution. For whereas
Lord Rayleigh's criteria sets 1.4 seconds of arc
as Questar's limit of resolution, a Questar has
resolved two stars but 0.6 second apart.
Because our function is to malce the world's
finest small telescopes in limited number, in-
stead of many of ordinary quality, this New
Field Model oflers a new experience to the
photographer. We offer him the world's sharp-
est lens, of 89-mm. aperture. We provide him
with a low-power wide-field finder view, like
that of a field glass, to let him locate distant
objects rapidly. With flickof finger he can bring
to bear a high-power view of 40-80x or 80-1 60x
to study the object minutely through this super-
fine telescope. Another finger flick and slight
refocusing brings the object to the clear bright
center of his cameras' groundglass.
At this point he is challenged to capture on
the sensitive emulsion what this superb tele-
scope of 56 inches focal length is projecting to
his film. He has seen it in Questar's eyepiece
and in his reflex camera's groundglass. All that
remains is to place the image in exact focus on
the film and expose correctly with no vibration
at all. And at long last we have the only camera
able to do this, the Questar-modified Nikon F.
For the first time, then, Questar has a true
photographic model, and a camera without
mirror slap, shutter vibration, or too-dim focus-
ing. Moreover, from now on \vc can measure
the actual picture-taking light at the ground-
glass, and abandon inexact exposure calculations
entirely, using the new cadmium sulfide meters.
With this new control of vibration, sharp
focus, and correct exposure times, only one
other factor remains to interfere with high
resolution telescopic photography. We need
quiet air for good seeing — which is no problem
at 7 to 100 feet. But how can we get trembling
air to stand still while we take sharp pictures at
great distances? There are several things we can
do to take advantage of nature's moods, and if
you write for literature we will tell you more
about it.
New Field Model. S795 in case with basic
couplings as shown. The 80-160X eyepiece, S35.
Questar-modified Nikon F bodies, from S234.60.
Complete outfit shown, with camera and tripod,
$1332, postpaid in U.S.
dered and received: shipping metli
and steamer schedules; and the t
lapses occasioned by the need for
cial collecting permits— which have b
known to take years.
Before the "when" phase is comple
though, a good deal of the "how" as]
must be considered. How many pec
are going to be in the field party? E
are you going to travel? How are
going to live? For the Bolivia trip
faced multiple problems of how.
will be traveling in an area witl
roads, with few people, and with no .
tain local sources of food, fuel, or o1
supplies. Because the area has m
rivers, we decided on a houseboat. 1
has involved a whole new phase of
pedition learning for us, but the
ploradora, 63 feet long and 13%
wide, is almost complete, and she
house, carry, and serve as a laboral
for our staff and crew of fifteen.
Finally comes the job of meshing
where, when, and how. Will all of
personnel be available when you \,
to leave ? Will the length of the trip
terfere with the school year and af
the work period of your student as;
ants? Can you buy formaldehyde
Bolivia or will you have to ship it doi
No Room for Tyros
EACH person in the party is caref
selected— first for his specialty,
second for his other abilities. Every
must wear two or three hats. On
Bolivian trip, for example, the mami
ogist will be photographer and admi
trative leader of the expedition (
year he also was cook and interpn
for a couple of months). The herpet
gist will also be required to handle
any and ecology in the study area,
will be in charge of liaison with Bolii
personnel. An assistant with a med
degree will be charged with our hea
keeping the engine of the housel
running, and taking serum samj
from the animals.
As personnel is selected, the orde]
of equipment begins. Over the years
have maintained a card file of exp
tion equipment used on trips. As
material is ordered, the cards ge
colored tab. and as it comes in they
another tab. When the boxes are pac
for shipment the tabs are removed,
this way we can see immediately w
has to be ordered, what is on its v
and what is at hand. On the Urug
trip the only thing that somehow w
astray was some of our special noteb
paper— a minor loss.
Gradually, the pieces of the exp'
tion begin to fit together. Working b
from the date we want to leave for
field, we set a shipping date. Work
back from that we set an ordering c
for equipment. When the equipment
been sent to the operation site, ther
Van Gelder, who in this column
cribes the problems of planning
expedition, is Chairman of the
seum's Department of Maranialogy.
riod of slightly less hectic activity,
)ther needs arise. It is the time for
ig shots, renewing passports, mak-
jlane reservations, worrying about
irompt arrival of equipment in the
iition area. This is where a good
ague on the receiving end comes in
y; he usually sees the materials
igh so that we can sometimes be in
eld a day or two after our arrival.
the trip we try to accomplish as
I as possible in the limited time
able. In even the most carefully
ted group there will be personality
ences, but this has posed no serious
ems on previous expeditions. There
be accidents and sickness, but
, we have been fortunate. There will
sappointing days, and there will be
arating ones. The adventure is in
•ip itself. The last thing a good ex-
ion leader wants is "excitement"—
ing the unexpected. All of our
ling has gone toward trying to an-
ite hindrances to our work, and
the unforeseen is bound to happen,
in only hope that it will not seri-
deter us from our objectives.
;er the trip has ended, after all of
ijuipment and specimens have been
ed back, after everyone has re-
d. the long task of scientific book-
ng must be done. Specimens are
)gued; skins tanned; skulls cleaned
numbered; notebooks rearranged
filed; maps collated. Then the
of the materials can begin. This
ake months and years, and often
Too many collections are not
ed up, but generally we feel that
lould gather specimens while the
ig is good. Once in the Museum.
;rly catalogued and housed, they
3e available to anyone for study.
IS we are working up one kind of
oaal, other scientists from other in-
ions may be working on a different
3 from the same collection,
en as this goes on. another oppor-
! for field work may arise, and
I the process begins. Where will we
When will we leave? How will we
the area?
list details the photographer, artist,
ler source of illustrations, by page.
-Paul Villiard 42-AMNH
ph Sedacca 43-H. Lou Gibson
Arthur Leipzig 44-45-Arline Strong
13-bottom, AIVINH 46-53-S. von Cles-
- F^'t'", ., ^ ^ Reden except 49-top,
urtesy of Natascha q q 5 Crawford, Courtesy
Mu Of H.M. Stationery Office
tthew Kalmenoff 5^""-^'^" ^«^^U.S,
Paul Villiard '^^"^ Hydrographic Service
10 Tinbergen 56-Sky and Telescope
Bryan Nelson Magazine
37-bottom, AMNH 57-60-AMNH
Iryan Nelson 65— H. de Irmay
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Overseas Nature Tours — 1964
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AFRICA: Circuit of continent: chief animal reserves,
500 species of birds. Leave N.T. Aug. 1; 4 to 6 weeks.
SOUTH AMERICA: Continental circuit, including Tierra
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ivhafs the
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birthday
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The American Museum of Naturt
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Additional Reading
OLD AFRICA'S
"PEOPLE OF THE VILLAGE"
Africa: Its Peoples and Their Cul-
ture History. G. P. Murdock. McGraw-
Hill, N. Y., 1959.
Agriculture in the Sudan. Edited
by J. D. Tothill. Oxford University Press,
London, 1948.
"The Maban of Southern Fung." H. G.
Wedderburg and M. C. Maxwell. Sudan
Notes & Records, Vol. 19. 1936.
Pagan Tribes of the Nilotic Sudan.
C. G. and B. Z. Seligman. George Rout-
ledge & Sons, London, 1932.
'■Races of Africa." C. G. Seligman.
The Home University Library of Mod-
ern Knowledge. 3rd Ed. Oxford Uni-
versity Press, London, 1957.
DINOSAURS OF THE ARCTIC
Dinosaurs: Their Discovery and
Their World. E. H. Colbert. Button,
I\'. Y., 1961.
The Dinosaur Book: The Ruling
Reptiles and Their Relatives. E. H.
Colbert. 2nd Ed. McGraw-Hill, N. Y .,
1951.
"The Beginning of the Age of Dino-
saurs." E. H. Colbert. Studies on Fossil
Vertebrates. Edited by T. S. Westoll.
The Athlone Press, London, 1958.
MULTICOLORED
WORLD OF CATERPILLARS
Living Insects of the World. A. B.
Klots and E. B. Klots. Doubleday, N. Y.,
1959.
Wild Silk Moths of the United
States. M. M. Collins and R. D. Weast.
Collins Radio Company, Cedar Rapids,
1961.
BASS ROCK GANNETS
Sea Birds. J. Fisher and R. Lockley.
Collins. London, 1954.
"Display and Posturing in the Cape
Gannet. Morus capensis." Ibis, Vol. 90,
pp. 568-72. 1948.
Social Behaviour in Animals. N.
Tinbergen. John Wiley & Sons, N. Y.,
1953.
CROSS-POLLINATION
OF AN ORCHID
The Story of the Plant Kingdom.
M. C. Coulter. Revised by H. J. Dittmer.
The University of Chicago Press, 1959.
MEGALITHS AND MEN
Prehistoric Chamber Tombs of
England and Wales. G. E. Daniel. The
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,
1950.
The Dawn of European Civiliza-
tion. V. G. Childe. Routledge & Kegan
Paul, London, 1957.
The Prehistoric Foundations of
Europe. G. F. C. Hawkes. Methuen &
Co., London, 1940.
Realm of the Great Goddess. S. von
Cles-Reden. Prentice-Hall, Englewood
Cliffs, N. J., 1962.
IMPORTED IVORY BIR[
HANDCARVED IVORY PAINTED BIRDS 2
Complete with stand — money back guarai
$6.95 P.P.D.:
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$6.25 P.P.D.:
Canary, Sparrow, Cardinal (M&F), Blue
Nightingale.
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Legendary Spanish Hero
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replica of one of literature's
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wood figure will be a handsome
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decor.
$5.95 Postpaid
Your satisfaction is guaranteed.
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FOUR WINDS TRAVEL, INC.
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n AROUND THE WORLD 28 PAGES OF
ITINERARY MAPS, DETAILS.
D SOUTH PACIFIC/NEW ZEALAND/
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D AROUND AFRICA THE COMPLETE
STORY, DAY-TO-DAY DETAILS.
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n AROUND THE WORLD 28 PAGES OF ITINERARY
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!ncprfdra|ng Nature Magazine
•^^^OfSZS.
'MTiP'^l^.i^:-
j^^^^r::Tj^- Zsi
beat the
system
Top New York photographer, Phil Marco, used the Hasselblad equip
ment shown above to get the unretouched macro photograph, same
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photographers are turning to the Hasselblad system. Reflex viewing
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further information, write; Paillard Inc., 1900 Lower Road, Linden, N.J
Macro photo by
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a Hasselblad.
HASS£LBLAD
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outside his own, the 13 volumes are available in luxurious clothbound or quality Smyth-sewn paper-
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THE STARS
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Natural History
Incorporating Nature Magazine
THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
Vol. Lxxni
MAY 1964
ARTICLES
BRONZES OF LURISTAN
STALAGMITES AND STALACTITES
FRUCTIVOROUS FLIERS
MAN PLANT'S RETURN
No. 5
BeTiiard Goldman 12
Edward O'Donnell 22
Kay Breeden 26
H. Lea Latvrence 34
OLD AFRICA'S "PEOPLE OF THE VILLAGE": PART II Arthur Leipzig 38
THE MONARCH'S EMERGENCE Alexander B. Klots SC
DEPARTMENTS
REVIEWS
SKY REPORTER
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
TRAVEL FAR AND NEAR:
THE METEORITE SEARCH
NATURE AND THE CAMERA
SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL READING
Colin M. Turnbull 5
Thomas D. Nicholson 46
54
D. Moreau Barringer 56
David Linton 6(]
63
CIRCULATION MANAGER
Joseph Saulina
COVER: This half-animal, half-human, cast bronze artifact is about 5% inches
long. It was made about 1000 B.C., and is a bit plaque that was used by some
horse-riding, herd-keeping, seminomad of Luristan, in the Zagros Mountains,
which lie between Iran and Iraq. The Lurs, despite their mountain living, wert
on the main trade routes to the East, and their magnificent bronzes influenced
and were influenced by the more sophisticated neighboring cultures. Starting
on page 12, Dr. Bernard Goldman discusses these people and some aspects ol
their art. Mr. Robert J. Lee. who painted the cover, also illustrated the article
The American Museum is open to the public without charge every day
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Reviews
Women, witchery, and rebellion
color the African scene
By Colin M. Turnbull
;ic, Divination and Witchcraft
NG THE BaROTSE OF NORTHERN
iDESiA, by Barrie Reynolds. Univer-
of California Press, $6.00; 181 pp.,
. Women of Tropical Africa, ed-
by Denise Paubne. University of
fornia Press, $6.50; 308 pp., illus.
er and Rebellion in Tribal Africa,
Hax Gluckman. The Free Press of
icoe, $6.00; 273 pp.
iAT women are tricky creatures is,
)f course, beyond dispute, and in
ca they are frequently regarded by
: menfolk with a jaundiced eye.
Ir power to create life indicates an
nate and, to some, an almost sinister
ciation with the supernatural. In-
l many societies, not only African,
gnize a female propensity for witch-
t. It is not surprising, then, to find
len playing an important part in
ie Reynold's book. Magic, Divina-
and Witchcraft among the Barotse
Northern Rhodesia. There is even a
3what faded photograph of four
d-looking ladies who had been ac-
d of necrophagy.
allowing the introduction, we are
n examples of the versatility of
can women in the fine art of be-
hment, and the section "Equipment
Methods," with illustrations of
hcraft kits, almost puts this book in
sach yourself" category,
r. Reynolds sets out to describe
hcraft and its allied practices and
;fs in Central Africa's Barotseland.
depicts the principal actors— the
h and the sorcerer, the doctor, and
diviner— and then describes his in-
gations of the sudden glut of witch-
t cases that occurred in Barotseland
ae late nineteen-fifties. The picture
)resents through case histories rep-
nts a special and abnormal situation.
lolds himself recognizes this and
rs the reader to Dr. V. Turner's ad-
ble Schism and Continuity in an
can Society for a more balanced
unt. Even so, I wish that the author
given us more general background
ling witchcraft in relation to society
whole. In isolation, it cannot help
;aring quaint, senseless, or even
laric; in reality it serves a perfectly
I social function. The concept is one
of the major mechanisms by which order
is maintained in many African societies.
It is a great pity the point is not clearly
made in this book.
However, descriptive ethnography is
of value to all of us because, eschewing
theory as it does, it presents all the in-
formation that could possibly be consid-
ered relevant in an impartial manner.
While having some doubts about the
effect of this book on the non-anthropo-
logical reader, I can appreciate the won-
derful miscellany that is presented with
clarity and moments of humor. Who
would not be interested by instructions
on how to raise a body from the grave
without getting your hands dirty, so
that after you have sliced off those sec-
tions required for a banquet, the remains
return of their own accord, leaving you
suitably unsullied? We are even told of
an unfortunate old lady who slipped up
in her calculations and, on raising a body
in expectation of a glorious feast, found
it to be so decomposed that she had to
rebury it without further ado. As ethno-
grapliic description such items have their
own value and are a pleasure to read if
one can preserve the air of detachment
that is necessary.
If omen of Tropical Africa is an ex-
cellent, much-needed book that appeared
in a French edition in 1960 and has only
now been translated into English. It
makes no attempt to beguile the general
reader with a fancy format; on the con-
trary, it is severely academic. (The faint
print, in my copy at least, and close
type may further discourage the weak
in purpose.) However, anyone initially
drawn by the title will find the book
engrossing. It consists of an introduction
by Denise Paulme and six studies by
different authors (all women) concern-
ing the role of women in various areas
of Africa. The analytical bibliography
is of immense value to the serious student
and is a fair measure of the book itself.
Instead of listing works by alphabetizing
the authors, it considers various signifi-
cant aspects of womanhood and subdi-
vides each according to region, then lists
selected works dealing primarily with
that topic. Thus we have works cited
that deal with the social and legal status
of women, their family life, initiation,
and associations, as well as the economic.
history under Layard's spade
. . . Miss Kubie succeeds in
conveying the excitement of
his life . . . Extremely read-
able." -C. W. CERAM, N. Y.
TIMES BOOK REVIEW. Illus-
trated, $5.95
The adventure
of archaeology-
past and present
Wolfgang Cordan
llH Maya"
A world-famous German ex-
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and rewards of his major ex-
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of the Maya, in a search for
hidden temples and the ob-
scure origins of a people
who flourished more than a
thousand years ago. Illus-
trated, $4.95
At all booksellers
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political, and ritual activity of womei
their education, and emancipation.
Each chapter deals similarly in sp
cifics rather than generalities, and if, i
the end, we do not arrive at an over-a
picture of "the African woman," it
only because she does not exist. One i
the many virtues of this book is that
indirectly accentuates the diversity i
social phenomena in Africa. At the san
time, the information provided enabl
the reader to make comparisons ai
form certain valid, limited generaliz,
tions of his own. For the layman tl
book goes a long way toward dispelUi
that unhappy misconception of Africa
women as beasts of burden. For tl
scholar it marks a break in the streai
of anthropological articles and moni
graphs of Africa written primarily froi
a male point of view.
Women get twenty-one references i
their own right in the index to Ma
Gluckman's Order and Rebellion \
Tribal Africa, and also appear und(
other headings— one of them, natural!
"witchcraft." The two books reviewe
above had very specific topics, but Pn
fessor Gluckman's excellent book meai
ders like a placid stream flowii
serenely between the opposed banks (
academic controversy, carrying the ui
resisting reader with it.
Basically this is a collection of tl
author's own essays from journals thi
are not easily accessible to many sti
dents. But instead of being contei
merely to compile his works, he unde
took the difficult but immensely valuabi
task of using these essays to assess h
own contribution to the body of anthn
pological knowledge and theory. H
presumably did this task in the hope (
clarifying his own arguments and stii
ulating further thought and discussioi
Although one of the leading figuri
in British social anthropology, Professt
Gluckman has not always been fuL
understood. The forty-nine pages of ii
troduction are devoted to a clarificatio
of his position and might be heavy gois
for the untrained reader, but they affoi
an exciting glimpse of an exact, fort)
right academic mind at work. The autho
unlike some of his colleagues, does ni
wear academic blinkers. If he concludf
that his work had made a valid contr
bution, this is no more than a mode
statement of fact. In pointing to tl
danger of concentrating too heavily a
the lineage structure of society he ni
only helped to divert a great deal of ei
deavor from a dead end but also opene
up new fields of investigation.
Following the introduction are te
essays that deal with the problem (
order and disorder. Sometimes this broa
subject is tackled directly, as in tl
author's analysis of the concept of tl
"reasonable man" in Barotse law. an
sometimes indirectly, as in his essa]
Malinowski. Other discussions in-
de "Succession and Civil War among
Bemba," "Rituals of Rebellion in
ith-East Africa," "The Magic of De-
ir" (which in itself is an admirable
on in the value of detached observa-
i), "The Village Headman in British
itral Africa," and others,
'o have reprinted these essays in book
n would have been contribution
ugh, but to couple them with the
oductory clarification of the author's
iiments has made it a major contribu-
te anthropology, and a book of prime
ortance in African studies.
istant Curator of African Ethnology
'he American Museum, Mr. Turnbull
frequent contributor to these pages.
Before Columbus, text by Andre
nerich, photographs by Lee Boltin.
on and Schuster, $10.00; 256 pp.
[GHT now, pre-Columbian art is en-
joying a popularity that it has not
wn since Charles V's officials totted
the value of Montezuma's tribute,
rt from exhibitions— publicly and
ately inspired— and the growth of a
crop of collectors, the most obvious
ifestation of this is the quantity of
nt books on the subject. The "little
f/n civilizations of the Olmecs. Tolt-
Mixtecs, Huaxtecs, Zapotecs, Maya
Aztecs," as the publisher's blurb of
Before Columbus is pleased to call
1, can hardly be considered all that
ure today.
le field of ancient Mexican art is
ly complex and is not really suscep-
to the simplified historical treat-
t it gets in many books. It is also
, one imagines, that even for the
; enthusiastic reader the recital of
bare facts about Olmecs, Toltecs,
;ecs, and their ilk must soon lose its
;ement. Probably Mr. Emmerich was
cious of this. His book, like others,
ivided schematically into separate
iters on the various cultures, each
ed almost as a watertight compart-
t. The resulting condensation of in-
ation produces very vivid pictures of
cultures, indeed; if not exactly tech-
lored, they are at least hand-tinted.
L not sure that Mr. Emmerich does
50 rather too far in this. I am sure
the result is not a history of pre-
mbian art; so much space is de-
1 to the setting that his discussion
le art itself becomes almost inci-
al. There is a certain amount of
;orization of the art objects, but
exposition of the development of
ric interplay of the styles,
le photographs by Lee Boltin, who
properly shares the honors as co-
or, are largely in his familiar, care-
brilliant manner. The drama this
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S-33 FARADAY, MAXWELL, AND KELVIN.
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heat. 160 pp., 2 drawings. 59 photos. $1.25
S-35 RUTHERFORD AND THE NATURE OF
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photos, index. $1.25
Life Sciences
S-4 ECHOES OF BATS AND MEN. Donald R.
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S-9 WAVES AND THE EAR. WiUem A. van
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S-15 PASTEUR AND MODERN SCIENCE. Rene
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S-23 LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE: A Scientific Dis-
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gow. An examination of such basic questions
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living matter; and what might exist on other
planets. 160 pp., 23 line drawings, index. $1.25
S-2S NERVES AND MUSCLES. Robert Galani-
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S-31 KNOWLEDGE AND WONDER: The Nat.
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Physical Sciences
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S-2 MAGNETS: The Education of a Physicist.
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S-7 CRYSTALS AND CRYSTAL GROWING.
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S-8 THE PHYSICS OF TELEVISION. Donald G.
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Arthur H. Benade, Case Institute of Technol-
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S-1 3 MICHELSON ANDTHE SPEED OF LIGHT.
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S-26 THE ORIGIN OF RADAR. Robert Morris
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S-27 HEAT ENGINES: Thermodynamics in
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S-1 4 THE UNIVERSE AT LARGE. Hermat
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S-1 8 WATER: The Mirror of Science. Ke
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S-1 9 THE NATURE OF VIOLENT STORM
Louis J. Battan, Univ. of Arizona. 159 pp., '
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S-24 RADAR OBSERVES THE WEATHE
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nders is occasionally distracting if
bject does not warrant it, as in some
e present cases. Then the technique
Ties a sort of Russian roulette with
Jtlight. More often, fortunately, it
ily illuminating. The choice of pic-
I subjects is presumably Mr. Em-
;h's. Over two-thirds of about 168
umbered) photos show well-known
, monuments, and museum pieces;
emainder, from private collections,
only a few surprises to offer. On
'hole, they are typical of the things
have been coming on the market
ig the last few years, but this in it-
nakes them a welcome addition,
me intelligently used devices assist
eader: small maps at the chapter
ings indicate the areas described,
;orresponding photos appear in the
ins on the pages where particular
its are described. Soundly produced
lier respects, it is altogether an at-
vely unsensational book. Taking its
nts and appearance— lucidly writ-
text and fine photographs— as a
I, Art Before Columbus adds up to
good value. A beginner in the lit-
re could go a deal further and fare
orse than with this book.
Douglas Newton
The Museum of Primitive Art
OTics: Nature's Dangerous Gift,
arman Taylor. Dell Publishing Co.,
; 212 pp.
.949 Norman Taylor wrote Flight
jm Reality, which was widely
sd and enjoyed great popularity.
is a revised edition of that volume,
story of man's use and misuse of
us narcotic drug plants in every
n part of the world is told in an
;ing manner.
e vegetable kingdom produces
different kinds of plants, and a
ler of them contain certain alka-
the effects of which are primarily
jdify the normal activities in the
r brain centers. The modifications
several different forms, depending
the amount and kind of alkaloid
Some are habit-forming, some are
some have aftereffects, others do
ill will be used by mankind in spite
cry law or restriction put upon
All were found by primitive man,
ilmost all have been "refined" or
fied" to extract the active principle,
r strict, medically controlled appli-
1, some have proved to be of great
it in the treatment of mental ills,
esthetics for surgery, as relief from
)ains of terminal cancer, and in
ways that all society applauds,
t society's main problem with these
; is that they are sometimes mis-
Misuse takes two forms, and the
r of these, in Dr. Taylor's eyes, is
at vicious group that makes huge
les playing upon the weak addicts
-JheGeeselhUigh
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who will go to any length to get eve:
increasing doses of their narcotic. Mis
use by the second group, the addicts, i
begun to satisfy some weakness, or per
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tinued beyond this need.
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groups. In 1963, Narcotics present
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danger of cigarette smoking as the caus
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This is a thoughtful book on a topi
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Birds of Wisconsin, by Owen ^
Gromme. University of Wisconsin Pres.
$22.50; 214 pp., illus.
HERE is a lavish collection of painting
by the Curator of the Division (
Birds and Mammals at the Milwauke
Public Museum depicting over thre
hundred species of birds of the nortl
central states. Facing each color plal
is a small map and calendar that ind
cates the general range and season;
status of each species illustrated. Thei
is no text or bibliography. Gromme
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birds of prey are well done, wherei
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the plates and the postures of a numbi
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There is no comprehensive publicatic
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Kumlien and Hollister (1903) revised 1
Schorger (1951) remains the princip
reference work available. There is
critical need for a thorough analysis ar
updating of distribution records for tl
state and for a systematic appraisal '
the avian populations represented. It
encouraging to note that Gromme
working on a text, "which eventually wi
be published as a technical supplemei
to this volume of plates." Hopefully, tl
appearance of the technical suppleme:
will not be contingent upon a large sa
of this prohibitively expensive collectic
of bird portraits.
Wesley E. Lanyc
The American Museu
10
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Bronzes
of Luristan
Art of little-known nomads influenced Near Ealf culture
By Bernard Goldman
Drawings by Robert J. Lee
THE Zagros Mountains are a formidable range that
rises as a precipitous barrier between the river val-
leys of Iraq and the Iranian plateau. Mile-high peaks
tower over broad, parallel valleys that run in a north-
west to southeast direction along the 620-mile length of
the chain. An arm of this range stretches westward into
the ancient Mesopotamian plain from modern northwest
Iran, and forms the highland home of the Lurs. In 1927
a peasant of this region, known as Luristan, accidentally
uncovered an ancient grave, the lonely resting place of
one of his ancestors who, like his modern counterpart,
had roamed the Zagros valleys.
The shallow grave was unpretentious, a stone-lined
rectangle capped with large, flat stones as protection
against nature and prowhng animals. An enclosing circle
of rocks marked out the area — probably in the tumulus
tradition — indicating it was consecrated ground. The
bronze contents of the grave proved far more interesting
to its discoverer and, subsequently, to the merchant who
bought the curiously worked pieces. Word quickly spread
through the upland valleys that these bronzes were magic
"antiquities" that could be exchanged for gold in the
markets of Kermanshah.
The treasure hunt was on in Luristan. The Lun
methodically prodded the sloping hillsides with pointed
sticks until they struck the telltale stone slabs. The cover-
ing scrub and thin layer of soil were shoveled aside, the
cover stones pried up, and the small bronzes, scattered
among the bones of man and horse, were collected. B>
the early 1930's vast cemeteries had been plundered and
thousands of these exotic objects— decorated with hawk-
nosed, wiry men, owl-eyed women, savage lions, and
fantastic beasts — -were funneled through the Iranian
markets to the dealers of Berlin, Paris, London, and New
York. Within the last thirty years they have entered al-
most every public and private collection of antiquities,
It is the rare museum that does not boast at least one
"Luristan bronze." The measure of their popularity car
be found not only in the inflated prices they now brinj
in the antique shops, but also in the appearance ol
modern forgeries that are difficult — and frequently are
totally impossible — to detect.
The typical Luristan bronze has a lively charm and
spirited sense of design that guarantees it a place in the
world of ancient art. But these bronzes are important for
a number of reasons. They raise perplexing problems:
Inventive imagination characterized the work of Luristan
artisans. From left are two ceremonial axes, a "pin,"
a horse bit plate, and a repousse disk, all made of bronze.
) made them, when were they made, who owned
n, what does their fantastic ornamentation mean?
se are questions for the archeologist, but he can an-
r them only with suggestions of possibilities.
"'he archeologist works by carefully recording the
exact details and condition of each find recovered
;pade and brush. However, a number of factors all
excluded the archeologist from making precise inven-
2s of excavations in Luristan until the cemeteries had
a plundered beyond reconstruction. The wildness of
mountain terrain, the dangers of moving about in
;e unsettled hills in the 1930's, and the desire of the
dish tribesmen and their dealers to keep the source
heir lucrative grave digging to themselves kept the
ntist at a safe distance. At best, an untrained observer
asionally was allowed to accompany one of the well-
inized plundering expeditions.
lence, the exacting techniques of the archeologist
Id not be brought to bear on the Luristan bronzes.
by piecing together fragmentary evidence, by sort-
out the rumors and hearsay concerning the graves,
by comparing the bronzes with the material remains
)ther ancient Near Eastern people, a satisfactory, if
culative, picture begins to take shape,
'he bronzes must have belonged to a vigorous, horse-
ng people, for they carried with them into their tombs
only elaborate horse equipment but also, sometimes,
r horses. Snaffle and bar bits, ornate bit plates, bridle
;s and bells, and martingale plaques are found by the
dreds. Apparently the ancient Lur prized his fine
lions not only for their swiftness and endurance but
I as symbols of his social status. Only thus can we
lain why he lavished so much attention on the horse's
)pings, why he so often depicted the beast in his art,
why even in death he kept his favorite horse close
ide him. This horse burial tradition is well known in
regions occupied by the nomadic people of south
5sia and Siberia. But, like the American cowboy, the
■ was not sentimentally attached to his mount. The
ical bit and cheek plate are studded with metal spikes
t must have assured instant obedience,
rhese ancient Lurs lived a seminomadic existence, as
many of their modern Kurdish counterparts. The in-
se heat of the summer months drove the Lurs and
ir flocks up into the high valleys that ofi'ered good
turage, while the bitter alpine winters forced them
vn onto the lower slopes.
The tribes had a regular circuit, returning to the
same locale each year; the extensive cemeteries indicate
a pattern of regular habitation rather than a wandering
people. They pitched their goatskin tents near a moun-
tain stream where there was ample pasturage. Hard
woods were available on the upper slopes, while lower
down grape, fig, barley, and wheat could be grown. Some
bronze adzes indicate at least a modest planting. As
would befit a mobile people, their furnishings and equip-
ment were probably sturdy, small, and Ught; hence, a
minimum of delicate, fragile pottery has been found.
Their more settled neighbors (and probably relatives)
in some of the ancient Iranian cities — Tepe Giyan, Tepe
Sialk, Susa — developed, on the other hand, a fine,
painted ceramicware. However, the Lurs preferred har-
dier metalware: embossed vases and beakers, cast bronze
pails, beaten and riveted pots. This table service was
augmented with thick clay jugs and pitchers that are
hardly a tribute to the potter's craft.
The Luristan mountain encampments were not iso-
lated from the mainstreams of Near Eastern culture. Two
principal arteries, along which caravans inched their
ways, threaded through the region. One route followed
over the tortuous passes from Baghdad to Hamadan and
Teheran, and from there went on to distant India and
China. (For historical records of long-distance travel by
the Chinese during the Han period, see Natural His-
tory, February, 1963.) A second route went from
Shushtar to Isfahan, Persepolis, and Shiraz. The ruins of
many settlements from different periods, now reduced
to low mounds (called tepes), dot the valleys. Skins,
wool, and horses were probably traded by the Lurs to
the passing merchants for manufactured goods, the prod-
ucts of the plains. But our interest here is in the itinerant
metalsmith who went from camp to camp, sometimes
attaching himself to a caravan for protection, and some-
times making his solitary way across high passes and
broad meadows to lonely communities.
THERE is evidence indicating that these smiths may
even have been formed into loose "brotherhoods,"
or guilds. As the seminomad encampments were small
and unable to support metalsmiths of their own, the
itinerant's pack animal was burdened with cast bronzes,
beatenware, heavy jewelry, votive pieces, horse-trap-
pings, and fine weapons. He was also a tinker who
patched up old vessels with sheet metal and rivets. The
smith belonged to the same mountain stock as his cus-
tomers. His forebears must have had their roots in the
Caucasus, which had an ancient metal-working tradition.
That mountainous region between the Black and Caspian
seas has rich lodes that were exploited at least as far back
as the fourth millennium B.C. The smith who sold to the
Lurs certainly did not come up from the Mesopotamian
plain, for his products were far different from those of
his fellow smiths in the lowlands.
For the mounted warriors of Luristan, the smith cast
in molds not only their harness equipment but also the
light weapons they used in their lightning raids, the
Elaborate, enigmatic pieces show humans with bulging eyes
in totem pole effect or, sometimes, snarling lions facing
each other. Hands on a horse bit, below, grip rein rings.
15
razzias, organized for booty or for settling blood feuds.
On their belts the Lurs carried long, straight swords with
iron blades, the hilts and pommels decorated with fero-
cious lions and bearded heads. They thrust short bronze
daasers into their robes, in the Assyrian fashion, or wore
them at their waist in wooden scabbards plated with em-
bossed silver and gold. Wood and bone inlays, long since
crumbled to dust^ also once decorated these weapons.
Skull-cracking blows were aimed by the sweeping riders
with solid bronze maces, spiked and knobbed.
A primary symbol of authority, however, must have
been the fancifully decorated '-tomahawk," or light ax.
Some of these small, bronze axheads are so delicately
formed that they are almost useless as weapons. Rather,
they must have been signs of rank, of ceremonial use,
carried by the leaders. Some blades are slender crescents
being disgorged by lions; others are long and curving,
and the hafted end is elaborately decorated with animal
heads or rows of spikes.
WARRIORS may have carried small leather shields
decorated with bosses and roundheaded rivets.
The bow and arrow — weapon par excellence of the later
Iranians (Persians, Parthians, and Sasanians) — were
part of this light cavalry equipment, as is evidenced by
leaf-shaped arrowheads, bronze rings of special design
that were used to string the bow, and embossed metal
sheathing from quivers, all of bronze. Some chariot fit-
tinos have been found, and a two-wheeled light chariot
is represented on a horse cheek plate. But the char
could not have been very popular in this mountaino
terrain, and must have had no more than a ceremon
function in Luristan.
The metalsmith also catered to the domestic needs
the Lurs. He made straight pins with elegantly decorat
heads, ornate safety pins (fibulae), heavily model
bracelets and anklets, twisted wire torques, tiny pendan
and polished bronze mirrors set in ornamental handl
Animals are ubiquitous in the decoration. Also amo
these goods are some enigmatic bronze pieces that av
age seven to eight inches in height; they are elaborat(
worked compositions of facing animals and humans
the shape of slender tubes. A rod was inserted throu
the tube, fixing it to a heavy bronze base shaped like
miniature bottle. Snarling lions with protruding tongi
may face each other, or a grinning human with bulgi
eyes and pointed or bearded chin may stand betwe
them. Sometimes the different bodies merge and gi
rise to fantastic combinations, grotesque monsters. T
earher Lur compositions are fairly realistic, while t
later ones exhibit increasing use of combined forms a
stylized designs. These are not simply household brie-
brae, but rather emerge from the spiritual life of the Lu
We shall return to this matter of religion in a moment.
When did these proud mountaineers race their hon
over the grassy slopes of the Zagros? At first, when 1
bronzes had just come to the attention of the Weste
world, they were dated as far back as the third milk
Slender and delicate crescent-shaped axhead
was probably a sign of rank, not a utilitarian weapon.
Etruscan tombs have held bowls like one at right
i6
jm B.C. and were thought to have continued on to
out 1000 B.C. when the country was overrun by one
the great migrations from the north that disrupted and
Dlaced many oriental states. Perhaps, it was speculated,
;roup of these intruders, speaking an Indo-Iranian dia-
;t and, more important, adept at working iron, eclipsed
; Bronze Age culture of Luristan. These people intro-
ced into Iran new designs in pottery and new customs,
:h as a different manner of burying the dead. They
ne from the Caucasus, skirted the arid Iranian plateau,
d entered India. But who, then, were the Lurs? They
re first identified and dated on the basis of some
)nze daggers, swords, and hemispherical bowls that
re found in the Luristan hills and that carried names
kings and nobles in cuneiform. The people mentioned
the inscriptions belonged to the second millennium
'. Given this time period for the bronzes as a whole, it
s then reasonable to suspect that Luristan art be-
ged to a known historical group, the Cassites. This
d mountain people had broken down into the Meso-
lamian plain and ruled that rich land for over four
idred years in the second half of the second millen-
m. But there is strong contrary evidence that ques-
ts such an assumption.
some of the bronzes looked to be Assyrian (first mil-
nium), some Neo-Babylonian, and some seemed to
Persian. Hence, it was equally reasonable to suspect
t the Luristan bronzes were also made in the ninth to
li centuries B.C. It quickly became apparent that dating
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and attributions needed to be seriously re-evaluated.
First, the introduction of iron did not ring the death
knell for Luristan; the Lurs used iron, in swords for ex-
ample, when a stronger metal was needed. Second, none
of the bronze objects that carried inscriptions, and hence
are datable, displayed any of the typical Luristan deco-
ration. And, conversely, none of the objects clearly within
the Luristan style is inscribed. The reason for this dis-
crepancy is clear: the inscribed material is centuries older
than the Luristan bronzes and originated, not in Luristan, .
but in Mesopotamia. As mentioned earher, Luristan was
crossed by two major highways, and the Lurs themselves
were mobile. It is only to be expected that manufactured
products of the river valleys should have infiltrated the
mountains at all times. And so the inscribed material
cannot be used as a basis for dating the typical Luristan
bronze of the style here illustrated. The reason that some
so-called Luristan bronzes look Assyrian, Neo-Babylo-
nian, and Achaemenian is, simply, because they belong
to these different people and are not of Luristan origin
or manufacture at all. Once the excitement of finding a
heretofore unsuspected art style had diminished, it re-
quired little practice to distinguish between bronzes made
and found in Luristan and ones only found there.
THE style of the bronze pieces, the mode of burial,
the pottery types, and the form of the decorative
motifs combined to indicate that the Luristan bronzes
and their horse-riding owners date well within the first
half of the first millennium b.c. This animal style of art
is a later descendant of a style known earlier in Anatolia
(Turkey) and Talysh (south Russia). The culture is
related to that of the broad nomadic band that stretches
from south Russia to the Ordos, but with significant dif-
ferences that indicate that it is far removed from its more
northern and very distant relatives. Certain clues, and
17
some obvious borrowings, relate the Luristan bronzes to
the metalwork of the Assyrians and late Hittite king-
doms. All in all, the Luristan bronzes seem to be a high-
land art style of around 800-700 B.C. There are many
minor but very important details that confirm the prob-
ability of this dating. A few examples of the type of evi-
dence used may be mentioned. A pitcher of a distinctive
Luristan type was found in an archeological context of
750-600 B.C. by the German Archeological Institute on
the island of Samos, while the English uncovered an
eighth-century tomb on Crete that contained a typical
Luristan bronze ring. Late eighth- and early seventh-cen-
tury B.C. Etruscan tombs disclose bowls, weapons, and
ornaments that, while not of Luristan manufacture, imi-
tate Luristan models. Two graves found by the French
at the Iranian site of Tepe Giyan are Luristan burials.
The cemetery in which they were found was in use for a
long time both before and after 1000 B.C. Luristan fibulae
are of a type that does not antedate the ninth century.
Some motifs used by the Lurs, particularly on the em-
bossed plaques, can be dated by their Assyrian counter-
parts to between the eighth and sixth centuries B.C.
WITHOUT the help of written records from Luristan,
the prehistorian must try to decipher this language
of art forms to learn the culture of these mountain folk.
The bronzes certainly speak a highly articulate language,
but it is still very foreign to our ears. The basic religious
grammar is succinct and standardized. A design that
recurs frequently is that of a human flanked by animals.
The man wears a small cap and about his waist a tight
girdle. The woman has bull-like "horns" over her curling
side locks, and she is usually nude except for a belt and
bracelets. Both man and woman are represented holding
the legs or necks of mountain lions and ibex on either
side of them. They do not subdue the beasts, and the
animals do not attack them. Their pose is formal, almost
dancelike, as if they were performing a stately pavan.
This design is not peculiar to Luristan, but it has some
unique features there, such as the fantastic composite
animals with their elongated bodies.
The variety of animals represented can be listed in
descending order of frequency of appearance: mountain
lion, ibex, horse, bull, rooster, water bird, rabbit, fox (?),
swine, tortoise, fish, frog, eagle. The animals of the
northern steppes and forestlands are missing: elk, rein-
deer, bear. The southern and eastern animals, camel and
elephant, are also not represented. These omissions are
important, for while the Luristan seminomads may be
distantly related to the northern nomads, the link is "very
weak. The northern nomads who wandered up into the
forest belt of Russia and Siberia and over the steppes
into modern-day China had an animal style art that was as
lively and imaginative as that of Luristan. In the seventh
and sixth centuries B.C. it flourished in the skillful hands
of the Scythians who passed it on to the Sarmatians.
(Natural History. October, 1960.) The tradition was
still vital in the first centuries of the Christian Era when
the nomadic migrations carried it deep into east Europe.
The hallmark of the northern nomad style is the bird
of prey and the northern members of the deer family.
Surely, had the northern nomads and the Lurs a strong
common background, they would have shared these sig-
nificant designs, but they do not.
Bucket is an interesting example of the elabor
vessels used by Lurs. If metal stronger than bronze
was needed, they used iron, as in swords at right.
The camel, domesticated by the end of the seco
millennium B.C., indicates by its absence from the Lu
Stan fauna that the nomads of the eastern deserts a
Arabia are not important to our understanding of 1
Zagros tribes. An ax with a camel on its butt has be
called Luristan, but it fits much better into Persian a
The Persian Empire of the second half of the first milk
nium B.C. knew the Bactrian camel; its likeness is carv
on the walls of the royal Persian citadel at Persepolis.
What key remains, then, with which to unlock th(
extraordinary bronzes? The field of comparative religic
may offer some insight. Wings and plant forms spri
from the animals; human heads are put on animal bodi'
the bodies of mountain cats are elongated, while smal
animals perch on their backs or emerge from their bodi
Lions and humans share common features. Grinni
heads are piled on top of each other to form miniatv
totem poles. Hence, despite the limited range of elemen
the bronzes burst with animal energy; they seem to spe
of an uncompromising outdoor life spent in the towerii
icy passes and also under the burning sun in the aj
lowlands. We would not be far wrong if we see in the
bronzes the images of a religion based on elemental nal
ral forces. The male figure may, hke the later Iranian g
Mithra, have been associated with the sun. Of course '
do not know his Luristan name; in Mesopotamia he v,
Shamash. In the Semitic world one of the powerful natv
gods was simply called El, that is, "Lord." Perhaps, 1
the time being. Lord may be used as the most convenit
designation for this Luristan hero, and his compani
may be titled Lady.
Religions and mythologies commonly use animals
personifications of various natural forces, and son
times they serve as symbols of the divine, as emblems
holy authority. So, for example, Jesus is the Lamb, and
in Revelation the Evangelists are the Four Beasts. The
Lurs knew well the cunning, ferocity, and explosive
power of the mountain lion. They must have looked at
the ibex with equal respect. What other beast could
cling to impossible crags and move with such agility as
that majestic creature? And its broad, curling horns
were a formidable weapon. The horse, as already men-
tioned, held a special place in Luristan iconography.
The bull was probably borrowed from the lowlands
where, since most ancient times, it served as a symbol
of strength and generative force. Thus, the bull stands
as majestic guardian on Assyrian doorways; in Near
Eastern literature, the chief gods are often called "bull."
In trying to understand the religion behind the Luri-
stan bronzes, we find several possibilities. The association
of the Lord and Lady with the beasts may be an expres-
sion of the power of these deities. The animals may be
purely extensions — symbols of the incalculable strength
of the gods. It is in this sense that in India the gods and
goddesses had their animal forms, or avatars. Or, per-
haps, the Lord and Lady are sky gods, and the animals
are representative of earth powers. The Lord holding the
animals who, in turn, rest their paws on his hips and
shoulders, could symbolize the dynamic equilibrium of
nature, the check and balance system found in many
mythologies. Such a system of opposing forces is found in
the Indo-Iranian myths, in the dichotomy of light op-
posed to dark, of good opposed to evil, of time finite
opposed to eternity.
The bronzes are suggestive of yet another proposition.
It should be noted that the Lord and Lady not only hold
the flanking beasts but also seem to rise out of or to be
carried by the converging animal bodies. Are the animals
cosmic vehicles that support the gods? In the classical
world the sun god was borne aloft by a horse-drawn
chariot; the throne of the Israelite Yahweh in the Temple
of Solomon was carried by winged cherubim. Perhaps,
then, the circle of the beasts' bodies represents the
heavens in which the god resides.
THESE suggestions are not mutually exclusive, but it
is probable that the truth lies somewhere in-between,
for religions and their symbols are highly complex, with
a variety of meanings and concepts expressed in simple
terms. The Lady, for example, may be a late representa-
tion of Derceto, the Great Mother goddess of Asia, the
personification of life-giving forces. As such, she would
be a sister to those other great fertility goddesses whose
many names we know: Innina, Ishtar, Astarte, Ashto-
reth, Aphrodite, Venus, and so on. It is proper that she,
like Diana, the Huntress — her later classical counterpart
— be associated with animals. The moon became the
astral symbol for the Great Goddess, and so it may be the
crescent moon, and not horns at all, that rests on the
Lady's head. One Luristan bronze in a Swiss collection
shows the Lady with her body terminating in a fishtail.
This is a very strange combination, indeed, until we re-
member that the Asiatic Great Mother was part fish, part
woman — a true mermaid.
We may ask whether these people had temples for
their Lord and Lady, whether they erected altars where
sacrifice could be made. As is to be expected with semi-
nomadic people, architectural remains are almost non-
19
existent. Summer and winter encampments do not leave
behind stone foundations tiiat tlie arciieologist can re-
construct. However, a building has been found at Surk
Dum above the plain of Kuh-i-Dasht, in western Iran,
that contained some Luristan bronzes, and it has tenta-
tively been designated a shrine. The building should have
much to tell about Iranian rehgion; it is currently under
study by its excavator, the renowned archeologist Erich
Schmidt of the Oriental Institute in Chicago.
Concerning the ethnic stock of the ancient Lurs there
are, once again, suggestions but no definitive answers.
As mentioned before, the Luristan bronzes were once
thought to have been made by the Cassites who overran
the Mesopotamian plain. This attribution is not only un-
hkely because of the time factor, but also because no
Luristan bronzes have been found in Mesopotamia.
Surely if the Cassites had been the owners, they would
have brought their precious bronzes down with them
into the Tigris and Euphrates valleys. However, if the
bronzes flourished about 700 B.C., then they may belong
to an Iranian people who were soon to become one of
the constituent elements of the great Persian Empire —
the confederation of Medes and Persians. There is evi-
dence to support the theory that the Medes were moving
down from the region of the Caucasus into Iran at about
this time. Another, perhaps related group, the Cimme-
rians, were also pushing down through these mountains
out of south Russia. One of the great French scholars of
prehistoric Iran, Roman Ghirshman, suspects that the
Luristan bronzes belong to a Medo-Cimmerian people.
This theory of origin would explain why the Luristan
bronzes disappear with the confederation of Medes and
Persians: Luristan art developed into that of the Persian
Achaemenians. Unfortunately, we know little about these
Cimmerians and Medians during their formative period,
and we know even less about their art.
One of the apparent mysteries connected with the
Luristan bronze pieces has already been mentioned:
although the metalwork of Mesopotamia has been fou
in Luristan, no Luristan bronzes have been discovei
in the extensive excavations carried on in the plains. T
key to this mystery is socio-political. Mesopotamia h
a long and fabulous heritage that seemed in the eyes
ancient man to stretch back to the very beginning of tin
Its textiles, for example, were sought after on the wo:
market, as even the proud Greeks turned envious eyes
the opulent treasures of the East. The cultural eminer
of Assyria and Babylonia was enhanced by the pohtii
expansions of these wealthy states in the eighth and s(
enth centuries B.C. The arts and crafts of the Assyi
Babylonian world must have formed the last word
refined style for the provincial Oriental. Why, inde(
should the metropolitan centers of antiquity — Ninev(
Babylon, Assur — import the rude bronzes of the ha
civilized mountain folk to the East? Do the style centi
of New York turn to the prairie, those of London to t
Welsh hills, or of Paris to the provinces? On the otl
hand, the mountaineers of Luristan would be eager
own works from the treasure houses of Mesopotam
SOME bronzes that were thought to be from Lurisl
■ have been found in Arabia and in Greece. Tt
have some Luristan traits, but are sufficiently differs
to place them as originating elsewhere in the Near Ea
Yet there is no question of the authenticity of the Li
istan pitcher found on Samos or the bronze ring decoral
with the Lady and her feline companions excavated
Crete. We can speculate that these are ancient souven
brought out of the East by Greek or Phoenician trade
The chief importance of the two pieces, however, is tl
they were found in an archeological context of ca. 7
B.C. But if Luristan bronzes were not exported as tra
items, they still had their influence on other cultur
Many characteristics of their vital animal style filter
westward to the coast and out into the Aegean. Even i
cient Etruria, on the Italian peninsula, adopted a
Mode oj burial, as well as style of bronze pieces and
types of pottery, helps to assign the horse-riding
Lurs to tlie first half of the first millennium B.C.
apted some Luristan motifs. The Luristan style appears
have moved eastward also, at least as far as Tibet, but
t how is still a question without an answer.
Our hypothetical reconstruction of ancient Luristan,
:n, can be formulated as follows. We envisage the own-
of the Luristan bronzes as an elite, horse-riding com-
inity living in the seminomadic pastoral tradition in the
; eighth and early seventh centuries b.c. Their ethnic
)ts reach back to the Caucasus and the north, to the
nads of the steppes, forestland, and tundra. They
ne to the Zagros as part of that vast movement of Indo-
nian-language peoples who slowly flowed southward
3 Iran and India. While major groups continued their
ithern push, a small pocket formed in the Zagros
luntains, developing its cultural heritage in seclusion
; not in isolation. Some of their Iranian cousins formed
powerful Median state that, combined with the Per-
:i, transformed Iran into the Achaemenid Empire,
lught almost the entire Orient under its aegis, and
irly succeeded in forcing Greece to its knees. In the
th and fifth centuries the Achaemenids absorbed the
untainous home of the Lurs both culturally and politi-
ly. The provincial bronzes of Luristan succumbed to,
: were also one of the essential ingredients of, the mag-
cent Empire art of the centers of Persian culture. The
haemenians continued the use of a vigorous animal
le, of the heraldic design of a hero between animals,
the frontally presented mask and head, as well as of
northern short sword (akinakes) with its mountain
mal decoration. While the religion represented in the
ristan bronzes adopted some of the imagery of neigh-
ing Mesopotamia, it should be seen as an early stage
the development of the Indo-Iran||jn cult, a forebear
Z^oroastrianism and Mithraism.
rhe smiling beak -nosed Lord, his owi-eyed Lady, and
ir snarling, prancing beasts have not cisappeared; they
/& only been civilized. They have been transformed
3 the abstractions and concepts of the later Iranians.
^iSi^^fiM'r
m^^jjiP-sit
Stalactites m\(. Imm ( ciliriL' ot DiamoiKi i'.a\i'. near
Harrison, Arkansas, where subsequent photos were
made. Rounded masses on cave floor are stalagmites.
Splash patterns of fast-dripping, carbonate-laden
water produced tiered, columnar stalagmite. The flow
of water over sides of layers made small stalactites.
-^r^im^qp:i?fli
I
li.ll)
Stalagmites and
Stalactites
Slow growth marks precipitate deposits By edward cdonnell
23
Carbonate rock, deposited by flowing or dripping water,
is known variously as dripstone, flowstone, or travertine.
STALACTITES are icicle-like structures most commonly
found hanging from the ceilings of caves in limestone-
rich areas, and stalagmites are complementary masses that
develop on cave floors. Both result from slow precipitation
of material from ground water. Most stalactites and stalag-
mites are made up of two forms of calcium carbonate—
calcite and aragonite— although some small stalactites are
composed of gypsum, gibbsite, opal, and chalcedony.
Limestone is the most soluble of the common rocks, and
nearly all great caves are in limestone areas. Pure lime-
stone is composed of calcium carbonate derived mainly
from shells of marine organisms. In an alkaline environ-
ment, limestones are chemically stable, but they are subject
to slow leaching when exposed to rain water and subsurface
ground water, which are acidic.
If several small pieces of limestone are placed in distille
water they will show no noticeable changes, even during
period of several years. Should the water be charged wit
carbon dioxide, however, carbonic acid is formed and tl:
limestone will show a measurable weight loss in only a fe
days because some of the calcium carbonate of the limi
stone is converted to calcium bicarbonate, which is solub
in water. If this solution is allowed to evaporate, it wi
become supersaturated with calcium carbonate, which, i
turn, will be precipitated as calcite or aragonite.
In nature, rain water falling to the earth becom(
charged with carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Aft(
it hits the earth it comes in contact with organic acids i
the soil. The water percolates through the soil until
reaches bedrock, where it follows fractures and beddir
planes. If the rock is a limestone, solution occurs, and aft(
a long period of time, perhaps several thousand years, pa
sages are formed that range in size from small channels 1
great caverns. Size depends on how long the process hi
worked, the volume of water involved, and its acidity.
Stalactites form when carbonate-enriched ground wat(
reaches a cavern. The water drips slowly from the ceilin
but before each drop falls, a small amount of evaporatic
takes place. The drop becomes saturated with calcium ca
bonate and an infinitesimal amount is precipitated. Whf
the drop falls to the cave floor, the same thing happei
again, and a stalagmite begins to develop.
The rate at which stalactites grow is not definitely know:
Certainly the speed of formation will depend on the amoui
of water that is available and how much calcium carbona
is in solution. Sir Archibald Geikie, the great Scottish g
ologist of the late nineteenth century, recorded stalactit(
one and a half inches in diameter beneath a one hundrei
year-old bridge in Edinburgh. They had grown from lin
leached out of the cement in the bridge. All evidence poin
to a slow rate of formation, and it is estimated that stalai
tites grow approximately one cubic inch in every centur
fF^p^yf
Meeting of twain occurs when stalactite and stalagmite
form opposite each other. As growth continues, such unions
produce floor-to-ceiling pillars, examples of which may be
24
seen above, at center. Alignment of stalactites on ceilin
of the cave at right is probably attributable to joint 0
fracture in the rock that permitted a rapid flow of wate:
:.-.t
tll&ilA.
X 1 uctivorous Fliers
Australian fruit bats take wing at dusk in sorties after food
By Kay Breeden
Gray-headed "flying foxes," large fruit bats of the species
Pteropus poliocephalus, leave their "camp" in countryside of
southern Queensland, Australia. Inset shows head of an adult.
>
K J
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* - » - .
w-^
^kM^.,i.
Jt.^b^^''
t
Wm- '''■■■'■-
. ■ . '^.^ _ ■ -"'P^
^■\\'m-^,
''■^' r . ■■'
UST BEFORE DUSK one winter afternoon in subtropical
eensland, Australia, we witnessed the impressive spec-
ie of thousands of large, gray-headed fruit bats, or
ying foxes," leaving the trees of their "camp" to feed in
; surrounding countryside. They had been situated in a
:ural amphitheater in a rain forest, and we were fore-
rned of their departure by the increasing tumult,
rhe first sign of mass movement away from the camp was
bin, upward spiral of "foxes" barely visible in the slowly
rkening night. Soon, the bats blackened the sky as far as
could see. Their shrieks and the whispering woosh
osh of their wings filled the air, and all the while the
ise in their camp grew more intense, announcing that
;n larger numbers were about to take to the air. Although
: night became too dark for us to see, we stayed and lis-
tened to the foxes continue their incredible exodus. It went
on for another quarter of an hour before the stream
diminished and finally stopped.
Three species of fruit bats of the genus Pteropus occur
in southern Queensland, within a hundred-mile radius of
Brisbane. Of the three, the gray-headed flying fox, P. po-
liocephalus, is the most common, and this article is con-
cerned mainly with this species. The "black fox," P. gouldi,
which is the largest Australian fruit bat, and the "little red
fox," P. scapulatus, are the other two species; much that
will be said about the gray-headed flying foxes holds true
for the black and red bats, particularly with respect to
their various behavior patterns.
Bats form the order of mammals known as Chiroptera,
which means "hand-winged," and they are the only true
4*
y
>
' A J' 'r '"^ .' /
y, i
flying mammals. There are two suborders. Megachiroptera
and Microchiroptera. The flying foxes and aU other fruit
bats of the Eastern Hemisphere are Megachiroptera, while
almost all insectivorous bats are Microchiroptera. One
difference between the suborders is that the Megachiroptera
are usually large bats and the Microchiroptera are gen-
erally small, although some species of the former are
actually smaller than many species of the latter. With one
possible exception, none of the Megachiroptera employs
ultrasound in echolocation, but all Microchiroptera that
have been studied do. Most Microchiroptera are insecti-
vorous or carnivorous; more often than not they have poor
eyesight and employ ultrasonic echolocation to detect and
capture their insect prey. Members of the family Phyllos-
tomatidae, the tropical and subtropical leaf-nosed bats of
the Western Hemisphere, are the only Microchiroptera
that feed on fruits and blossoms (Natural History, Octo-
ber, 1962) . Members of this group generally have a tail,
complicated ears, and often nose-leaves. Megachiroptera,
on the other hand, frequently lack tails, have keen eyesight,
possess simple ears, and usually simple noses. Their most
common foods are fruits and blossoms. The Microchirop-
tera are cosmopolitan in distribution; Megachiroptera do
not occur in the Americas.
The gray-headed flying fox is a magnificent animal with
a wing span that averages about four feet, a shaggy head,
28 '
Resting "foxes'' are seen in camp, hanging by one foot from
a pahn branch. They envelop themselves in flying membranes.
Bat retains foothold on branch, right, and flaps wings
raise itself into a horizontal plane for the take-off, lower pm
large brown eyes, and black ears. Its body coat is of silky,
silver-gray fur, and a mantle of burnished amber or orange
fur extends around the neck and shoulders. The flying mem-
branes are soft and black. Large males may weigh as much
as two pounds. By facial expressions, movements of their
ears, and seemingly always-active noses, the bats convey an
impression of inquisitive intelligence.
A.
. fter an exodus at dusk, such as the one described, the
bats disperse for many miles in all directions to seek food
and water. They drink by lapping while flying over the
surface of a pond or stream. Should they fly too low and
accidentally pitch into the water, they are easily able to
swim to shore. Their diet consists chiefly of nectar, which
they extract from the blossoms of flowering trees. They
feed on wild and. also occasionally, on cultivated fruits.
The little red flying foxes feed exclusively on flowering
trees, including species of Eucalyptus and Melaleuca, and
their migrations coincide with the flowering seasons of theii
various food trees. Gray-headed bats will eat fruit only
when blossoms are not available. The black flying foxes
are fruit-eaters, and have a decided appetite for cultivated
;itrus and other orchard-raised fruit. Because of such dep-
redations, all species of fruit bats have become unpopular
with local farmers, who regularly shoot many of them as
:hey rest in their day camps. The local unpopularity of the
animals is out of proportion to the damage they do, how-
3ver, as modern harvesting methods entail the picking of
^reen fruit, which is then ripened indoors. Only a very
small percentage of any of the species of bats eat cultivated
"ruit, and the extensive damage that sometimes does occur
s usuall)' the result of the same few bats returning nightly
0 the same orchard. When such a group was poisoned in
jne orchard near Brisbane, there were no further raids
3n the crop that season from the same or any other camp.
To reach their food trees, the flying foxes sometimes
:ravel as far as forty miles. The method by which they
irst locate feeding grounds and subsequently return to them
night after night is not yet completely known. It has been
suggested that rivers may be the chief landmarks in their
visually oriented navigation. But no matter how they come
and go, they are certainly efiicient; a characteristic sound
of night in the Australian bush is the screaming of the bats.
J. LYING FOXES return to camp just before dawn. We wit-
nessed their homecoming one morning while standing ankle
deep in a swamp with some other researchers at the edge
of a camp of Pteropus poliocephalus. It was still pitch dark
when we arrived, but already the sounds from the camp and
the rustling of wings overhead indicated that the return
was under way. As the morning sky brightened, we could
see a number of the bats flying low over the trees. Soon they
were returning from every point of the compass. The first
arrivals had been feeding close by. We heard occasional
squawks from individuals that experienced near collisions.
For some time we had also heard a periodic, loud, flapping
noise, which we finally identified as the wingbeats of bats
returning from farther away. These were flying at a great
height, and as they neared the camp they pulled their wings
in slightly, zigzagged down in fast dives, and then leveled
off into glides just above the treetops. The amazingly loud
flapping noise was produced by air rushing past their wings
as they dove down out of the morning mist.
The swamp was a typical refuge for the bats. The gray-
headed species spends the day in large, communal camps.
Fifteen to twenty such settlements, with intervals of about
forty miles between them, are known in the Brisbane area.
They are usually situated in wet, relatively cool areas,
such as the mangrove forests of river estuaries, palm groves
and adjacent rain forest, Melaleuca swamps, and, less com-
monly, in gullies with mixed rain forest and eucalyptus.
These locations are nearly always remote from civilization,
and the flying foxes return to them year after year. In a
few cases, a growing suburb or township has expanded
right to the end of a large, well-established camp. In such
instances, if the bats are not molested they become accus-
tomed to man and appear to be undisturbed if people enter
camp. The number in a camp fluctuates considerably, but
is greatest in the Australian summer, from October to
February. The population of a settlement may then be in
excess of ten thousand. Occasionally, from several hundred
to tens of thousands of the more nomadic little red foxes
will invade the camp of gray-headed foxes, at which time
the population of a camp may be swelled to as much as
250,000 for a few weeks. Usually, however, the little red
bats go to camps of their own species.
A,
. s the Australian autumn advances, the population of
the camps in the Brisbane area dwindles rapidly, until by the
beginning of June most camps are deserted. Where the bats
migrate, and exactly for what reason, are questions that
remain to be answered. It has been suggested that their
movements are made largely in response to the shifting
availability of food supplies. Around Brisbane, in the win-
ter of 1962, there were unusually large numbers of blos-
soming eucalyptus trees. Although the bat camps in this
vicinity are usually deserted in winter, one camp situated
twenty miles outside the city then contained the largest
30
Simple ears and nose of this bat give it doglike appearance.
Males may weigh two pounds and have a four-foot wingspread.
Bat-festooned tree in a "flying fox" camp is seen below. The
camps, each with thousands of "foxes," are in moist regions.
population of gray-headed flying foxes ever recorded in
the area— probably more than 100,000 individuals.
One researcher has remarked that visiting a flying fox
camp is like skin diving, in that it is a visit to a totally for-
eign realm. But unlike the underwater world, where all is
quiet, where the movements of flora and fauna are graceful
and flowing, the daytime habitat of the flying fox is chaotic
—a noisy place of erratic motion. The first indications that
one is nearing a camp are a distant, high-pitched squab-
bling and a distinct, musky odor. A sudden rush of beating
wings accompanied by startling shrieks tell the observer
that he has reached the edge of the camp itself, and that
the scouts, usually old males, have raised the alarm. If the
site is not often disturbed by hunting parties with firearms,
these alarm calls will have little effect. The visitor is soon
in the midst of the pandemonium that is normal among
flying foxes in camp. The branches of the trees are fes-
tooned with thousands of the animals hanging upside down
in tight clusters, truly one of the amazing sights in the world
of mammals. The trees often look as though a hurricane
recently had passed through, for the masses of foxes hang-
ing close together tend to strip off the leaves and small twigs.
The camp is alive with the creatures' wingbeats and their
continuous wrangling.
As an intruder walks farther into the camp, the bats
react by climbing higher in the trees— moving along the
trunks and branches with the aid of the long, curved claws
on their thumbs and toes. When they have climbed to the
highest point they can reach, they lean forward to observe
the human interloper. Their noses twitch, their ears switch
rapidly back and forth, and their large brown eyes perceive
one's every move. The more "nervous" animals may take
fright at this stage and fly away emitting shrieks. With
care, however, it is possible to reach the center of a camp
Fruit bat climbs a tree trunk by pulling itself up with its
clawed thumb, which is at first joint of the wing structure.
Female hangs from branch by one foot and scratches with the
other. A nursing young is obscured by her right wing and fur.
k'ithout creating too much disturbance. If one then remains
till, the bats that earlier took flight will return and resume
heir normal daytime behavior.
Although these mammals are assumed to rest during the
lay, their activity is tremendous. There are always a few
m the wing, and there is always a scramble in some corner
if the camp. Such action usually has a simple cause— a
ailing branch or one bat alighting too close to another.
5attles look and sound most ferocious. Fighting animals
liter loud screams, while they lash out with the sharp,
looked claws on their thumbs, and snap at each other with
heir equally formidable teeth. But I have never seen any
ur fly, nor have I observed any other bodily damage as
he result of these displays. "Fights" usually end when one
ir both foxes take flight and go elsewhere in the camp,
there a similar display may be repeated. Sometimes a par-
icularly pugnacious animal will chase another along a
iranch, disturbing every other bat resting there. This may
ouch off a chain reaction throughout the camp, and such
vents are the principal reason for the continuous uproar.
L LYING FOXES have a number of ectoparasites that cause
hem to scratch frequently and energetically; now and then
oxes hang by one foot and comb themselves thoroughly
vith the claws of the free foot. On a hot day, they use their
vings as fans. Despite the daytime fighting, scratching, and
anning, many bats are asleep. If the weather is not too
lot, a sleeping bat adopts a most interesting posture, wrap-
)ing its wings tightly around itself. During rain, the animals
lo not seek the protection of thick foliage; instead they em-
)loy their wings to enfold the body, one leg, and the head,
rhe flying membrane extends to the ankles and, because it is
)ily, gives perfect protection against rain.
31
The take-offs and landings of the foxes in camp are in-
tricate operations. A gray-headed flying fox cannot simply
release its hold on a branch and flap away, as can a micro-
chiropteran, because its body must first be brought into a
horizontal position for take-off. This the flying fox ac-
complishes by beating its wings vigorously, while keeping
its grip on the branch until its body has been raised into
the proper plane. Landings vary from the very rough to the
very adept. A bat may fly into leafy branches or a tree
trunk with considerable impact, and then clamber to a limb
to hang. Or it might fly low over a horizontal branch,
brake, grip the branch with the claws on its feet, and then
hang down. Another variation in landing entails the bat
flying to a point beneath a horizontal limb, where it brakes,
does a half-roll, then grips the branch with its feet, and
subsequently hangs head down.
M.
.ALE flying foxes carry sperm in the epididymis all
year round, and will attempt copulation during any
season. The females only respond during a period of about
a month (usually April) in the Australian autumn. The
young are born when the foxes reinhabit their summer
camps in October. Even though offspring are well developed
when born, they are incapable of immediate flight. Their
first month is spent tucked under the mother's wing.
Extra-curved tips on the claws of their thumbs and feet,
and recurved milk teeth allow the young to keep a strong
grip on the mother's fur and on the teats, one of which is
located under each wing. After their first month, the
young are left behind in the camp at night, although they
remain with the mother during the day. Young foxes are
able to fly at about two months, but it is not until they are
approximately three months old that they venture from the
camp to forage for themselves. The progenies of fruit bats
Two OF THE FEET Seen at left belong to a young nursmg bat
under mother's wing. Young are independent at three months.
Characteristic alertness shows on face of bat. right, whicl
grips branch with claw. Species prospers despite predatioa
Little red "flying fox," Pteropus scapulatus, seen below, is
smaller than gray-headed bat, and migrates more erratically.
are fully independent at four to six months, and sexually
mature at about eighteen months. On occasion, though, we
have seen six-month-old young carried by a flying female.
In these cases, the young equaled about half the adult's body
weight. Probably the adult female is better built for the
task of carrying young during flight than is the male, for
she has a longer forearm and therefore a greater wing area
than a male of the same weight. In the wild, flying foxes
sometimes may live to the age of four or five years.
Predators on the flying fox include the Wedge-tailed
Eagle (Uroaetus audax). White-breasted Sea Eagle (Hali-
aeetus leiicogaster) , Powerful Owl (Ninox steneraj. Lace
Monitor, or Goanna, a large lizard (I aranus varius), and
the Carpet Snake ( Morelia argus) . But none of these brings
as much pressure to bear on the animals as does man, who
kills great numbers each year. The species that suffers most
is probably the little red flying fox, which, because of its
erratic migratory habits, often settles close to human habi-
tation. This is usually followed by an organized "shoot,"
with the result that thousands are regularly killed. Fortu-
nately, many flying fox camps are situated within national
parks, or in remote and inaccessible areas. So these mam-
mals, in contrast to many of Australia's dwindling marsu-
pials, are not now actually threatened with extinction.
32
33
^ ^\| ^ 0 S"
Man Plant's Return
inseng roots, once dug for export, grow again in forest
By H. Lea Lawrence
I INSENG— Ponaa; quinque folium— a
r natural gold of the woodlands
e much sought and highly prized,
now drifted away from public
nory, just as have the trappers
hunters and mountain men who
mad the forests in search of it. And
3SS this herb, like some of its
nterparts around the world, should
ve valuable to modern medical sci-
e, it is likely that it will again
rish and multiply just as it did
rly 250 years ago when it was noth-
more than another woodland plant
lose who observed it.
; is paradoxical, in a sense, that
should be the case, for seldom has
price of ginseng been higher than
1 today. Nor has the demand for
eng lessened; it is easily as market-
; today as it has ever been. But the
Dry and circumstances surround-
the plant in this country explain all
effectively.
or centuries the Chinese, who have
1 and still are the world's leading
s of ginseng, have valued this herb
medicinal, an aphrodisiac, and a
m. The Asian species— and it is
id only in two portions of the
Id— is Panax ginseng, but it re-
bles the North American species
losely that it is difficult for a lay-
to distinguish the differences,
orians believe that ginseng's chief
iction for the Chinese lay in the
form, which is branched or bifur-
i, and bears a superficial resem-
ce to the human figure. Indeed, the
1 ginseng stems from two Chinese
Is that mean "man" and "plant."
any flower enthusiasts possibly
: never seen ginseng in the wild,
with its comeback apparently as-
d, it may again become a common
iland plant. Ginseng, in the family
iaceae, is found in shaded, damp
STEENTH-CENTURY plate In German
L of medicinal plants includes root,
that looks like a human body.
woodlands, often in valleys and under
stands of big timber. It is a perennial,
growing from eight to fifteen inches
high and bearing three branches, on
each of which are five ovate leaflets,
pointed at the apex and rounded at the
base. From six to twenty flowers are
produced in a cluster on the fertile
branch from June to July. Later in
the season bright crimson berries ap-
pear. The first-year plant produces
only three leaves, which sprout directly
from the root. The second year the
stalk generally bears four leaves, and
may attain the height of eight inches.
The third year the plant has the mature
arrangement of three branches with
five leaves on each, plus the fertile
branch in the center.
After the first year, the plant sends
up a stalk from the bud stem, which
grows from the main root. At the end
of the year, when the plant is killed
by frost, a scar is left on the bud stem.
The next year the stalk grows from the
opposite side of the stem, and the scars
show the plant's approximate age.
The story of ginseng in North Amer-
ica dates to 1714 when a missionary to
China sent back a description of the
"miraculous" root in the hope that a
similar plant might be located in the
northern woodlands. A search was in-
stituted among fellow missionaries,
and in 1716 Father Lafitau, a mis-
sionary with the Indians, found gin-
seng growing near Montreal. The roots
were dried and prepared as specified
and the herb was sent back to China.
Not long afterward the word was re-
ceived that the Chinese would readily
accept Panax quinquejolium.
Following the missionary's dis-
covery, the gathering and marketing
of ginseng began in a small way, but
it slowly gathered momentum and be-
gan to arouse more interest when it
was found that the range of the plant
extended from the southern part of
Canada throughout the eastern United
States as far south as Georgia and Ala-
bama. Hunters and trappers, who
spent all their time in the woods, began
to dig ginseng as a seasonal enterprise,
since its market value almost immedi-
ately surpassed the prices paid for
other herbs, barks, and leaves then pur-
chased for medicinal purposes. In the
early days, it was no trouble at all to
find ginseng in great quantities. A man
could dig all he could carry out of the
forest in less than half a day's time.
THE first dealers in ginseng were
the Chinese merchants located on
the West Coast, and buyers throughout
the nation purchased the herb from
local collectors and marketed it through
these exporters. Two reasons governed
the Chinese control: first, it had to be
properly prepared and dried before it
would be accepted on the market in
China; second, at that time the Chinese
were somewhat prejudiced against
doing business with foreigners, and
the Chinese merchants in America were
the only persons with whom the main-
land Chinese would deal.
It is not unusual, either, that during
this same period ginseng was employed
rather extensively in American herb
medicines. Two of the most widely
known during the 1800's— "Seng" and
"Ginseng Tone"— were highly recom-
mended, even by many physicians of
the time, although claims for their vir-
tues never approached those that were
made for some of the other botanical
medicines of that day.
One physician, a Dr. McMaster of
Michigan, described the plant as fol-
lows: "Ginseng is a mild, non-poison-
ous plant, well adapted to domestic
as well as professional uses. In this
respect it may be classed with such
herbs as boneset, oxbalm, rhubarb and
dandelion. The medical qualities are
known to be a mild tonic, stimulant,
nervine and stomachic. It is especially
a remedy for ills incident to old age."
In referring to the Chinese faith in
the herb, a Materia Medica of the Con-
federate States quotes a Dr. Healde
who alludes to "their confidence in it
35
as a restorative after great fatigue, an
antispasmotic in nervous affections, m
coma, and as an aphrodisiac. One
hundred and twenty grains of the
sliced root are boiled in a quart of
water, and two ounces of the decoc-
tion, or twenty grains of the root in
substance is employed."
A CTUALLY, there is no scientific proof
J\_ that there is any medical benefit
derived from the use of ginseng root,
green or dried, or from the leaves or
any other part of the plant. The best
that can be said is that it can be used
to make a licorice-like tea that is pleas-
ant to the taste— if one likes licorice.
However, ginseng, along with other
herbs and plants all over the world,
has already been subjected to a certain
amount of research in the constant
quest for new and improved medicines.
It is possible, although not probable,
that ginseng might prove to have some
beneficial qualities, after all. because
in recent years other seemingly worth-
less remedies have come to play an
important part in medical progress.
For instance, reserpine, a derivative
of the plant Rauwolfia serpentina,
or snakeroot, has been for several
years a valuable aid in the treatment
of high blood pressure and emotional
disturbances. Strangely enough, the
native medicine men of Asia had for
centuries employed the roots of this
plant to achieve similar purposes.
Digitalis, isolated from an old Shrop-
shire brew that contained foxglove
(Digitalis purpurea) , has long been a
remedy for heart ailments— a use to
which herbwomen also put it.
Mahuang, a Chinese herbal drug
made from Ephedra spp., gave us the
clue to ephedrine; colchicine, a gout
medicine, is derived from the seeds
and corms of autumn crocus (Colchi-
cum autumnale) and is a medicine,
legend tells us, that was used by the
witch Medea; false-hellebore (Vera-
trum sp.J is the source of a root rem-
edy for high blood pressure that was
used by the American Indians; curare,
long known to South American In-
dians, is a "miracle drug" used as an
anesthetic, muscle relaxer, and in some
cases as a drug for certain types of
mental disorders; South American In-
dians' use of hallucinatory mushrooms
led to the discovery of psilacybine;
quinine, codeine, morphine, thebaine,
and many others are examples of medi-
cal discoveries that were based upon
research into herbal medicines and
native "cures" from various countries.
Today, contemporary research into
botanicals is moving ahead at a rapid
pace, and drug companies and various
scientific interests have teams of plant
hunters probing all parts of the globe,
and even under the sea, in search of
new plants and concoctions that may
lend clues to discoveries such as those
already mentioned.
Should ginseng not become a "mira-
cle medicine," the future of the plant
seems secure. Ginseng hunting has de-
clined tremendously since the 1930's,
when it was often the mountaineers'
only "cash crop," and locations for-
merly stripped bare of the plant are
now showing new growth. The trap-
pers and hunters are gone, and the
mountain people have lost interest in
the hunting of herbs since industries
have moved into the foothills and pro-
vided employment and an economic
stability that they have never previ-
ously known. The older people, many
of whom were once the best herb
hunters, now enjoy old-age pensions
and welfare benefits that make work
unnecessary in their declining years.
Dealers who have long purchased
ginseng and other herbs say that traffic
in these items is almost non-existent
today, and even dried ginseng, which
still commands a price as high as
$21 per pound on the market, comes
in, in lessening quantities each year.
One buyer said that during the peak
years, from 1920 through 1945, he
bought from 1,200 to 1,500 pounds
annually at one store. Today, however,
only slightly over 100 pounds a year
is purchased.
ONCE ginseng was an important
enough export item to be listed
separately by the Department of Com-
merce and Labor. Beginning with 1858,
the first available listing, at which time
the market price was $.58 per pound,
some 366,000 pounds were exported.
In 1868 the price had jumped to $1.02
per pound and the poundage to 370,-
000. By 1889 it was up to $2.33 per
pound, with 271,000 pounds exported.
Figures for 1902 show the price at
$5.55 and the export total at 154,000
pounds. The last listed figure was in
1913, when the price was $7.50 and
221,000 pounds were exported.
Today the Department of Commerce
groups ginseng with other herbs and
does not classify it separately, but it
can be safely assumed that under
100,000 pounds are exported annually,
and that some of this total comes fi
commercial growers. Actually, ci
mercially grown ginseng did not si
up on the market until the late 188
when the secret of successfully gr
ing it in cultivation was discove:
Once something was learned al
raising the plant, the ginseng indu;
sprang up, and for many years w:
stable enterprise. Like the hunting
wild ginseng, this industry begai
decline in the late thirties or e
forties, and now it has all but
appeared. Part of this was bee;
cultivated ginseng brought a m
lower price on the market than
wild ginseng. The root grows m
more rapidly when cultivated ui
optimum conditions. This, the Chi:
felt, lessened the quality, and they \
less eager to use it. (As to exactly
rapid growth was thought to be
eterious to the root is not known
cisely. However, there is no ques
that when roots of wild ginseng
sectioned, they show consideri
more density and color than do
cultivated plants. In addition, the '
plant is more fibrous than the c
vated variety.) Presently, cultiv
ginseng brings about a third the f
of the wild root on the market.
THE herb hunters dug ginseng f
the time of its appearance in sp
through the fall, although autumn
conceded to be the best time, for
the root was larger. However,
hunting was competitive busines
one time, and leaving a patch of
seng in the woods was an open in
tion to the next herb hunter to d
up. Thus most "sang," as the m
taineers termed it, was dug whf
was first discovered. The green
was rinsed in water to take off thi
cess dirt and then dried, either by j
ing it in a stove or by tying it on si
and hanging it outside in the sun. V
a season's collection was suffici(
dried, it was taken to the nearest
lage or town and sold to a dealer
ually to the same person who bo
furs and hides and other produc
the forest from the woodsmen.
Nowadays the signs that adve
for "Furs, hides, roots and herbs'
a rare sight, for the individuals
made their living from the forests
all but disappeared. While the ani
they hunted and trapped for th(
trade may not have made a come
in all instances, the plants they sc
have begun to show recovery s
JOTS iike one above were hunted by woodsmen, dried and
ocessed, then shipped to the Orient by Chinese merchants.
Mature plant has three branches, each with five leaves,
below. Fertile, flower-bearing branch is in center, above.
PHRT 11
Old Hfricn's
38
People of the Uilloge
//
miLiEU mnv rlter hehith
by RRTHUR LEIPZIG
. FEW MILES from the Ethiopian border, in the
bush country of southeastern Sudan, the Meban have
long lived in near isolation from the rest of Africa
and the world. Vehicles can reach this region only
during the dry season, from November to May;
throughout the rest of the year the surrounding
swamps of the White Nile are impassable. Part I of
this article (Natural History, April, 1964) intro-
duced the work of Dr. Samuel Rosen, of New York
City, who led three study expeditions into this coun-
try. I accompanied his most recent expedition in
March, 1963, as photographer and observer.
Dr. Rosen's study of the Meban was begun in the
hope of answering a question about the effect of aging
on hearing— namely, to what degree is the progressive
loss of hearing with aging a result of noise damage
accumulated over a lifetime? If the Meban were
found to live in a nearly noise-free environment, and
if they preserved their normal hearing from youth
into old age, this presumably could be important
evidence to make a case for noise as the critical factor
responsible for hearing deterioration.
The Rosen expeditions found that the Meban did
indeed live in an almost noise-free environment—
noise-free, that is, in relation to most contemporary
situations. Measurements taken on noise-level meters
in several Meban villages near Doing showed a mean
level that was far lower than the noise of the average
home refrigerator in the United States. There is, of
course, virtually no automobile traffic in Meban coun-
try. There is no manufacturing and no metal industry.
The sounds that one expects to hear in pastoral or
agricultural settings are limited here because the tribe
has few cattle and little other domesticated livestock.
Cocks crow, certainly, but this and all other sound is
damped by earth and foliage, whereas on and around
many American farms the presence of reflecting sur-
faces, such as concrete, tends to multiply the noise
of livestock, traffic, and machinery. The loudest sound
we heard in the bush country came during the harvest
dance, when there was considerable shouting, sing-
ing and playing of instruments.
Smudgepot smoke keeps mosquitoes from cattle near Meban
village. Meban's hat and long shirt came from missionary.
39
Once the low level of noise in the
environment was determined, the next
steps were to select individuals to form
a sample population, estimate ages,
and conduct hearing tests that would
permit comparisons with tested indi-
viduals in several cities in the United
States, Europe, and Egypt. The test
group included males and females,
from prepuberty to advanced old age.
They were gathered in the village of
Boing by interpreters and other assist-
ants, then transported by lorry to the
test area outside the village.
Dr. Rosen's wife distributes gifts to
the Meban examined by her husband.
Ulomen, seen below with youngsters,
are usually married by the age of 17.
In initial physical examinatic
expedition members found a few ci
of total deafness and some of hear
impairment, but all of these had
suited from head injuries, diseases
congenital defects. Except in perh
five of the more than five hund
people in the study group, the teetl
the Meban were without caries,
many of them, the spleen and V.
were slightly enlarged. However, s(
disorders familiar in Europe and
United States, such as high blood p
sure, heart disease, duodenal ul
ulcerative colitis, acute appendic
and bronchial asthma were not fo
in the test group and apparently do
occur in the tribe. Judging by the
sence of heart disease and high bl
pressure, there probably is only si
incidence of hardening of the arte
in the Meban population. Meban in
study were also examined by a ]
chiatrist, Dr. T. Baasher, who ci
with the expedition from Kharto
the large, busy capital in the Sudai
north, where he had worked ^
members of that city's growing pc
" i''*^
J^
^
H
n
4 ■-'.
AU 1
r
>r^i
tion of Africans who had recently
ft their tribal lands. Dr. Baasher
und no evidence of maladjustment,
id noted no serious psychological
-ess, which is in contrast to the condi-
)n of those of the Meban who have
Dved to Khartoum.
Despite what seemed to us a monot-
lous and unsatisfactory diet, the
lysical examinations revealed no
;ns of malnutrition, or of vitamin or
otein deficiency. Meban are lean,
th well-developed muscles. And most
;;nificant with respect to diet, electro-
rdiograms showed that the choles-
•ol levels of these people are low. The
incipal food of the Meban is a fer-
?nted gruel made of a locally grown
illet seed known as dura. Several
tier products are made from this
ain, including bread and beer. Dura
ntains carbohydrates, very little fat,
d a small amount of protein. But the
eban diet is almost totally free of ani-
il protein. They rarely slaughter any
their few domesticated animals and
B limited in hunting by their prim-
ve equipment — handmade, curved
throwing sticks and wooden spears.
Their common endemic diseases are
malaria, dysentery, pneumonia, and
pulmonary tuberculosis. There is a
small incidence of venereal disease, oc-
casional cerebrospinal meningitis, both
yellow and typhoid fever, and ordinary
childhood diseases, such as measles
and chicken pox. For treatment of their
ills, Meban rely heavily on witch doc-
tors, although modern medicines and
medical care are available through
missions and the government.
3 INCE the Meban have no written
birth records. Dr. Rosen and his col-
leagues had to employ many devices to
assess their ages. The tribal chief was
present at all physical examinations
and often provided information that
helped with this problem. Besides the
chief, the headmaster of the school was
on hand and was able to assist with the
children; in some cases, people could
make comparisons with the known
ages of offspring of Arab merchants
who kept birth records. Dr. Rosen's
team relied, when none of the above
means was effective, on physical signs
of age, such as the changes that take
place at puberty, and the growth of
teeth. In estimating the ages of adults
the team's method was comp'icaed,
but probably accurate to within „bout
ten years. Shortly after puber.y, Me-
ban boys begin courtship, which
entails two or three years of working
for the prospective father-in-law before
marriage. Dr. Rosen and his colleagues
estimated that the average boy mar-
ried at about the age of nineteen, and
the average girl perhaps at seventeen.
The team assessed a Meban as forty
years old by counting as nineteen the
age at which he married, adding sev-
enteen for the age when his eldest
daughter married, and adding four for
her three-year-old child. This system
admits of error, of course, and any
error would be considerably multiplied
in estimating the age of the very old.
All subjects were classed according
to age, then given the hearing tests.
Researchers conducted the tests both
outdoors and in a "rest house" pro-
* t i.
MCte^
fficer of the government mobile health
lit takes blood pressure measurement.
ded by the Ministry of Health,
und-level meters, placed near the test
sitions, registered continuous sur-
unding noise levels below 40 decibels
the C scale, which is approximately
B level of a barely audible whisper.
;casionally, there was a noise-intru-
)n made by a domestic animal in the
jinity. An interpreter gave instruc-
ins to each subject in the Meban
iguage, asking him or her to raise
hand on hearing a tone, keep it
ised, then to lower the hand when
3 tone became inaudible.
HE results of these tests were signifi-
nt. They have shown that, compared
th recently studied groups in New
)rk, Diisseldorf, Cairo, and a large
oup tested at the Wisconsin State
,ir in 1954. the Meban do not suffer
irastic decline in their hearing abil-
■ during the process of aging. In
ch of the comparisons made, Meban
aring was especially superior in the
er years with respect to high-fre-
ency sound. As age increases, the
rcentage of Meban who hear tones
12 to 24 kilocycles per second grows
uher in relation to other study
oups of the same age, until in the 70-
■79-year-old age bracket, 53 per cent
spond to tones of 14 kc. compared
2 per cent of those in New \ ork,
isseldorf, and Cairo.
Since the inception of the Meban
idy in 1961, information on the per-
ption of high-frequency sound has
en gathered by Dr. Rosen's team in
rious places around the world, in-
ore examination, a young mother is
rviewed by Dr. Halim of Khartoum.
Dr. Rosen gives high-frequency ear to tone that is regulated by doctor and
test. Meban listens through headset raises hand when sound is audible.
tardiologists perform one of many
heart tests given to the study group.
Doctors discovered that heart disease
is nearly non-existent among Meban.
43
eluding the above-mentioned three
cities. Research on the Meban at first
seemed to emphasize the importance
of the quiet environment to their hear-
ing retention. But there subsequently
emerged a much more complex picture
of the critical factors affecting the
tribe's hearing. For instance, the blood
pressure readings of the Meban were
compared mth the same type of data,
compiled by insurance companies as
well as medical institutions, on healthy
•adults in the United States and Europe.
The differences were striking. The
blood pressures of the Meban remain
almost constantly low from childhood
to old age, an ideal circumstance. In
United States and European urban
populations, blood pressure increases
progressively with advancing age, es-
pecially after forty.
Another interesting contrast is that
blood pressure readings were found to
be consistently lower in Meban men
than in women. Dr. Rosen believes, on
the basis of estimated ages, that the
men of the tribe generally outlive the
women. Insurance company statistics
show that the opposite is the average
in the United States, where the blood
pressures of men are higher than those
of women up to about age forty-five,
after which the pressures of the women
become greater. In the New York test
group, a correlation between a rise in
blood pressure and decreases in high-
frequency sound perceptions has been
conclusively demonstrated. And, signif-
icantly, this contrasts sharply with the
constancy of both blood pressure and
hisih-tone hearinff in the aging Meban.
Hs a result of the work with the
Meban and follow-up studies con-
ducted by Dr. Rosen's team in New
York, Diisseldorf, Cairo, in a remote
region of Finland, and on the Dalma-
tion coast of Yugoslavia, a correlation
linking high-frequency tone perception
to blood pressure and heart ills now
seems almost definitely established.
Moreover, the work to assemble this
picture seems to have led to a possible
major medical breakthrough entailing
the use of high-frequency hearing tests
to diagnose incipient heart disease.
As recently as the fall of 1963. Dr.
Rosen conducted studies of the afore-
mentioned two sainple populations in
Finland and Yugoslavia. The Finnish
group has long been known to have a
very high coronary rate, while the
tested Yugoslavs have one of the lowest
rates of heart disease in the world,
nearly comparable to that of the
Meban. The ear tests showed that the
Yugoslavian test group had far better
hearing in the high frequencies than
the Finnish test group.
With the information from these re-
cent studies. Dr. Rosen and the mem-
bers of his expeditions have conclud
that noise damage is doubtless a pro
inent factor in explaining poor hit
frequency perception among the agii
but that other influences probably pi
an even more significant role. The
more critical factors would appear
be such things as vascular hardenir
as well as diet, nutrition, tissue chanc
in the middle ear and, in many :
stances, the irritations of city life.
But all these variables, Dr. Ros
believes, are undoubtedly interrelatf
For according to Dr. Abdul Moham
Halim, the Chief Internist of the Kh;
toum Civil Hospital, the Meban I
come prone to high blood pressure ai
coronary thrombosis if they emigri
to Khartoum. There they are expos
to a new diet, in addition to the te
lulli lju)> and girls convene in this
classroom. Entrance to higher grades is
limited to boys who show a high I.Q.
44
If the village children, right, stay with
tribe, they escape the illnesses of the
Meban who go to dwell in Khartoum.
.•1»«e^fc^B»»e--
|Ons of urban life, and, according to
T. Baasher, they often experience
.ychological problems. When the
eban also develop high blood pres-
.re, concomitant hardening of the
aall blood vessels to the internal ear
ay cause high-frequency hearing de-
cencies that are normal to the aged
European and American cities.
HE picture that finally emerges from
e work with the Meban and related
udies is a broadly interesting one.
is, according to Dr. Rosen and his
illeagues, a picture of delicate inter-
lationships that exist among the
ibe's physiology, its culture, and its
itural environment. It may seem sur-
ising that even psychological aspects
of the Meban way of life— the absence
of stress, for example— contribute to
their general condition in such a way
as to influence indirectly the ability to
perceive high-frequency sound. None-
theless the Meban study, at first viewed
only as a study of the human ear. did
eventually require the help of Dr.
Baasher and other men trained in the
behavioral sciences, with perspectives
other than those of ear specialists,
physiologists, and cardiologists.
In a recent summary of his Meban
study, Dr. Rosen has written: "Might
not the stress and strain that afflicts
modern civilized man somehow affect
all his senses? It obviously does affect
his hearing. The relatively slight de-
crease of Meban perception in the high
tones in old age, the constantly low
blood pressure from childhood to old
age, the almost total absence of tooth
caries, the virtual absence of hyper-
tension, coronary thrombosis, ulcera-
tive colitis, duodenal ulcer, and bron-
chial asthma, all too common in our
country, would suggest that these afflic-
tions result in good part from the diet
and tension-ridden mode of life in
modern civilization." And, indeed, to
reinforce this conclusion we have the
experience of Drs. Baasher and Halim
in Khartoum that the Meban lose their
marvelous "immunity" to these ills
when they go north to the cities. At
present, a scientist remains with the
Meban in their villages, making a
study of their diet, and in the future,
more men will go there and elsewhere
to expand the scope of the inquiry.
*S!iMJ
Crescent venus, top right, is seen with the crescent mooi
SKY REPORTER
With a simple telescope Galileo mapped the true orbit of Venui
By Thomas D. Nicholson
THIS YEAR, the 400th anniversary of Galileo's birth
(February 15, 1564) , Venus goes through some
changes in our sky similar to the ones that convinced
Galileo that the sun, and not the earth, was the center of
planetary motion. Anyone with a small telescope can easily
repeat Galileo's observations by following the changes
Venus goes through in the months ahead.
When Galileo looked at Venus through a telescope for
the first time, in the year 1610. he was surprised to see that
it did not appear disk-shaped, as did the other planets.
Instead, Venus appeared in the form of a crescent. As he
watched the planet over the months, however, its appear-
ance changed gradually. The crescent reversed itself, then
changed to a quarter-phase, a gibbous phase, and eventually
46
the planet entered its final phase— round and bright, lil
the full moon. As it changed its shape, the planet als
changed its apparent size and brightness. Venus. Galik
noted, was brightest in its crescent phase, when it appeare
six times larger than when it resembled the full moon.
Galileo easily deduced from these changes that Veni
had to revolve around the sun. rather than around tl
earth as astronomers had believed since ancient time
Only if Venus revolved around the sun, he pointed ou
could it change its shape, size, and brightness precisely i
the manner that he had observed.
An interesting story is told by the historian Arthi
Koestler in his book The Sleepwalkers, relating to Galileo
announcement of his discovery of Venus' phases. Coi
ed lest the priority of his discovery be questioned, yet
vishing to reveal it himself as yet, the great astronomer
dated an anagram in which his real message was
en. The anagram read, in Latin, "Haec immatura a
am frustra legunturoy," which Koestler translates as
;se immature things I am searching for now in vain."
, of course, was not Galileo's true message. The letters
16 anagram, when suitably rearranged, also form the
Is "Cynthiae figuras aemulatur mater amorum," or
; mother of love [the planet Venus] emulates the shapes
ynthia [the moon]." This explanation was later re-
;d by Galileo himself.
iE anagram reached, among other persons, the great
German astronomer Johannes Kepler, discoverer of the
of planetary motion. Kepler, according to Koestler,
. several rearrangements of the letters of the anagram
1 attempt to discover Galileo's true meaning. Among
er's solutions was "Macula rufa in Jove est gyratur
lem. etc." This is translated by Koestler to read "There
red spot in Jupiter which rotates mathematically."
1 a marking— the Great Red Spot— was actually dis-
red on the planet Jupiter in 1878, and has been ob-
;d up to the present time, rotating with the planet,
this was over two centuries after Kepler's suggestion,
•e was no way in which Kepler could have known
it it, or for that matter, even that Jupiter itself rotates,
coincidence, for it must be that, is most remarkable,
small telescope would be superior to the simple instru-
ts Galileo used. Venus is bright enough so that large
;s or mirrors are not needed. Great magnifying power
so unnecessary; the most powerful telescope Galileo
had a magnifying power of no more than thirty
leters. Small terrestrial telescopes, such as those used
lature observers, are sufficient. In fact, the crescent
;e of Venus can be seen with binoculars, if they are
died against a wall or on some sort of rigid support,
he table on page 48 gives useful information for those
might like to follow the changes in Venus this year,
ther by casuallv observing the planet with their eyes
e or by observing it more formally with some optical
stance. The table gives the date and hour (EST) for
I of the planet's configurations this year, and certain
sical data concerning the planet at each of those times.
The elongation given in the third column is the angular
distance from the sun to Venus as seen from earth,
measured from the sun toward the eastern horizon. After
inferior conjunction on June 19 it is measured toward the
western horizon. While the elongation is easterly, Venus
will be an evening star, setting after sunset (the relation-
ship "easterly-evening" makes this easy to remember).
When the elongation is westerly, Venus will rise before the
sun and be a morning star in the twilight before sunrise.
The fourth column gives the distance from the earth
to Venus, showing that the planet is closest to earth at the
time of inferior conjunction, when it passes very nearly
between the earth and the sun. The apparent diameter of
Venus, as seen from earth, is given in the fifth column and
clearly reflects the changing distance between Venus and
the earth. The greatest angular diameter of the planet, near
the time of inferior conjunction, is almost one minute of
arc, or very nearly one-thirtieth of the apparent diameter
of the moon and sun.
Column six gives the phase of Venus. This is the per-
centage of the planet's illuminated disk that is visible from
earth. From April 11 until inferior conjunction, the cres-
cent phase of Venus resembles the phases of the moon from
new to first quarter. In going through these phases, the
moon, of course, waxes from the earliest crescent to first
quarter, but Venus wanes from the quarter-phase on April
11 to the smallest crescent at conjunction.
The phase at conjunction is given as zero, but a small
part of the illuminated disk of Venus is actuafly visible
even at conjunction because of the inclination of Venus'
orbit to the plane of the earth's orbit. Because of the inclina-
tion (3.4°), Venus can be separated from the sun at infe-
rior conjunction by as much as four degrees, and part of
the sunlit portion of the planet can be seen at the upper or
lower limb of the planet. At inferior conjunction this year,
Venus is located nearly two degrees below the sun. The
actual phase of the planet at conjunction this year is 0.1
per cent, not quite zero.
It is interesting to note, however, that Venus is always
brighter at inferior conjunction than would be indicated
by the phase alone. The bright cusps (horns ) of the crescent
extend much farther around the planet than is indicated by
geometry alone. At times a complete halo of light can be
seen around the dark side. This is caused by the refraction
August 15, 1965
March 15, 1965
August 29, 1964
June 30, 1964
GRAM SHOWS Configurations of Venus in 1964 and 1965.
observing similar changes in the brightness, size, and
shape of the planet, Galileo reached the conclusion that
Venus must revolve around the sun, rather than the earth.
47
As VENUS lies in inferior conjunction, the faint ring
visible around it is twilight in the planet's atmosphere.
of sunlight through its atmosphere and provided astrono-
mers with the first evidence that Venus, like the earth, has
a rather dense atmosphere.
The last column in the table indicates the brightness of
Venus, expressed as its stellar magnitude ("Sky Reporter,"
January and February, 1964). Notice that the times of
greatest brilliancy do not occur when Venus is nearest the
earth (inferior conjunction) or when the greatest phase
occurs (superior conjunction— which will occur next in
April, 1965). These two factors, distance and phase, are
both involved in the brightness of Venus. The closer Venus
is to the earth, the brighter it is. But also, the closer it is,
the more the illuminated surface is turned away from the
earth, reducing the observed brightness of the planet.
Because the apparent brightness of Venus is the com-
bined result of distance and phase, two points of greatest
brilliancy are observed during the period Venus goes
through its configurations. One of these points occurs about
five weeks before inferior conjunction (when the planet is
approaching earth but the phase is diminishing), and the
other occurs about five weeks after inferior conjunction
(when Venus is receding from earth but is growing rounder)-
The table shows that Venus is at greatest brilliancy on
May 13 and again on July 26 of this year. Note that the
brightness on April 10 (—4.0) is the same as on May 29,
although on the former date Venus is nearly twice as far
Dr. Nicholson is Assistant Chairman, Astronomer, and a]
lecturer at The American Museum-Hayden Planetarium.-
away. According to the inverse square law of radiatio
Venus should be four times brighter when its distance
reduced by one-half. But note also that on May 29 i
see just 13 per cent of the illuminated surface of the plan
— about one-fourth of the illuminated portion visible (
April 10. Thus the brightness of the planet is very near
the same on the two dates.
When Venus is at its greatest brilliancy, the planet c.
be seen in the daytime even without the assistance of optic
This, of course, is known to most navigators, who regular
depend on daytime observations of Venus. It helps a gre
deal to know where to look; one way is to use the cresce
moon as a guide. On May 14, at 11 :00 a.m., EST, the mo(
and Venus are in conjunction, and Venus is about fo
degrees (or eight lunar diameters) north of the moon. T:
searching for the planet in the vicinity above the moon (
that day— with binoculars, if available, to make it easi(
Then, after locating it try looking with your eyes alone.
Another aid in finding the daytime position of the plar
is to know the exact time of meridian passage— the tii
when the planet is bearing due south. The local civil tii
of meridian passage for Venus is 3:00 p.m. on May
2:50 P.M. on May 10, 2:30 p.m. on May 20, and 2:00 P.i
on May 30. Look high up in the skies about those timf
toward the south and about five-sixths of the way up fro
the horizon to the point overhead. Again, binoculars he
Venus will fade rapidly in early June as conjunct!
with the sun approaches. It will also be disappearing frc
the evening sky, since its retrograde (westerly) motion w
take it rapidly toward the sun, thus causing it to set earli
each evening. At conjunction, on June 19, Venus and t
sun will set together. Then Venus moves west of the s
and becomes a morning star.
BY early July, it should be easy to observe Venus
the morning sky shortly before sunrise. It will gri
brighter once again as more of its illuminated porti
becomes visible from earth. The phases of Venus in t
morning sky resemble the phases of the waning moc
although again the order of the phases is reversed. In Ju
Venus will resemble the late crescent moon. By August ^
the crescent will have grown to resemble the last quarl
moon, and in September Venus wiU appear like the wani:
gibbous moon. For about two weeks before July 26 (wh
Venus reaches greatest brilliancy in the morning sky) ai
for at least a month afterward, it will again be possible
see the planet during daylight hours with binoculars— ev
with the unaided eye— as it precedes the sun across the sli
CONFIGURATIONS OF VENUS
-1964
DATE (EST)
C0NFi(3URATI0N
ELONGATION
DISTANCE FROM
APPARENT DIAMETER
PHASE (per cent
BRIGHTNESS
(degrees of arc)
EARTH (miles)
(seconds of
arc)
of disk area)
(magnitude)
April 10, 4:00 a.m.
Greatest elongation
46' E
65,400,000
23.6"
51%
-4.0
IVIay 13, 2:00 p.m.
Greatest brilliancy
40° E
42,200,000
37.0"
27%
-4.2
May 29, 1:00 a.m.
Stationary
29°E
32,600,000
47.4"
13%
-4.0
June 19, 6:00 p.m.
Inferior conjunction
0
26,000,000
58.1"
0
-2.7
July 11, 6:00 a.m.
Stationary
29' W
32,500,000
47.5"
13%
-4.0
July 26, 11:00 a.m.
Greatest brilliancy
39= W
41,400,000
37.3"
27%
-4.2
August 29,-5:00 a.m.
-Greatest-elongation
46° W
64,800,000
23.8"
50%
-4.0
48
^E SKY
MAY
MAGNITUDE SCALE
* -0.1 and brighter
* 0.0 to +0.9
* T 1.0 to +1.9
* +2.0 to +2.9
+ +3.0 to +3.9
■ +4.0 and fainter
COMA~BERENICES =f
CORVUS ■" '•, '.A
"-^&:anSl.WW^ S:^
TliVlETABLE
May 1 10:00 P.lvi.
IVIay 15 9:00 P.M.
iVlay31 8:00 P.M.
(Local Standard Time)
lay 4: The Eta Aquarid shower of meteors reaches maxi-
Ti this evening. The radiant is well up in the southeast by
3 A.M. on the 5th, but the bright last quarter moon will
rfere with observations.
lay 6: Saturn should be easy to find this morning. It is
:onjunction with the moon at 3:00 a.m., EST, and it rises
ut a half hour earlier into the predawn eastern sky slightly
ve and left of the crescent moon.
lay 9: Mercury is stationary in right ascension and re-
les direct motion.
lay 13: Venus reaches greatest brilliancy (—4.2 magni-
2) in the evening sky.
lay 14: Venus and the early crescent moon are in con-
:tion at 11:00 a.m., EST. This evening, the brilliant Venus
ears to the left of the three-day-did moon.
lay 19: Mars and Jupiter are in conjunction at 2:00 p.m.,
'. They are quite close in the morning sky for a few days,
they rise rather late to be visible easily.
lay 24: Mercury is at greatest westerly elongation from
sun (25°). The planet may be seen in the morning sky,
not easily, for this is an unfavorable conjunction.
May 25: Mercury and Jupiter are in conjunction at 9:00
A.M., EST. Both planets are quite close to the sun, barely
above the horizon at sunrise.
May 29: Venus is stationary in right ascension and begins
retrograde (westerly) motion. It is now moving rapidly toward
its conjunction with the sun in mid-June.
Venus is the only planet very brilliant in the west for about
three hours after sunset until midmonth. Toward the end of
May, it is approaching the sun rapidly and setting earlier by
about four minutes each evening.
The other naked-eye planets are morning stars this month,
but only Saturn is easily observed. It can be seen in the east
for about three hours before sunrise.
For several mornings about the 25th, when Mercury is at
greatest westerly elongation, Jupiter, Mars, and Mercury are
very close to one another above the eastern horizon for about
an hour before -sunrise. Observers should see Jupiter (—1.6
magnitude) first. A first-magnitude object to the right and
lower than Jupiter (on the 25th) is Mercury, and another—
slightly orange in appearance— to the left and below Jupiter
is Mars. Binoculars will help in finding the two fainter planets.
The Monarch's
Emergence
Each step vital as butterfly sheds pupa
By Alexander B. Klots
Newly hatched caterpillar feed
on the underside of a milkweed leal
WE IN NORTH AMERICA are extremely fortunate in hav-
ing among us one of the world's most interesting
butterflies. Primarily known as the world's champion long-
distance migratory butterfly, the monarch (Danaus plexip-
piis Linnaeus) is also notable for its ability to defend itself
against enemies by employing a poison chemical, a process
not yet fully understood. In addition, the monarch is the
chief partner with the viceroy (Limenitis archippus
Cramerj in a classical case of mimicry, and presents an
especially interesting life history and development.
After wintering in Florida, Texas, or perhaps Mexico,
the female monarch flies northward in spring to lay her
co^s singly on the underside of milkweed leaves. In turn,
females whose mothers were such migrants, may very well
fly farther north to lay their eggs, so that the migration
may extend far into Canada. In a few days of warm
weather, the eggs hatch and the tiny caterpillars begin
feeding, at first merely gouging out the lower surface of
the milkweed leaf, then biting through it. These feeding
holes are helpful in locating the caterpillars, which at this
stage are boldly marked with black crossbands and have
a pair of short, black, threadlike filaments near either end.
By the time the caterpillars have reached a length of about
two inches, their color has become considerably brighter.
The crossbands now are black and yellow and white, and
the filaments have become proportionately longer.
While it would seem that their conspicuousness would
make them easy prey for birds and other predators, it in fact
provides added protection for the young caterpillars. Since,
at this stage they apparently are extremely bad tasting
or even poisonous, their bold colors undoubtedly serve as
warning signs of their inedibility, thus giving them a high
degree of immunity from predation. This, however, does
not prevent "parasitic" flies and wasps from laying eggs
inside the caterpillars, causing untold thousands of deaths.
If it escapes such hazards, the monarch caterpillar will
molt four times and attain full size in about two weeks.
It then prepares for its metamorphosis into a pupa, or
chrysalis (as the pupa of a butterfly is called). First, it
spins a thick silk pad that adheres to the lower surface
of a leaf or twig. The caterpillar grasps this firmly with
the last pair of its abdominal prolegs, then swings from
it. head downward. In a few hours it begins to molt; the
head capsule and body skin crack and peel off upwardly
to expose the pupa. At the rear (upper) end of the pupa is
a spike, the cremaster. As the last of the caterpillar's skin
SO
is molted, the pupa must engage the cremaster in the sill
pad where many tiny hooks catch and hold the fibers. Thi
is quite a trick, because the cremaster is inside the skir
while the proleg booklets are on the outside. Imagine youi
self hanging by one gloved hand and having to slip ou
of the glove and remain hanging by your bare hand. Some
how the pupa accomplishes this, then hangs free, supportei
only by the cremaster. At first the pupa is wet, misshaper
and greenish yellow, but in a couple of hours it dries, be
comes more compact, and changes to a lovely translucen
yellow-green. There is also a raised ridge at the base of th
pupa's abdomen with a number of small, bright gold spots
The pupa now hangs for ten days to two weeks, with littl
visible change. Inside, however, the structures of the adul
butterfly are being formed and caterpillar structures ar
being broken down. Through the transparent coverings o
the wings, for instance, the rather meandering tracheae
or air tubes, can be seen straightening out to be replace
by the firm, tubular veins that later will act as wing suj
ports. During the last twenty-four hours of molting th
bold, orange-brown, black, and white colors of the adu
butterfly will be formed in its scales and hairs. Thus fo
a while an exact miniature pattern of the wings show
plainly in the pupa, signifying that the adult butterfly wi
soon emerge. This usually seems to take place quite earl
in the morning.
WHEN all is ready, air and blood are pumped into th
head and thorax, expanding them and cracking th
lower part of the pupal shell. The butterfly first pushe
itself through the crack, then, as it gets its legs out, pul
with them until it finally emerges from the shell, wet an
weak. The brand new monarch climbs to a support froi
which it can hang, expand its wngs, and harden its oute
skeleton. In addition, the butterfly must straighten out th
two slender half-tubes of its maxiUae and fit them togethe
to form the long, tubular proboscis, or tongue, throug
which it will be able to suck nectar or other liquids. Whe
properly assembled, the tongue is coiled like a watch sprin
beneath the face. This immediate postemergence period
both crucial and precarious in the life of the monarcl
Any undue disturbance may cause crumpled or misshape
wings, or damage to other newly formed structures. If a
goes well, however, the butterfly accomplishes these fin.
processes in relatively short time, and within a half hoi
to an hour the new monarch is ready to take off.
*"^^
HER than serving as a disguise,
1 crossbands remind predators that
monarch is a most unpleasant meal.
In series al riglit, caterpillar sheds
skin and metamorphizes to pupa stage
where butterfly structures will form.
-^.jU^^^^
Wing Pattern shows through pupa
at top left, indicating that aduh
butterfly will soon emerge. Insect
cracks the pupal shell, lower U
and frees itself. Gradually ^nt
expand and outer skeleton hardei
\
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^ Birds Of
Oolombia
BY R. MEYER DE SCHAUENSEE
»^ The Academy of Natural
[fffli Sciences of Philadelphia
\\\*\9. ft The only reference book in
English for the fabulous
birdlife of Central
America and
northern South
America,
10
• 344 species
illustrated
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• 448 pages
SCIENCE BOOK SERVICE N-1
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Please send me copies of THE BIRDS
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Pemsyhania residents add 5% sales tax
About the Authors
Dr. Bernard Goldman, the author of
"Bronzes of Luristan," is Associate Pro-
fessor of the History of Art at Wayne
State University's College of Liberal
Arts. Dr. Goldman received his doctorate
in ancient art and archeology from the
University of Michigan, and he has
traveled in the East as a Fellow of the
American Council of Learned Societies.
His scholarly works on Luristan have ap-
peared in a number of archeological
journals in the United States and abroad.
The discussion of the natural processes
that cause the formation of stalactites
and stalagmites is the work of Mr.
Edward O'Donnell, Substitute in Geol-
ogy at Queens College, in New York City.
Mr. O'Donnell has worked as an Assist-
ant Field Hydrologist with the U.S.
Geological Survey, and in 1963, while
with the Lamont Geological Observatory,
he participated in Project Equalant, a
survey of the tropical Atlantic.
Mrs. Kay Breeden, who wrote of Aus-
tralian fruit bats under the title "Fruc-
tivorous Fliers," is a writer on Australian
natural history subjects. The photo-
graphs that illustrate her article were
made by her husband, Mr. Stanley
Breeden, official photographer of The
Queensland Museum, in Brisbane. Mrs.
Breeden gathered material for her article
during two years of periodic field observ-
ations, performed with the co-operation
of the Zoology Department of the Uni-
versity of Queensland.
The fluctuating fortunes— in the wild
and in the market place— of the herb
ginseng in North America during the
past two and a half centuries are chroni-
cled in the article by Mr. H. Lea Law-
rence. The author, who holds a degree
in biology, is Chief of Public Relations
with the Tennessee Game and Fish Com-
mission. Mr. Lawrence was formerly a
newspaperman, and his by-line has also
appeared in several national magazines.
Mr. Arthur Leipzig, who concludes in
this issue his article about the Meban
tribe in the Sudan, has traveled widely
in search of subject matter for camera
and typewriter. A professional photog-
rapher. Mr. Leipzig spent several weeks
covering Dr. Samuel Rosen's third ex-
pedition to the Sudan to assemble data
on the Meban's unusual state of health.
Dr. Rosen, a prominent New York otolo-
gist who is on the faculty of Columbia
University's College of Physicians and
Surgeons, offered invaluable assistance
in summarizing the expedition's findings.
The emergence of a monarch butterfly
is described by Dr. Alexander B. Klots,
Professor of Biology at The City College
of New York. Dr. Klots, who is also a
Research Associate in The American
Museum's Department of Entomology, is
particularly interested in Lepidoptera.
LAND
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AMERICAN
SEASHELLS
LLS OF THE WESTERN PACIFIC IN COLOR
etsuaki Kira
English edition of "Shells of Japan", contains 1,270
:olor photographs. It will be a handy guide for junior
ents, amateurs, collectors and for all people who love
jeauty of nature. $18.30 ppd.
SHELLS OF THE NEW YORK CITY AREA
by Morris K. Jacobson and William K. Emerson
The first shell book, in over 100 years, devoted exclusively
to the New York area, this handbook of land, fresh water
and marine mollusks is for students, campers, nature
lovers and collectors. $2.20 ppd.
ELD GUIDE TO THE SHELLS
lUR ATLANTIC AND GULF COASTS
ercy A. Morris
edition of the Peterson Field Guide Series contains
le information needed for amateur or expert to identify
500 different kinds of shells. There are over 1,000
tanding natural photographs, many of them in full
'. $4.75 ppd.
A FIELD GUIDE TO THE SHELLS
OF THE PACIFIC COAST AND HAWAII
by Percy A. Morris
A companion volume to the Field Guide to Eastern Shells,
this is copiously illustrated with fine color and black and
white photographs. All species are identified with both
common and scientific names. It has been carefully de-
signed for quick and accurate reference. $4.75 ppd.
RICAN SEASHELLS
. Tucker Abbott
lautiful book that belongs on the shelf of every refer-
> library. It is designed for every collector, hobbyist,
:hologist and researcher in natural history. The illus-
ons include line drawings, photographs and 24 mag-
ent new color plates. $15.30 ppd.
CARIBBEAN SEASHELLS
by Germaine L. Warmke and R. Tucker Abbott
A guide to the marine mollusks of Puerto Rico and other
West Indian Islands, Bermuda and the Lower Florida Keys.
It is illustrated with 44 plates in color and black and
white, and has many distribution maps. $9.20 ppd.
SHELL BOOK
jlia Ellen Rogers
itifully illustrated in color and black and white, this is
mmended by most conchologists as the complete and
liar guide to the important shells, native and foreign.
5 ppd.
Members of the Museum are entitled to a 10% discount
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HOLD
THAT TIGER
WITH A
HONEYWELL
PENTAX!
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PHOTOGRAPHIC PRODUCTS
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TRAVEL I FAR AND NEAR
The meteorite search
By D. Moreau Barringet
AT THE END of the last century it was
^ known that meteorites occasionally
fell out of the sky. But only a handful of
men believed the larger meteorites left
scars on the surface of the earth that
could be observed and studied by geo-
logical methods. Among these was my
father, Daniel Moreau Barringer, whose
ideas on this subject have had a great
effect on scientific thought. It was partly
his persistence, in the face of apathy,
opposition, and even ridicule, that
brought about acceptance by the scien-
tific community of the meteoritic origin
of the great crater in northeastern Ari-
zona that now bears his name.
A visitor approaching the Barringer
Meteor Crater on the dry Arizona flat-
land sees first a gray, truncated hill that
resembles a mesa. Made up of over three
hundred million tons of rock and earth,
the craters rim rises more than 150 feet
above the surrounding plain. The bowl
of the crater is nearly a mile across at
its largest diameter, and about three
miles in circumference. The crater's
depth is 570 feet.
For some unknown reason, the earliest
discoverers of the crater called it
Franklin's Hole. Indians had long been
familiar with it; the Hopi tribe gathered
finely powdered white silica at the crater
and used this "rock flour" at their cere-
monies. Around 1870, the crater was
known as Coon Butte, although even at
this comparatively recent date, few
travelers had visited it. It was not until
the last decade of the nineteenth cen-
tury that a scientific investigation was
made. Dr. G. K. Gilbert of the U.S. Geo-
logical Survey visited the crater and
concluded that the hole had been formed
by a steam or other gaseous explosion.
Gilbert's team collected many meteorites
from the site, but explained their pres-
ence as a coincidence. Gilbert theorized
that meteorites had just happened to
arrive at the exact moment of the explo-
sion or perhaps had triggered it.
Shortly after the first investigation of
the crater, the Atlantic and Pacific Rail-
road became interested in it as a pos-
sible mine site. Dr. A. E. Foote, a leading
geologist, examined the crater for the
railroad and confirmed the presence of
meteorites. Although neither Foote nor
Gilbert reported finding any trace of
lava, obsidian, or other volcanic prod-
ucts, the scientific consensus at the end
of the century held that "Crater Moun-
tain" in all probability represented the
last vestige of a once-active volcano.
In 1902, Daniel Moreau Barringer de
veloped an interest in the crater contro
versy. My father was a consulting minini
engineer and geologist of Philadelphia
then at work in the Southwest. From thi
beginning, he believed the crater mus
have been caused by a meteoritic in
pact. His reasoning was simple. FirsI
the crater was an unexplained hole in th
ground; around it, on the same squar
mile of land, lay thousands, perhap
millions, of iron meteorites— more thai
had been found in all the rest of th
world. Since there kre about 57 miOio:
square miles of land on the surface o
the earth, it seemed to my father tha
the chances that the hole had been mad
by meteorites were in the order of 5
million to one. Moreover, results of hi
excavations showed that the meteoriti
fragments were arranged, with respet
to the terrestrial rocks with which the
were found, in such a way that their ai
rival had to be simultaneous with th
explosion that formed the crater. Tb
odds against a meteorite shower arrr
ing at that spot exactly at the time of
natural disturbance, but not being ri
sponsible for it, were so great that
would have been meaningless to ha\
calculated them. Thus my father lookq
for the buried meteoritic mass and ft
more evidence to support his theory thi
the crater had been caused by meteoril
impact, a quest that occupied the lai
thirty years of his life.
Crater Floor Drilled
BY the end of 1909, he had drilled 5
holes at the crater and had sunk
number of shafts as well. Although th
drilling and digging failed to uncovl
any large meteorites, the cores reveale
that rocks from different strata wei
mixed together at depths more than
thousand feet below the crater floor. Bi
under that level lay the Supai sandstoi
in undisturbed layers. The crater, the:
could not have been made by a fon
from below, like a volcano.
In succeeding years, Daniel Morea
Barringer pressed his attempts to u:
cover meteorites from beneath the floi
of the crater. The most significant r
suhs came in 1919. The United Stat
Smelting Refining and Mining Explor
tion Company, following his instruction
set up an eight-inch churn drill ne
the center of the south rim, direct
above the high point of the arched rw
strata. At one thousand feet, the dr
tered obstacles that proved to be
tic fragments; the final discovery
rted in the log as follows: "The
drillman says he has drilled in all
f formations but has never en-
ed anything like this. From the
thed appearance of the drill bits,
5 we must be passing through
of solid metal . . . started ream-
3:00 A.M. and at 11:00 a.m. had
only one foot. At 11:00, rotary
ag nicely when bit stuck in hot-
hole and stopped rotary." When
0 free the bit failed, the hole was
ned, but the drill had reached a
if 1,376 feet and many pieces of
i meteoritic material containing
and platinum had been brought
e searchers, therefore, assumed
3ir probe had reached the main
te cluster and was halted near
ting place of the greatest mete-
ass. Because of a heavy flow of
1 subsequent shaft could not be
uch below water level. However,
y father died in 1929, it was with
ef that the approximately 1,300-
netration of U.S. Smelting had
his case. Since his death, of
the scientific community has
on the crater's meteoritic origin,
science of meteoritics has ad-
remarkably since my father's
in his day men characterized as
I the idea of meteorite scars on
;oday scientists avidly seek out
Perhaps the first step in recog-
meteorite craters that no longer
e craters was taken by Beals and
a, the Canadians who investi-
wo sites in Ontario that have
:en accepted as meteorite craters
f Paleozoic Age. In both these
lown as the Brent and Holleford
, the meteorites struck on an an-
recambrian surface and gouged
■ the typical circular shape. Both
then underwent extensive erosion
:gely obliterated the rims. The
were also submerged beneath
ic seas that filled their cavities
liments. Later they were exposed
erial erosion as well as to gla-
and today can be discerned on
hotographs only as wide and very
circular depressions,
ypical underground structure of
tct crater, however, has been im-
:ly established by core drilling
of these Canadian sites. It is clear
ne craters of larger size than
rringer Crater are filled, first,
hardened layer of breccia from
3ut of the target rocks; second.
)REAU Barrincer died in 1962.
irticle is based on a paper he
to the New Jersey Geological
y, and papers by him and N. S.
;u in Foote Prints, journal of
)Ote Mineral Co., Philadelphia.
by talus from the crater walls; third by
subaqueous rocks of much later date.
Since the work on the Brent and Holle-
ford sites, at least half a dozen other
areas in the Canadian Precambrian
shield have been singled out for similar
speculation. These include a six-mile cir-
cular bay on the edge of Reindeer Lake,
Saskatchewan; two almost tangential
circular lakes in Quebec (collectively
called Clearwater Lake), each twenty
miles or so in diameter; and the lake at
the bottom of Chubb Crater on the Un-
gava Peninsula near Hudson Strait.
Coesite Provides Evidence
RECENTLY, by one of those fortunate
coincidences that have often as-
sisted research, a new silica form, called
coesite after its discoverer, Loring Coes,
Jr., has become a criterion for the recog-
nition of meteorite scars. Coes, a scien-
tist of the Norton Company, found that
under a pressure of 20 kilobars or more,
ordinary silica assumed a new and con-
siderably denser form with a specific
gravity of nearly 3. This density results
from a tighter packing of the silicon and
oxygen atoms than is found in ordinary
forms of SiOa.
Coesite remained a laboratory curi-
osity until two investigators working for
the United States Geological Survey
recognized, in samples of crushed sand-
stone from the Barringer Crater, the
typical X-ray diffraction pattern of coe-
site. It has since been determined that
an appreciable percentage of the
crushed and altered sandstone that
partially fills the Barringer Crater is
coesite. Outside the laboratory, no
known crustal process, including vol-
canic eruptions and nuclear explosions,
produces pressures in the range of 20,-
000 atmospheres. The discoverers of
coesite in the crater therefore reasoned
that only the impact of a great meteorite
could naturally develop such pressures
on the surface of the earth. Subse-
quently, Stishov, in Russia, discovered
an even denser form of silica (now called
stishovite), with a specific gravity of
about 4.5. It was reported to form under
a pressure of 160 kilobars (later, I be-
lieve, revised to 120 kilobars). This is
roughly eight times as great as the force
required to produce coesite. Stishovite
has been identified in very small quanti-
ties in material from the Barringer
Crater. Coesite and /or stishovite also
have been found in other craters, includ-
ing a twenty-mile circular valley in Ger-
many called the Rieskessel, and a lake
area in Ashanti Province, Ghana.
It is now thought by some that South
Africa's Vredefort Ring, a circular out-
cropping of sedimentary rocks fifty miles
in diameter, is of meteoritic origin. Here
it would appear that the removal of a
large mass of crust caused by the impact
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of such a gigantic meteorite allowed the
liquefaction and intrusion of a quantity
of deep-seated sial rock. The lower part
of this solidified into granite; the upper
part may have been a finer-grained in-
trusive or extrusive rock that erosion has
since removed. The rim is also gone.
Only the "roots'" of the crater are left—
a circular area of granite surrounded by
radially dipping sedimentaries.
Other developments have also far sur-
passed the techniques used in my
fathers day. Dr. Robert Dietz, of the
U. S. Navy Electronics Laboratory, has
studied structures named shatter cones.
Shatter cones have been identified in
sandstone, limestone, and certain igneous
rocks, but apparently also occur in any
other rock of sufficient cohesion. A frac-
tured surface of such a rock exhibits a
series of intergrown and overlapping
conical structures, with apices all point-
ing one way, and sides outlined by minor
faulting. Shatter cones probably result
from the violent shock wave accompanied
by tremendous momentary pressure that
radiates from a center of meteoritic im-
pact. They would naturally be expected
to occur below the crater formed by
such an impact, and hence are not likely
to be accessible unless the site has
eroded to a great depth. But geologists
have found shatter cones in connection
with at least six formations— in Tennes-
see, Indiana, and Texas— hitherto called
cryptovolcanic. Shatter cones have also
been observed at the Steinheim Basin
and the Rieskessel in Germany and the
Vredefort Ring in South Africa. Only
one doubtful specimen has been found
at the Barringer Crater, which may be
because erosion has not yet exposed the
rocks that lay below the center of impact
of that collision.
Scientists have searched without suc-
cess for the presence of both coesite and
shatter cones in craters at the atomic
bomb testing site in Nevada. Apparently,
the explosions were not of sufficient force
to produce the tremendous momentary
pressure required for the conversioi
quartz to coesite, or the intense si
wave that can create shatter cones. S
larly, it would seem that infal
meteorites cannot be smaller than a
tain minimum size if they are to proc
these effects. For instance, the Arii
meteorite, which made a hole four t
sand feet in diameter, was capabl
producing coesite, but a meteorite
fell at Odessa, Texas, and made a i
about five hundred feet in dianK
seems to have been too small.
Lost and Found Meteorites
THERE is another very large
answered question with regarc
meteorite impacts— what has becom
the meteorite? The opinion is widespi
that any meteorite above a certain c
cal size retains a large fraction ol
original velocity when it strikes
ground; therefore the conversion of
tremendous energy is sufficient to va
ize both the projectile and part of
target. The impact may spread the
suiting vapor, which eventually reso
fies, over such a wide area that fini
the original meteorite would be im
sible. This explanation has been g
for the failure so far clearly to d(
the mass that made the Barringer Cr;
and for the unsuccessful effort to lo
the mass under the main Odessa cri
Yet this theory runs into some rem
able contradictions. Alongside the r
crater at Odessa. Texas, a smaller cr
some 75 feet in diameter, was discovi
by magnetometric survey. It was (
pletely excavated. From its cente
compact mass of about six tons of ni(
iron oxide was recovered. Morec
Peary's 34-ton meteorite from Green
(now in The American Museum-Ha^
Planetarium), or the 85-ton Hoba n
orite in southwestern Africa obvio
did not volatilize; they are now her
the earth in recognizable form.
Then too, we are faced with the
At its largest diameter, the 570-foot-deep crater is n«
a mile across. The bowl's circumference is three miles.
58
Dund the Barringer Crater have
und many thousands of solid iron
tes that are probably pretty much
3d from their form in outer space,
f them may show a fusion crust
outside, and most display the
d Widmanstatten figures. This
ine structure, first noted in 1808
;s von Widmanstatten of Vienna,
i when a polished surface of me-
iron has been etched. It has been
trated that the structure is de-
by moderate temperatures of
P. or less. Clearly, the solid iron
around the Barringer Crater did
heated to anywhere near volatili-
emperature.
ber important difficulty in the
the explosion hypothesis is posed
structure of the rim of the Barrin-
iter. If the major crater-forming
as that of an atomizing explosion,
;t should be accurately symmetri-
ut a central point. An explosion
jct equally in all directions and
far surpass the excavating effect
notion of the meteorite itself. Yet
imetry of the crater is not radial
a point, but is on either side of
forming a north-south diameter,
ructure is so clearly determined
3 question of its origin must be
;d before one can accept the
hat the entire crater-forming ef-
s due to an explosion. Further-
the concentration of meteoritic
1 deep below the southern and
3stern portions of the crater floor
e explained. The questions sur-
ig this subject can only be re-
by thorough underground ex-
)n of one or more big craters, a
at would involve an amount of
not so far available,
most recent crater-forming me-
fell on the Soviet Union, in the
most province of Siberia, in 1947.
eteorite either broke into a great
)ieces in the atmosphere, or con-
originaUy of a cluster of small
fragments. It gave rise to some 120 cra-
ters spread over a small area, the largest
of them about 20 yards in diameter. The
shower sprinkled the ground in between
with thousands of iron fragments that
apparently struck at a very moderate
rate of speed. Although many of them
showed signs of fusion and deformation
in the atmosphere, they retained neither
enough heat nor speed to char the wood
of tlae trees they struck. Some were even
found imbedded in standing tree trunks,
with no sign of heat effect on the wood.
Can we forecast another dramatic fall
like the recent Siberian one? Although
the supply of large meteorites in the
solar system may have been reduced
radically over the earth's life span, I cer-
tainly think we can expect more large
meteorites to drop in the future. Time
and place, however, are completely un-
predictable. And because two-thirds of
the earth's surface is covered with water,
a new meteorite is more likely than not
to land in the ocean and leave no traces.
In discussing the Barringer Crater
and related topics, I have not, of course,
been able to mention all the advances in
meteoritics that have come about since
my father's early contribution, nor have
I touched upon some fascinating sub-
jects, such as tektites— the small lumps
of siliceous glass thought of by some as
spray or splash resulting from meteoritic
impacts. But one of the most interesting
historical facets of the science of me-
teorites is the Barringer Crater itself. To
the crater come an increasing number of
visitors. They inspect the museum on the
northern rim, observe the crater bowl
through the panoramic picture window,
and the more ambitious of these me-
teoritic amateurs often hike the three
miles around the crater's rim. Many
descend to the bottom of the hole where
Daniel Moreau Barringer began his life-
long exploration for the lost meteorite—
where crater and impact research began,
and the modern science of meteoritics
took a valuable, exciting step forward.
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NATURE and the CAMER/
Some simple methods
for photomicrography
By David Linton
IT SEEMS these days that every well-
equipped youngster has both a micro-
scope and a camera. Mail-order cata-
logues and toy stores feature microscopes
in many price ranges, and a number of
families have found that even simple,
inexpensive instruments can give valu-
able instruction as well as enjoyment.
Often, the beginning microscopist would
like to photograph his discoveries.
Photographing of microscope images
is routine in scientific work; its correct
name is photomicrography. (Micropho-
tography means making photographs
that are very much smaller than the sub-
ject, like a microfilm of a newspaper.)
It is not too well known, however, that
photomicrographs can be made with
even the simplest of cameras.
The image in a microscope is formed
exactly the same way as the image in a
camera or that seen with a magnifying
glass. In fact, a magnifying glass with a
supporting structure is known techni-
cally as a '"simple microscope."
We know that objects will look larger
when we are close to them than when
we are far away, and that when we want
to study small details of an object we
"examine it closely" by holding it near
our eyes. If we are taking a picture, we
make it a "close-up." For both the eye
and camera, however, there is a limit as
to how close we can get to an object and
still form a clear image. The magnify-
ing glass allows us, in effect, to get even
closer. We hold the glass near the object
and examine not the object itself but
its image formed by the glass. With the
camera we get this result by using an
auxiliary close-up lens slipped over the
regular lens or, if possible, by bringing
the regular lens closer to the subject
with extension tubes or bellows.
The Compound Microscope
THE magnification that can be ob-
tained in this way is limited. To
achieve greater magnification it is neces-
sary to use two lenses— one to form a
magnified image of the object and an-
other to enlarge that image and project
it where it can be seen by the eye or
camera. Such an arrangement is called
a "compound microscope." and it is used
in the familiar laboratory instrument.
An image of the subject is formed by
the objective lens, especially designed to
work very close to the subject and to
produce a much-enlarged image. Th
image, although magnified, is still tir
and must be further enlarged by tl
ocular lens, or eyepiece, before it can I
viewed. The total magnification is tl
mathematical product of the magnific,
tions of the two lenses.
It follows that the objective lens
the most important part of the optic,
chain. Since the objective forms tl
original image, nothing that occurs fa
ther along, in the eyepiece or earner
can improve that image. But an ey
piece or camera that is of poor qualil
or improperly adjusted may fail to r
produce all that is in the image. Sim
larly. the objective lens alone dete
mines the usable magnification. Tl
objective can discriminate details don
to a specific minimum size, but its resol
ing power has a limit that is determine
by its design and quality.
When the image that it produces hi
been enlarged— by an eyepiece, camer
photographic enlargement, or any coi
bination of these— the details that a
ready have been resolved by the ohjectii
lens will become larger and may ther
fore look clearer. But enlargement cai
not add detail that is not in the origin;
image. Enlargement beyond the resol
Ordinary laboratory stand may be use
as shown above to hold a simple camel
at the eyepoint of the focused microscop
6o
Linton's by-line has appeared
photographs in all the nation's
g magazines. His camera column
egular feature on these pages.
er of the objective lens is called
magnification."
naximum real, or "significant,"
;ation of an objective lens can be
id if the characteristics of the
known. It is well to remember,
, that this figure refers to an
lat is viewed at normal distances
)king directly into the micro-
or example, or by looking at a
iphic print held in the hand.
)tograph is enlarged enough to
from across the room, or a slide
cted in an auditorium, the pic-
;al magnification is not as large
measured size would indicate,
e picture is viewed at a greater-
mal distance.
Simple Cameras
>t a microscope is focused visu-
' for comfortable direct viewing,
erver's eye sees the image as
it were some distance away. In
ords, the eye is focused at in-
'he image can be photographed
most any camera that is also
at infinity and is placed at the
It." The eyepoint is the spot
le light rays emerging from the
; of the microscope converge to
; smallest point of light. With the
jpe meticulously focused and the
irce turned on, the eyepoint can
d by holding a piece of paper
le eyepiece and moving it up and
ntil the narrowest point in the
; found. The camera should be
30 that this point is at the cen-
he front surface of the camera
regular laboratory ring stand is
t convenient camera support. Not
ould the camera be focused at
but the lens diaphragm (if there
should be wide open. It cannot
to control the amount of light
g the film, as in normal photog-
because the microscope lenses
en added to the system, and the
diaphragm is not in the right
1 the total array to control the
ition evenly. Closing the dia-
would result in cutting off the
)f the image. Exposure is con-
by time alone.
it is the objective lens that de-
s the quality and magnification
mage, the camera lens has very
feet. A simple, slow lens of the
und on inexpensive cameras is
0 work better than a more com-
ns because it has fewer glass
ts and is less subject to the inter-
ections known as "flare."
UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE
SOCIETY FOR HELLENIC TRAVEL
A LATE SUMMER CRUISE TO GREECE,
THE GREEK ISLANDS AND TURKEY
3 to 24 September, 1964
in the M.S. MOLEDET
Guest lecturers on the summer cruise are:
Professor R. M. Cook, M.A., Professor of
Classical Archaeology in the University of Cam-
bridge, and President of the Society for Hellenic
Travel.
Mr. J. V. H. Eames, M.A., F.S.A., Lecturer
in Classical Archaeology in the University of
Liverpool.
Professor A. W. Lawrence, M.A., F.S.A.,
Professor of Classical Archaeology in the Univer-
sity of Cambridge (1944-51) and Professor of
Archaeology at the University College of Ghana
(1951-7).
Professor H. W. Parke, M.A., Litt.D., Pro-
fessor of Ancient History at Trinity College, Dublin.
Mr. Oleg Polunin, M.A., F.L.S., of Charter-
house School, v^ho will talk on birds and identify
them.
All inclusive tost from New York starts at $967.00
— Trans Atlantic air transportation by B.O.A.C.
EXTENSION INCLUDED: ROMAN FRANCE-
SOME SITES AND CITIES IN PROVENCE.
For complete information about the cruise, mail
coupon below:
LINDBLAD TRAVEL, INC.
One East 53rd Street, New York 22, New York
Please send folder describing the summer cruise
to Greece.
Name_
Address.
Cify-
-Zone State-
Latitude 4}°46' N. - Longitude 69° 19' W.
THE
FORTUNATE
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THE ISLAND INN
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Write for free illustrated brochure
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SWIFT INSTRUMENTS, INC.
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GET STARTED
IN ASTRONOMY!
Every day science-minded ])eople like
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REVIEW OF POPULAR ASTRONOMY
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City^
Photomicrograph of a yeasl culture is easily obtain
Such an arrangement— a simple cam-
era focused at infinity and placed at the
eyepoint of the microscope— will give
tolerable results with no special equip-
ment or techniques. The main drawback
is that the image may fill only a small
part of the film frame and may be sur-
rounded by the out-of-focus edges of the
microscope field and a lot of empty
space. The center area of the negative
must then be considerably enlarged in
order to produce a print that will look
like the image seen in the microscope.
Specialized Cameras
THERE are other disadvantages. With
the camera in this position, it is not
possible to see the image that is being
recorded. This makes it impractical to
use this setup with moving subjects, and
it leaves some doubt as to whether flare
will be found when the film is developed.
Cameras designed specifically for micro-
scope recording have either a "beam
splitter" that allows the image to be
seen while it is being photographed, or
a ground glass on which it can be ex-
amined just before the exposure.
A camera that has an interchangeable
lens can be used with the lens removed
to record the image formed by the micro-
scope, and it can easily be placed so
that the image will fill the film frame.
For many such cameras, microscope
adapters are available that provide a
mechanical coupling between the camera
and the microscope, a means of exclud-
ing room light from the camera, and.
sometimes, a means of viewing the image.
The popular single-lens reflex camera is
very convenient because it has its own
built-in viewing system. Another espe-
cially convenient type is a view camera
(used without lens) that will accept
Polaroid Land films as well as conven-
tional films. With this instrument, photo-
graphic tests can be made and developed
on the spot while the photography is pro-
ceeding: if sheet film is used for the
final exposures, each negative can be
veloped individually.
Determining exposure for photomii
graphs can be difficult because ordin
light meters cannot measure the brij
ness of a microscope image. Until
cently, one could determine the right
posure only by making test shots, de
oping the film, and picking the 1
exposure. In such a series, each fn
should receive twice as much expos
as the preceding one. When the phol
rapher has had some experience with
particular microscope, camera, and li
source, he will be able to judge expos
for most subjects without having to
peat the test series.
Some of the recently developed (
mium sulfide light meters are capi
of measuring the brightness of the ac
image on the ground glass of a cam
a feat that was formerly achieved (
by highly specialized and expensive e
tronic laboratory instruments. One :
single-lens reflex camera has a cadm
sulfide meter inside it to measure
brightness of the image inside the c
era. It is ideal for microscope worli
least in theory. In practice, these me
have limitations, but they are an
provement over trial and error.
The photographer who graduates f
the basic recording methods descri
here to more complex photomicrogra
will soon find that the problems in
specialized field are not so much ph
graphic challenges as they are probl
of subject preparation and of light
This list details the photographer, a
or other source of illustrations, by p
COVER-Robert J. Lee
5-Joseph Sedacca
12-21-Robert J. Lee
except 17 top, AMNH
22-25-Marion Whitney
26-33-Stanley Breeden
34-New York Botanical
Garden
37— H. Lea Lawrence
38-45-Arthur Leipz
46-Yerkes Observa
47-Helmut Wimme
48-Lowell Observa
49-AMNH
50-53-J. Keresztes
Black Star
58-60-AMNH
62-David Linton
62
the World?
From the Amami Islands*
to the Zulus of Africa**
will find it in Folkways' catalog
r 600 Long Playing authentic Folk
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REMEMBER HER on Moth-
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stimulating reference book for col-
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OR ORIOLES ONLY
lue new Oriole Feeder will attract many
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. by Erwin M. Brown. Hummingbird
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Suggested
Additional Reading
BRONZES OF LURISTAN
The Valleys of the Assassins. F.
Stark. Penguin Books, London, 1952.
"Luristan Bronzes in The University
Museum." Museum Journal. University
of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 1934.
An Introduction to Persian Art
Since the 7th Century A.D. A.U.
Pope. Scribners, N.Y., 1951.
Twin Rivers: A Brief History of
Iraq from the Earliest Times to the
Present Day. S. Lloyd. Geoffrey Cum-
ber lege, London, 1947.
STALAGMITES AND STALACTITES
A Textrook of Geology. R. M. Car-
rels. Harper and Brothers, N.Y., 1951.
"Geology of the Mammoth Cave Na-
tional Park Area." A. Livesay. Kentucky
Geological Survey Series IX Special
Publication, 1953.
Physical Geology. D. L. Leet and S.
Judson. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs,
N.J., 1958.
Geomorphology, An Introduction
TO the Study of Landscapes. A. K.
Lobeck. McGraw-Hill, N.Y., 1939.
The Caves Beyond. J. Lawrence, Jr.
and R. W. Brucker. Funk & Wagnalls,
N.Y., 1955.
FRUCTIVOROUS FLIERS
Bats. G. M. Allen. Dover Publications,
N.Y., 1962.
Flying Fox and Drifting Sand. F. N.
Ratcliffe. Angus & Robertson, Sydney,
1963.
Furred Animals of Australia. E.
Troughton. Angus & Robertson, Sydney,
1957.
"Chiroptera of New Guinea." H. M.
Van Deusen and R. F. Peterson. Natural
History, October, 1958.
PART II: OLD AFRICA'S
"PEOPLE OF THE VILLAGE"
"Presbycusis Study of a Relatively
Noise-free Population in the Sudan." S.
Rosen, M. Bergman, D. Plester, A. El-
Mofty, M. H. Satti. Annals of Otology,
Rhinology and Laryngology, Vol. 71, No.
3, September, 1962.
Culture Societies of Africa. S. and
P. Ottenberg. Random House, N.Y.,
1960.
MAN PLANT'S RETURN
"American Ginseng." G. V. Nash, re-
vised by M. G. Kains. U.S. Department
of Agriculture Bulletin 32.
EMERGING MONARCH
The Monarch Butterfly. F. A.
Urquhart. University of Toronto Press,
Toronto, 1960.
A Field Guide to the Butterflies.
Alexander B. Klots. Houghton-Mifflin
Co., Boston, 1951.
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(Please Print)
Overseas Nature Tours — 1964
EUROPE: North with the Spring from Mediterranean to
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GET READY FOR THE SPACE and SCIENCE ERA! SEE SATELLITES, MOON ROCKETS CLOSE-UP
aj
^T;vry^i;rri>fHN:[H
for FUN, STUDY or PROFIT
AUTOMATICALLY SHOWS TIME, TIDES, POSI-
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NEW SPILHAUS
SPACE CLOCK
19 DIFFERENT READ.
INGS AT A GLANCE
PERFECT FATHER'S DAY GIFT
Startling scientific achievenaent, yet
completely practical and functional.
Designed for the space age by world
renowned scientist. Dr. Athelstan
Spilhaus, Dean of Technology, Uni-
versity of Minnesota. Handsome conversation piece— con-
Etantly up-to-date encyclopedia of the sky. The Spilhaus
Space clock has beautiful fruitwood case and 3 sky-blue
dials. Blends with decor of any home, orBce, club room,
classroom, museum, display window, hotel, etc. Large dial
shows sun position, daily sun rise and set, moon position,
moon ri.se and set, phase of moon, low and high tide time,
current stage of tide, day and month of year, current
position of stars in sky, time of star rise and star set,
relationships of sun, moon and stars, sidereal or star
time Left dial shows local time. Right dial shows world
time including major U.S. cities and Universal (Green
New! 2 in I Combination! Pocket-Size
50 POWER MICROSCOPE
and 10 POWER TELESCOPE
Useful Telescope and Microscope
In one nmazine. precision
ported! No larger than a fountain pen,
Telescope is 10 Power. Microscope maeni-
fies 50 Times. Sharp focus at any ranee.
Handy for sports, looking at small objects.
Order Stock No. 30.059-E S4.50 PDd.
Terrific Buy! American Made!
OPAQUE PROJECTOR
Projects illustrations up to 3" x ZVz"
and enlarges them to 35" s 30" if
screen is 6% ft. from projector;
larger pictures if screen is further
away. No film or negatives needed.
Projects charts, diagrams, pictures,
photos, lettering in full color or
black-and-white. Operates on 115
A C current 6-tt. extension cord and plug Included,
•ate' on 60 watt bulb, not included. Size 12" x 8" s
' W. 1 lb., 2 oz. Plastic case with built-in handle
k No. 70.1'99-E S7 95 Postpaid
^^mm^
NEW Z-O-O-M TELESCOPE
ZOOMS FROM 25X TO SOX
quality, erect
achromatic objective. Separate zoaniin.^ nn 1 tmusini, ad
justments. Field of view at 25X is 1-degree oO minutes
zooms to 0-degrees, 35 minutes at SOX Magnification scale
marked on eyepiece mount. High resolution over entire field
Excellent for both terrestrial and celestial observation. In-
cludes sunglass for safe solar observation. 221/3" long on
sturdy 10" tripod.
Stock No. 70.623-E $35.00 Postpaid
HOME WEATHER STATION
^(u Weather Station" is highly
sLiisitive to weather changes. Con-
Msti-ntly accurate thermometer to
it J ^ barometer accurate to ±
^ ._ -^ 5% Foretells weather changes
..„.^ .- .- li hours in advance Hjgrometer calibrated in
percent relative liumidity. Excellent for teaching weather
phenomena and meterological hobby work. Instrument
mounted on handsome wood-grained wall panel 15 Va" s
5%". Meter cases heavily raetalized — combines beauty and
protection. Dials, in etched aluminum, of high precision.
Full instructions * _ ...
Stock No 70,607-E $9.95 Postpaid
7 X 50 MONOCULAR
MAKES INEXPENSIVE,
LIGHTWEIGHT TELEPHOTO SYSTEM
FOR ANY CAMERA
Optimum in optical performance
Field of view at 1000 yards is> 3< b
feet. Relative light efficiency is 75. Exit pupil measuri
7mm. Has socket to attach to photographic tripod. Inclu ]<
telephoto adapter which fits monocular eyecup — accepts tlii
Stock No. 40.680- E
. $f .50 Postpaid
BE READY FOR THE MOON SHOTS
Ranger. Surveyor, Lunar Orbiter unmanned spare probes
will shed exciting new light on the mystery of the moon
and outer space. See the results close-up. Edmund low-cost
top-quality equipment and accessories put you right there
— provide valuable and complete information to keep you
on target^
Bargain 3" Astronomical Telescope
^^^Plfw^^C^" planets close up I 60 to 180 power —
***^ ^ ^i^l^ji^ famous Mt. Palomer Reflecting tvpe
j^ ^y^ Unusual Buy! Equipped with Equa-
j/^ _j^ torial mount; finder telescope; hard-
^>^ ""ood tripod. Included FREE "STAR
C >^ iPlt CHART": 272-page "HANDBOOK
V^ /\ OF HEAVENS"; "HOW TO USE
/ !\ , YOUR TELESCOPE" book.
Stock No. ) 85,050- E ....$29.95 Pstpd.
4 V\ " A si rnimni ical Reflector Telescope
Stock No. 85.105-E $79.50 F.O.B.
Intriguing Low-Cost Moon Model
Exciting outer space display and conversa-
piece. Exact replica, 30,000 formations
■:s, craters. Ocean of Storms, etc. —
relief. Scaled to size. Accurate dist-
relationships. Proper lighting shows
phase, "black light" produces start-
ling effects. Tough, washable plastic. Tliree
colors. Far side blank — can be used for
space data. Excellent gift item. 12" dia.,
wt. % lb.
Stock No. 70.515-E $12.50 Postpaid
A SLIDE TRIP TO THE
MOON — MOON TOPOG-
RAPHY STUDY AID
As the universe shrinks, inter-
est in astronomy increases.
Tills highly informative series
of 29 black and white slides
features such topography as the
southwestern limb and Mare
Imbrium— the "pearl" of the
moon. Also, full moon taken with Mount Wilson lOO-inch
reflector and the crater Clavius through the 200-inch.
Stock No. 60.348- E $5.00 ppd.
BIG DETAILED 35" x 46" MOON MAP
Black and white photo reproduction of full moon with all
named lunar formations clearly marked. Complete index
to locations and other valuable information.
Stock No. 9297-E 95c Ppd.
WAR SURPLUS! American-Madel
7x50 BINOCULARS
Big eaving! Btftnd new! CryBtal
clear viewing — 7 power. Every
optical element Is coated. An ex-
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Individual eye focus. Exit pupil
7 mm. Approx. field at 1.000 yds.
iB 376 ft. Carrying case Included.
.American 7 s 50"8 normally cost $274.50. Our war surplus
price saveM you real money.
Stock No. 1544-E only $74.80 pstpd.
7 X 35 AMERICAN MADE BINOCULARS
Stock No. 964-E ,,,$60.50 pstpd. (Tax Incl.)
6 X 30 Binoculars— Similar to above and a terrific bargain.
Stock No. 963-E $33.00 pstpd. (Tax incl.)
SCIENCE TREASURE CHESTS
Treasure Chest— extra powerful mag-
lolarizing filters, compass, one-way
film, prisms, diffraction grating, and
lots of other items for hundreds of thrilling
experiments, plus a Ten Lens Kit for mak-
ing telescopes, microscopes, etc. Full in-
Stock No. 70,342-E $5.00 Postpaid
Deluxe Chest — Stock No. 70.343-E $10.00 Postpaid
THE WORLD OF DINOSAURS
ONE HUNDRED MILLION
YEARS AGO
In this set of monsters — the dinosaurs that ruled the earih
100.000.000 years ago — you get 45 realistic models molded
from unbreakable plastic. Collection includes the broniho-
saurus, dimetrodon, and others from the earlier species'
the tyrannosaurus and many more from the final eons of
the dinosaur rule. Fascinating study for young and old;
also novel as off-beat decorations. Average size approxi-
mately 4" high. Kit includes ferns, trees, caves and other
areas of terrain plus an exciting booklet Prehistoric Animals.
Stock No. 70,473-E $4.95 Postpaid
BLACK LIGHT MAGIC-GLOW KIT
With this Kit. you can collect fluores-
cent rocks, paint with living light.
■^1 '^^ write secret messages, learn invisible
\ detection methods, even make a fluor-
escent Christmas treel Kit uses long-
wave l)lacklight. which Is completely
iiarraless to eyes, but causes fluores-
cence in orer 3.O00 substances. In-
cludes Alugic Glow Lamp, universal
I , ,1 I 11 I land Invisible water paints and ink.
Ilium MiJit 1 ivuii tracer powder, pen. 3 brushes, specimena
tjf tliiortbtLnt tolIcs wernerite from Canada, fluoriie from
England willemite from U.S.A. Plus book of 40 experl-
Stock No 70 256 E $11.95 Postpaid
w ^
CRYSTAL GROWING KIT
M M^^H BsJ L>o a Crystalography project illustrf
W ■■fKBlJB ?? "*^'' large beautiful crystals you «
^^^^urm-^m ^^ yourself. Kit includes the hook "Ci
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erouE supply of the cheralcali
need to grow large display crystal]
poiasiium aluminum sulfate (clei
potassium sulfate (purple), potassium sodium tarti
(clear), nickel sulfate hexahydrate (blue green) or hep
hydrate (green), potassium ferricyanide (red), and cop
acetate (blue green)
Stock No. 7Q.336.E $9.50 Rostp
BIRDWATCHERS SEE WITHOUT
BEING SEEN
The "one-way" mirrors described above h
always been fascinating, but their costs c
down tneir usefulness. Now Edmund Sciei
fie has duplicated in a sturdy plastic fllii
a fraction of their cost. Actually, as tl
films cut down light transmission 70%
compared to 50% or less for the mirr
they are much more useful. For example: you can bull
bird feeding station on the sunny side of your house i
to a window. Fasten a piece of this film to the window \
you 11 be able to watch the birds from a few inches aw
Stock No. 70.326-E a sheet 21" x 36" 53.00 Posts
WOODEN SOLID PUZZLES
12 Different puzzles that will stimui
your ability to think and reason. 1
is a fascinating assortment of wood p
zles that will provide hours of pleasi
Twelve different puzzles, animals ;
geometric forms to take apart and n
semble, give a chance for all the fam
young or old. to test skill, patience a
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St'"=k No. 70.205.E $3.00 po,tp
Be 5ure fo visif
EDMUND SCIENTIFIC EXHIBIT
HALL OF EDUCATION
NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR
KNOW WIND SPEED ANYWHERE.
ANYTIME WITH POCKET WIND MET
Useful to all outdoorsmen, especially saili
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EDMUND SCIENTIFIC CC.barrington, new jersey
five unusual and
rewarding tours
to tlie four corners
of tlie world
CLASSICAL STUDY TOURS WITH AUTHORITATIVE GUEST LECTURERS
IT-LT-3081
TWO WrNTER CRUISES TO EGYPT AND UP THE NILE
f Air and River Boat to the Sites and Temples of Egypt and Nubia Tours depart on
November 6 and November 27. Guest lecturers accompanying the two cruises are:
r. T. G. H. James, MA., Asst. Keeper of Egyptian Antiquities at the British Museum
sssor H, W. Fairman, M.A., Professor of Egyptology at the University of Liverpool
Professor C. A. Trypanis, M.A., Ph.D., the University of Oxford.
These Nile Cruises have been immediate "sell-outs" in the past, due to the
high quality of leadership and services provided.
IT-LT-3085
ROMAN FRANCE-SOME SITES AND CITIES IN PROVENCE
This 18-day tour starts on September 7 and the all-inclusive cost is only $790.00.
n-Provence, the oldest Roman colony in Gaul is the starting pomt-and from here
we begin our tour which includes Apt. Roussilon, Avignon, Villeneuve, Orange,
charming Vaison-la-Romaine, St. Remy with its newly discovered Glanum, Aries,
Nimes, les Saintes-Maries, Aigues-Mortes, Les Baux, Marseilles, and Pans.
This IS a tour into one of Europe's most beautiful regions — a region full of color
and atmosphere— in addition to the thousands of monuments to the past.
This is a tour completely different from other tours— concentration on ONE of the
provinces of France. The tour is also for those who love good food and wines.
IT-LT-3076
CRUSADER CASTLES, SITES AND MONUMENTS IN
LEBANON, SYRIA, JORDAN AND ISRAEL
22-day tour departs on October 27. All-inclusive cost only $1,175.00.
Professor A. W. LAWRENCE will be the guest lecturer on a most unusual and
ting tour of the Near East. Included in the program are the Krak of the Knights and
Hama, Aleppo and Palmyra, a full day at Jerash, Petra, Karak, Acre and Caesarea
itima— all in addition to more easily accessible places as Beirut, Baalbek, Damascus,
(Vmman, Jerusalem and Haifa. Early bookings are essential to guarantee your seat.
number of participants on these tours is strictly limited to a maximum of thirty
ons— in some cases even fewer— and early booking is essential. Please send in
coupon at the foot of this page, requesting the details on the particular tour you
interested in.
INDBLAD TRAVEL, INC.
ne East 53rd Street • New York 22, N. Y.
il. PLaza 5-8882
ndblad Travel, Inc., One East 53rd Street, New York 22, N. Y.
ease send folder describing your tour
IT-LT-3073 n IT-LT-3053 Q IT-LT-3081 D IT-lT-3085
ldress_
ty
IT-LT-3073
AN EXPLORER'S TOUR THROUGH ASIA visiting
JAPAN • SIBERIA • OUTER MONGOLIA
CENTRAL ASIATIC REPUBLICS OF THE USSR
IRAN • SYRIA • LEBANON • JORDAN
Crossing from Japan to Siberia by steamer-Khaborovsk and
Irkutsk in Siberia-Ulan Bator, Karakoram and a day
with Mongolian tribesmen in the Gobi desert-the ancient cities
of Bokhara and Samarkand-by steamer across
the Caspian Sea-Persepolis, Shiraz and Isfahan in
Persia-archeological sites in Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan.
Tour conducted by Lars-Eric Lindblad, departs
from New York and San Francisco on July 5, circles the Globe,
and lasts two months.
$3,600.00
IT-LT-3053
WITH DR. J. ALDEN MASON TO THE
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES IN PERU, GUATEMALA
AND MEXICO
The two tours in 1963 were so successful and sold out so early,
that Dr. J. Alden Mason has agreed to lead one
(but only one) tour in October, 1964 to the
pre-Columbian sites in South and Central America.
This year we have added four days for leisure, making
the tour 25 days. Departure will be on October 24-and
the cost will be $1,650.00.
Mammoth Cave...
Conservation saved it for you. See it on your way to the New York World's Fair.
iVlammoth Cave has been famous ever since
a pioneer hunter named Houchins tracked a
wounded bear into it in 1798. It was known as
one of the world's greatest natural wonders a
hundred years ago, and travelers from many
countries were amazed by its great size and
great beauty. So in 1924, a group of private
citizens, recognizing its worth as a national
treasure, formed the Mammoth Cave National
Park Association to save it.
They asked for help. They got help— from Ken-
tucky's governors, legislators, congressmen.
From service clubs, conservation groups, busi-
nessmen. They worked for years to arouse the
nation; in 1941, their work was rewarded when
Mammoth Cave became a National Park.
Now, it belongs to you, as it will to your chil-
dren and their children's children. Exploring its
fantastic caverns, coming face to face with mil-
lion-year-old beauty, future generations will
feel the same inspiration you feel today. They,
too, will sense the force and majesty of Nature,
and every man's need of her awesome wonders
for bodily refreshment and spiritual satisfaction.
For man is a natural creature. He will always
need Nature for his well being. But all the na-
tional treasures so far saved are not enough. We
are a growing nation. Americans yet unborn
must have opportunity to know the natural
beauty of our land as our forefathers did. Like
them, they must feel its challenge and reward,
its promise and its fulfillment.
That is why conservation is everybody's job,
and always will be.
Free tour service: I
you are driving to thi
New York World':
Fair, let Sinclair hel{
plan your trip to in
dude visits to Mam
moth Cave or othei
National Parks. Wrill
Tour Bureau, Sinclaii
Oil Building, 600 FiW
Avenue, New York
New York 10020.
\Smlair\
A GREAT NAME IN OIL
^aturalrH
June-July 1964 • 500
rporating Nature Magazine
iSL^fi^^^^. .-::.. ;^m:'j^2m:^
Shenandoah . . .
Conservation saved it for you. See it on
When you visit Shenandoaii National Park
and ride along the breathtaking Skyline Drive
over the mountain tops, you will see a peak
called Pollock's Knob, named for a man who
looked beyond the years.
Thanks to George Freeman Pollock, future
generations will see the Blue Ridge Mountains
as the Indians and pioneers saw them, blazing
with millions of wild flowers, forested with a
hundred kind of trees, and watered by some of
the clearest trout streams in America.
Pollock first saw Shenandoah's rolling ridges
when he was a boy. For fifty years, he worked
and fought to save the natural glory of this
wilderness. Bit by bit, he bought and set aside
mountain scenery. He walked the hillsides with
governors, senators, businessmen, conservation-
your way to the New York World's Fair.
ists — anyone he could inspire with his dream.
Through his efforts, the Virginia Conservation
and Economic Development Commission made
a study. Local chambers of commerce helped.
So did the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club.
Some 24,000 Virginians pledged a million dol-
lars. In 1927, Governor Harry F. Byrd signed a
state appropriation for another million. And
Shenandoah became your National Park.
Since then, our population has increased by 50
million. 'We need more Shenandoahs. 'We need
more lands for outdoor recreation, so that more
of our people will have the opportunity to know
Nature's blessings and, through them, find re-
freshment of body and spirit. Everyone benefits
from such conservation. That's why conserva-
tion is everyone's job.
Free tour service:
you are driving to t
New York Worli
F.-iir, let Sinclair he
pl.in your trip to i
elude visits to Shena
do.ili or other Nation
Parks. Write Toi
Bureau, Sinclair C
Building, 600 Fif
Avenue, New Yol
New York 10020,1
A GREAT NAME IN 01
TTOMTQT
isignment: Quality Control. He's a very special engineer at General Motors — a key man
a corporation which regards product dependability as a prime responsibility to its cus-
mers. He and a GM inspector are shown giving this transmission a final check. In addition
keeping an eagle eye on every phase of manufacturing, the quality control engineer is
)sely concerned with preliminary design and engineering. More than 13,000 individual
rts go into a GM car, and every one must be as reliable as men and machines can make it.
iw materials, components, subassemblies — all get meticulous scrutiny. Tolerances to
thin fifty millionths of an inch are commonplace.
nong GM production employes, about one of every twelve devotes fuU time to quality control
inspection. Approximately 50,000 inspections are involved in the building of a single car.
addition, every machine operator has the responsibility for the quality of his work and
rformance of his machine. He can accept or reject any part he makes. His work is checked
the quality control engineer and the inspector, who analyze machine capabilities and
gdict machine inaccuracy before it occurs — not after.
ley're mighty important people, these GM quality control engineers. They have an exacting
3, and they take pride in doing it well. GM products bear witness to their effectiveness.
ENERAL MOTORS IS PEOPLE...
Making Better Things For You
PRESIDENT
Alexander M. White
DIRECTOR DEPUTY DIRECTOR
James A. Oliver Walter F. Meister
MANAGING EDITOR
Robert E. Williamson
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Helene Jordan
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Hubert C. Birnbaum, Harry Atkins
COPY EDITORS
Florence Brauner. Florence Klodin
REVIEWS
Francesca von Hartz
PHOTOGRAPHY
Lee Boltin
PRODUCTION
Thomas Page
Mairgreg Ross, Asst.
CONTRIBUTIONS
Ernestine Weindorf
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Paul M. Tilden, Thomas D. Nicholson
David Linton. Julian D. Corrington
EDITORIAL ADVISERS
Gerard Piel Gordon F. Ekholm
Roy Gallant Gordon Reekie
Donn E. Rosen Richard G. Van Gelder
T. C. Schneirla Richard K. Winslow
ADVERTISING
Frank L. De Franco, Director
Ogden Lowell, Sales
PROMOTION MANAGER
Anne Keating
Anne Ryan, Asst.
CIRCULATION MANAGER
Joseph Saulina
Natural Histoi a
Incorporating Nature Magazine
THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTOi
Vol. Lxxni
JUNE-JULY 1964
No
ARTICLES
THE AMAZON'S RATE OF FLOW Luther C. Davis, Jr.
EXPOSITIONS. EXHIBITS AND TODAY'S MUSEUMS Gordon Reekie
CALIFORNIA'S LEGACY OF INDIAN ROCK ART Campbell Grant
HERMAPHRODITISM IN BAHAMA GROUPERS C. Lavett Smith
ASTRONOMY'S PAST PRESERVED AT JAIPUR
Derek J. de Solla Price
DEPARTMENTS
BOOKS IN REVIEW
George Gaylord Simpson
NATURALISTS' NOTEBOOK:
BIRTH OF TWO WHITETAILS Photographs by Leonard Lee Rue HI
SKY REPORTER
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
SCIENCE IN ACTION:
PREPARING FOR TOMORROW
WASHINGTON NEWSLETTER
ADDITIONAL READING
Thomas D. Nicholson
Perez Malande Olindo
Paul Mason Tilden
COVER: When the remarkably moving paintings executed by Paleolithic n
on cave walls in Spain and France (and. later, in the Sahara and varii
other sites) first came to the attention of modern man, a new chapter in the sti
of prehistory began. Strangely, however, few people know that similar works e;
in our own southwestern United States; the one on the cover is on a rock she]
in the San Emigdio Range near Santa Barbara, California. Mr. Campbell Gr£
author of the article that begins on page 32, is a student of these drawin
He also took the photographs and made the paintings that accompany his te
The American Museum is open to the public without charge every day
during the year. 'Vour support, through membership and contributions,
helps make this possible. The Museum is equally in need of support
for all of its work in the fields of research, education, and exhibition.
Publicalion Office: The American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 7<>lh Street. New '
N. Y. 10024. Published monthly, October through May: bimonthly June to September. Subscription: S5.
year. In Canada, and all other countries; S5.5D a year. Single copies: S.50. Second class postage paii
New York, N. Y., and .it additional offices. Copyright, 1964, by The American Museum of Natural HisI
No part of this periodical may be reproduced without the written consent of Natural History. The
Nature Magazine, registered U.S. Patent Office. Unsolicited manuscripts and illustrations submitted to
editorial office will be handled with all possible care, but we cannot assume responsibility for their sa:
The opinions expressed by authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect The American Museum's po
Naturally,
you can't
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photograph, you're better able to do it when you're loaded for
bear, with the incomparable Hasselblad system. Your dealer is
ready to show you the king of cameras and its dozens and doz-
ens of matched, precision accessories. If you need his name and
address, write: Paillard Incorporated, 1900 LowerRd., Linden, N.J.
Photo by
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500mm lens.
HASS€LBLAD
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by markings instead of by ornitholog-
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make the precise identification wiihout
first classifying the bird. Any detail of
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As soon as you sight a bird you wish
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— EMMETT R. BLAKE, Curator of Birds,
Chicago Natural History Museum
Naming the
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By
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BOOKS IN REVIEW
'Science u. the humanities
'By George Gaylord Simpson
The Role of Science in Civilization,
by Robert Bruce Lindsay. Harper and
Row, $6.00; 318 pp. Science: The
Glorious Entertainment, by Jacques
Barzun. Harper and Row, S6.00 ; 322 pp.
THE authors of these books are well-
known pedagogues at sister institu-
tions: Lindsay a professor of physics at
Brown University, Barzun a dean and lit-
erary historian at Columbia University.
The books have the same subject and are
issued at almost the same time by the
same publisher. Neither author mentions
the other, although there is evidence on
Lindsay's side that this is not due to
ignorance. The points of view are com-
pletely different, and this in itself is
enlightening as regards their common
topic. The scientist treats the humani-
ties with comprehension and apprecia-
tion. The humanist treats science with
bias and disgust.
Lindsay's work is not organized or
presented as a textbook, but it embodies
the substance of one of his university
courses. The style is clear and readable,
but it is occasionally rather dryly didac-
tic. One of Lindsay's main concerns is
to discuss the interaction of science and
the humanities. He recognizes that this
has some negative aspects and also that
it is rarely appreciated by scholars in the
humanities, fie strives to alleviate that
antagonism by demonstrating the con-
gruence and even, in some respects, iden-
tity of aims in the two fields. The quiet
argument should convince almost any-
one, although Barzun's book is evidence
that some of the more rabid humanistic
apologists are hopelessly irreconcilable.
To a scientist also interested in the hu-
manities, the only criticism is that Lind-
say so greatly stresses the compatibility
of the two that he almost loses the dis-
tinction between them. His definition of
science tends to become blurred.
Lindsay then discusses more specifi-
cally the relationships of science with
philosophy, history, and communication.
Modern science necessarily impinges on
formal philosophy and necessarily has a
basis, usually less formal and often
unperceived. in philosophy. The discus-
sion of these interactions will be enlight-
ening to any scientist, philosopher, or
layman. Here and in some other pas-
sages it must be admitted that Lindsay's
moderation becomes an almost excessive
impartiality. The treatment of science
and history is again excellent and can be
highly recommended, but it does exhil
another weakness, one common to t
great majority of works on the natu:
philosophy, and history of science. T
concentration is on physical science, a
the other sciences are either ignored
treated with bias and inadequate knoi
edge. The attitude toward history wot
be quite different if the point of vi
were that of one of the several scienc
that are themselves historical.
A chapter on science and communii
tion includes semitechnical summar
of acoustics, cybernetics, informati
theory, entropy, and statistical lingu
tics. The compression of all this, anc
bit more, comprehensibly into sixty-fc
pages is a real tour de force and (
riches the book beyond the essentials
its central theme.
The most important impacts of scier
are not the most obvious. Lindsay 1
wisely devoted the greater part of .
book (about two-thirds) to these li
obvious aspects. The most obvious aspi
is of course technological, and this 1
been discussed elsewhere at what rn
fairly be called oppressive length. Lii
say's essay on the subject (in extre:
contrast to Barzun's book) is brief a
is characterized by calm good sense,
of course recognizes the distressing si
effects of technological advance, but ci
eludes that. "The chief impact of 1
materialistic evolution brought about
technology is simply a widening of I
man experience."
A chapter on science and the st;
discusses, necessarily in somewhat g(
eral terms, the need for science (beyo
technology ) by governments, the agi
cies set up for that purpose, and the i
pact of increasing governmental supp
for science. The relationship of sciei
to warfare is described, as well as 1
presence or absence of controls in s
ence under public support— both in
rather noncommittal way. It is perh£
enough at this stage to point out tl
issues do exist and to explain exac
what they are. More could have b«
made of the fact, here mentioned aim
in passing, that the enormous sums, pi
lie and private, spent for "research a
development" go mostly to engineerii
with technology second and science
very poor third. The figures are widi
understood as indicative of our supp
of science, but less than a tenth of 1
stated sums goes for scientific reseai
in any reasonable sense of the wor
If
I FELT
A BRIEF
SPASM
OF
PANIC..."
". . . with the male gorilla only thirty feet from me. Cautiously, I
ascended a tree. Slowly, as if daring each other to come closer, the
whole group of gorillas advanced toward my tree."
The panic was, however, brief. George Schaller found gorillas to be
most unferocious beasts who live more peaceably together than do
most humans. "In many ways," he says, "they have achieved the
kind of life man has sought for centuries."
Tlie Year of the Gorilla is the fascinating account of many months
.■^pent in the African jungle observing mountain gorillas at home.
It is the story of the enforced yet splendid isolation of a naturalist
and of the unobtrusive heroism of his wife who spent long hours
waiting alone in the background.
The Year of the Gorilla is the story of the delight the Schallers found
in the beauty of the African countryside and of the deep affection
they felt for the gorillas whom they learned to know as individuals.
The Year of the Gorilla tells how these misunderstood animals live,
what they eat, drink (apparently they don't), how they mate, nest
and play; how they communicate, express emotion, and how they
react to humans.
For all who enjoy stories of nature in the wild, for all who know
gorillas only as surly animals in zoos, this book will be a revelation
and a delight.
"Quite aside from the fascination of the gorillas themselves. The
Year of the Gorilla gives a vivid picture of an aspect of Africa that
may well be doomed, and carries the feel of remote adventure as
clearly as any book I know."-MARSTON bates
"Whether the author is tracking gorillas, slipping past elephant herds
on narrow jungle paths, avoiding poachers' deadfalls, or routing
Watutsi invaders, this is an exciting book."-iRVEN de vore, Science.
Illustrated with many photographs and with charming line drawings
by the author. $5.95
THE
THE
OF
CaORILLA
by George B. Schaller
THE MOUNTAIN GORILLA Dr Schallers su
perb scientific study, published last year and hailed as "a record of
superlative field work well described. "-S. L. Washburn American
Scientist 5^000
Inquire at your bookstore -Ci-
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS S^
Chicago and London
A breathtaking
'array of America's
Xwildflowers—
shown in their natural surroundings
in over 300 full-color photographs
THE Odyssey Book of American
WiLDFLOWERS presents more than
300 representative species, photo-
graphed in color at the peak of their
beauty. Farrell Grehan, whose
work has appeared in Life and other
leading magazines, traveled about
the country for three years to catch
each flower "as it grows". His
special technique makes su-
perb use of light and foliage
to create the living effect of
the flowers.
H. W. RiCKETT, Senior ^
Botanist, New York Botani-
cal Garden, has written the ' \
authoritative text on each va- ^ ^
riety shown — including scien-
tific name, color, size, fragrance,
habitat, time of blooming, and
other characteristics — plus a glos-
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an endless delight for anyone who has
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$12.95
Ten-day FREE examination
Mail coupon below to The
Odyssey Press, Dept.
M12,Box 350, Pough-
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nothing.
- Send no money
THE ODYSSEY PRESS
Dept. M12,Box 350
Poughkeepsie, N. Y.
Please send The Odyssey
Book of American.^ Wild-
VERS for 10-day free exam-
ination. If I wish. I may return the
book within 10 days without obligation.
erwise, I will remit $12.95 plus postage.
City Zone
SAVE. Enclose payment now
pays postage. Same return prlvileBe'
State
and publisher
In fact we are not supporting science
generously or even adequately.
Lindsay's last chapter is a very brief
consideration of science and ethics. It is
surprising to find an author hitherto so
judicious and restrained supporting the
outright bizarre notion of what he calls
"the thermodynamic imperative" as a
scientific basis for ethics.
Barzun's is decidedly the more inter-
esting and readable of the two books.
That is partly a simple matter of skill.
Lindsay himself makes the point that
scientists generally are not good at com-
municating in writing, and although he
is better than most scientists he is not
equal to a first-class litterateur like Bar-
zun. Other reasons for the fact that
Barzun's book is more entertaining are
not really to its credit. It is witty rather
than reasonable. It substitutes uncon-
trolled exaggeration and calculated mis-
representation for judgment. Lindsay is
a scientist trying to evaluate a whole
situation. Barzun is an artist reacting
emotionally to a strongly slanted percep-
tion of a part of that situation.
Barzun's premise is "the proposition
which thinking beholders no longer dis-
pute: the life man has made for himself
is not worth living." It is characteristic
that he accuses other artists (literary,
visual, and musical) of treason because
they reiterate this proposition "to the
point of nausea"— and that he makes this
accusation in a book wholly devoted to
that same reiteration!
Much of Barzun's book is devoted not
to science but to technology, which he
calls "techne" and which he considers an
unmitigated horror. The significance of
the book's title is that Barzun finds sci-
ence diverting in a gruesome sort of way
and that beyond that he considers it and
its works completely pernicious. He lays
about him with broad strokes and even
roundly whacks his fellow artists (in all
fields). With more than dubious logic
he finds that their failure to follow his
impeccable standards is all the fault of
science. In short, this is just another of
the too many humanistic attacks on sci-
ence and, indeed, on rationality. Its only
virtue is that it is cleverer than most.
There is little doubt that Barzun's
book will be more widely acclaimed and
read than Lindsay's. That is a bad omen
for civilization.
Dr. Simpson ivho is on the staff of the
Museum of Comparative Zoology and
who is the Agassiz Professor of Verte-
brate Paleontology at Harvard, was until
1959 the Chairman of The American
Museum's Department of Geology and
Paleontology. During his distinguished
career he has written, among hundreds
of publications, the classic "Horses" and
"The Meaning of Evolution." His most
recent book is "This Vieiv of Life."
Harnessing Space, edited by Willy 1
The Macmillan Co., $6.50; 314 pp., Hi
THIS volume is a handbook on rod
and artificial satellites. Willy Ley
been explaining these matters to the
initiated for forty years. Here he .
collected all pertinent information ab
artificial satellites and the methods
launching them and has written a com
introduction unifying the material,
the beginning of his book, Mr. Ley
tablishes a firm foundation for the un(
standing of the material in a recital
the basic physical laws that govern
rocket and satellite activity. This is
lowed by a history of man's efforts
put satellites and himself into space.
After this heginmng,HarnessingSp
is a brief encyclopedia of rockets i
propulsion systems, their fuels, meth
of launching, dimensions, and, in f
every detail of their operation. The a
ficial satellites that have already b
launched— or those we are preparing
launch— are described in the same det
The various more complex and an
tious projects, such as Project Merc
and Project Apollo, are detailed and
progress to date is outlined.
The last third of this book is a sei
of appendixes and the titles desci
their purposes: "A Listing of U.S. Re
ets with Space Capability," "Chronol
of Meteorological Satellite Even
"Chronology of Communication Satel
Events." The book closes with an exi
sive glossary of space terms and a lis
titles for further reading. Similar 1
are given at the end of each of the v
ous sections throughout the book. Th
are a number of good photographs .
well-made diagrams throughout the t
Harnessing Space should be of con:
erable value as a quick reference be
particularly for those whose work or
terest calls for a specialized knowle
of details in this field.
James S. Picker
American Museum-Hayden Planetar
Maya Archaeologist, by J. Eric
Thompson. University of Oklahc
Press, $5.00; 284 pp., illus.
ERIC Thompson's name is well kn(
to everyone who has looked into
subject of Maya archeology. He has b
one of the most productive scho!
working in this challenging field,
witnessed by his more technical pu
cations such as Maya Hieroglyf
Writing, An Introduction, and his m
general work Rise and Fall of M
Civilization. The latter is undoubte
the best available introduction to
study of the Maya.
In Maya Archaeologist, Thomp
writes of his many experiences in M
country. These began in 1926 when
joined Sylvanus Morley, who was ej
new and recent
books from
COLUMBIA
THE INSECTS
Url Lanham
This beautifully illustrated book is a natural history of the insects, written
for the student, the amateur entomologist, and the general reader. The
author writes of the origin and evolution of insects and compares them with
related animals such as the centipedes and spiders. There is a discussion of
insect structure in terms of function and a section on insects and their
environment.
10 Ay
THE FISHES
Url Lanham
"This is an excellent little book. ... It is clear
and well-written and would make good reading
for the student of elementary biology or the
fisherman who wants to know more about his
prey." — American Scientist
". . . Professor Lanham bears his learning so grace-
fully that I wish the book had been twice as long
as it is."— Saturday Review
extensive fhotograyhs $5.00
HEREDITY AND
HUMAN LIFE
Hampton L. Carson
"The well-read and well-educated person who
wants an introduction to human genetics will find
it in this book." — Science
"Professor Carson . . . has written a lucid, careful
popular introduction to the subject." — New
Yorker
illustrated
$5.00
•vings $6.95
ANTS
Their Structure, Development
and Behavior
William Morton W^beeler
Out of print for many years and long in demand,
this book is regarded as the definitive work on
ants. It is the most comprehensive publication on
the subject. Not only students and teachers of
natural history but anyone interested in the
mystery and complexity of the natural world will
be fascinated by this book.
illustrated $17.50
THE ORIGIN OF
ADAPTIONS
Verne Grant
"Written by a biologist for other biologists, this
is . . . the best and most comprehensive of a series
of books written recently on the modern, syn-
thetic approach to evolutionary theory ... it is
so well written that a nonbiological reader can
easily understand it with a little concentration
of effort." — Library Journal
illustrated $12.50
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Nature and books belong
to the eyes that see them
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
THE INSECTS
All the fascinating "gee-whiz
facts" of insect life, beauti-
fully illustrated, and written
in non-technical language.
This book covers the origin
and evolution of insects; flight,
sense perception, behavior,
reproduction, adaptation, mat-
ing habits, and thousands of
other facets of an amazing
world.
25 photographs and
70 drawings. $6.95
THE FISHES
The world of water has the
fascination of the unfamiliar
—and the strangeness of the
aquatic environment seems
brought to focus in the vari-
ety of its inhabitants. This
volume, a profusely illus-
trated natural history of the
fishes, is designed for the
general reader.
"A highly readable guide."
—Saturday Review
"Excellent. ..good reading for
the student of elementary
biology or the fisherman who
wants to know more about his
prey." — Sc/ent/fic Amencan
42 photographs and
5 drawings $5.00
UrI Lanham, author of the
above books, is Associate
Curator of Entomology, Uni-
versity of Colorado Museum.
At all bookstores
Columbia University Press
2960 Broadway
New York, New York 10027
vating at Chichen Itza. In succeeding
years he worked at many different sites
and also spent several seasons with the
primitive modern Maya in the forests of
British Honduras to see what their cus-
toms might reveal of the life of the an-
cient Maya. These studies provide ample
opportunity for reflections on many
things— on the pains and excitement of
the dig, on the life of a primitive people
who still gesture and pose like the figures
on the carved stones, and on the changes
that have come about in the life of the na-
tive people and of the field archeologist
with the encroachment of civilization.
The account is both erudite and
charmingly humorous. For my part, I
wish the author had told more of his
work with Maya hieroglyphics and the
calendar, for he made the greatest con-
tributions in this area of Maya research.
That, he would probably say, was mere
"slugging" hard work in his study and
of little interest to anyone, but certainly
it would have more fully revealed the
man himself. Despite this omission, I
can recommend the book highly to any-
one with an interest in Maya archeology
or in archeologists— or both.
Gordon F. Ekholm
The American Museum
The Dolphin in History, by Ashley
Montagu and John C. Lilly. Clark Mem-
orial Library, $2.00; 55 pp., illus.
THIS little book consists of two lec-
tures on the dolphin, one of which
is primarily concerned with ancient
Greek myths, and the other with a more
recent fable. Both were presented at a
recent symposium given at the Univer-
sity of California.
Ashley Montagu, in his essay, quotes
liberally from Aristotle, Pliny, and
other classical writers. Unfortunately,
he gives credence to many superstitions
and personifications of the dolphin, some
of which are on the level of Reynard the
Fox and Peter Rabbit stories. On such
a basis, he concludes that dolphins in-
trinsically like people. A separate sec-
tion gives a classification of the dolphins
and porpoises. The list, however, omits
many important species and its nomen-
clature is out of date.
In the second article, John C. Lilly
presents his thesis for the great intelli-
gence of the dolphin as stated in his
earlier book. Man and Dolphin. He is
struck by the large size of the dolphin's
brain, and he equates brain size with
intelligence and language. He persists in
confusing mimicry with language, and
his arguments are extrapolations from
little evidence and much hypothesis.
For the many people interested in
these fascinating animals, we recom-
mend two recently published works:
Dolphins, Myth and Mammal, by An-
thony Alpers, a reliable account of the
life and history of the dolphin : anc
Porpoises and Sonar, by Winthrop IN
Kellogg, an objective description o
scientific studies on the animals' re
markable echo-locating abilities.
William N. & Margaret C. TavolG;
The American Museui
A Field Guide to Rocky Mountau
WiLDFLOWERS, by Ray J. Davis, John J
and Frank C. Craighead, Jr. Houghto
Mifflin Co., S4.95; 277 pp., illus.
THIS welcome addition to the Petei
son Field Guides treats the wild
flowers of a part of the country that, a]
though a tourist's paradise and a happ
hunting ground for botanists, ha
strangely lacked any such popula
work; indeed there is still no good tecl
nical volume available for the entir
region. As the introduction states, to in
elude all the species of the Rocky Mour
tains in a book of usable size would b
impossible; 590 are selected (of the pos
sible 5,000!). Of these, 209 are illus
trated in full-color photographs an
118 by drawings. This seems rathe
skimpy. The authors evidently felt tha
"interesting facts" about the plants— th
flight of owls when a species is in blooix
the usefulness of another species to rod
climbers, the feeding of rabbits on th
bulbs of yet another— should take prece
dence over a more extensive treatmenl
I should have preferred to see, at leasl
illustrations of every species mentioned
However, within their limitations, th
authors have done a creditable job, aa
the book will without doubt be usefu]
As the editor says, it is more importan
to place flowers in their families than h
name "every last species" (but there ar
no descriptions of families).
The authors provide an informativi
introduction to plant life and classifica
tion. At the end of the book there is ai
18-page "key to plants," which the ama
teur will find too difficult. In fact, the en
tire treatment leans toward an unneces
sary technicality. It is unpleasant ti
have to add that the glossary of term;
is badly done, the definitions being b;
turns unclear, incorrect, and, in somi
cases, ungrammatical.
H. W. RlCKET
A'. Y. Botanical Gardei
Man and the Conquest of the Poles
by Paul-Emile Victor. Simon and Schus
ter, $6.95; 320 pp., illus.
A distinguished French explorer hen
. traces the history of the Arctic ant
Antarctic regions from the semilegend
ary voyage of Pytheas in the fourth cen
tury B.C. to the massive expeditions tha
were conducted during the Interna
tional Geophysical Year and the fina
conquest of the ice-filled Arctic Oceai
by atomic submarines. In the interven
I
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lO
ing centuries described by the author,
polar travel has sometimes prospered,
sometimes been neglected, but slowly
and certainly the mystery, fear, and
ignorance of these vast areas of the earth
have been replaced by confidence and
knowledge. Today, with the aid of mod-
ern technology, even the polar winters
are ignored by man, who lives, works,
and travels the year round in the lands
and waters that lie beyond the Antarctic
and Arctic Circles.
The polar regions are still, I suppose,
somewhat mystic, legendary, and ad-
venturous lands to most persons. But I
daresay that there is hardly one of us
today who does not count among his
relatives, friends, or acquaintances
someone who has crossed the Arctic or
Antarctic Circles. For we are now, as
Paul-Emile Victor states, entered upon
the age of Arctic exploitation. The age
of Arctic discovery is long since past,
and even the age of Arctic exploration
is in its declining moments. Today we
are using the polar regions more than
we are learning about them— using them
commercially as well as scientifically.
But Victor himself is one of the few
remaining Arctic explorers, still bent on
wringing its few remaining secrets from
the frozen lands near the poles. As such,
he surely has a great love and a great
respect for the hardy men who have
opened up the polar regions to the
knowledge and use of mankind. His ad-
miration for the discoverers and ex-
plorers of the past, and for the lands and
waters over which they journeyed, is evi-
dent in this well-written and interesting
account of their accomplishments.
Thomas D. Nicholson
American Museum-Hayden Planetarium
The World of the Past, edited by
Jacquetta Hawkes. Alfred A. Knopf,
$20.00; Vol. 7, 601 pp.. Vol. II, 709 pp.,
illus.
THERE has been much discussion dur-
ing the past year or two about "crea-
tive writing in science," and the general
difficulty of communicating the results
of scientific endeavor to the intelligent
lay public. Editors often say that scien-
tists cannot write, and promptly turn
over the job to professional writers.
Jacquetta Hawkes has set out to prove
that this cliche is spurious. She aims to
restore archeology to its practitioners,
using their own words to emphasize the
wealth of human experience repre-
sented. She has combed the literature—
both formal reports and private letters
—and created an anthology that will de-
light anyone interested in the subject,
whether he be amateur or professional.
In selecting the materials, the editor
has done more than gather together a
haphazard collection of excerpts. She
has selected them to construct a history
'A must for every
natural history
book shelf."
—ROGER TORY PETERSOl
HISTORY OH
By FRANf CIS BOURLIERE
Third Edition, Revised
This is one of the most fascinat
ing books of mammalian lor(
ever written, and one of th(
most popular with specialists anc
general readers alike. It present;
the first comprehensive pictun
of what naturalists and biolo
gists together have learned abou
mammals of land, water, anc
air. More than 100 photos anc
drawings.
$6.95, now at better bookstores
ALFRED -A-KNOPF
The
BIRD
of
NOVy^
SCOTI
by Robie W. Tufts
Illustrated by
ROGER TORY PETERSO
and JOHN CROSBY
Line Drawings by JOHN H. D
481 PAGES
40 COLOURED PLATf
Available from Retail Bookseller
Nova Scotia Museum, Spring Ge
Road, Halifax,. Nova Scotia
$7.50
archeology and of archeological
iwledge. At the same time, she brings
er scholars to our attention in a way
t clearly shows their very real con-
■utions to the discipline. This effort
most useful in view of the facile
icism that too frequently castigates
h men without taking into consider-
n that these personal documents re-
1 their point of view in the context of
times in which they wrote,
'o assist in orienting the reader to
leology as a general study. Miss
ffkes has written an introduction that
ns a historical sketch of the develop-
it of archeology since the Greeks.
5 fine essay makes interesting read-
for all students of intellectual his-
f who are concerned with the
ortance of personal contacts and the
flapping of fields of study as con-
utory factors to the creation of new
IS. With these general trends in
d, the reader may then read the two
imes as a continuing chronicle.
'he first sections are arranged in
IS of "the evolution of man and the
elopment of his culture for so long
t has universal meaning— that is to
the history of the early hunting cul-
:s and of the origins and spread of
ning." Later periods are dealt with
regional groupings that cover both
the Old and the New Worlds. Occasional
figures and photographic plates are
scattered through the text, but they are
subordinate to the main presentation.
The authors quoted will, in many cases,
be familiar to the reader by name at
least— they include Herodotus. Huxley,
Darwin. Layard. Schliemann. Morley,
and Vaillant. Others, such as Mac
Enery. Rich, and Hilprecht may be less
well known. In each instance, however,
the quotation used presents a firsthand
account of some experience, often one
of the major discoveries, such as the
unearthing of the Sutton Hoo Treasure
or the descent into the pyramid tomb
at Palenque. Again and again we see
what fascinating and expressive minds
have dealt with archeology over the
years. Quite rightly Miss Hawkes dis-
approves of those "Modern archaeolo-
gists . . . [who] are inclined to think
that literary skill will diminish, and un-
necessary jargon enhance, their scien-
tific reputations."' This statement is only
a half-truth, however, since a number of
the men included in tliis anthology are
"modern" archeologists still vigorously
writing without the use of jargon.
Perhaps these volumes will most en-
tertain those already somewhat ac-
quainted with the subject. The items in-
cluded are episodic and require an
understanding of what archeology is
about to be fuUy appreciated. The
reader with no background at all may
find himself a bit frustrated by the
brevity of presentation. Nevertheless,
the bold reader may enjoy sallying forth
to an exciting personal encounter with
a host of archeologists.
Robert H. Dyson, Jr.
University Museum, Univ. of Penn.
The Plants, by Frits W. Went. Time,
Inc., $3.95; 194 pp., illus.
DR. FRITS WENT, Director of the Mis-
souri Botanical Garden, has written
a comprehensive work for the "Life Na-
ture Library." The Plants is a relatively
small book, with a large portion of its
space taken up by striking and highly
informative illustrations (in color and
black and white), but it is packed with
significant botanical information care-
fully chosen from the whole field of the
science. There are chapters devoted to
the history of plant evolution, cellular
anatomy, photosynthesis, physical prob-
lems of water use. stimulation and con-
trol of plant growth, plant ecology, and
plant interrelations ranging from sym-
biosis to lethal parasitism. Then, finally.
Went discusses the history of man"s re-
lationship with plants from the days
rhis
man
likes
wasps
fie even goes to the desert to pho-
;ograph them. He's Howard
3vans of Harvard's Museum of
Comparative Zoology and he has
ipent thousands of hours in sim-
larly uncomfortable positions.
Every minute of it has been put
;o good use in his new book, Wasp
T'arm, a vivid picture of an in-
;riguing part of the insect world.
Here's just a sampling of review
comment :
'Nature writing of the highest integ-
•ity ... In the great tradition of the.
ield naturalists, Gilbert, White, Dar-
win, Beebe." — PETER farb, New York
Times Book Revieiv
"A satisfying combination of the exact
science and modern outlook of the pro-
fessional, and the enthusiasm and sense
of wonder of the amateur." — edwin
WAY TEALE, Neiv York Herald Tribune
". . . With Wasp Farm, Dr. Evans joins
the select and happy company of such
men of science as Konrad Lorenz, Don-
ald Griffin and Archie Carr, who at
once write with firsthand authority and
are a joy to read . . . Few recent books
on natural history are likely to give
more ^\ea.&^x're."—Audtlhon Magazine
FREE EXAMINATION COUPON
Mail to vour
booksellei or
THE NATURAL HISTORY PRESS
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Garden City, New York j
Please send me copies of Wasp FARM I
by Howard Ensign Evans. I understand I I
may return the book(s) within ten days *
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the name quality made famous
before he learned to cultivate them f:
food up to our modern, worldwide agi
culture, which supplies so many mo:
human needs than that of hunger alon
The book is small in bulk when cor
pared to a standard text of botany an
of necessity, many areas of botany a:
touched upon lightly, if at all. But it
a scientific treatise prepared by a scie
tist and is in no way superficial in tl
treatment of its subjects. It is written ;
a most lively and interesting fashio
One of its greatest values to the readi
lies in its inevitable stimulus to furthi
interest in the fascinating and rewar
ing field of plant study wherever the o
portunity presents itself— in the on
doors, the greenhouse, or the library.
The illustrations have been so chose
that their graphic qualities illustrate tl
phenomena or principles under discu
sion interestingly and efficiently. In oi
or two cases more informative captioi
might have helped but in all other cas(
there is no lack of clarity.
In a diagram illustrating the geolog
cal timetable of plant evolution the dati
of the beginnings of the vascular plan
seem to have been pushed back to figur(
much earlier than those given in cu
rent botanical and geological texts. Tl
origins of the Psilophyta, the Fil
cophyta, and Gymnospermae are give
as occurring in the Silurian, the Devoi
ian, and the Carboniferous Periods r
spectively. This agrees with other b(
tanical and geological authorities. Bi
the dates of these periods are far earlie
than some authorities place them. .
the change is a correction, the sourcf
should be mentioned.
Virgil N. Arg
The City College of N. ]
Snake Lore, by John Crompton. Doubh
day & Co., $3.95; 152 pp., illus.
THE author of Snake Lore seldoi
bothered to find out what was know
about snakes. Otherwise it might be sus
pected that he was following Mar
Twain's facetious admonition, "Get you
facts first, and then you can distort 'er
as much as you please."
Rather than waste time and space o:
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trations, however. Snake Lore scarce!
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read. Snake Lore will not add to thei
frustrations, for they will have ni
qualms about putting it down. Bette:
still, they might leave it unopened.
Charles M. Boger'
The American MuseM
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EXERCVCIE® and AIL-BOOY ACTION »e trademaiks identifyine Hie eiercissr mads bj the Eiercyde Corporation.
The Amazon's Rate
)f PI
Measurements shatter previous estimates
By Luther C. Davis, Jr.
THE MIGHTY Amazon River begins
its long eastward journey to the
Atlantic Ocean, almost 4.000 miles
away, from a chain of glacier-fed lakes
in the Peruvian Andes only about 100
iniles from the Pacific. Sweeping ma-
jestically through the vast, steaming
equatorial forest of Brazil, sometimes
described as the world's most spectacu-
lar natural greenhouse, the Amazon
provides drainage from an area three-
fourths the size of the conterminous
United States before it empties into the
Atlantic at the Equator.
Long known as the world's largest
river, the actual size of the Amazon, in
terms of average rate of flow, has
hitherto been unknown, although esti-
mates have been made bv several earth
scientists. These estimates, necessarilv
based on very limited information,
have generally ranged from three to
five million cubic feet per second.
Owing to increased interest within
the community of earth and water
scientists, the Chief Hydrologist of the
United States Geological Survey and
the head of the geography department
of the University of Brazil began nego-
tiations in mid-1961 to sponsor a joint
Amazon expedition, one of whose ob-
jectives would be to gather hydrologic
Amazon River, here viewed from near
its mouth, expels enough water every
day to cover Texas to a one-inch depth.
data sufficient for the computation of
the average discharge of the river. As
a result, a United States-Brazilian
hydrologic field party, consisting of
engineers from the United States Geo-
logical Survey, the University of Bra-
zil, and the Brazilian Navy, assembled
in 1963 at Belem, a noted port city of
nearly 500,000 population, located
near the mouth of the Amazon.
THE party ascended the river in the
Brazilian Navy corvette Mearim,
and succeeded in accurately measur-
ing the great waterway in July. 1963.
during the flood season, and again in
November, 1963, during the low-water
season at Obidos, a jute-exporting cen-
ter of approximately 20.000 popula-
tion located about .500 miles upstream
from the river's mouth. Based on these
measurements, plus river-stage read-
ings made at Obidos during a 19-year
period from 1928 to 1946, the average
flow of the Amazon at this point is
tentatively computed at 6,600.000
cubic feet per second. This represents
the average flow from about 80 per
cent of the total Amazon drainage
area. To determine the average flow
from the total drainage area into the
ocean, an analysis of the drainage area
below Obidos was made, using avail-
able meteorological records. Based on
this analysis and the computed aver-
age flow at Obidos, the total average
flow of the Amazon into the ocean is
tentatively computed at 7.500.000
cubic feet per second. This is equiva-
15
From Belem, where 1963 expedition began, to Manaus, the
terminal area of the study, is about 900 miles. The river
drains a basin of some 2,300,000 square miles and expel
3,400,000,000 gallons of water per minute to the ocear
lent to 3,400.000.000 gallons per
minute or about 1,600 cubic miles per
year. This tremendous rate of flow ac-
counts for about 18 per cent of all the
fresh water flowing to the oceans from
the rivers of all the continents of the
earth, and provides a volume of water
in just one day sufficient to cover the
entire state of Texas to a depth of over
one inch, the state of New York to a
depth of nearly 6 inches or New Jersey
to a depth of 3 feet. The flow of the
Amazon is more than five times that
of the Congo River, the world's second
largest river, and twelve times that of
the Mississippi, the world's seventh
largest, and the largest on the North
American continent.
THE corvette, about 160 feet long,
was used as the platform from
which the Amazon observations were
made. While the use of a non-station-
ary platform introduced several inher-
ent features that were less than desir-
able, these were necessarily acceptable
because of the complete absence on the
Amazon of river-spanning structures-
bridges or cableways— the conven-
tional platforms from which most
large rivers are measured by the Geo
logical Survey in the United States.
To adapt the corvette for measurinj
the Amazon, a specially designed 9
foot boom equipped with an elec
trically powered reel and a vertica
angle indicator was installed on th
bow. From this was suspended the cut
rent meter used to measure the velocit;
of flow. The reel contained 250 feet c
special cable i/s-inch in diameter, an(
with a breaking strength of 1.501
pounds. Also attached to the reel wa
a depth indicator from which sound
ings could be read directly. A stream
Observations with a fathometer, left.
showed Amazon's bed was series of sand
dunes covering long reaches of river.
Precise distance measurements wen
made with electronic Tellurometer se
up at the shore control station, above
ed 300-pound lead sounding weight
s suspended just below the current
ter to hold the suspension line in the
•rent in as nearly a vertical position
practicable. When high-current ve-
ities caused the meter to be carried
ivnstream from the vertical and,
icurrently, the suspension line to
d at a downstream angle from the
tical, the angle of departure was
d from the vertical angle indicator
ated at the protruding end of the
pension boom. I will describe later
Y corrections that were based on
5 measured angle are applied.
FTER consulting all available re-
^ liable information, including
ps and aerial photographs, followed
an on-spot reconnaissance survey,
neasurement site was selected at
idos. For several reasons, Obidos
)eared to be a logical location. In-
id of flowing in several, relatively
ie, ill-defined channels as it char-
sristically does, the Amazon at
idos is confined to a single, rela-
;ly narrow, uniform channel ap-
ximately 7,500 feet wide. The tidal
ict, which extends a considerable
tance up the Amazon from the
an, becomes negligible at Obidos.
addition, the record of the 19 years
river-stage readings that had been
en at Obidos was available,
"irst, a suitable measuring section
At Obidos, 500 miles from the Atlantic,
river is about 7.500 feet wide. High-
that was perpendicular to the flow of
the river was selected at this site.
A prominent feature, such as a tree or
a building that was easily visible from
a distance, was pointed out at each end
of the section to assist the captain in
maintaining the ship as nearly on sta-
tion as possible. It was necessary to
keep position by continuously chang-
ing engine speed and rudder settings,
because the river was too deep at this
section to allow effective anchoring.
A shore control station, consisting
of a theodolite, for measuring hori-
zontal angles, and a remote Telluro-
stage flow at this point was clocked
at 7,600,000 cubic feet per second.
meter, for measuring ship-to-shore
distances, was then established on the
right bank, in line with the selected
section. Shore control was necessary
to assist the ship's captain further in
maintaining station and to determine
corrections, caused by the ship's drift,
to be applied to the velocity readings
obtained from the current meter.
While all efforts were made to elimi-
nate corrections by keeping the ship
absolutely on station, this proved an
impossible feat because of the limited
maneuverability of the ship, even with
expert handling. Although the theodo-
LiNDlNG WEIGHT and a current meter,
iched to cable reel on suspension
)m, are lowered for depth readings.
lite or other similar surveying instru-
ments, such as the transit, had been
used previously in stream-gauging op-
erations, the Tellurometer, a highly
accurate distance-measuring system,
had not been used, so far as is known.
The Tellurometer system operates on
the radar principle, and consists of two
units— the master and the remote. For
the Amazon operation, the master unit
was mounted on the ship near the bow,
and the remote unit was mounted on
shore. An operator was required for
each of these units.
JUST prior to commencement of the
measuring activities, the selected
cross section of the river channel
was then divided into a number of
subsections, each about 300 feet wide.
This is in accordance with standard
United States Geological Survey pro-
cedure for measuring purposes,
whereby a river channel is theoreti-
cally subdivided into a convenient
number of subsections, usually num-
bering from 25 to 30, and each is meas-
ured separately. The sum of the flows
in each of the subsections is the total
flow in the full river cross section. This
method of calculation tends to balance
out inherent errors and has been found
to produce results within 5 per cent
of accuracy.
After these initial steps were taken,
the following procedure was employed
in making the measurement:
( 1 ) Using instructions from the
shipboard Tellurometer operator and
an observer stationed at the gyrocom-
pass on the bridge as a guide, the ship's
captain maneuvered the vessel to a
position directly over the first subsec-
tion of the measuring section.
AMAZON:
7,500,000 c.f.s.
ALL
REMAINING
RIVERS
OF THE
WORLD
about
31,000,000 c.f.s.
,■^^i
MISSISSIPPI: -
620,000 c.f.s.
Total average flow of Amazon is here
compared to other rivers of the world.
(2) When the ship had been stabi-
lized as accurately as possible on the
subsection, the 300-pound sounding
weight was lowered and the depth, in
feet, was read from the depth indica-
tor. When the vertical angle indicator
showed the suspension line to be tend-
ing at a downstream angle from the
vertical because of the river current,
the angle of departure was read. Based
on this shipboard reading, a numerical
correction was applied to the observed
depth to obtain the true vertical depth.
This corrected depth observation was
compared with depth readings that
were continuously recorded on a port-
able fathometer that was installed near
the bow of the ship. With the recording
fathometer, or echo sounder, a detailed
cross-sectional profile of the channel
bed could be detemiined and depths
greater than 230 feet could be meas-
ured. (The maximum depth that could
be ascertained with the sounding
weight and available suspension cable
was 230 feet. ) Although depths of over
300 feet— which is weU below sea level
—were recorded by the fathometer at
several points while ascending the
river from Belem, where the expedi-
tion originated, the maximum depth
that was encountered in the Obidos
measuring section was slightly over
200 feet. "
(3) The current meter, located in
a fixed position one foot above the
sounding weight, was then raised in
the channel subsection until it was at
a point, measured from the water's
surface, of 80 per cent of the total ver-
tical depth. For example, in a 200-foot
subsection the current meter would be
placed at a depth of 160 feet.
(4) At a given signal the velocity
measurement of the river flow at this
depth began.
(5 1 At the same instant the ship-
board Tellurometer operator recorded
the exact distance the ship was from
shore by interpreting reflected micro-
waves from the shore unit. The shore-
stationed theodolite operator, having
received the starting signal by a
walkie-talkie radio circuit, noted the
azimuth location of the ship.
(6) At a second given signal, from
40 to 60 seconds later, the velocity
measurement, in feet per second, was
completed, and second Tellurometer
(distance) and theodolite (azimuth)
readings were made. The difference
between the first and second Tellurom-
eter readings showed the distance the
ship moved laterally during the inter-
Comparison of flow
Amazon at Obidos
Mississippi at Vicksburg
^Greatest known flood
^^H
^V^l
•^^E
o
z
o
kl9
N
<
^ES
2
<
^^^H
^^El
I Average flow
rLeast known flow
Greatest
known flood
Least
known flow
Mississippi's greatest known flood
same as Amazon's least known flc
val of time during which the veloci
measurement was being made. Tl
difference between the theodolite rea
ings was the angular distance the sh
moved, during the same interval
time, in an upstream or downstrea
direction from the line defining tl
measuring section. This angular d
tance is converted trigonometrically
a linear distance, based on knowled
of the ship-to-shore linear distance
shown by the Tellurometer readinj
These two linear distances constiti
the components of the ship's horizon
movement during the 40- to 60-seco:
interval of time during which the i
locity measurement was being mai
Using these components, the ship's i
tual path during the measurement :
terval was graphically computed a
converted to a rate of movement in fi
per second. The correction was then i
plied to the measured velocity— add
when the ship's movement was do\^
stream and subtracted when upstres
—to obtain the corrected velocity.
(7) Following completion of tl
velocity measurement at the 80 f
cent of depth point in the channel su
section, the current meter was th
raised to a point at 20 per cent of t
total depth. In a 200-foot subsectl
this would be 40 feet below the surfa(
(To determine the average veloci
in a subsection, velocity measuremer
; necessary at more than one depth
;ause velocities vary with depth—
lerally being slowest near bottom.)
(8 1 The same procedures described
steps 4 to 6 were then repeated, and
corrected velocity measurements
de at the 20 per cent and 80 per
it of depth points were averaged,
e two velocity measurements, one
;h at the 20 and 80 per cent of depth
nts. were made because broad ex-
ience by the United States Geo-
ical Survey has shown that in deep
ers the average of these two figures
)vides an accurate measurement of
average velocity in the subsection.
'9 ) The ship was then moved to the
[t subsection and the same proce-
:e was repeated.
'10) In making the final computa-
ns of the flow in the entire channel
ss section, the widths of the indi-
ual subsections were computed
m the differences between the ship-
shore Tellurometer distance meas-
:ments at adjacent subsections. The
nputed subsectional widths were
then multiplied by the depths to de-
termine the cross-sectional areas of the
subsections. The products of these
cross-sectional areas and the corres-
ponding average subsectional veloc-
ities, provided in step 8, give the flows
in the channel subsections. The total
rate of flow in the full channel cross
section is then computed by summing
up all the flows that have been meas-
ured and computed in the 25 to 30
channel subsections.
THE immediate objective of the
United States Geological Survey
in undertaking the Amazon expedition
was to gather data to substantiate re-
cently advanced theories pertaining to
the properties of rivers in the United
States (Natural History, January,
1964, page 10). This objective was
achieved because the measurements
showed that the flow of the largest of
rivers is several times the flow of the
second largest river. Furthermore, the
measured velocities, depths, and
widths of the lars;est river substanti-
ated theories that previously had been
based only on data collected on small
rivers in the United States.
A second objective was to close a
glaring gap in hydrologic knowledge
that previously existed in the library
of world hydrology. This gap has be-
come particularly evident during stud-
ies that are now being made as part
of a program participated in by the
United States Geological Survey. In
this program, computations are being
made of the water and of the total dis-
solved and suspended solids that are
cairied by the world's rivers from the
continents to the oceans— one step in
determining the total erosion of all
continents. These computations are
also to be used better to define the salt
budget of the world oceans, thereby
providing a further increment to man's
knowledge of his planet.
Editor's Note: This is the second in
a series of articles that will describe
the wide-ranging research activities of
the United States Geological Survev.
®
Ship position relative to shore station maintained
continuously through Tellurometer (distance) and
theodolite (azimuth) readings.
®
MPARisoN of channel cross sections of the Amazon River
Dbidos and the Mississippi at Vicksburg also shows the
techniques used in measuring the Amazon's flow. Vertical
scale is exaggerated in relation to the horizontal scale.
19
Expositions, Exhibits
New display methods merge academic and commercial heritages
By Gordon Reekie
THE Great Exhibition in the
Crystal Palace in Hyde Park. Lon-
don, closed on October 11, 1851. Since
its opening on the first of May, more
than 6.000.000 people had inspected
the exhibits of this first world's fair,
and a new era of public participation
in expositions and. subsequently, mu-
seums had dawned.
Hitherto, museums, including the
great national collections, had been
very much the enclave of scholars and
rich amateurs. Indeed, with universal
3JTf
free education still far distant in all
countries, this was not surprising.
What did surprise the authorities of
the 1851 Great Exhibition was the en-
thusiasm of the uneducated lower
classes for these displays of artistry
and industry. The newly formed rail-
way companies were instrumental in
generating this enthusiasm by arrang-
ing cheap excursions from all parts of
Britain, so that '"the more deserving
poor may enrich their minds." Prince
Albert insisted that all London school
children should visit the exhibition. It
seemed logical, therefore, that at the
^\^'1\%U.U".
Lonteinporary illnslidtion depicts llie cwiubits at Crystal Palace in 1851.
time of its closing, of the various sug
gestions for spending the £186,000 ne
profit, the founding of a series of new
popular museums was decided upon
Such was the origin of the famoui
South Kensington museum complex ii
London— the >i'atural History Museum
the Science Museum, the Geologica
Museum, and the Victoria and Alber
Museum of Fine and Applied Arts.
From that time on, the relationshi]
between world's fairs and museum
has grown. Most notable has been tb
incorporation into a fair site of a per
manent building designed to be usei
later as a museum. Some of the besi
known museums in the United State
originated in this manner, including
the Chicago Museum of Science am
Industry (1893) and the City Art Mu
seum of St. Louis (1904). From th
earliest days, too, problems of exhibi
preparation drew exposition and mu
seum authorities together. After tb
close of the Paris Exhibition of 1867
M. Le Play, the Commissioner-Gen
eral, advocated the establishment o
permanent museums to house the sami
types of material as displayed at th
world's fairs. He rightly observed tha
there was too little time to prepare th
exhibits properly, and that they wen
on display too briefly for full advan
tage to be taken of them. While thesi
reactions were pointing the way to mii
seums of science and industry, th
nature of world's fair exhibits them
selves was being discussed and criti
cized. An endless succession of fair
devoted to the ever more ingeniou
products of industry was thought ti
be eventually self-defeating, and in thi
Paris exposition were included th
first so-called cultural exhibits. Thesi
were "The History of Labor." whic]
told the story of the arts and crafts o
mankind from prehistory to the end o
the eighteenth century, and a sectioi
called, rather ominously, '"Social an(
Moral Problems."
These displays seemed to be precui
sors of anthropological exhibits in mu
seums. In the meantime, authorities o
the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibi
md Today's Museums
phant group in Akeley African Hall at American Museum of Natural History owes much to perfection of preparation.
21
iirrtu k--
Animals were shown at Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition.
Natural history museum hall opened in Paris in 1889
sis allended the llh i openinu: cei
tion of 1876 decided that a cross sec-
tion of wildlife exhibits would provide
a cultural counterweight to the vast
displays of machinery and consumer
goods. Accordingly, a special building
was constructed to contain exhibits of
representative American mammals,
birds, and fish, all of which were in-
stalled in a manner indistinguishable
from the museum style of the day.
What was this manner of display?
Basically, in both museums and expo-
sitions it was a magnification of the
curio cabinet style of arrangement.
Thus the main hall of the Zoological
Gallery in the National Museum of
Natural History in Paris, opened in
1889, was a gigantic version of the dis-
play of exotic objects to be found in a
well-traveled eighteenth-century gen-
tleman's home. The similarity between
this and the interior of the 1851 Crys-
tal Palace is remarkable. Skeletons
and animal mounts take the place of
machinery, furniture, and statuary.
Tx the Bird Hall of The American
Museum of Natural History, which
was officially opened in 1877, the effect
was not so overwhelming because of
the smaller scale of the exhibits. How-
ever, each glass-enclosed case was still
a curio cabinet, filled to overflowing,
and could be compared with the display
cases of objects in trade expositions
of the period. Indeed, this was the uni-
versal form of display; shopwindows
of the time were treated similarly. The
jjrinciple was to try to arrange as
tastefully as possible the maximum
number of objects in a given space.
Just as most museums still have ex-
amples of this kind of display, so there
are shopwindows that adhere to the
idea that the more you show, the
better. The five-and-ten-cent stores are
good examples, but for retention of the
real flavor of old-fashioned crowding,
hardware stores are unsurpassed. In
effect they are like modern curio cabi-
nets of everyday objects or scaled-
down versions of industrial exposi-
tions. That is the biggest reason for
their appeal. For in contrast to today's
almost bleakly tasteful window dis-
plays, there is something reassuring
and cheerful about this gloriously dis-
organized muddle.
UNTIL the end of the nineteenth cen-
tury such methods of display con-
tinued almost unchallenged for mu-
seums, expositions, and shops. The
World's Columbian Exposition in Chi-
cago in 1893 surpassed all previous
fairs in size and number of displays,
but broke no new ground in exhibition
techniques. Like the highly successful
Paris Exhibition of 1889, however, it
used the recently invented electric light
in lavish and unusual wavs.
The introduction of the incandescent
lamp, although it did not immediately
revolutionize display techniques, made
possible new solutions to old problems.
The newly emergent department stores
had ambitious ideas about window dis-
play, far different from the friendly,
crowded, corner draper's. They looked
to the theater with envy, at the pro-
scenium-enclosed stage, the equivalent
of their own plate-glass display win-
dows. But until the introduction of
electricity they could not adapt the
stage-set type of display to their own
uses. Gas lighting was safe for the
theater, but when it was installed in an
enclosed space, such as a store window,
it was certainly not.
Museums, too, were limited in the
way they could use gas lighting. It was
utilized solely for general illumination,
outside the exhibit cases, and served
only to brighten halls on dark days.
Like department stores, museums
needed electric light before their dis-
plays could be basically changed.
Some developments in these tech-
niques were taking place, however,
and they were paving the way for the
displays we are familiar with today.
As the collections of the major mu-
seums grew, and hall after hall pro-
23
liferated, the repetition of the curio
cabinet type of display began to pall.
What had been an orderly presentation
of several hundred objects in a small
museum developed into a stupefyingly
monotonous presentation of several
hundred thousand objects in a large
museum. Minerals, birds, arrowheads,
all were shown in the same way.
IT was logical that birds should have
provided the impetus for the first
attempts to break away from this tradi-
tion. The ornamental arrangement of
mounted birds on an artificial bush
had long been a conversation piece in
Victorian drawing rooms. It is prob-
able that curators in many museums
realized at about the same time that
this kind of display held possibilities
for their bird collections. Thus origi-
nated the "semihabitat" exhibits. The
first attempts were little more than the
placement of small birds in small glass
cases, surroundedby appropriate vege-
tation. However, some early specialists
exhibited great skill in refining these
vignettes of nature to a high degree
of artistry and realism. In the 1887-88
Annual Report of The American Mu-
seum, it was noted that 1887 was a
memorable year for the bird collec-
tion. The report listed the addition to
the exhibits of "a series of bird groups,
eighteen in number, each consisting of
a pair of birds, with its nest and eggs,
mounted in characteristic attitudes,
and surrounded by natural accessories,
each group being a facsimile reproduc-
tion from nature of the vegetable and
other surroundings of the nest." The
report continued : "These groups, mod-
eled after the plan of the bird groups
in the British Museum at South Ken-
sington, are the first of the kind to be
placed on exhibition in America." One
of these original groups is still in ex-
istence, although not on display.
Experimentation with larger natu-
ralistic arrangements of this kind was
proceeding elsewhere, too. An early
example was an extraordinary tableau,
constructed in Paris during the 1860's
for a temporary exposition, and sub-
sequently housed for a number of
years in The American Museum of Na-
tural History. Entitled "A Camel-
Driver Attacked by Lions," it was
originally exhibited in a four-sided
glass case. It is now beautifully re-
stored, a background painting has
been added, and it can be seen at the
Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh.
The semihabitat group grew in size
24
Early example of naturalistic display shoived lions attacking camel driver.
and in popularity as a form of dis-
play. It is still an effective method of
exhibiting both small and extremely
large subjects. A good deal of the en-
vironment of small birds can be pre-
sented economically in a few square
feet. At the other end of the scale, in
the Hall of Early Dinosaurs at The
American Museum (pages 28-29) the
Brontosaurus skeleton reconstructions
surmount a base that is a facsimile of
the locality in which their fossil re-
mains were found. This is a form of
semihabitat, although a rather arbi-
trary one, as considerations of space
preclude a more revealing landscape.
On the other hand, the impracticabil-
ity of a totally enclosed diorama with
the same composition at the same
scale makes this an effective substitute.
At the turn of the century, display
_/-\_ methods were beginning to
change in many ways. More specialized
expositions and trade fairs were being
organized, reflecting the growth of the
consumers' goods field (as exemplified
by the automobile industry ) . The role
of the department store as a show place
was being established, and different
kinds of museums and museum exhib-
its were arising. All were influenced
by theatrical techniques and the free-
dom to use them that was provided by
the introduction of electric light.
Parallel development in what could
be called both indoor and outdoor
habitat groups occurred in the early
1900's. These were basically variants
of the boxed-in, stage-set formula, put
to use for new purposes. The first of
the "new look" department store win-
dow displays were very simple stage-
sets, suggesting sparsely furnished but
elegant rooms (plain paneled walls, a
crystal chandelier, a Louis chair) .
Amid such uncluttered settings, the
statuesque mannequins of the period
were placed in more or less nat-
uralistic poses, their gowns and furs
I and the background) bathed in uni-
formly brilliant white light. However,
it was some time before this method
of display was used by stores for show-
ing furniture and furnishings. A trade
publication of that time observed
that few store windows were of suffi-
cient size or suitable proportions to
enhance a realistic grouping of furni-
ture. To an extent this is still true
today, and great care in composing
and lighting such displays is needed to
avoid an uncomfortable, cramped look.
In the meantime, the art nouveau
movement of the 1890's had generated
much interest in new furniture and
textile designs. At the Paris Exhibition
of 1900, these were displayed in realis-
tic room arrangements that did not
suffer from the confining proportions
of the store window. By 1902. at the
International Exhibition of Modern
bins perched near nest in semihabitat group of 1880's. This glass-enclosed bird display dates from the 1890\
urn of the century, glass cases in exhibit hall of The American Museum acre lighted externally by clustered bulbs.
2?
Bygone era is preserved in a period room at the Norsk Folkemuseum in Oslo.
Decorative Arts in Turin, the three-
sided "stage-set" furnished room had
become a standard method of display-
ing such merchandise— where there
were no space limitations. One of the
technique's greatest appeals to exhibi-
tors in a crowded hall was that, as in
the theater, there was a barrier be-
tween the show and the audience.
Revived public interest in the dec-
orative arts, set in motion by art
nouveaii protagonists, did more than
stir up the ideas of contemporary de-
signers. For more than fifty years
there had been no stimulus for the in-
dustrial and decorative arts, other than
the technical developments that had
made possible mass-produced— and ar-
tistically debased— adaptations of late
eighteenth- and early nineteenth-cen-
tury design. This was especially true of
home furnishings, and when, at the
turn of the century, a breath of fresh
air made possible a new look to the
future, it also brought about a desire
to reappraise the past and study anew
the heritage of the applied arts.
THIS new awareness of what can be
called the history of the human
habitat stimulated the construction of
period rooms in many art and histori-
cal museums. Furniture had hitherto
been little exhibited in museums and,
when it had been, was more often than
not just assembled, as in a warehouse.
Rough-and-ready "period settings"
were arranged in the halls of larger
museums. The settings incorporated
period ornament and decoration into
the display area to provide a sympa-
thetic background.
It was in the newly established folk
museums of Scandinavia, in the early
1900"s, that the true period room ex-
hibit was developed and later per-
fected. These rooms re-create the total-
26
ity of living conditions, providing
down to the last detail a perfect recon-
struction of an indoor habitat as lived
in at the time. At the Nordiska Museet
in Stockholm, these displays are used
to show changes in living arrange-
ments over as short a span as ten
years (how remarkable a period room
of 1934 is, for example ) , while a series
of dining rooms traces the history of
eating habits from late medieval times
to the present. Every single item of
food, in the right quantity and in the
right style of serving, is duplicated
with exacting and loving care.
It is not surprising that the new
realism in the presentation of interiors
should have influenced natural histor)
museums although, independently, thf
recessed, stage-set type of display hac
been developed for smaller seniihab
itat groups. It was the development o:
the curved-back wall in the recessec
case, however, that permitted the ef
fective union of background paintinj
and three-dimensional foreground ma
terial that led to the full-fledged hab
itat group. This took place in Thi
American Museum during the tim(
that exhibits for the Hall of Nortl
American Birds were being made.
A number of exhibits had been com
pleted in big, floor-standing, wooden
framed glass cases that were placet
against the walls of the gallery. Th(
back surfaces of these cases were cov
ered with canvas, and realistic land
scapes had been painted on them. Th<
shallow foreground I really no mon
than floor covering ) was realisticallj
constructed, and mounted birds wen
placed in this foreground or suspendec
by wires from the tops of the cases
Gorilla habitat group in Akeley African Hall at The American Museum is ai
: exhibits were lit initially from
ude the cases, indicating that light-
must have been an afterthought,
hese exhibits, although impressive
cale, were not satisfactory in con-
ing a unity of distant landscape
intimate foreground. Essentially,
e were two exhibits in each case—
ural of an over-all scene and some
Is in a semihabitat placed in front
le mural. Today, visitors to this re-
ly renovated hall, which has just
1 reopened, can see one of the twen-
30t backgrounds now used as a
al. It is a painting of a flamingo
ny, by Louis Agassiz Fuertes, on
north wall of the gallery.
|R. Frank Chapman, then Associ-
' ate Curator of the Museum's De-
ment of Ornithology, was among
le who began to experiment with
?ed backgrounds. It was soon
id that it was much easier to
eve satisfactory results with small-
roups because of the limited depth
le exhibits. The first such display-
first true habitat group— was
ihed in 1902. It was" the Cobb
ad exhibit, on the north side of
Stage effects influenced displays oj early tnentieth-century department stores.
the Hall of North American Birds.
Although this group no longer exists,
many of the other displays in the new
hall date from the early 1900's.
The habitat group is only one way
of constructing a natural history ex-
hibit. Why is it given such emphasis
in all descriptions of natural history
museums? There are two answers: it
was the first really original contribu-
tion from the museum world to the art
of display, and its re-creation of a com-
plete, natural environment captured
nple of the striking realism that is attainable ivith this type of display.
the imagination of the public as no
other museum exhibits had done be-
fore. It was as if a new popular art
form had appeared upon the scene. In-
deed it had, in the sense that the com-
bined skills of scientist, painter, and
modelmaker had produced a new, pur-
poseful, instructive art medium. Visi-
tors looking at the famous gorilla
group in the Museum's Akeley African
Hall do not first count the number of
leaves, wonder how the vines are made,
or ponder the perspective of the back-
ground painting. They receive an aes-
thetic and emotional experience. Later,
their curiosity aroused, they may
begin to ask questions.
It is, of course, the technical per-
fection of these later habitat groups
that gives rise to much curiosity about
how they are made. Basic to the
concept of habitat groups is skillful
taxidermy. In a naturalistic setting,
stiffly mounted animals without any
hint of their normal attitudes look
absurd. Muscle structure in relation to
the position and activity of the animal
was given intensive study in the Mu-
seum in the early years of the century,
and paved the way for the African and
North American groups that were con-
structed during the 1930's and 40"s.
Use of a double-curved wall, in which
the background curves into the ceil-
ing as well as bending around to meet
the front plane of the group, gave the
background painter much greater free-
dom. New plastics augmented the tra-
ditional paper and wax for making
leaves and flowers. New "directional"
lighting made possible near fidelity to
outdoor light and eliminated the over-
all floodlighting previously used. But
with all the technical advances to help
make these groups more outstand-
ing in their re-creation of nature, it is
the painstaking care of artist and
27
Dinosaur mock-ups are featured ni an exhibit at l\eir York 11 orld's Fair.
The American Museum's dinosaur displays are favorites with the public.
craftsman that matters most: the ski
with which the join between baci
ground painting and foreground
hidden; the ingenuity in devising ii
visible support for birds in flight; tl
use of concealed mirrors to reflect ligl
and thus to simulate the penetratio
of sunlight into forest.
Even making shadows is an art. N
artificial lighting can ever cast sha(
ows similar to those cast by the sui
In recent years, when material for ne
groups has been collected, among tl
many photographs taken at the fiel
sites have been pictures shot specifical
to record the shadows at the particuk
time of day the group will represen
When the group is near compl
tion in the Museum, and final lightir
has been installed, the shadows cast t
the artificial light are removed, ar
new shadows, as recorded in the fieL
replace them. This is done by paintir
hard surfaces with an airbrush, or h
replacing sand or loose soil of or
color with those of another.
^i-^e^^
^HE influence of habitat groups
in The American Museum on other
as of display has been very much
nected with this perfectionism. A
ilic used to the African and North
erican exhibits in the Museum will
respond enthusiastically to the dio-
las he sees in trade shows or
Id's fairs unless their execution is
3ast comparable. But in return, the
lie now being dazzled by new and
;astic techniques of display at the
<f York Worlds Fair will expect
[parable exhibits at the Museum to
designed with equal wit and in-
uity. It is not only in this area that
interrelationship between fair and
ieum continues. One of the out-
ding exhibits at the New York
rld's Fair is that of the Sinclair Oil
ipany, in which a remarkable
es of dinosaur reconstructions is
ured. The phenomenal interest
wn over the years in the Museum's
)saur exhibits is thus reflected in
revival of a commercial exploita-
tion of the same subject. For, in spite
of newer and more complex exhibits
in the Museum, the dinosaurs remain
one of its greatest attractions.
What will the Museum derive from
the current Fair? A shot in the arm,
so to speak, such as many world's fairs
have provided in the past? In Brus-
sels in 1958 it was generally agreed
that the unique display feature of the
first postwar world's fair was the ex-
traordinary and varied use to which
photography was put. Quite apart
from the introduction of 360-degree
camera projection by both Czechoslo-
vakia and the United States, the adap-
tation of the traditional photomural to
new forms was outstanding. There
were three-dimensional photomurals
to be walked through, climbed over,
and sat upon. There were photogra-
phic mobiles, stabiles, and building
blocks. Photographic ingenuity was
limitless and brought exciting new
ideas into general display use.
Greater use of animation in exhibits
is one of the influences for which the
1964-65 New York World's Fair will
be most noted. The development of
reliable, compact, and inexpensive
mechanical and electronic equipment
for sequence animation has taken
many years, and until recently mu-
seums have not made extensive use of
such equipment. Combined with slide
and motion picture projection, a new
world of exciting, audio-visual pre-
sentation is now being revealed to us.
It is in this area that exhibits being
planned for completion by the time
of the Museum's centennial in 1969 are
most likely to be affected.
THE introduction to an early guide-
book to the Museum said : "The
ideal museum presents, in logical
order, the entire story of the universe,
the earth, and its inhabitants, together
with their total relation to each other."
With such a sweeping goal in mind, the
display techniques of tomorrow will
not have arrived a moment too soon.
<x
Naturalists' Notebook
!^-
V^oat of a newborn
whitetail deer fawn, at
left above, is still wet
as fawn nuzzles the doe,
which is about to bear
second in set of twins.
Af
kfter nursing at age
of seven minutes, first
fawn rests at the doe's
side as its twin starts
to emerge, below. Such
double births are usual.
Dc
' oe nurses fawns v
some four to six week
or longer, although tl
young begin nibblingj
nearby vegetation
a few days after biB
3irth of Two >A^hitetails
Photographs by Leonard Lee Rue III
ne of the most numerous and widespread big game
nals of North America, the whitetail deer is found
he United States and Canada from the East Coast
jr west, roughly, as the Rocky Mountains. Maximum
;ding activity of the whitetail occurs from November
•ugh January, depending on geographical location,
gestation lasts approximately 196 days. Conse-
ntly, fawns are generally born in the spring. Al-
igh a doe's first breeding usually results in a single
h, twin fawns are common in subsequent breedings
triple births are not uncommon. A newborn fawn
>hs three to five pounds and is able to walk, albeit
dly. The white spots on its coat disappear during the
imn, when it grows its first winter coat. The life ex-
ancy of the whitetail deer is seldom more than ten
s when it is living in the wild, but tame or captive
i have been known to live as long as twenty years.
vjecond fawn, ten minutes old. is able to stand and walk.
At birth, whitetails weigh from three to about five pounds.
^'^^' ./
t-D^-'^*
Pictograph discovered in San Rafael Mountains of
California is part of a vast western legacy of
early Indian rock art that confronts archeologists.
by CAMPBELL GRAIMT
SCATTERED THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS of eastern and
southern California are great numbers of strangely
painted caves and rocks. The designs are semiabstract or
geometric and are often of great complexity and beauty.
It is curious that these prehistoric works of art are prac-
tically unknown. Since the discovery of the great Paleo-
lithic paintings at Altamira in northern Spain in 1879,
there has been enormous interest in the continuing dis-
coveries of rock painting in France and Spain and, more
recently, in Africa and Australia, but somehow the rock
art of the United States has attracted few investigators.
A survey of all current information on the pictographs
of the United States indicates that with few exceptions
rock painting is confined to the mountainous country west
of the Mississippi, with two zones of concentration — one
in southwest Texas and the other in California, south of
San Francisco.
The rock art in California and throughout the West has
long been neglected by the archeologists because of the
difficulty of dating the paintings or relating them to a
specific aboriginal culture. With a single exception that
will be noted later, we have no ethnographic knowledge of
the purpose of these pictures. In California, thousands of
prehistoric village and camp sites have kept generations
of archeologists busy with spade and notebook, and only
recently a few workers have begun to attack the riddle of
the painted rocks.
It is interesting that one site near Santa Barbara was
recorded years before the discovery of the Altamira Cave.
However, the first published book mentioning California
paintings was Garrick Mallery"s Pictographs of the North
American Indians (1886), in which he described sites
from California. It was not until 1929 that Julian Steward
wrote Petroglyphs of California and Adjoining States, the
lA/orks in this article were copied by the author
from faded originals. In this Caliente Range example, the
"target," top left, was moved into picture from left.
33
first attempt at a systematic classification of design ele-
ments, including 70 painted sites from California. These
two books, long out of print and very rare, are the only
ones available to students of California pictographs. Since
1929, many more sites have been recorded by the Uni-
versity of California and the Santa Barbara Museum of
Natural History. There are at present over 500 known
locations of rock art in California.
THIS art form is divided into two categories: picto-
graphs, or painted rocks, and petroglyphs, rocks with
pecked or incised designs. Near the eastern border of the
state the crest of the Sierra Nevada separates the predomi-
nantly petroglyph areas to the east from the pictograph
regions to the west. There is a certain amount of over-
lap between the two techniques, especially north and
south of the mountain range, but mainly the separation
is marked. East of the crest, smooth basaltic rocks are
common, and here the designs are pecked into the surface
with a pointed rock. The lighter tone of the underrock
gives a good contrast to the outline. West of the crest is
the granite of the Sierra foothills and the sandstone of the
coastal ranges, where most of the paintings are found. Of
the known sites, 278 are pictographs, 197 are petroglyphs,
and at 42 sites both techniques are present.
Most of the pictographs in California are found in four
areas ranging in environment from redwood forest to
Joshua tree desert. The first of these is in the northeastern
part of the state, isolated by several hundred miles from
the other pictograph regions to the south. Here there are
numerous pictograph and petroglyph sites, and at a
number of these, too, the two techniques occur together.
This is high desert country, centering around Tule Lake
and the extensive Modoc lava beds to the south. Although
there is much similarity between the design elements of
the pictographs and petroglyphs of the area, the latter,
judging from the surface weathering, appear to be much
older. Most of the paintings are done in red with simple
curvilinear and geometric designs that feature sun disks,
concentric circles, triangles, zigzags, and, rarely, men.
Some show many dotted lines, and in a few cases there
is polychrome painting, similar to some of the Santa
Barbara-Tulare sites far to the south.
Moving southward, the ne.\t concentration of rock
paintings is in the Tulare area — the Sierra Nevada foot-
hills of the San Joaquin Valley and the Tehachapi Moun-
tains adjoining the southern tip of the Sierra Nevada.
The San Joaquin area is characterized by great granite
boulders in rolling grasslands and oak groves, while the
Tehachapi Range is a dry semidesert country with sand-
stone and granite. All the common mineral colors occur
here: red, white, black, and yellow, which are often com-
bined to make striking polychrome elTects. Simple cur-
vilinear designs are rare and the combination of design
elements into complex patterns is common. There is an
over-all effect of abstract, non-representational art, with
numerous anthropomorphic and zoomorphic creatures.
At only a few sites have recognizable animals been
painted — turtle, lizard, beaver, centipede, and horse.
To the west and southwest of the Tulare area is the
Santa Barbara region where the California rock paintings
reach their peak in elaborate design and skillful execu-
tion. Here the paintings are found in the coastal ranges, a
region of short, intermittent streams and dense under-
brush. The common rock is sandstone, although a few
sites are known in conglomerate and basaltic formations.
The paintings are usually in shallow, wind-scoured rock
shelters, not unlike the ahris of southern France, or on
vertical cliff faces. There is always water nearby, either a
spring or a running stream, and frequently bedrock mor-
tars are found close to the paintings. I have investigated
this region intensively for the past several years, and as a
result the known sites have more than tripled. Although
close to the cities of Santa Barbara and Ventura, the
rough, mountainous back country with its head-high
brush is so difiicult to penetrate that many beautiful sites
have remained hidden. Some Santa Barbara sites are cov-
ered with a bewildering assortment of zoomorphic crea-
tures that often suggest insects, while in others basically
simple shapes like concentric circles have been elaborated
on to create effects of great richness and beauty.
Far up the coast is an isolated pictograph area that
seems to be an extension of the Santa Barbara or Tulare
influence. The paintings are highly localized in the red-
wood-pine forest country of the Santa Lucia Range.
These designs are chiefly linear, with some polychrome in
red, black, and white.
The fourth pictograph complex is in the southwestern
part of the state, with a marked concentration near the
city of Twenty-nine Palms. The eastern side of south-
western California is true desert, while the western side
is a continuation of the brush-covered coastal ranges
noted in the Santa Barbara area. This whole region is
dominated by red, geometric, linear designs, often in
chains of diamonds or parallel rows of chevrons and zig-
zags, which are usually painted on the vertical faces of
isolated boulders.
In addition to the four main areas, isolated painted
rocks are scattered throughout the state. The colors are
all earth colors, the most permanent of pigments; in well-
protected spots they are as brilliant as they must have
been when first applied. The red was an iron oxide,
hematite: the yellow was derived from another iron oxide,
limonite. White paint was made of diatomaceous earth
and the black could be charcoal, burned graphite, or a
manganese, while the rare blues and greens came from
serpentine or copper ore rocks.
It is a thrilling experience to search, sometimes for
days, through the rough underbrush and at last come
upon some of these exciting examples of aboriginal art.
But seeing them and enjoying them as art is not quite
enough — one wants to know more. Who painted them?
What do they mean? How old are they?
lumorous figures are from a cave region in a high
mountain meadow in south central California.
A total of six caves bore several hundred of them.
^'ossibly a rendering of a medicine man, this
figure has antlered head and darts stuck in his sides.
Painting is from a cave in the San Rafael Mountains.
34
.H.**., ' -■ >; *. . «k*
■■%■,,--%..■*.
^8pv.
"f^
,---; f* .
^ ...«-/;,„«:■
X X
'^h^j\^Kff>^''^f*^*
F ive-foot-Iong composition that appears on
ceiling of a small cave in California's San Emigdio
Range is among most complex in design and colors.
u
|etail of very large painting from Tulare region
the Sierra Nevada Mountains is 22 inches
;h and resembles coastal range works in technique.
In answering these questions, the amateurs have rushed
in where professionals feared to tread. Their theories
about the paintings and carvings are marvelously diverse
and usually are exotic or exciting. Invariably the theorists
approach the problem in reverse, examining the picto-
graph to find symbols that will back up a favorite idea.
They see ancient invasions of our continent by Egyptians,
Chinese, Greeks, Romans, and even the ubiquitous Ten
Lost Tribes of Israel. Only last year I was photographing
a wall at the well-known Painted Cave near Santa Bar-
bara, when a group of pilgrims listened as their solemn-
faced leader pointed out Babylonian symbols! The tena-
;ious fabrications about the lost continents of Atlantis
and Mu, and Aztec migrations are injected. Another
school sees in the designs a long-lost art of picture writing,
awaiting only a modern Champollion to decipher them.
Alas, there are no facts to back up these interesting
:heories, only unshakable wishful thinking. Overwhelm-
ing evidence points to the California Indians as the crea-
:ors of the California rock art. A partial answer to who
Dainted the pictures, why, and when can be given through
1 knowledge of the Indians who were in possession of the
dictograph regions when the White occupation began.
In 1769 Father Junipero Serra founded the first of the
:wenty-one California missions. It has been estimated that
:here were 133,000 Indians in the state, nearly half of
vhom were directly or indirectly affected by the missions.
\fter sixty-five years of benevolent exploitation, the mis-
sion system ended, and the few Indians who had sur-
vived the Spanish-introduced diseases lived around the
;rumbling missions until the final disaster — the discovery
)f gold on the American River. The deluge of gold seekers
wept into eastern and northern California — areas that
lad been spared the mission experience — and dealt mer-
:ilessly with the peaceful California Indians. Those who
vere not killed were driven into the mountains and were
jventually gathered on small reservations. By 1910, the
ndian population of California had been decreased by
learly 90 per cent. The previous generations having dis-
)osed of the "Indian problem," anthropologists began in
he 1870's to reconstruct the vanished cultures, and today
ve know a good deal about an ancient way of life.
There is radiocarbon evidence that man has lived in
ralifornia for more than 10,000 years. One hundred five
lifferent tribes, speaking more than 100 dialects of five
anguage stocks, reflected many invasions and migrations
hrough the centuries. Most of the Indians were seed
gatherers; others hunted and fished along the coast and
n the mountains. Along the lower Colorado River, the
ifuma and Mohave tribes practiced agriculture. Except-
ng the nomadic peoples of the eastern California deserts,
he Indians led a sedentary village life, secured by an
ibundance of food. All tribes had shamans, or medlcmc
nen, who were the interpreters of nature and claimed the
)ower to communicate with the unseen spirits of good
ind evil. The primary function of the shaman was curing
lisease. In addition, there were specialized shamans
slatively clear pictograph from Santa Susana
untains near Santa Barbara is part of large group
was overpainted several times by Indians.
known as rain or weather doctors; rattlesnake doctors
who cured snake bites; and bear doctors who could take
on the shape of a grizzly bear and destroy enemies.
Throughout the state a number of ritual cults were prac-
ticed with elaborate ceremonies. For instance, rites of the
Chinigchinich cult of southern California used both sand
painting and loloache, a vision-inducing narcotic.
In one of the pictograph regions we have ethnographic
evidence of the purpose of the paintings. Both the Luiseno
and Cupeiio tribes of the southwest had girls' puberty
rites, which included the use of pictographs. The girls
first spent three days in a pit with heated rocks. On the
morning of the fourth day they were taken from the pit,
their faces were painted black and remained so for a
month. In the second month, vertical white lines were
painted on their faces, and in the third month wavy, red,
horizontal lines were added. After ceremonies, including
sand painting, the girls raced to a certain rock where red
pigment was given them by relatives and where they
then painted diamond-shaped designs representing the
rattlesnake. Such designs are common in the region.
Several hundred Yokuts in the Tulare area have sur-
vived and, although they have no knowledge of the mean-
ing or purpose of the ancient pictures, they are able to
Figure in red, black, and white is about five
inches high and is from area of the Seape River near
Santa Barbara. Site had more than 40 odd figures.
give precise descriptions of the preparation of paints for
ceremonial use. The pigment materials were reduced to
powder in a mortar and then, by the addition of a little
water, molded into fist-sized cakes. Brushes were made
of bound fiber, although paint was sometimes applied with
a finger or a pointed stick.
We have no ethnographic knowledge about the paint-
ings in the Santa Barbara area. The small Esselen tribe of
the Santa Lucia Range to the north and the great Chum-
ash nation to the south had ceased to exist by the time
the investigators came on the scene. The situation is the
same with the Modocs of the northeastern area — we have
no direct information. The only approach to some under-
standing of the mysterious significance of these pictures
must, therefore, be indirect.
Fortunately, there are at least two places where paint-
ing of this type is still done. The Navaho of Arizona and
New Mexico make sand paintings during elaborate cere-
monies designed both to heal and to drive away malign
spirits. These feature highly stylized anthropomorphic
beings similar to those on the California rock paintings.
They are done by relatives and friends of the patient
under the direction of the medicine men, and the figures
39
personify powerful beings and animals that will aid in the
cure. In Australia, where both rock and sand paintings are
made ritually, there are the curious wondjina paintings on
rock. Every year just before the rains these pictographs
are repainted by the chief of the tribe under the protection
of a wondjina — the bestower of all good things.
Circumstantial evidence is strong that most of the pic-
tographs in California were made in connection with some
ceremony, either by the shamans or under their guidance.
They are often hidden in the most remote and inac-
cessible places, and were certainly not for display as art
for art's sake. One of the most elaborate paintings I have
seen is approached by crawling into a narrow, two-foot-
wide cleft, where only a small section of the sixteen-foot-
long picture can be seen at a time. Such paintings ap-
parently consist of elements added from time to time and
inspired by the original creation. Thus it appears that pic-
tures were not only made but sometimes added to in con-
nection with ceremonies. The exact meaning of any indi-
vidual painting will never be known, and it is doubtful
that we could understand the significance even if the crea-
tor were alive to explain it. The Indian did not think as we
do, nor did he interpret his ideas as we would. Theodora
Kroeber, in her book Islii in Two Worlds, says: "The
California Indian was ... an introvert, reserved, contem-
plative and philosophical. He lived at ease with the super-
natural and the mystical, which was pervasive in all
aspects of life. He felt no need to differentiate mystical
truth from direct or material truth, or the supernatural
from the natural: one was as manifest as the other in his
system of values and perceptions and beliefs."
^ Jh M HiLE most of the pictographs were certainly
^^\f made for religious purposes, some of the sim-
pler ones may have been trail markers: others, like a series
of short, parallel lines, suggest a primitive method of
counting. In the eastern Sierra Nevada there are sites
showing game animals, generally in petroglyph form.
They could have been made for the purpose of hunting
magic, to bring an increase of game or luck. Many of the
great Paleolithic cave paintings in Europe were undoubt-
edly made for these same purposes.
The tendency of art to develop into abstract forms from
naturalistic beginnings is well demonstrated by the picto-
graphs in the western United States. In areas of long-
settled community life, such as the Pacific Northwest,
California, and the Pueblo country, the design elements
are overwhelmingly abstract. The areas populated by
nomadic bands of hunting peoples have chiefly natural-
istic forms — large game animals, hunters, and warriors.
As nomadic tribes settled into a sedentary existence, their
visualizations of the natural and supernatural tended to
depart further from realism.
The question of dating the pictographs is an extremely
difficult one. In the Santa Barbara area one cave shows
four horsemen in profile, which inevitably dates it from
the early Spanish era, since prior to that time the horse
was unknown. These cannot have been very old. I have
tried to date paint fragments from a Santa Barbara site
by the radiocarbon method, hoping that enough of the
organic oil binder remained in the sample. The result was
inconclusive, but the laboratory comment indicated no
great age. Recently many artifacts of the last Chumash
culture have been found in the Santa Barbara Mountains,
cached in caves adjacent to painted rocks. A basketry
fragment from such a find has been dated at 120 years,
plus or minus 80. The Chumash-speaking people, how-
ever, had been in continuous occupation of the area for
several thousand years. Some paintings in protected spots
are covered with a patina of lichens and could be very
old. Other sites show extensive painting under later de-
signs, suggesting a respectable antiquity.
The paintings in the Santa Lucia Range are probably
an extension of the Santa Barbara tradition, and the dat-
ing would be similar. The problem in the Tulare and
northeastern regions is more difficult, as the pictographs
are on granite or basalt, which have a very slow rate of
erosion. Some of these may be much older than the oldest
in the Santa Barbara country.
The most likely conclusion we can come to is that rock
painting was part of a long-established Indian ceremonial
tradition, enduring in some areas until the Spanish mis-
sion period. Even though we do not know what these
pictographs meant to the original creators, we can still
enjoy them as art. The curious combinations of form
and color are a constant joy to the eye. These mysterious
paintings are reminders of man's ceaseless efforts to iden- ]
tify himself with the unseen world of the mind and spirit.
40
rom major site in the Santa Barbara locale, this
foot-long, vandal-destroyed pictograph was
)nstructed from photos that were made in the lS90's.
This composition in the Caliente Range seems to
feature a central fertility figure. Artist movea ttie
lower cluster of figures into picture from left.
'•
y>>^
Hermaphroditism in
Bahama Groupers ^
Born as females, tropical sea basses later change into maie;
By C. Lavett Smith
SEXUAL REPRODUCTION is the process
wherebv new individuals result
from the union of an egg cell with a
sperm cell. Among the vertebrates it is
usual to have separate sexes, but in
some fishes the male and female or-
gans are housed in the same indi-
vidual. It now appears that the large
sea basses called groupers begin life
as females and later change into males.
This type of hermaphroditism is called
protogyny, and its study may have
far-reaching implications in our ef-
forts to trace the evolution of sexual
mechanisms. It may also aid in tracing
the evolutionary history of the fishes.
The groupers are large or moder-
ately large fishes that live in reef areas
of warm seas. The spectacular jewfish,
which reaches a weight of over seven
hundred pounds, is a grouper, and the
red hind and coney are also groupers.
There are thirty-three species of group-
ers in the New World and probably
over one hundred throughout the world.
42
Several years ago the Bermuda Gov-
ernment supported a program of basic
research on the local groupers, which
make up something over three-fourths
of the commercial fish catch. It was
during this study that I first became
aware of the existence of protogvnous
hermaphroditism in groupers. One of
my first tasks was to learn how to tell
the sexes apart in order to eliminate
any possibility that what appeared to
be two different species might in fact
be males and females of the same kind.
To my consternation, I soon found
that unless the fish were in spawning
condition I could not determine their
sex, even when I dissected them and
examined the reproductive organs. In
order to clarifv the situation I pre-
pared some of these organs for micro-
scopic examination. All of the first
dozen or so checked proved to be
female. At first this seemed to indi-
cate that the males might have differ-
ent habits and were not being caught
in the traps; then I remembered that
commercial fishermen had said that
when the sexes could be distinguishe
the males tended to be larger than tli
females and that the very largest fis
were alwaj's males.
From this there emerged the fascii
ating possibilitv that these fishes begi
life as females and later become male:
It seemed unlikely, but it is known tht
certain near relatives of the grouperi
also members of the family Serran
dae, are synchronous hermaphrodite
— male and female at the same time-
and some Mediterranean porgies ar
first males and then females. Thus, th
hypothesis of a sex change was nc
entirely unreasonable, and I set aboii
finding ways to test it.
First, field data pertaining to rip
fishes were re-examined and thev col
firmed the fisherniens observations
In general, the males were larger, bu
there is a wide range of sizes at whic!
the fish can be either males or female-
This was suggestive but not conclu
sive, because it might only have mean
that the males mature later and grov
to a larsfer size than the females. Nexl
OUPER AT LEFT is a graysbv i Petrometopon cruentatum) .
ngitudinal section of a female reproductive organ shows
) eggs developing in central cavity, (B) urinary bladder.
0
Section at right is of ripe female's lower reproductive
tract, and shows the existence of both the egg canal (A)
and sperm duct (B). Third cavity (C) is the urinary duct.
CROSS SECTION of ovary of a developing female, helow,
rounded dark masses are oocytes in various stages of
.^elopment in lamellae that extend into the central cavity.
43
Eggs, or oocytes, are ready for spawning. In the largest
eggs, clear nucleus is surrounded by dark yolk materials.
Higher magnification reveals the degeneration of conten
above, in an egg that was not released at time of spawnii
I prepared a large series of reproduc-
tive organs for histological study. The
tissue must be properly preserved,
then impregnated and embedded in
paraffin. It is then cut into thin slices
on a machine called a microtome, the
paraffin is removed, the tissue is
stained to bring out the cellular detail,
and the sections are mounted for
study. Altogether we examined the
gonads of over three hundred speci-
mens representing nine species of
groupers. The pattern remained; all
of the smallest fish were females and
most of the largest were males,
although there was a wide overlap. In
a few species— the mutton hamlets, for
instance— females were bisirer than
the males, possibly because the sam-
ples were inadequate and did not in-
clude the largest sizes that are indig-
enous to that area.
We also found males that appeared
to be transforming. These contained
male tissue that consisted of little nests
of cells in various stages of sperma-
togenesis. They also contained several
stages of developing and degenerating
eggs. Even the largest males had struc-
tures that appeared to be the remains
of eggs scattered throughout their re-
productive organs. Apparently these
were eggs that developed during the
female stage but for one reason or
another were not released.
We then turned to the general struc-
ture of the grouper reproducti
system. Each ovary is a hollow sac, 1
right and left ovaries joining at 1
back of the body cavity to form a tu
that is the common oviduct. T
walls of the ovary are lined with fol
or lamellae, each consisting of a o
tral layer of spongy connective tiss
and an outer layer of germinal e
thelium. The eggs develop from c(
of this germinal layer, and as tl
grow they fill the lamella. Blood v
sels run in the spongy layer to all pa
of the lamella. At the time of spav
ing, eggs are released into the cent
cavity of the organ and pass down I
common oviduct. Normally the o
duct ends in a spongy mass of tisi
Cell nests (arrows) in the female will become testicular
tissues, known as seminiferous crypts, in the male stage.
Magnification shows that while still in immature fem
stage, some seminiferous crypts (arrow) fill with spei
mSW-
rHE FINAL STAGES of degeneration of the unreleased egg,
erial {arrow) is transported to central part of lamella.
Ecc REMNANTS (orrow) are retained by the functional male
in the same position as when fish was in the female stage.
ruptures, allowing eggs to pass out.
1 hermaphroditic fishes, the basic
cture of the male organ is the same
liat of the female. Sperms are pro-
id in small pockets, or crypts, in
lamellae, but instead of being re-
ed into the central cavity they
'el through irregular, intercon-
ed spaces into sperm sinuses in
outer region of the testis. Eventu-
these empty into a single sperm
:. The duct, which opens to the out-
, is located in the posterior wall of
common oviduct. The ovarian
en remains in the male but is no
;er used. In fishes with separate
s, however, there is no central
ty; rather, the testis is solid with
sperm tubules and a sperm duct is at
one side. Further study revealed that
the sperm duct is present in juveniles
and females long before it becomes
functional during the male phase.
THERE is yet a problem in interpret-
ing the significance of these repro-
ductive tissues. It has been shown by
other workers that some fishes pass
through a temporarily non-functional
hermaphroditic stage during their de-
velopment. In this indifferent period
the gonad contains cells that look like
developing eggs, but in males they
never become functional. Could it be
that in groupers this temporary con-
dition is prolonged in the males until
they reach the size at which some of
the females are already mature? I
think not, because the remnants often
seem to be those of advanced eggs in
which the membranous shells had al-
ready formed. Therefore, these ani-
mals must have functioned as females.
It has been difficult to determine
how long groupers remain females or
at what age they transform into males.
Because they are found in tropical and
semitropical waters, the usual method
of determining age— by counting an-
nual rings on scales and other bony
parts— is somewhat unreliable. Rings
are only deposited where there are
pronounced seasonal variations. Pre-
liminary studies by the Florida State
PENCE of hermaphroditism is seen by presence of crv^)!
oiv) adjacent to ripening oocyte in a spawning female.
Mature sperm taken at an X900 magnification indicates
that even while spawning, fish is changing to male stage.
1
^r--'
A
A
Board of Conservation indicate that
one rather large species, Mycteroperca
microlepis (known as gag) matures as
a female at four or five years and
transforms to a male at about ten.
The ultimate test, of course, is to
keep the fish in captivity and watch the
transformation. Since there are no ex-
ternal features for distinguishing the
sexes it is necessary to operate on the
fish and remove a piece of the repro-
ductive organ for microscopic exami-
nation in order to establish its original
sex. We have now performed this
operation on a group of fish at The
American Museum's Lerner Marine
Laboratory in the Bahamas, but so far
none has transformed. It is entirely
possible that the fish will not trans-
form in captivity or that the operation
prevents the change.
Before we can understand the fun-
damental processes involved we must
know more about the structure of the
gonad itself. Careful study of the
germinal epithelial layer has revealed
that in juveniles and in ripe females
there are small nests of cells (sperma-
togonia) that give rise to the sperm-
producing crypts. These cells are very
similar to the cells (oogonia) that give
rise to eggs, but there are certain
distinguishing characteristics. Occa-
sionally these spermatogonia undergo
a precocious spermatogenesis that re-
sults in the appearance of small
clusters of sperm cells even in fully
ripe females. These isolated groups of
sperm are probably non-functional,
because there is apparently no way in
which they can get beyond the mem-
brane that encloses them.
Thus it appears that this type of
protogynous gonad is really a com-
pound organ with male and female
46
tissues admixed. This raises a whole
set of new questions: Are any hor-
mones involved and, if so, where are
they produced? Is the change trig-
gered by some factor in the environ-
ment, or is it an innate property of the
tissues? If the latter is the case, per-
haps we can learn something of the
general problems of aging by studying
these fish organs. Sex of other verte-
brates is controlled by special chromo-
somes—do hermaphrodites have sex
chromosomes?
Another aspect worth consider-
XTL ing is the adaptive value of this
type of hermaphroditism to the ani-
mals themselves. In these protogynous
hermaphrodites the sexes are func-
tionally distinct, and at least two
individuals are required for reproduc-
tion. Thus, this type of sexuality lacks
the obvious advantage of synchronous
hermaphroditism, in which one indi-
vidual can fertilize its own eggs and
reproduce without a mate. It may be
suggested that protogyny would tend
to increase egg production because
every individual— not just the females
—would produce some eggs. Further-
more, after the fish have transformed
only the males would die, but usually
one male can fertilize the eggs pro-
duced by several females. On the other
hand, transformation has the same ef-
fect as the death of a female. That is,
for purposes of egg production a
transformed female no longer exists
as a female. L ntil we know much more
about mortality rates and other popu-
lation phenomena we cannot begin to
evaluate the significance of these con-
trasting influences.
It is interesting to speculate on the
origin of the hermaphroditic mechan-
ism. Perhaps protogyny is just
amplification of the condition where
the males pass through a female-li
indifferent stage. If the indiffere
cells merely continue to develop egi
protogynous hermaphroditism v,
occur. But then what of the norn
females that do not transform? Coi
there be two kinds of female groupi
—those that become males and the
that do not? Such a situation has
cently been reported in some Medit
ranean wrasses (a related family)
Detailed studies may clarify the
lationship between the protogync
groupers and the synchronously h
maphroditic relatives. Structural ]
culiarities may confirm or elimin;
the possibility of one type havi
given rise to the other type. This li
of investigation is being pursued in I
hope that it will provide clues to 1
evolutionarv histor}' of certain simi
genera and families of fishes.
It might seem that intensive stu
of hermaphroditism in vertebrates 1
limited significance because so f
forms are hermaphroditic. We mi
however, bear in mind that unusi
phenomena sometimes indicate c
tain basic family relationships tl
otherwise could not be detected. I
cently it has been shown that herma]
rodiiism of one type or another 1
curs in at least ten diverse fish famil
representing five entirely diffen
orders. Are these independently 1
rived, parallel modifications of the
productive system, or are they indi
tions of common ancestry? We c
expect that a careful investigation
sexual mechanisms will contribi
significantly to the long-range obj
tive of constructing an impro\
higher classification of all the fish
INIFEROUS CRYPTS (arrows) in series, left, are along
;dge of lamella in transitional stage, and then fill it.
;rent-sized cell nuclei indicate that spermatogenesis
king place. Dark masses are the remains of oocytes.
r
•*w
Transformed male shows mature testicular tissue and
oocyte remnants. White areas are the remains of ovarian
lumen. Dark area in upper right (arrow) is sperm duct.
6
Va , m
f
FULLY MATURE MALE, sperm duct, Or sinus (arrow),
eked with sperm. A few of the oocyte particles still
lin in lamellae that are separated by radial spaces.
\ A,
.sS"
w
%
^;
ig curve is one of the two
IV scales flanking Samrat
a, the principal sundial-like
ment at observatory.
In front of Jai Singh's palace
are a small version of Samrat
Yantra, center, and a target-like
equatorial sundial, at left.
ASTRONOMY'S PAST
PRESERVED AT
by DEREK J. de SOLLA PRICE
In the city of Jaipur, sixty miles southwest of Delhi,
itands a spacious palace courtyard filled mth massive
structures of masonry, the pure scientific and func-
tional lines of which make them appear to be part of
hat space-age architecture that has become familiar
From rocketry and radio telescopes. This huge ob-
iervatory, for such it is, provides a remarkable in-
stance, from other times and another culture than
3ur own, of extremely heavy governmental expendi-
;ure on behalf of science.
It was built about 1728 by Maharaja Sawai Jai
5ingh II ( 1686-1743 ) in his favorite, newly created
capital city, as one of five structures located in the
jiggest towns of the Amber Territory, which he ruled
mder the Mogul Emperor Mohammed Shah. In some
vays it is fantastic that a country torn by war and
amine, as Hindustan was in those darkest days fol-
owing the death of Emperor Aurangzeb, should give
ip such a large part of its work and precious re-
;ources to build great observatories in the most opu-
[ent traditions of the Egyptian pyramids and the
Jaipur
medieval cathedrals. It is even more puzzling when
we consider that, although Jai Singh was no mean
scholar, his primary fame and interests were with
the Machiavellian politics that he waged so success-
fully to keep his territory and settle it.
Most fantastic of all, this observatory represents
the magnificent culmination of all of ancient and
medieval astronomy, but so much too late that Europe
had already seen not only Copernicus and Tycho
Brahe. but also the telescope of Galileo and the power-
ful mathematics of Newton. Jai Singh was centuries
too late with aU his splendor, but, strangely enough,
it was out of a conservatism of purpose rather than
any ignorance of the new astronomy of Europe. His
translators into Sanskrit and his Portuguese Jesuit
missionary friends used as emissaries enabled him
to know and make use of the finest astronomical
tables of early eighteenth-century England and
France (those of Flamsteed and La Hire I , as well as
the wisdom of the Greek and Arab astronomers that
preceded him in his own tradition.
49
Rasi Valaya comprises twelve miniature versions of
main device, each aligned for a zodiacal sign.
Cupola at right rear is on top of Samrat Y antra.
Before Rasi Valaya is one of large, hemispherical
pits of the Jai Prakash. Its graduated marble
surface acts as a bowl sundial, showing rising times.
Bold, black patterns of Jai Prakash bowl are
cutouts through which observers behind shell would
sight the stars during installation s brief use.
SO
ITS Had a Bearing on Earthly Power
Jai Singh is only the last in a long series of poten-
:ates within the Moslem cultural area who were
iriven, almost every century, to build an observatory
ind draw up astronomical tables. Behind this move-
nent is something much stronger than a mere love
jf the cause of pure science. In ancient times, the
sromulgation of the calendar was an imperial right
jnd a mark of sovereignty as well as an important
practical matter. It was perhaps what the use of coin-
age and postage stamps is in contemporary societies.
The acceptance of the rule implied the use of the
calendar and vice versa. And for the Moslems, the
calendar also had a religious significance.
Now, in order to maintain an accurate calendar
it is, of course, desirable to have good and correct
astronomical tables to yield the motions of the sun
A Splendid But
Unnecessary Gesture
and moon. Fortunately, as early as the second century
A.D., Claudius Ptolemaeus of Alexandria had been
successful in erecting a complete and satisfying astro-
nomical theory that could give with great exactness
the motions of stars and planets. Even though the
earth was taken as a stationary point of reference, it
may be shown that this system, once set up with the
correct initial parameters, would continue to provide
almost all possible predicted occurrences to an ac-
curacy, as good as the naked eye could detect.
There is, however, one small snag. Even when the
principal motions of stars and planets are accounted
for in their chief daily, annual, and periodic cycles,
there remain a number of small and steady changes,
the secular motions, which amount to shifts in posi-
tion and co-ordinate systems of magnitudes of the
order of one degree per century. The best known of
these motions is precession, discovered in antiquity
but assigned an incorrect value that was hard to de-
pose because of the authority and success of the
founders of mathematical astronomy.
The effect of secular motions was to present medie-
val astronomers with a paradox; Ptolemaic theory
was superbly precise, and a firm rock on which ac-
curate calendars could be erected, yet after a few
generations it always fell into error and the base
values had to be remeasured so that the whole system
might be restored to its pristine elegance and preci-
sion. It was to this very end that medieval astrono-
mers undertook, at least every century, to determine
once more the few basic constants of planetary mo-
tion and, thus armed, produce a revised edition of the
standard tables that were fundamental to the most
powerful science then known and the one that pro-
vided so much basis for authority and divine power.
Jai Singh was simply following in this tradition, in
which he had as predecessors the observatory of
al-Mamun at Baghdad in the ninth century, and the
later medieval observatories that had been established
at Cairo and Maragha, and that of Ulugh-Beg at
Samarkand. He was, it may be said, the last medieval
astronomer of this line, a conservative who found that
Newtonian mathematical understanding and its new
outlook upon astronomy did not supplant his per-
sistent need for the traditional functions of calendri-
cal craft and the making of tables.
The paradox of the Jaipur observatory becomes
even more dramatic when one realizes that this entire
munificence of precision instrument building was
provided and used for this single short purpose
rather than for any set of extensive observations. The
rectification of secular motions would entail probably
not more than half a dozen sightings with each of the
devices. Possibly they were used a little longer, just
out of wonder and for training, but it was not neces-
sary, and the whole grand site could safely be allowed
to lapse into disuse (as it did) for another century
of secular motion. And yet, although there was so
little to do, it must needs be done well, and the monu-
mental size of the devices was dictated by the ac-
curacy that was essential. The acuity of the naked
eye is about one minute of arc; to mark divisions on
a scale with minutes denoted by lines about one milli-
meter apart (about as close as one can come vnth
hand-divided scales), it takes a circle about eight
yards across— a quadrant as large as a good, old-
fashioned living room wall. Like a modern particle
accelerator or radio telescope, the instruments had
to be large and very expensive in order to work at all,
and after working, they rapidly became obsolescent. :
History seems to play cruel jests with the most
heroic efforts of astronomers. Tycho Brahe, author of
the most precise and painstaking observations in
naked-eye astronomy, supported by a lifetime of work I
and a king's ransom of instrumentation, died just be-
fore the invention of the telescope was to make all his
labors in vain. More than a century later, just as
scientific contacts between India and Europe had
been established, Jai Singh repeated the tragedy of
Brahe, aware, but uncomprehending, of the scientific
revolution that had overtaken Europe and that was
to lead to an era in which the functional architecture
and big expenditure of the Jaipur observatory were
to be regarded as a conunonplace of civilization.
Cupola-topped Samrat Yantra, about ninety
tall, is in center of the instrument complex at Jai
best-preserved monument to ancient astrono
52
SKY REPORTER
ar's first total lunar eclipse will be visible on June 24th
By Thomas D. Nicholson
[E FIRST of two total lunar eclipses visible this year in
le United States occurs on the evening of June 24.
i part of the eclipse can be seen from most of the
try (see map, page 56) , but it will already be in prog-
A^hen the moon rises. On December 18, the second total
• eclipse of 1964 will be visible in its entirety through-
be United States, except for Hawaii and southwestern
ca, where part of the event will be visible,
dike a total solar eclipse, which can be seen from only
tricted part of the world, a lunar eclipse is visible
any part of the world where the moon is above the
on at the time of the event. Thus, it is usually stated
!ach lunar eclipse can be seen from half of the world.
on this point later, but for now it explains why we
the opportunity to observe more lunar than solar
;es, although the former are not so common. The rela-
•roportion of the two types throughout the world is
nearly three solar to two lunar eclipses,
ring a total lunar eclipse, we observe the moon as it
i through the earth's shadow at the time of full moon
:he bright full moon darkens considerably. How-
the moon does not disappear completely when it
; the earth's shadow. Generally, there is enough sun-
in the shadow of the earth to make the moon's sha-
1 surface appear a dull coppery-red. The light that
m the moon when it is in the earth's shadow is be-
to be sunlight that has been refracted, or bent, by the
s atmosphere. Since the blue light in sunlight is mostly
red by the atmosphere (thus producing the blue of
ytime sky ) , it is red light that passes through the air,
into the shadow of the earth, and falls on the moon
I a lunar eclipse.
s light, however, is not uniform from eclipse to
;. During some eclipses, the portion of the moon in
w appears to be quite bright and almost brick-red
3r. At other times, the eclipsed moon may be so dark
almost disappears. Such was the case during the last
iinar eclipse on December 30, 1963. Many observers
United States reported at that time that the moon
3ry dark or actually invisible, and even those who
see the moon during the total phase reported it to
k gray or nearly black rather than copper-toned. In
m, some observers described a peculiar bluish color
moon along one edge of the earth's shadow and an
y strange brightness on the edge of the moon that was
t to the center of the earth's shadow. These peculiari-
ide the eclipse a memorable event for observers.
:ther the total lunar eclipses of June 24 and December
[ also be unusually dark, or whether they will con-
o the pattern of most lunar eclipses, cannot be pre-
L ECLIPSE of July 15, 1954, seen at moonrise from
:an Museum-Hayden Planetarium. Rising in an east to
notion, moon gradually moves out of earth's shadow.
dieted. There were a number of exceptionally dark eclipses
following the volcanic explosion at Krakatoa in 1883, and
it has been suggested that the dark eclipse last December
may have been caused in part by the dust scattered into the
atmosphere by a violent eruption on the island of Bali early
in 1963. If so, this may also affect this year's eclipses, but
nothing can be said with certainty.
The timetable for the June 24 eclipse is shown on page
56. Times given are Eastern Standard Time, and should be
adjusted by subtracting one hour each for Central Standard
Time, Mountain Standard Time, and Pacific Standard
Time. Communities on daylight time should add one hour.
The penumbra identified in the table is the partial
shadow of the earth. When the moon is in the penumbra,
direct sunlight still shines on all of its surface, but the
brightness is somewhat less than that of the uneclipsed
full moon. The umbra is the total shadow of the earth.
The darkening of the penumbra is dilEcult to observe, but
the portion of the moon within the umbra is easily seen to
be darker than direct sunlight on the full moon. The umbral
portions of a lunar eclipse are more interesting to observe
than are the penumbral portions.
SINCE the eclipse will already be in progress when the
moon rises in the United States, readers may refer to
the map again to find out what phases of the eclipse can
be observed from various communities. Throughout the
eastern portion of the country, the moon will rise during
the total phase of the eclipse ( before mid-eclipse along the
East Coast ) . When the moon rises it will be seen completely
within the earth's shadow, and its emergence from the
shadow can be observed from 8:57 p.m. to 10:03 P.M.,
EST. From the central portion of the United States, the ris-
ing moon will appear partly shadowed by the earth and will
continue to leave the shadow as it rises. The umbral phases
of the eclipse will end before moonrise in the western por-
tion of the country, but the moon will still be in the penum-
bra, except in the northwestern area shown on the map.
One advantage of a lunar eclipse that is already in prog-
ress at moonrise is that it affords the opportunity to take a
photograph with some interesting landscape effects, as the
one shown on the opposite page. The moon is low enough
so that the landscape can easily be included in the camera
frame, and there is still plenty of twilight for illumination.
Relatively distant landscape features should be selected so
they will be sharp at the infinity focus necessary for moon
pictures. A telephoto lens is desirable, since the longer focal
length results in larger images. A tripod should also be
used, if available, because exposures of about two seconds,
with fast film, are needed to catch the faint light on the
eclipsed moon.
It is interesting to consider how much of the world can
observe a lunar eclipse. If the effects of atmospheric re-
fraction and the horizontal parallax of the moon are not
taken into consideration, it is approximately true that the
55
Irregularity of the earth's shadow is caused by variations
in the elevation and darkness of the surface of the moon.
In total eclipse of December, 1963, strange bright
lower left, is from sunlight bent by earth's atmosp
moon can be seen from half the world at any one moment.
But when we consider that a lunar eclipse lasts for several
hours at least, and that the moon will be setting at some
places and rising at others during those hours, it becomes
apparent that any one such eclipse can actually be observed
from much more than half of the world.
The lunar eclipse of June 24, for example, can be
observed from part or all of every major land mass except
Australia, and it does not even miss Australia by much.
When the moon first enters the earth's dark shadow at
6:09 P.M., EST, it will be directly overhead at a point
just off the west coast of Africa near Walvis Bay; the half
of the world that extends from Sumatra and the eastern
V MOON RISES
/ :
■■1
'n
WHILE LEAVING
S MOON RISES
PENUMBRA
<?
J>
m PARTIAL
D
. ECLIPSE
,^
MOON RISES
, DURING
p
TOTALITY
TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE JUNE 24, 1964
Moon enters penumbra 4:58 p.m., EST
Moon enters umbra 6:09 p.m., EST
Total eclipse begins 7:16 p.m., EST
Middle of eclipse 8:06 p.m., EST
Total eclipse ends 8:57 p.m., EST
Moon leaves umbra 10:03 p.m., EST
Moon leaves penumbra 11:14 p.m., EST
Indian Ocean to western South America can see this ta
place. When the moon leaves the umbra, nearly four li
later, it will be overhead at a point ofE the coast of Bj
near Rio de Janeiro, and can be seen from central A
westward to the central Pacific, nearly to New Zea
From everywhere within these two overlapping li
spheres— an area that includes nearly two-thirds oi
world— some part of the umbral phase of the eclipse
be observed. If we also consider the penumbral phas
the eclipse (when the moon is within the earth's pj
shadow), the area of the earth from which some pa
the June 24 eclipse can be seen becomes even greatf
then includes nearly three-fourths of the earth.
OF course, this might be labeled a very technical ^
cism. Certainly all of the umbral and penun
eclipse cannot be observed from the two-thirds to t
fourths of the world described above, or from hali
world either. The entire umbral phase of the June 24 ec
is visible from only about one-third of the world,
the total duration of the eclipse (including all phases)
be observed from only about one-fourth of the world.
Even the entire total phase of the eclipse is visible :
less than half of the world— 47 per cent, to be precise,
moon will be visible at some moment or other while
totally immersed in the earth's shadow on June 24 ;
about 53 per cent of the world's surface.
To sum up, the moon can be seen from half the wor
any single moment during the eclipse— as, of course, il
be seen at any time, eclipse or not. If the effects of pan
and refraction are not considered, however, the statei
that ''half the world can see a lunar eclipse" (implying
all of the viewing half is able to observe all of the phei
enon) might be accurate in one limited sense, but bec(
too generalized to have much practical significance.
Dr. Nicholson is Assistant Chairman, Astronomer, and
letturer at The Aiwericatv Museum-Hayden Planetariu
56
SKY IN "
E AND JULY
TIMETABLE
June 1 Midnight
June 15 11:00 P.M.
July 1 10:00 P.M.
July 15 9:00 P.M.
July 31 8:00 P.M.
(Local Standard Time)
<#■:■..-•
:i^fW
i 7: Jupiter, prominent in the morning sky, can be seen
and to the left of the crescent moon, and above and to
It of the moon in the morning sky of the 8th.
i 9: A partial solar eclipse, visible in Australia, occurs.
ion arrives at perigee (nearest earth) shortly before new
The resulting perigee spring tide will bring abnormally
les to coastal areas.
15: Saturn becomes stationary in right ascension and
to move in a retrograde (westerly) direction.
19: Venus, at inferior conjunction, passes between
nd sun and moves into the morning sky.
21: The sun arrives at the summer solstice at 3:57 a.m.,
mmer begins in the Northern Hemisphere.
24: A total lunar eclipse occurs, the end visible from
f the United States (see map opposite).
27: Mercury is at superior conjunction and passes
e morning into the evening sky.
1: Mars may be seen in the morning sky as a reddish
ignitude object about six degrees north of the red star
an in Taurus.
7: Venus is becoming prominent in the morning sky,
ind left of the crescent moon before sunrise. Mars is
t -i* Last Quarter July 2, 3:31 P.M., EST
New Moon July 9, 6:31 a.m., EST
First Quarter July 16, 6:47 A.M., EST
Full Moon July 24, 10:58 A.M., EST
Last Quarter July 31, 10:29 p.m., EST
now fainter and closer to the moon, above and to the right of it.
July 9: The second solar eclipse within a month occurs.
This is also a partial eclipse, visible from northern Siberia,
Greenland, and North America. It is visible from the parts of
Alaska above the Arctic Circle, where it will occur at about
midnight of July 8-9.
July 11: Venus becomes stationary in right ascension and
resumes direct (easterly) motion.
July 18: Venus and Mars are in conjunction at about 2:00
A.M., EST. They will be close in the morning sky before sun-
rise, with Mars to the north (left) of brilliant Venus.
July 29: The Delta Aquarid shower occurs during late July
and early August, and reaches maximum today. The moon will
interfere with late night observations.
Saturn rises before midnight in June; and is visible through
the rest of the night, and is In the south by dawn.
in July, Jupiter and Saturn are morning stars. Jupiter rises
before midnight by the end of July and appears very bright
(magnitude —1.8) in the south by dawn. Saturn (magnitude
0.9) is visible in the southeast after dark and in the southwest
by morning. The planet Mercury may now be observed low in
the west shortly after sunset as the month comes to an end.
gECQRPlNGg
■ !X)UNDS or THE S£A is a 7" x 33 RPH W
recording that fits regular turniabLes,
and plays for 12 minutes. On one side
we walk along the shore listening to
the gulls and the surf, on the other we
sail out of Newport on a foggy morning
listening to the whistles and the bells.
^ TH£ SEA AT CASTLE HILL is a 12" mono LP
for those who are perfectly satisfied
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In places the bell in the Lighthouse is
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out listening to it, but it could never
wear me out because it is so tranquil-
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Beautiful whistles, and the rythmic
sighs and clanks of the steam engine.
■ BIRDS ON A HAY HORNING is another 12"
giving on Side A thirty-six bird songs
just as you would hear them in the East
in Spring. A narration identifies the
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says of this: "Designed for simple lis-
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Fu'l refund if not satisfied. A List of
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About the Authors
Mr. Luther C. Davis. Jr., the author
of "The Amazon's Rate of Flow." is the
A^i'^tant Chief of the Foreign Hydrol-
ogy Section in the Water Resources
Division. Geological Survey, United
States Department of the Interior. Mr.
Davis devotes most of his time to im-
plementing the water resources investi-
gation sector of the U.S. Technical As-
sistance Program to underdeveloped
countries. In 1963. he and three other
engineers of the U.S. Geological Survey
participated in the hydrologic expedi-
tion, on which his article is based.
"Expositions. Exhibits and Today's
Museums" is the work of Mr. Gordon
Rekkie. Chairman of the Department of
Exhibition and Graphic Arts at The
American Museum. Mr. Reekie, who was
born in Barking. England, studied at
the University of London, the Southend
School of Art. and at the Phoenix Art
Institute and the New School, in New
York City. Before joining the staff of the
Museum in 1953, Mr. Reekie held posi-
tions as an art editor and art director.
Mr. Campbell Grant, author and il-
lustrator, prepared the renderings of
paintings that accompany his article.
"California's Legacy of Indian Rock
Art." Mr. Grant is a Trustee and Re-
search Associate of the Santa Barbara
Museum of Natural History, a Trustee
and Vice President of the Santa Bar-
bara Botanic Garden, and a Trustee of
the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. He
has written many articles on rock paint-
ings, and is at present extending a
museum survey of aboriginal picto-
graphs to include all of California south
of San Francisco. Mr. Grant wrote and
illustrated The Chumash Indians and
their Rock Painting, which is to be pub-
lished this year by the University of
California Press.
"Hermaphroditism in Bahama
Groupers" is explored in the article by
Dr. C. Lavett Smith, Assistant Cura-
tor of the Department of Ichthyology at
The American Museum. Dr. Smith is
also Administrative Co-ordinator of the
Lerner Marine Laboratory, in Bimini,
the Bahamas, a Museum field station.
Dr. Derek J. de Solla Price, author
of "Astronomy's Past Preserved at Jai-
pur." is Avalon Professor of the History
of Science and Chairman of the Depart-
ment of the History of Science and
Medicine at Yale University. He re-
ceived his doctoral degrees in physics
from the University of London and in
the history of science from Cambridge
University. He has worked as an experi-
mental and mathematical physicist, has
taught at the University of Malaya, has
served as consultant to the Smithsonian
Institution, and was a Donaldson Fel-
low at the Institute for Advanced Study.
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58
Good Hunting with Bolex
lature motion pictures, Bolex is
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ith each H-16 these features:
lexibility from extreme wide-
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And for economy where audiences arc
small and big-screen repro-
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the Bolex H-8 has
all the above fea-
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utility; speeds from 12 to 64 frames
per second; frame counter and single-
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phenomena; time lapse; full film re-
wind; a registration claw that assures
professional film steadiness. The Rex
models offer, in addition, reflex view-
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and push-button spool ejectors.
For options, you may have these
(plus others not listed): motor drive;
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No wonder the Bolex is favored by
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6o
'Preparing for tomorroi
By Perez Malande Olindo
THIS ARTICLE is intended to represent
a varied mixture of African outlook
on the preservation of wildlife. Ecologi-
cal variables, social setups, and other
environments limit any broad generali-
ties. To gain the support and co-opera-
tion of Africans of various regions, sug-
gestions and approaches to wildlife
conservation must be restricted to cer-
tain specific zones, but can be applied
to other areas as mass education in wild-
life conservation is enhanced. By virtue
of restricted travels on my continent. I
have confined my comments, as far as
possible, to my homeland— to the Kenya
of yesterday and of today and. in places,
to the Kenya of tomorrow. I have in no
way attempted to outline a governmental
policy; I have tried to present a current
situation and indicate possible directions.
I was born a few miles from Lake Vic-
toria in one of the most densely popu-
lated regions of Kenya. In this area there
are very few large game animals today,
although we enjoy a great variety of
wild birds. Through the stories told in
the evenings as part of youth education
(storytelling is very much a continuing
.\frican custom for passing on informa-
tion), we learned that once there were
many large game animals— lions, ele-
phants, buffaloes, antelopes— but these
disappeared as the population increased.
This was partly because of the great de-
mand for grazing areas for domestic live-
stock and the need for land to cultivate.
Lions were a danger to domestic ani-
mals adjacent to uncleared areas. (In
1948 I started schooling, and in our
first reader was a story of how a lion had
devastated an area not too far from our
school, killing people and cattle, and of
how the invader had been ultimately
killed to save the rest of the people.)
Other wild game, particularly antelopes,
used to invade gardens in great numbers
when cultivated beans and peas started
flowering. So most of the animals were
hunted as they encroached on human in-
terests. To encourage hunting, the
people who had killed the truly fierce
animals, such as lions, or the big ani-
mals, such as elephants, received special
recognition. In some ways this enhanced
their social status, especially with
women. As a result, people in my age
Three male lions bask in a game area at
the Ngorongoro Crater, which is situated
in Great Rift Valley, northern Tanganyika.
group have grown up in an area
prived of the natural beauty and
ness of much of our wildlife.
Conservation Education
WHEN I was a high school sen:
began, through a friend, to
respond with Dr. George Petrides, a
servationist and a Professor of Zoc
at Michigan State University, who
worked in Kenya and Uganda. By le
Dr. Petrides introduced me to Mr.
Simon, now in Switzerland with th
ternational Union for the Conservi
of Nature, who drew my attentio
publications that would help me ui
stand more about wildlife. Withou
knowing it, I had encountered a ch
in my life. I put aside my aspiratioi
becoming an engineer or medical do
and decided to study a field in wh:
t .
&l*!^>-_.- . '-."
ery little but one for which I had
led a great interest,
espondence with the United
intensified, and after successful
tion of high school, I received ad-
1 to Central Missouri State Col-
d arrived in the United States in
s a private student. Soon after-
udge Russell E. Train of the Tax
of the United States, who was
esident of the African Wildlife
jhip Foundation, got in touch
le and undertook, through the
tion. to finance my education.
African Wildlife Leadership
tion is based on several premises.
: For better or for worse, the fu-
most of Africa's game country
fate of its wildlife resources are
hands of Africans;
id: Africans themselves must be
ound economic reasons for pre-
their game resources; and
1: Selected Africans must be
;d with the know-how required
le conservation and management.
organizers believe Africans
participate in the affairs affect-
;ir own existence— tlie control,
ment, and development of nat-
ources in Africa— and liave acted
swiftly and firmly on these noble
premises. The Foundation is paying all
expenses for the education of four Afri-
can students in the United States— three
from Tanganyika and myself— including
round-trip passages, and hopes to be
able to finance others. In this way it is
insuring that Africans will be educated
to the realization of the importance of
wildlife in their own countries. The
Foundation has also contributed to the
founding of the College of African Wild-
life at Moshi in Tanganyika, on the
slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro, between
the Serengeti Plains and Tsavo National
Park. From the college, one is within
easy reach of the Amboseli. Mara, Lake
Manyara, and the Ngorongoro Crater
game areas. From here an eye can be
cast on the profile of African game prob-
lems. Here, too, carefully selected Afri-
cans are being trained in principles and
techniques of wildlife management. In
the full-fledged move to Africanize our
civil service, the replacement of expatri-
ates by untrained, unqualified men
would spell disaster for game. The insti-
tution has the capacity to expand to be-
come the best of its kind in the world—
if it receives the necessary support.
In the United States, the African
DO YOUR
BUGWATCHING
WITH A
HONEYWELL
PENTAX!
Watching a praying mantis
through the razor-sharp lens of a
Honeywell Pentax camera may be
so absorbing that you'll forget to
release the shutter! For with a
Honeywell Pentax, you see exactly
what the film will see — in sharp
focus, with exact composition
and completely controlled depth
of field.
Mantes, praying or other-
wise, and most other insects, like
to pose for Honeywell Pentax pic-
tures. (Birds, animals, and flowers
do, too.) For any type of photog-
raphy, you wiU find a world of
pleasure in the dependability of
the Honeywell Pentax.
The Hla (f/2 lens, speeds to
l/500th) is $169.50; the H3v
(f/1.8 lens, speeds to 1/lOOOth) is
$229.50, and the H3v with f/2
lens is $199.50. See them at yotir
dealer's soon!
H
For full-color brochure, write to
Ron Hubbard (209), Honeywell,
Denver, Colorado 80217.
Honeyivell
PHOTOGRAPHIC PRODUCTS
6i
Wildlife Leadership Foundation, in co-
operation with the Department of the
Interior, is providing African student
groups with summer orientation and in-
struction in the national parks and wild-
life areas, so that whatever their profes-
sions may be ultimately, they will be
better prepared to serve Africa and use
her resources wisely.
In 1962. I transferred to Michigan
State University to study with Dr. Pe-
trides, and in the summer of 1963 I re-
turned to Kenya, where I was privileged
to conduct a Conservation Education
Program for forty-five high schools and
teacher training colleges. This program
was organized in co-operation with the
Kenya Government and was financed by
the Foundation. The topic for the lecture
tour was "The Importance of Wildlife
to the Economy of Kenya."' Knowing
that an independent Kenya could utilize
as many informed citizens as possible,
high school and college students at-
tracted us as the most immediate future
policy makers. The teachers, on the
other hand, would have a large propor-
tion of tomorrow's citizens under their
instruction, and were thus in a very stra-
tegic place to influence and shape the
future. The lectures were planned and
prepared to point out the resources and
problems in each local area visited.
Three months is not enough for an
educational program such as the one I
conducted, so I was thrilled when the
director for Swahili radio programs in
Nairobi asked me to write a thirteen-
part series on wildlife for public infor-
mation. Although I was returning to the
States to complete my education, I
agreed to undertake this public service.
I recorded three of the programs at
Michigan State, and prepared ten other
scripts to be read by broadcasters in
Kenya. We are now broadcasting the
program at the rate of one fifteen-minute
segment per week. It is our hope that
the timing of this program— before the
popular world news— will find many
Swahili-speaking people waiting by
their radio sets.
The African Heritage
DURi.N'G my lecture tour last summer,
1 noticed that a shift of values is
afoot all over Kenya. One hears such
expressions as "'Wildlife is our herit-
age"; "Wildlife is important to our
country''; "Wildlife should be saved"';
"Wildlife should be preserved." One
also hears, "The game department
sliould tell us more about these wild ani-
mals and why they are given the land
we need to produce crops." Most of the
expressions— up to the last one— have
been picked up or learned from a
that have been written about wild'
from declarations by African le
The last one, with others like "Of
importance is wildlife to our cii
background?" or "What is the eco
importance of these animals yoi
about to us?" indicates an unde
need for information and educatii
the people.
For a long time non-Africans
maintained that if the African g
responsibility to rule his own co
he would have no regard for wild
a natural resource. They were mis
At the World Conference of t.
ternational Union for the Conser
of Nature, held in Nairobi from S(
her 16 to 24. 1963. Kenya delivei
convictiim in its Wildlife Manifes
"The natural resources of this ci
—its wildlife which offers such an
tion to visitors from all over the
the beautiful places in which the;
mals live, the mighty forests
guard the water catchment areas s
to the survival of man and beast-
priceless heritage for the future.
"The Government of Kenya, full
izing the value of its natural resc
pledges itself to conserve them fc
terity with all means at its dispoi
RAtil.
^Plorjn^Nstwe
REDISCOVER
THE
BEAUTY
OF SUMMER...
THE WORLD OF NATURAL HISTORY-John Richard Saunders
Natural history as revealed in THE AMERICAN MUSEUM of NATURAL HISTORY.
A private trip through the various departments of this great museum. $6.25 ppd.
THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF NATURE English text-Mary Phillips
An introduction to the study of natural history is provided by the superb pictures
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LOOK TO THE WILDERNESS-W. Douglas Burden
An opportunity to share the author's experiences in North America, Indochina,
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NATURAL HISTORY OF NEW YORK CITY-John Kieran
For sidewalk naturalists everywhere. It shows us the extraordinary number and
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THE QUIET CRISIS-Stewart Udall
A stirring story of the men who waged a crucial battle to save our
national resources. $5.25 ppd.
EXPLORING NATURE WITH YOUR CHILD-Dorothy E. Shuttlesworth
A unique and fascinating guide to nature for parents and children. $6.20 ppd.
Members of the Museum are entitled to a 10% discount. Please send your check or money order to.
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THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORV— N.Y., N.
62
Ir. Ohivdo earned his B.A. degree
t Michigan State University, where
e studied conservation techniques
ith Dr. George Petrides. He is now
1 Kenya again, beginning a career in
ame management and conservation.
We are confident of the cooperation
he other Governments of East Africa
his important task but, at present, we
unable, unaided, to provide the spe-
ist staff and money which are neces-
i. We therefore invite other nations,
lovers of nature throughout the
Id, to assist us in honouring this
mn pledge.
Jomo Kenyatta,
Prime Minister
L. G. Sagini,
Minister for Natural Resources
R. Achleng Oneko,
Minister for Information,
Broadcasting and Tourism
robi, 18th September, 1963."
or the first time in the history of
lya, the government had taken a
id on the question of the future of
ican wildlife— a stand that will re-
n as a reference point from which to
:ct future policies.
1 many ways we have been chal-
ked, but to outline a rigid future pro-
n now would be wishful thinking,
vever, as we seek to develop a sensi-
y to the needs of the animals and to
k with the changing environment in
;r to get the maximum yield of our
liable resources, a definite confidence
eveloping about the future of Africa,
will work together with experts from
over the world to insure the survival
\frican wildlife. We wish to guide
approach to wildlife education and
lagement by a continued appraisal of
ntific findings for every problem that
ht confront us. The hardest task may
1 out to be that of having the courage
lisprove our previous findings when
discover our own mistakes.
Reflection
myth of long existence developed
the assumption that the approach
ifrican problems inevitably lay in its
onal parks. This has not been the
;, as the program did not have mean-
and appeal for the people. In Kenya,
il co-operation was seldom sought
local ideas were ignored. For this
ion, national parks were interpreted
Africans as an exploitation of local
>urces by a foreign government that
run by strangers. The denial of ac-
i to family lands was considered a
itive measure rooted in the "do-as-
-are-told-or-else" principle of colo-
administration.
ome enlightened preservation ideas
ribal game reserves began to appear
in 1960, based on a maxim accepted in
many countries— that those people living
on the land should get the first and
greatest benefits from the legal exploita-
tion and from the scientific and sport-
ing aspects of game they live with. A
realization is coming into existence that
only a proprietary interest at the local
level can invoke concern and perma-
nence in wildlife management. New con-
clusions have grown up in Kenya, where-
in the people are increasingly anxious
and able to tackle things for themselves
—a condition that necessitates a co-ordi-
nated effort between the government
and the local councils for wildlife pro-
tection elected by the people themselves.
During 1961 and 1962, a new system
was developed, intended first to trans-
form the old-style "national reserves."
The Kenya plan called for local respon-
sibility for wildlife conservation, di-
rected by the motives of stimulating
revenue through employment opportuni-
ties, trade, land-use benefits, and pres-
tige. The aim was to use bylaws to
protect the habitat under the covering
protection of the national game laws.
The first reserve to be so launched was
Amboseli in Masailand near Mount Kili-
manjaro. This was a fine choice, because
in 1960 it was approaching a point of
land misuse impossible to restore by
any amount of knowledge. The Mara
was also established in Kenya Masai-
land. Meanwhile, another African Dis-
trict Council game reserve was being de-
veloped by the Meru tribe. This reserve,
which has had and is still having a real
battle to meet both capital costs and
maintenance needs, is about 100 miles
northeast of Mount Kenya at an altitude
of 2.500 feet. As a game reserve it has
a distinctive atmosphere of wilderness
and peace. This is the country where
Elsa, Joy Adamson's world-famous
lioness, and her cubs were living free,
and where Elsa is buried. It is a dry-
season or dry-year refuge for animals
from the wilderness areas to the north
and east of it.
The Meru reserve, promoted and ap-
preciated by the people, could be more
secure than any other statutory national
park, because it is rooted in the under-
standing and determination of the local
people. Such a determination should be
reinforced by an appropriate education
that would suitably equip more people
to manage the resources.
Man has the ability and the capacity
to learn many things. He learns to ap-
preciate art and music, and the process
of his learning is never complete until
he has grasped its underlying signifi-
cance. This is also the case with the
appreciation of wildlife. Yet it has been
assumed— and even included in many
writings— that the African's use of wild-
life and his methods of hunting or col-
lecting the resources were and are by
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63
Her eyes tell you why...
Perceptive, intelligent, serious — so eager
to learn. A little love and a little help
would make a big difference in the life of
this American Indian child.
For Cecilia Bright Eagle's parents are
very poor. They have no money with
which to replace her shabby clothing, to
buy her personal books, or give her a
cash allowance and other things she
needs so much to attend the off-reserva-
tion school. So, when her non-Indian
classmates gather to share some exciting
little girl secret, or talk of a class-party or
trip, Cecilia goes off by herself to hope,
to dream, that one day she might share
such fun and feel like one of them.
You, your school, your organization
can help make a dream come true for
Cecilia, or some other Indian girl or boy.
Just a $ 10 monthly contribution provides
one Indian child with suitable clothing,
personal books and a cash allowance for
school activities. It is an act of love that
will bring you a heart-warming reward.
A photograph, the story and letters from
the child you help will start off a warm
person-to-person relationship. Please
give one Indian youngster an even break
— and the sense of belonging to the wider
world around him.
SCF
Save The Children Federation, Norwalk, Connecticut
I wish to contribute S120.00 annually to help an
American Indian girl Q boy Q Enclosed is my first
payment:
SIO.OO a month D $ 60.00 semi-annually G
S30.00 a quarter D $120.00 annually Q
I cannot sponsor a child. Enclosed is contribution
ot $
Name_
Contributions are income tax deductible. NH 6-4
"instinct"! If one stated that the Ameri-
can founding fathers went after buffalo
or passenger pigeons by "instinct." he
would be ridiculed. Everyone must learn
in order to be wise.
Semantic Antagonism
ONCE the European was afraid to
think of the Africans as people, and
so he blamed on them the decimation of
Kenya wildlife. On the other hand, the
European pioneer into the Kenya high-
lands was pictured as a man who pushed
wildlife peacefully back and cleared the
virgin land. In this context, his gun was
only a tool to protect the crops and the
settlers' families from the menace of the
wild jungles, the wild animals, and the
savages who were considered to be an
integral part of the habitat.
Many books and publications on the
problems of African wildlife have made
extensive use of such terminology as
"tribesmen." "natives." and "primitive
hunting methods." which are definitely
not appreciated in Africa, and make our
people look upon wildlife as an exten-
sion of outside humiliation and subjec-
tion. In addition there is the current use
of the word "reserve." as applied to
areas set aside for game; it is also ap-
plied to areas that have been set aside
by colonial powers as living confines for
the .African people. Obviously, this is an
unfortunate word to be used for game
areas, because it has been considered an
element of comparison between the two
occupants of the reserves.
Kenya's Immediate Needs
To raise living standards. I believe,
our agrarian economy must be de-
veloped, and emphasized in many ways,
including a total re-evaluation of land-
use practices. The economic potential of
wildlife is not completely known, but its
importance is reflected in the contribu-
tion of tourism to the country's economy.
Today, through mass media, the
government will inform the people of
the greatness of Kenya's natural re-
sources—a new idea and a reality that
gives the people a new national pride.
The Minister for Broadcasting and Tour-
ism has spoken, the Minister for Natural
Resources speaks, students and teachers
speak, concerned personalities are com-
ing from all corners of the globe to our
support. The new drive is part of the
nation's march into the new era.
Already our transformation has been
rapid, and one wonders whether the
world can really understand the inner
feeling that illuminates African young-
sters with joy and gladness when they
realize that they are growing up to take
responsibilities with a new destiny! It is
the beginning; and we shall make mis-
takes, which in a way will constitute a
practical basis for corrective measures,
and a springboard to progress.
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five unusual and
rewarding tours
to the four corners
of the world
CLASSICAL STUDY TOURS
WITH AUTHORITATIVE GUEST LECTURERS
IT-LT-3081
TWO WINTER CRUISES TO EGYPT AND UP THE NILE
ir and River Boat to the Sites and Temples of Egypt and Nubia Tours depart on
vember 6 and November 27. Guest lecturers accompanying the two cruises are'
. G. H. James, M.A., Asst. Keeper of Egyptian Antiquities at the British Museum.
Dr H. W. Fairman, M.A., Professor of Egyptology at the University of Liverpool
., , „ Professor C. A. Trypanis. M.A., Ph.D., the University of Oxford.
These Nile Cruises have been immediate "sell-outs" in the past, due to the
high quality of leadership and services provided.
IT-LT-3085
ROMAN FRANCE-SOME SITES AND CITIES IN PROVENCE
s 18-day tour starts on September 7 and the all-inclusive cost is only $790 00
-ovence, the oldest Roman colony in Gaul is the starting point-and from here
we begin our tour which includes Apt. Roussilon, Avignon, Villeneuve Orange
larming Vaison-la-Romame, St. Remy with its newly discovered Glanu'm Aries!
Nimes. les Saintes-Maries, Aigues-Mortes. Les Baux, Marseilles, and Paris
This IS a tour into one of Europe's most beautiful regions-a region full of color
and atmosphere— in addition to the thousands of monuments to the past
s IS a tour completely different from other tours— concentration on ONE of th=
provinces of France. The tour is also for those who love good food and wines.
IT-LT-3076
CRUSADER CASTLES, SITES AND MONUMENTS IN
LEBANON, SYRIA, JORDAN AND ISRAEL
22-day tour departs on October 27. All-inclusive cost only $1,175 00
Professor A. W. LAWRENCE will be the guest lecturer on a most unusual and
tour of the Near East. Included in the program are the Krak of the Knights and
ma, Aleppo and Palmyra, a full day at Jerash, Petra, Karak, Acre and Caesarea
a— all in addition to more easily accessible places as Beirut, Baalbek, Damascus,
nan, Jerusalem and Haifa. Early bookings are essential to guarantee your seat.
nber of participants on these tours is strictly limited to a maximum of thirty
rJ" ^°?1^ "=?=/"en fewer-and early booking is essential. Please send in
Don at the foot of this page, requesting the details on the particular tour you
rested in.
>BLAD TRAVEL, INC.
last 53rd Street • New York 22, N. Y
Laza 5-8882
ad Travel, Inc., One East 53rd Street, New York 22, N. Y.
; send folder describing your tour
T-3073 n IT-LT-3053 Q ITLT-3081 D IT-LT-3085
IT-LT-3073
AN EXPLORER'S TOUR THROUGH ASIA visiting
JAPAN . SIBERIA • OUTER MONGOLIA
CENTRAL ASIATIC REPUBLICS OF THE USSR
IRAN • SYRIA . LEBANON • JORDAN
Crossing from Japan to Siberia by steamer-Khaborovsk and
Irkutsk in Siberia-Ulan Bator, Karakoram and a day
with Mongolian tribesmen in the Gobi desert-the ancient cities
of Bokhara and Samarkand-by steamer across
the Caspian Sea-Persepolis, Shiraz and Isfahan in
Persia-archeological sites in Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan.
Tour conducted by Lars-Eric Lindblad, departs
from New York and San Francisco on July 6, circles the Globe,
and lasts two months-
$3,600.00
IT-LT-3053
WITH DR. J. ALDEN MASON TO THE
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES IN PERU, GUATEMALA
AND MEXICO
The two tours in 1963 were so successful and sold out so early,
that Dr. J. Alden Mason has agreed to lead one
(but only one) tour in October, 1964 to the
pre-Columbian sites in South and Central America.
This year we haue added four days for leisure, making
the tour 25 days. Departure will be on October 24-and
the cost will be $1,650.00
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Rochester 2, New York.
BALSCOPE TEN
WASHINGTON NEWSLETT
By Paul Mason Tilden
BAUSCH & LOMB ^
66
DURING the spring of 1963 the Supreme
Court of the United States arrived
at a decision that will surely have a pro-
found effect on the course of human
affairs in the arid lands of the south-
western United States— the so-called Pa-
cific Southwest. It will also pose serious
problems for conservationists in the
United States and, perhaps, in other
countries as well.
Little noticed by the public at the time,
the Court's decision in the case of Ari-
zona vs. California triggered the release,
less than a year later, of federal plans
for one of the greatest water develop-
ment schemes the world has ever seen
—the Interior Department's multibillion-
dollar Pacific Southwest Water Plan.
For years, the state of Arizona has
claimed that it has been shortchanged
in its allotted portion of the 7.5 million
acre-feet of water that arrives in the
lower basin of the mighty Colorado River
during a year of average flow. This is the
volume remaining after the states of the
upper basin— Colorado, Utah. Wyoming,
and Nevada— have exacted their toll for
irrigational. municipal, and industrial
purposes. Essentially, the decision of the
Court awarded thirsty Arizona a larger
share of water, leaving equally thirsty
southern California, with its sprawling
cities and rich agricultural lands, to look
elsewhere for that share of the precious
mineral it had drawn from the Colorado.
Under the Southwest Water Plan,
water would be pumped into the central
part of Arizona to open up new lands to
irrigated agriculture; to serve the state's
booming urban centers and new indus-
tries; to relieve the strain on ground-
water supplies that, at the current rate
of withdrawal, are being depleted far
beyond any possible natural replenish-
ment. To compensate for the water lost
to southern California farms and cities,
the Plan proposes the construction of
huge aqueducts to transport additional
water from new reservoirs on the rivers
of far-northern California.
It is the central Arizona phase
mammoth project that is of most
diate concern to conservationist
many scientists. In order to raise
rado River water and pump it int
rior Arizona, two new high dan
proposed for the already much-da
river in order to generate the nee
hydroelectrical power. These ar
Bridge Canyon and Marble C;
dams, the first to be not far abo
already silt-choked headwaters of
Mead behind Hoover Dam on th
zona-Nevada border; the second
miles northeast of the upriver bou
of Grand Canyon National Park. (
two. the Bridge Canyon dam and
voir would be by far the most destr
in terms of scientific interest an
tional park system policy.
The reservoir that would form h
Bridge Canyon dam would back
through the entire river-reach of (
Canyon National Monument, adjac
Grand Canyon Park on the latter's
ern extremity, and into the sceni
scientific treasure house of the pa
self. Taken together, these two par
tem areas preserve for Americans
for all the people of the world, the
portions of the world's most specta
and instructive example of nature'
sive powers— the Grand Canyon c
Colorado. It is not necessary he
dwell at any length on the scientif
portance of the two preservations
fice it to say that the waters of the B
Canyon reservoir would inundate p
a geologic record that presently c;
the visitor, casual or otherwise, s
back into the remote history of the
as to confound the imagination— a r
presenting perhaps 2.000 million
of earth building and earth destru
The reaction of conservationists t
phase of the Pacific Southwest \
Plan has been sharp. Secretary o
Interior Stewart L. Udall has been ci
squarely in the middle of a battle
gives every evidence of becoming a i
In the case of the Plan— which, it
be said, has political overtones—
secretary will be in the position of
ipting to ride two horses, each head-
n a different direction,
e of these horses is Interior's Bu-
of Reclamation, which has been
;ed with formulating the Plan and
ing it to completion if it is approved
ongress. The other horse is Inte-
National Park Service and its fol-
g of conservationists; these latter
to enlist the support of laymen and
tists. both countrywide and world-
if possible, to oppose at least the
;e Canyon dam portion of the Plan.
iservationists have pointed out that
ectrical power needed to operate the
j1 Arizona portion of the Southwest
r Plan can probably be generated
xpensively and less destructively by
lal power derived from the vast and
tapped coal deposits of the Four
;rs country— that area surrounding
ingle geographic point shared by
ate boundaries of Colorado. Utah,
Mexico, and Arizona. The battle is
ted to be a long and bitter affair.
Our Sliding Suburbs
w and again one of those cozy little
Cape Cods or split-levels in Amer-
iuburbia more or less abruptly be-
to move downhill— a phenomenon
ularly noticeable during the spring
melt, or after prolonged summer
I rains. An occurrence of this sort is
rdinarily understood by the home-
■, but it presents no particular chal-
to the geologist.
at has happened is this: the devel-
I bulldozer has stripped protective
nd plant cover from a geological
tion that is particularly vulnerable
e softening action of excessive
d water — a stratum of clay, per-
or a formation of decomposed,
aden schist or slate. In the pres-
jf unusual amounts of water, and
a sufficient gradient, the stratum
)ecome unstable and commence to
With it flows suburbia.
;ing note of the ever increasing dis-
n of the natural landscape and its
lying components in the vicinity of
urban centers, the United States
gical Survey has initiated detailed
s of a number of major American
and their satellite suburbs, with
to producing geological maps that
e interpreted by developers, road
rs. industrialists, and others who
nake decisions as to the best loca-
tor their projects,
ssessing suburbia as a whole, it is
3 say that many decisions in the
lave been made with more haste
ntelligence. Many a suburbanite,
ly viewing the mess that only yes-
was home, would agree with the
[f geologist who recently said: "Too
often important geologic information is
not utilized in the planning stage of ur-
ban renewal and suburban development."
Toward Better Water
MANY conservationists feel that one
of the more encouraging develop-
ments of the past several years has been
the increasing congressional interest in
problems relating to the pollution of the
nation's water resources. This interest
centers around major rivers, lakes, bays,
estuaries, canals, and other water bodies
usually referred to in legislation as "in-
terstate waters" or "navigable waters."
Many bills dealing with water pollu-
tion either on a broad front or by specific
types of offense have been introduced
into the 88th Congress.
Typical of the broad-spectrum pollu-
tion abatement bill are two similar meas-
ures, one of which has already easily
passed the Senate; the other, at this writ-
ing, is in House subcommittee hearing
(S. 649. Muskie and Humphrey, and its
companion House bill. H.R. 3166. Blat-
nik). These bills would amend the exist-
ing Federal Water Pollution Control Act
to establish a Federal Water Pollution
Control Administration ; increase grants
for construction of municipal sewage
treatment plants; authorize issuance of
regulations to aid in preventing, control-
ling, and abating pollution of navigable
waters, and, as the short title of many
legislative proposals puts it, accomplish
"other purposes." The proposals would
also establish the post of Assistant Secre-
tary for Water Pollution Control, with
jurisdiction over certain parts of the pol-
lution abatement program suggested by
the bills. Enactment of these measures
during the 88th Congress seems likely.
In the category of "specific offense"
bills, might be cited H.R. 4571 (Reuss).
which would amend the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act to protect naviga-
ble waters from pollution by petroleum-
based detergents. (A more complete
discussion of this subject will appear in
a future issue of Natural History.)
Some housewives still have the notion
that the detergents they buy at the super-
markets are merely a high-powered kind
of conventional soap. They are, in fact,
no such thing. Many are based on a
petroleum-derived chemical, alkyl ben-
zene sulfonate, which, when released into
sewers and thence into river or lake
waters, maintains its chemical identity
over a long period of time. It is, in the
language of the technician, not easily
"degradable" by water organisms into
simple and harmless chemical com-
pounds. Congressman Reuss's measure
would set certain standards of decompos-
ability for petroleum-based detergents
marketed in the United States.
It is quite likely that this bill will
receive no action during the 88th Con-
gress; but it has, at least, served notice
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WHATEVER your interest in the mineral
world, you'll find this new, 320-page
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Written by Richard M. Pearl of Colorado
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»- — — — — SEND NO MONEY- — — — -1
THE ODYSSEY PRESS, Dept. M-17
Box 350, Poughkeepsie, New York
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?AVE. Enclose $6.95 now and publisher pays postage.
Same return prlYllege,
on detergent manufacturers that their
chemists should busy themselves inves-
tigating substitute chemicals more sus-
ceptible to biodegradation. And, indeed,
there appears to be a move by the manu-
facturers in just this direction— a move
that has perhaps been hastened some-
what by bills like H.R. 4571.
There is another kind of water pollu-
tion that is far more difficult— perhaps
impossible — to deal with legislatively.
This is the spillage, accidental or other-
wise, of crude or heavy fuel oil off the
nation's coasts. Spillage can occur in
several ways — through the customary
cleaning of a tankers oil tanks after it
leaves port, the pumping of part of a
vessel's fuel supply to "lighten ship"
after a grounding in shoal waters or on
a reef, or by the actual breakup of a ship
at sea. A certain amount of pollution
from the last-mentioned source is. of
course, inevitable.
A serious although hardly necessary
case of water pollution by fuel oil oc-
curred recently off the southwest coast of
Florida. A British freighter of Liberian
registry, carrying a cargo of phosphate,
went aground on Pulaski Shoal close to
Fort Jefferson National Monument at the
tip of the Florida Keys. A rescue vessel
from Key West stood by to help pull the
freighter free, but its captain refused
assistance. The captain requested United
States Coast Guard permission to lighten
ship by dumping 500 tons of fuel oil
overboard. The Coast Guard refused per-
mission. The oil was jettisoned anyway.
Slobbered with heavy oil were the
beaches and shallow waters of Bush.
Garden, and Long Keys, within Fort Jef-
ferson National Monument. The result
was heavy mortality to marine and bird
life. Bush Key, incidentally, is the only
known nesting site in the United States
for both the sooty and noddy terns.
Countless species of migrating birds use
these islands of the Dry Tortugas as way-
stops on their annual flights back and
forth between North America and Cuba
and South America. The shallow waters
of the island chain are veritable mu-
seums of tropical and semitropical ma-
rine life, and valuable breeding and
nursery grounds for the commercially
important shrimp.
It will take years to assess the total
damage done by this one deliberate oil
spill, which coated the islands and their
tidal flats with gummy, congealing fuel
oil. Conservationists were furious, but
little, apparently, could be done.
The Standard Approach
MUCH has been written of late con-
cerning economic depression and
poverty in the Appalachian Mountains.
The mountain system actually runs from
Alabama into Canada, but economists
and sociologists have focused their atten-
tion on that portion of perhaps 170.000
Latitude 43°46' N. — Longitude 69" 19' II
THE
FORTUNATE
ISLAND
Ten miles off the coast of Maine, at
Island in Time, whose cliffs and shore
line, woods and meadows offer sane
tuary to the creatures and growinj
things of air, land and water. And t(
mankind.
For here the crowds and confusioi
of mainland living are distant; neithe
streetlights nor neon signs dim th^
stars; no juke-boxes, bars or cocktai
lounges disturb the guiet; cars, radii
and television remain on the main
land.
Unexpected species reward birder
and botanists. Photographers am
painters discover scene after sceni
worthy of record. And waiting to bi
found by all: peace, quiet, beauty.
Ports of departure for Monhegai
Island are Boothbay Harbor and Por
Clyde with daily boat service fron
each.
THE ISLAND INN
Box JN
Monhegan Island, Maine
June 20-Seplemier 9 Direct Dial 207-372-
?
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Please send your free Telescope Guide.
Address-
City
TiLDEN, a writer and editor in
nation's capital, often contributes
imns pertaining to government
vities and the natural sciences.
e miles that includes southern
ylvania. parts of Maryland, all of
Virginia, a bit of Ohio, and por-
of Virginia. Kentucky, Tennessee,
ma. North Carolina, and Georgia.
s "Appalachia," so often employed
llywood as a type locale for slouch
long rifles, bare feet, and illicit
—a picture that is, of course, of
al accuracy.
erty in Appalachia is an undeni-
act. The conservation history of
of this vast mountain area has been
n one. Many of its steep slopes,
ed of organic cover by ax and fire,
lever re-established their original
mmunities. Coal strip miners have
essly chewed and gouged into the
flanks of an essentially valley-
idge topography, and the raw
s spew forth silt and acids to
the narrow bottom lands and poi-
le streams. Here, one family in
lives on an annual income of less
3.000, and here the average rate
employment is about 7 per cent,
of Appalachia's male inhabitants
irought up to be coal miners, but
:um. hydropower. and mechanized
; techniques have robbed them of
ivelihoods.
probably true that a certain per-
e of Appalachia's population has
be told that it lives in poverty,
loverty is a relative condition and
IS not easily defined, but by stand-
immonly accepted, there is a great
Appalachia, both economically
ucationally.
y in 1963 the late President Ken-
ommitted the federal government
:ogram of Appalachian economic
nee through establishment of the
;nt's Appalachian Regional Com-
1, aimed at working with the af-
states through the Conference of
ichian Governors. Thus was estab-
a joint federal-state group of ap-
ite bureau heads that, under the
anship of Undersecretary of Com-
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr.. was to
I study of the problems of Appa-
and formulate both long- and
:rm programs for alleviation of
;ed conditions.
;ervationists have followed the
if the Commission with interest,
vould appear that there is much
jpalachia can do, vrith a helping
om the government, to help itself.
: the long history of misuse and
jf its lands and the pollution of
ers, some judicious repair work,
the guidance of sound scientific
iservation principles, could yet do
much to salvage the fading economy of
an area from which much has been taken
but to which little has been returned.
One of the most promising ways of
attacking poverty in Appalachia would
seem to be to capitalize on its wilder-
ness qualities by cultivating additional
outdoor recreational opportunities for
the people of more highly urbanized sur-
rounding areas— in other words, cultiva-
ting the tourist crop in place of the
scanty corn and beans of eroding hill-
sides. This approach would entail the
restoration of a reasonably natural land-
scape by reforestation and by the en-
forcement of tough strip-mining laws.
Above all. conservationists have hoped
that recommendations for ailing Appa-
lachia would bypass the weather-beaten
twin remedies to economic ills that have
always been so dear to the hearts of fed-
eral and state planners as temporary so-
lutions—the big dam and the big highway.
In this hope, the conservationists have
been largely disappointed. The Commis-
sion's report to the President was re-
cently released, and leading the list of
"priority areas of regional investment
for the immediate future" in Appalachia
was "provision of access both to and
within the region." This translates it-
self from the officialese into a network
of highways to lace the area— approxi-
mately 2,600 miles of them. Following
quickly in the report was "construction
of facilities both to exploit and control
the abundant rainfall of Appalachia."
Again translating, this says: high dams,
low dams, big dams, little dams.
One recommendation of the Commis-
sion was for another Blue Ridge park-
way, a development that caused one
Washington wag to observe that it may
in the future be difficult to see the Blue
Ridge for the parkways. (The Blue Ridge
Mountains already have one federal
parkway athwart their narrow summits.)
While some of the recommendations of
the Commission seemed sound enough,
conservationists had hoped for some-
thing with a little more imagination.
This list details the photographer, artist,
or other source of illustrations, by page.
COVER-Campbell Grant Copyrighted John
14-Emil Schulthess, Wanamaker Phila
?1^'^I;,5mu'' 28-top, Sinclair Refining
15-AMNH Co
16-17-U.S. Geol. Survey 28-29-bot., AMNH
except 16-top, AMNH 30-31-Leonard Lee
after U.S. Geol. Survey Rue III
18-19-AMNH after Luther 32-41-Campbell Grant
20-CulVr^Pictures, Inc. tlc%ils-toT\h^^''
21-AMNH John Lep ^ '
22-top, The Bettmann m m i!=„ ■ n *■
Arrhivp Inr 48-51-Henri Cartier-
22-23-bot Mus. f'''°"' Magnum except
National d'Histoire 50-Werner Bischof,
Naturelle, Paris Magnum
23-top, AMNH Archives 53-Francis 0 Neill, Pic-
24-Carnegie Mus., '"''lal Parade, Inc.
Pittsburgh 54-AMNH
25-AMNH 55-left, Am. Mus.-Hayden
26-top, Norsk Folkemu- Plan., right. Dr. H. W.
seum, Oslo Kendall, Sky and Telescope
26-27-bot., AMNH 60-61-George Holton,
27-top, Designed and Photo Researchers, Inc.
TAKE A NEW
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work at only $1.19 ! For complete folder
on Readers and Magnifiiers, write Bausch
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thank you
The list is long, and irispiration is
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choosing a gift. A subscription to
NATURAL HISTORY makes an
admirable expression of your
thought fulness and good ivishes in
marking a memorable occasion.
A gift of NATURAL HISTORY
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If you have a gift-giving occasion
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The Arr
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THE STARS
BROUGHT DOWN
TO EARTH
Every day people are experiencing the
excitement of "discovering" the new mag-
azine, Review of Popular Astronomy.
It"s like a first look through a new tele-
scope ... a relaxed, informal and differ-
ent magazine for the amateur, student,
teacher, rank beginner and nature lover.
PopUL.^R Astronomy has everything the
reader needs — plus some things he didn't
know he needed — to step into this excit-
ing new space-age pastime . . . easy-to-use
charts, a daily diary of sky events, beauti-
fully illustrated articles, plus features for
users of binoculars and small telescopes.
Here's what they're saying about us . . .
". . . nothing but pure enjoyment ... a must for
any amateur." John W. Fuller, Chatham, N. J.
*'. . . fully intelligible, even to the beginner. It
■talks' and 'discusses' the information in a lively
and interesting manner." Barry Crist, .N'eivport, Penn.
"; like RPA because it deals with popular
astronomy. It takes a lot of the complicated and
technical aspect out of 'just plain stargazing'."
James L. Hill, Otlaw,!, Ontario
But . . . don't take our word ... or that of
the readers. "Discover" Popular Astron-
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• Send 50^ for your return-mail copy of
the current issue-then apply that amount
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• Send in your subscription noiv — j'ust
.?3.00 anually for six big bimonthly issues.
If you aren't completely satisfied . . . your
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funded immediately.
REVIEW OF POPULAR ASTRONOMY
214 NH. S. Bemiston Ave, P.O. Box 231
St. Louis, Mo. 63105
BACK LOG CAMP, on Indian Lake, Adirondacks,
New York, attracts those wlio love the unspoiled
wilderness and actively welcome escape from
civilization's noises and "advantages." Bird
watchers and nature lovers are in Nirvana. July 3
to Sept. 8. Reductions for families and longer
visits. Brochure; Mrs. Henry J. Cadbury, Haver-
fotd, Pa. After June 27, address Back Log Camp,
Sabael, N.Y.
Additional Reading
THE AMAZON'S RATE OF FLOW
White Waters and Black: E.xpedi-
TiON ON THE AMAZON. G. MacCreagh.
Douhleday- Anchor, N.Y., 1961.
"Amazon River Investigation, Recon-
naissance Measurements of July 1963."
R. E. Oltman and others. U. S. Geologi-
cal Survey Circular 486. Department of
the Interior, Washington, 1963.
Am AZONLA. Excursion Guidebook No.
8. Lucio de Castro Soares. Int. Geo-
graphical Union. Rio de Janeiro, 1956.
The Sea and the Jungle. H. M. Tom-
linson. New American Library, N.Y.,
1961. (Paperback.)
EXPOSITIONS. EXHIBITS
AND TODAY'S MUSEUMS
The Story of Exhibitions. Kenneth
W. Luckhurst. The Studio Publications,
N.Y., 1951.
1851 AND the Crystal Palace. Chris-
topher Hobhouse. John Murray, London,
1937.
Exhibition and Display. James Gard-
ner and Caroline Heller. F. W. Dodge
Corporation, N .Y ., 1960.
Habitat Group and Period Room. Al-
bert E. Parr. Curator, AMNH. Vol. VI,
No. 4. 1963.
CALIFORNIA'S LEGACY
OF INDIAN ROCK ART
The California Indians. Edited by
R. F. Heizer and M. A. Whipple. Univer-
sity of California Press, Berkeley, 1951.
Caves of California. W. R. Halliday.
A Special Report of the Western Speleo-
logical Survey, Seattle, 1962.
Indian Art of the United States.
F. H. Douglas and R. d'Harnoncourt.
The Museum of Modern Art, N.Y., 1941.
Indian Art in America. F. J. Dock-
stader. N.Y. Graphic Society, Greenwich,
1961.
HERMAPHRODITISM
IN BAHAMA GROUPERS
"Functional Hermaphroditism and
Self-Fertilization in Serranid Fish." E.
Clark. Science, Vol. 129, pages 215-216;
1959.
Oogenesis: The Storage of Develop-
mental Information. C. Raven. Perga-
mon Press, TV. 7., 1961.
"Sexual DiflFerences and Normal Pro-
togynal Hermaphroditism in Atlantic
Seabass. Ccntropristes striatus." N. Lav-
enda. Cope;o,No. 3, pages 185-194; 1949.
ASTRONOMY'S PAST
PRESERVED AT JAIPUR
"The Astronomical Observatories of
Jai Singh." G. R. Kaye. Archaeological
Survey of India, Neiv Imperial Series,
Calcutta. Vol. XL, 1918.
Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II of Jai-
pur AND his Observatories. M. F. Soon-
awala. Jaipur Astronomical Society,
Jaipur, 1952.
University of California Extensi
offers individualized instruction
in your own home
at your own pace
You may enroll at any time in th
correspondence course
ANIMAL BIOLOGY
An introductory study of living things
survey of the structures and activi
fundamental to all forms of life.
Write:
Department NH-64Z,
Correspondence Instruction,
University of California Extensior
Berkeley, California 94720
GENUINE SIAIVIESE PORCEI
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dividual porcelain coins, fine pieces SB
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32 pictorial pages showing 1-2 Thousan
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WHALE
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Sperm whale teeth were usei
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Space clock has beautiful truitwood case and 3 sKy Blue
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How Nikkor lenses help make the Nikon F most versatile of all 35s.
The lens is often referred to as the heart of the camera.
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70% OF THE WORLD'S
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■ how bulldog ants keep "milch herds" of other insects
■ how earwigs care for their young with incredible devotion
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For photographer as well as nature lover,
THE AMAZING WORLD OF INSECTS is Invaluable.
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THE AMAZING WORLD OF INSECTS is a gem of book production.
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THE AMAZING WORLD OF INSECTS
by Arend T. Bandsma & Robin T. Brandt
$9.95
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Name (please prinl)_
The Leaf-insect: a species In which virgin birth is a norn
process!
Queensland Elephant Beetle one of th
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\atural
Historv,
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PRESIDENT
Alexander M. White
DIRECTOR
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COPY EDITORS
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Natural Histor
Incorporating Nature Magazine
THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTC
Vol. LXXHI
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 1964
ARTICLES
"LITTLE SNAKE WITH HANDS" Charles M. Bogert
MANAGEMENT OF WATER IN ARID LANDS George H. Davis
PILGRIM OF THE RIVER Janis A. Roze
ARCHES AND BRIDGES OF STONE W'iUard Luce
ARMOR-PLATED AND JAWLESS DEVONIAN FISH David L. Dineley
DEPARTMENTS
BOOKS IN REVIEW
SKY REPORTER
SCIENCE IN ACTION:
ON ETHNOLOGICAL TACTICS
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
NATURE AND THE CAMERA
ADDITIONAL READING
Pieter Fosburgh
Thomas D. Nicholson
Robert L. Carneiro
David Linton
CIRCULATION MANAGER
Joseph Saulina
COVER: Double O Arch, located in Arches National Monument in southeas
Utah, is only one of many spectacular arches and bridges found throughout
state's red rock country. These massive structures have been formed over
centuries by the combined erosive forces of wind, freezing, and water seep
While many of the arches and bridges are visited by thousands of tourists (
year, others are isolated by extremely formidable terrain. In the article
begins on page 42, Willard Luce, a native Utahan, discusses geological asp
of the spans. The author took the cover photo and those accompanying the I
The American Museum is open to the public without charge every da
during the year. \ our support, through membership and contribution;
helps make this possible. The Museum is equally in need of suppoi
for all of its work in the fields of research, education, and exhibitior
Publicalion Office: The American Museum uf Nalural History, Cenlral Park West at 79th Street, New
N. Y. 10024. Published monthly, October through May: bimonthly June to September. Subscription: SI
year. In Canada, and all other countries: S5.5D a year. Single copies: S.50. Second class postage pa
New York, N. Y., and at additional offices. Copyright, 1964, by The American Museum of Nalural Hi
No part of this periodical may be reproduced without the written consent of Naturat. History. The
NATLEli Magazine, registered U.S. Patent Office. Unsolicited manuscripts and illustrations submitted t
editorial office will be handled with all possible care, but we cannot
The opinions expressed by authors are their own and do not necessarily
is that fly
9 miles nonstop
fs that can spot
I a mile away
ijoy these and 1001 other wonders of THE BIRDS
br 10 days as a guest of the HIJJ Nature Library
)S have fascinated mankind since the
awn of time. Ancient priests sought omens
r entrails. Rome was saved by the warning
if geese. Until recently coal miners used
es to warn them of lethal gas.
the birds that inhabit our earth— 100 bil-
Tong,— puzzle as well as fascinate. How
bird perch without falling off? How can
mingbird hover in air like a helicopter?
:an a kiwi lay an egg that weighs one
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ecent years our scientific knowledge of
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s of Time-Life Books bring you the whole
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Some fowls provide a temperature-regu-
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)roper amount of decaying leaves, trash
ind sand.
k'ultures, once reputed to be plague car-
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-^^^imm-^
► A ruby-throated hummingbird beats its
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Only the resources of TIME and LIFE could
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raphers, painters, and researchers, and draw
upon such a vast file of great photographs. The
book gleams with 200 iridescent photographs,
paintings, drawings and maps of which nearly
100 are in full color. The careful blend of pic-
tures with vivid text makes THE BIRDS a
delight to look at and read. But it is also a
highly authoritative, carefully indexed reference
work complete with bibliography of research
and reading materials.
ROGER TORY PETERSON, who wrote
THE BIRDS with the Editors of Time-Life
Books, is the world's best-known ornithologist,
inventor of the Peterson System of field identi-
fication which revolutionized bird-watching.
EXAMINE IT FREE. You are invited to
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Share it with your children and their teachers.
Some of the other
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Uni NATURE LIBRARY
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You will then also have the opportunity of
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To receive your copy of THE BIRDS, simply
mail the coupon below.
'ERGARTENS" are organized by
or penguins for young ones
nough for collective care,
ins fight to mother a stray.
CHANGING OF THE GUARD. Present-
ing a twig, a common egret hands
mate the job of guarding eggs, a task
at which male and female take turns.
TO: TIME-LIFE BOOKS, DEPT. 4724 XVII
TIME & LIFE BUILDING
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60611
Please enroll me as a subscriber to the LIFE
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«J
An unusual portrait
of nature's
swiftest
creature
BOOKS I IN REVIEW
A naturalist's book Ik
The Story of a Cheetah
by DESMOND VARADAY
In telling of his adventures as
rescuer and protector of a female
cheetah from cub to motherhood
in the wilds of southern Africa,
where he is game warden, Des-
mond Varaday weaves three fas-
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his naturalist's eye to the mar-
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nature's swiftest creature, never
before studied at such close
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he shares with the reader his
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story of his relationship with
the beautiful and strange dog-
cat pet, Gara-Yaka. As she and
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In W'alden, Thoreau wrote: "I long ago
lost a hound, a bay horse, and a
turtle-dove, and am still on their trail.
Many are the travellers I have spoken
concerning them, describing their tracks
and what calls they answered to. I have
met one or two who had heard the hound,
and the tramp of the horse, and even
seen the dove disappear behind a cloud,
and they seemed as anxious to recover
them as if they had lost them them-
selves."
Emerson, Thoreau's neighbor, used to
peer curiously at him from time to time,
like a boy looking over the backyard
fence. He concluded that Thoreau
marched to the beat of another drum-
mer, but he readily conceded that the
march was purposeful and the drumbeat
strong, and when Thoreau wrote of his
search for the horse and the hound and
the turtledove, Emerson knew exactly
what he was talking about.
The mid-nineteenth century produced
the best of American nature writing and
the most mature thinking. Thoreau
viewed nature subjectively, but could
project his views brilliantly to make
them applicable or at least a matter of
interest to all men. The Olympian Emer-
son, writing with greater detachment,
nevertheless acknowledged a deep and
personal and unregretted involvement in
the natural world. Longfellow wrote of
nature with love and gentleness, but it
was no mere sentimental journey; when
he considered the subject, as he so often
did, the mind was with the heart. So it
was with Melville and Hawthorne, al-
though their philosophical estimates— or
prejudices, perhaps— were radically dif-
ferent from those of Longfellow. Mel-
ville was suspicious of nature, suspicious
that its beauty was the beauty of a
whore, and Hawthorne felt at times
its enormous power placed an almos
tolerable burden on mere man. M
while. Audubon walked through
writing and painting with a keen e;
receptive mind, and a skillful hanc
All of these men. and many otl
worked at the same time. Although I
views varied enormously, there w,
community of spirit and interest tha
tablished a great tradition in Amer
writing and that compared favor
with the brilliant nature writing b
done in England at the same time.
All this was a hundred or more y
ago. What has happened since in
broad field of American nature wril
and what have we now? Emerson an(
contemporaries could look at natur
they chose. It was at their doorsteps,
beyond lay a vast region of promise
they really had no need to explor
order to put man in his place. It
enough to know it was there.
Thoreau. Walden Pond served a
springboard for a leap into the univei
Emerson, looking out on his backy
could write his massive essay Nat
Longfellow, with little wandering, w
a poem with the same title.
Now. things are different. A senS'
urgency has come upon us as our civil
tion has moved inexorably upon our
ural environment, and we fly off on
kinds of tangents seeking to ana
what is left, trying to discover mean
preserving it (conservation in its n
ern concept was an unknown word in
nineteenth century ) . exploring new w
of using our heritage, and exploring,
our rapidly retreating frontiers. Expa
ing populations and industries h
made our interest in the natural w(
increasingly practical on the one hai
escapist on the other. There seems to
little time for. or inclination tow£
deep thought about nature; perh
America today is not the time or pi
for it. It would be interesting to see 1
Emerson would write if he were v
us now. I doubt if he could be detach
These changes have profoundly
fected modern American writing ab
nature, and other factors have also b(
at work. Illustrations, little used in '
mid-nineteenth century, are now an
pectable part of almost any book, i
merely as decorations but as media
carry the story. This is particularly ti
of photographs, certainly effective
properly used, but too often employ
these days in what seems to be an eff
to relieve the writer of his burden.
hutwn of the Eagles." by Dai id Napoleon presents imperial standaids to Ins troops. An illustration trom "The Aae^ of Napoleon.'
i ' '
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color printing of its 120 or so pages, Hori-
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But it is much more.
Horizon invites your interest in the ideas
and philosophies of man; in his history —
from caves to castles; in his plays and con-
ceits; in his rare flames of genius: a figure,
a canvas, an insight, a book. . . .
Who's It For?
For you, if you like variety without super-
ficiality, scholarship without tedium, art
without affectation. It's for all who know
that a liberal education doesn't stop on Com-
mencement Day. As one reader put it,
"Horizon says what civilization is." With
style, wit, and perception.
Wliat's In It?
Take the Summer 1964 issue: its features
range from Cleveland Amory's awed profile
of that great trencherman. Diamond Jim
Brady, to Edmund Stillman's reflective walk
through the streets of Sarajevo fifty years
after Franz Ferdinand's assassination (a
seven-page picture portfolio accompanies
Stillman's article).
In between, a distinguished English visi-
tor, Mervyn Jones, tastes Red China's sweet-
and-sour blend of Marxism, modern science,
and ancient tradition. J. Christopher Herold
explores the brilliant, neurotic, prophetic
mind of Jean Jacques Rousseau. C. V. Wedg-
wood vividly recounts the execution of King
Charles I.
Compton Mackenzie takes a personal and
partisan view of Charles Dickens. It's the
From the Reign of Terror to
Waterloo, one little man be-
strode most of Europe. Even to-
day his mark endures. Law,
history, morality, art, literature
— all bear the imprint of his per-
sonality. J. Christopher Herold
re-creates this spectacular man,
and the era which bears his
name. 453 pages (with 16 pages
of illustration). Published at
$7.50. A recent Book-of-the-
Month Club selection from
Horizon Books.
latest in Horizon's series on great English
novelists; we predict you'll react strongly to
it one way or another. And there's a lively
and well-documented attack on the city-
choking cult of the automobile by Victor
Gruen.
As in every Horizon, there's much to see.
John Canaday's documentation of the genius
of Albrecht Diirer is accompanied by 22
DUrer reproductions, many in color. There's
a 21 -page adventure in pre-Columbian ar-
chaeology, richly illustrated with treasures
from the lost civilizations of Central and
South America. All in all, there are 100 or
so illustrations.
How Much?
Horizon's regular price is $5 a copy, or $16
by the year. But just now, you may try a
year of Horizon for the lowest price in its
five-year history: $12.95 for four quarterly
issues. And you will receive, free, with your
subscription, the $7.50 "Age of Napoleon."
Horizon's Summer issue is printed just
once. To make sure you start with this issue
and offer, better mail the coupon now.
Horizon Subscription Office
379 West Center Street, Marion, Ohio 43301
Please send me tlie Summer 1964 Horizon as
tlie first of four quarterly issues. This $12.95
purchase entitles me to receive, free, the $7.50
volume "The Age of Napoleon."
□ Bill me in three monthly installments: $4.95
to start, then two installments of $4 each.
n $12.95 enclosed.
O Bill me $12.95.
Name
(Please print)
Street
City
Zone State
N55S4
Gardeners!
Outdoor Enthusiasts!
Piiotographers!
The Mushroom
Hunter's
Field euide
Revised and Enlarged
By Alexander H.Sinilli
Here is a practical and authoritative guide to
successful mushroom hunting— written in
plain language by a University of Michigan
scientist who really knows his mushrooms.
Aided by 89 color plates, 243 superb black
and white photographs, Alexander H. Smith
tells when, where, and how to spot 188 edible
and poisonous varieties-and
provides keys that insure
identification in a matter of
minutes.
To get started on this fas-
cinating hobby order from
your bookstore or send $6.95
today to Dept. NH, University
of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor,
Mich. 48106. Money refunded
within 7 days if not satisfied.
University 01 Michigan Press
Ann Arbor
Amazing
Star Maps
send $1.50
Amazing because you don't have to
"figure them out." These "maltese
cross" charts match up with what
you actually see in the sky, facing
north, south, east, west, each hour
of each night of the year.
STAR MAPS FOR BEGINNERS were
devised by astronomers I. M. Levitt
& Roy K. Marshall. As pamphlets
they sold 150,000 in museums. Just
published in book form, $1.50 in
paper, spiral-bound (or $3.95 in
cloth) . At your booksellers or write
Simon and Schuster, Dept. C, 630
Fifth Ave., New York, N. Y. 10020.
Then there is the publishing business,
which today does a good deal more than
just publish. It seeks out authors, looks
for new angles and new means of com-
mercializing old ones, and in general
stimulates a vast output of books ranging
from how-to-do-its to lyrical descriptive
tracts and esoteric biological treatises.
In general, these interests and activi-
ties would seem a welcome development.
There is money to be made in attempting
to satisfy the increasing appetite of the
public for outdoor subjects. The field is
inexhaustible, and its exploration should
be encouraged. Yet if one examines the
flood of nature books now on the market,
one cannot help concluding that there
has been a lack of discrimination by pub-
lishers, editors, or both. Many of the new
books do not even deserve to be reviewed,
but they are published. Perhaps the
thought is that the hungry public will
devour anything.
Proceeding from the general to the
particular, let us have a look at a few
of the books that have appeared recently.
The Last Redwoods, published by the
Sierra Club in San Francisco, hand-
somely combines the old tradition of
good writing and careful research with
the new techniques of photography dedi-
cated to a purpose— in this case the pres-
ervation of Sequoia sempervirens. This
species of redwood, found on a narrow
strip along the northern coast of Cali-
fornia, is in trouble, although many of
its members, still living and healthy,
made their appearance before Christ.
Their preservation depends upon the
protection of a whole watershed and not
just the isolation of scattered stands. The
establishment of a Redwoods National
Park is projected, and in a Foreword to
the book Secretary of the Interior Udall
states categorically that this will be done
if the public demand is sufficient. It
should be, and so should the demand for
the book. It contains no silly sentimen-
tality, no overstatement, no purple prose,
just facts and reasonable projections on
the possible future of Sequoia semper-
virens, and sensational photographs of
what must surely be the most photogenic
tree in the world. The Last Redwoods is
expensive, and for some will be only a
coffee table decoration, but John Muir,
founder of the Sierra Club, would have
been proud of it.
Richard Cooley's Politics and Conser-
vation, is also a book with a purpose,
although it is manufactured on a much
more modest scale. The ponderous, even
forbidding, title suggests a "heavy"
book; it is not. This is the story of the
Alaskan salmon fisheries, of their use
and misuse since they were first estab-
lished commercially in 1878, and of the
five species of salmon that inhabit Alas-
kan waters, in some instances all in the
same river. When they go to spawn, then
to die in the rivers of their birth, salmon
may travel fifty miles a day and the tot
mileage may be as much as two tho
sand miles. Salmon movements are st
a fascinating mystery, and Mr. Cool
writes of them well and carefully.
The burden of his book, however, a
pears to be an indictment of the comme
cial fisheries and of the governmei
which has tried to regulate commerci
interests through one federal agency
another. Mr. Cooley contends that in fa
the commercial interests regulate t
government agencies. In the interest
conserving the salmon population— ai
with it, of course, the fisheries— the a
thor favors private ownership rath
than the present free fisheries syste:
Under the latter, he says, competiti
for an already dwindling resource
stimulated rather than regulated, and t
attitude is to hell with conservation ai
the devil take the hindmost. He is su
ported in these views by Alaska's Sf
ator Gruening in the Introduction.
The further nature retreats from i
the closer we want to get to it. Boo
help serve the purpose; if we ourseh
cannot experience the pleasures a:
stimulations of the receding frontiers, '
can at least enjoy them vicariously. Su
books should be very well written, a:
not all of them are.
In Runes of the North, Sigurd 01s
tells us of the country from Lake Suj
rior to the Yukon. I have consulted s(
eral dictionaries and carefully read t
publisher's pronouncements concerni
this book, but I am still not quite su
what a rune is, in this book's conte:
If a man goes out to hand dig a well ar
after several failures, finally hits wat
and hangs up a cup nearby so that
can feel the exhilaration of drinki
from his homemade water supply, is tl
a rune? In Mr. Olson's book, it is-
whole chapter's worth, in fact. By a
definition, a rune connotes mystery a:
magic, and there would seem to be litl
of either in a well-digging operatic
which has been done before by quite
few people.
The mystery and magic are in the a
thor's mind and eye. He seems to be pi
occupied not so much with the face ai
facts of nature as with his personal ]
actions, which at times are purely se
sual. This is legitimate— up to a poii
But when he writes a chapter abo
catching trout on a wind-blown lake
the Quetico— Superior wilderness,
would be interesting to know just wh
kind of trout he was catching. Then, if
felt it absolutely necessary, he could ,
on to tell us how he and his son pui
meled each other in their exuberance.
In view of the author's impressi
knowledge of biology and geology, ai
his long experience in the country
which he writes, the lay reader mig
expect something more, or at least ho]
for it. Subjectivity in reporting about tl
il world is all very well if properly
ed, but it can be sophomoric.
)ther book, startlingly similar to
Ison's, is Helen Hoover's The Long-
•ived Forest. Here she follows the
IS in Mr. Olson's north country,
;es an incredible number of things,
personal observations are buoyed
th biological notes garnered from
nd there, not all of them accurate,
g other things, she says this:
I I surprised a bear, contemplating
moval of a suet feeder, a nourish-
te before hibernation." Bears, as it
ns, don't hibernate,
this is a good and readable book,
t gives the reader some insight
le "Changing Seasons in a North-
ilderness," which is the book's sub-
But I regret, even resent, the cozi-
ind the interpolation, whereby an
r undertakes to move into the
of his natural subjects and speak
em with the voice of authority,
unusual book, recently published,
nond Breland's Animal Life and
with well-executed and authentic
ations by Matthew KalmenofE.
5 not really a reference book, as the
iher suggests, but rather a collec-
E notes and paragraphs on subjects
ig from mammals to mollusks.
, however, are carefully indexed,
i a result the book does indeed have
reference value.
! author undertakes to dispel many
; myths and fallacies in current
ation. Do snakes commit suicide?
gles carry off young children? Is
such a thing as the "bear hug"?
loles blind? What animal can open
5ter? What was the manna of bib-
imes? What mammal has the dis-
)n of being man's worst enemy?
these and many, many more make
I fascinating bedside reader, ex-
ly well written, with careful atten-
3 fact. It has no real sequence, al-
h mammals, mollusks, insects, and
are each discussed in separate
s. The book can be opened at ran-
nd read with considerable pleasure
enefit.
s last statement also applies to
al of the Seasons, by Hal Borland,
5 here, as always, a competent and
ive writer. Its subtitle, "A Selec-
f Outdoor Editorials from The Neiv
Times" adequately suggests what
sader will find, but there are in-
rable pleasant surprises. Mr. Bor-
as is his custom, roams through the
al world, looking at nuthatches,
g the December wind, and sensing
ysteries of twilight. Nothing, be it
; as the weather or as small as a
, is beyond his range,
a matter of convenience, perhaps,
Iso to give his musings a sense of
luity, Mr. Borland follows the sea-
There are 365 essays in this book,
eheeehako
That's Indian for "greenhorn", up in
the Last Frontier country of Alaska.
But to Wayne Short, it's a proud word.
In this exciting book, he tells the
story of how he and his family
(cheechakoes all) settled on a
lonely Alaskan island, learned to
live by hunting and fishing — just
like the pioneers of a century
ago — and found a home they
would never want to leave.
The , ,
Cheeenakoes
By WAYXE SHORT
18 illustrations by Peter Pamall ;
.95, now at your bookstore RANDOM HOUSE i!
REINHOLDw/t.
BIOLOGICAL CONTROL
OF INSECT PESTS
AND WEEDS
IS destined to become the classic reference on this vital subject. All theory, research, and
practical applications included is authoritative, well-documented, and current. The specialized
experience and world-wide reputation of the authors insure an accurate thoroughness and
sound contemporary discussion of such important topics as: conservation and increasing
natural enemies, weed control, successful biological control projects throughout the world,
new natural enemies in most major countries, the ecological basis of control, quarantine
handling, culture methods, and many, many more. This book represents over 200 man-years
of research and teaching in biological control.
BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF INSECT PESTS AND WEEDS is edited by Paul DeBach,
Entomologist and Professor of Biological Control at the University of California,
Riverside. E. I. Schlinger, of the same university, is Assistant Editor.
Published August, 1964. 930 pages. Fully Illustrated. $22.50
Why not examine this book at no charge for 30 days. We think you'll
want to keep it and use it, once you see it. May we show It to you?
REINHOLD BOOK DIVISION / 430 Park Avenue / New York, New York 10022
ORDER ON 30 DAYS' APPROVAL
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Please send me copy{ies) of (704-551) BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF INSECT PESTS AND WEEDS
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D Payment enclosed (Reinhold pays regular delivery charges. Same return privilege guaranteed)
D Bill me (plus delivery charges)
ADDRESS-
CITY
one for each day of the year, and each
is dated. But there is no need for the
reader to follow consecutively; he may
skip happily from August's moon to Jan-
uary's snowbird, and nothing is lost.
But what has happened to Thoreau's
turtledove? Are there any who have seen
it? Perhaps there are. John Hay, in The
Great Beach, writes of the outer coast
of Cape Cod, and he does it extremely
well. There is no escapism in this book,
only sound observation and thought,
which even admit to the presence of
beach buggies on what might otherwise
have been a tranquil scene. There is no
resentment at the intrusion of man and
mechanism, only resignation and adjust-
ment. "The Cape," writes Mr. Hay, "is
caught up in the human scheme of
things, and we can hardly avoid looking
at it with modern eyes, for good or ill."
Mr. Hay's eyes are modern in the best
sense of the word, and what he sees he
writes about without any of the clum-
siness, carelessness in fact, or projec-
tion of self that characterize so much of
our modern nature writing. He is modest,
restrained, and thoughtful.
Virginia Eifert, in her Journeys in
Green Places, writes of the shores and
woods of Wisconsin's Door Peninsula,
which she describes as "a long finger of
limestone and sand thrusting into north-
ern Lake Michigan." This is country she
knows and loves well, and this shines
through clearly. When she finally finds
a calypso orchid after years of search,
the reader shares in her excitement.
Mrs. Eifert writes very well, and she
has the further advantage of being a
competent geologist and botanist. In ad-
dition, she seasons the scientific ap-
proach with such descriptions as one of
an old man who "liked to wander about
the country, looking at the mountains
and rivers and oceans that the Lord had
made. Since the Lord had gone to all the
trouble of making them, he thought the
least a man could do was go and look at
them." "I, too," the author states, "feel
that this is the least I can do."
She does a lot more. In fact, it is quite
possible that she and Mr. Hay are rar-
ities among our modern writers. They
may have seen Thoreau's turtledove dis-
appearing behind a cloud. At least, they
are looking for it.
Mr. Fosburgh is a free-lance nature
ivriter ivho frequently contributes to
these pages. His latest book, published
by Macmillan, is "The Natural Thing."
A History of Domesticated Animals,
by Frederick E. Zeuner. Harper & Row,
$12.00; 560 pp., illus.
THIS is the only extensive book on
domesticated animals now available
in English. The book is divided into two
parts: the first discusses the origins and
evolution of domestication; the second
deals with domesticated animals under
subdivisions concerning preagricultural
domestication of mammals, early agri-
cultural domestications, mammals do-
mesticated for transport and labor, mam-
mals used as pest destroyers, various
other mammals, and domesticated birds,
fishes, and insects. A twenty-nine page
bibliography and twenty-page index con-
clude the work. The book has numerous
photographs and drawings.
The history of domestication falls
within the province of two sciences,
archeology and zoology. From the view-
point of the professional or advanced
amateur archeologist, this book v
provide most useful source material,
the taxonomic zoologist or geneticist
is more of a nightmare. The auth
himself an archeologist, seems to
aware of the genetic concept of spec
tion, but also seems unable to incor
rate it into his writing. Some of his s
tematic revelations state that the coy
and domestic dog are unable to hybrid:
and that the "hyaena dog" (cape hu
ing dog, Lycaon pictus) is "a meml
of the hyaena family, and not a do
Both of these statements will surpi
mammalogists. Another shortcoming
the book is that there is no definition
exactly what a domestic animal is.
Although technical and well do
mented, the book is quite readable £
its shortcomings may, hopefully, stir
late research into this fascinating fie
Richard G. Van Geli
The American Muse
Birds on a May Morning (12-ii
L.P.), S5.00; recorded by Droll Yank
Incorporated.
USUALLY it is more fun to observe
field taping of bird songs than
listen to the recorded results. The sp
produces many a paraphernalia-la(
monster questing in the woods— inte
stealthy, but somehow able to step
dry branches at the rate of thirty j
minute and to somersault into m
gullies. Oddly enough, even at the
stant of the worst fall imaginable, a b
begins to sing, and as soon as the m
ster can stand up, he hoists his mic
phone, presses the button of his tc
recorder, and for a wild moment :
observer is reminded of one of thi
sinister creatures of fiction that Jan
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lO
Standard Encyclopedia
of the World's Mountains
Over 300 authoritative, fascinating articles on
the important mountain peaks, ranges, glaciers
and passes • over 100 breath-taking illustrations
(including 16 in full color) • comprehensive
gazetteer with details of over 1,500 lesser peaks
and ranges • capsule biographies of mountain-
eering pioneers • glossary of basic terms • refer-
ence mapj_
Standard Encyclopedia
World's Oceans and Islands
Over 350 fact-filled articles on the major oceans,
seas, islands, bays, straits, and capes • almost
100 beautiful illustrations (16 in full color) • ex-
tensive gazetteer giving details of some 2,000
oceanic features • reference maps showing the
location of the seas and islands
These TWO magnificent reference works
—a ^21^ value. ..for only ^2^
with Membership in The Natural Science Book Club
Begin Membership with Any One of
These 8 Outstanding Booi<s
ANCIENT SUN KING-
S, by Victor W . von Ha-
Lavishly illustrated recre-
of the splendor of long-
shed civilizations. List
! $12.50. MEMBER'S
;E $7.95.
ANET CALLED EARTH,
eorge Gamow. Illustrated
ry of earth — from ocean
to atmosphere. List Price
;. MEMBERS PRICE
LORING THE SECRETS
'HE SEA, byW.J.Cromie.
E;uing story of teeming life
r the sea, sea expeditions.
List Price $5.95. MEM-
'S PRICE $4.95.
ORIAL ENCYCLOPEDIA
FHE ANIMAL KINGDOM,
'. J. Stanek. 1000 astonish-
ihotogiaphs of familiar and
c animals. 16 in color. List
■e $10.00. MEMBER'S
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THIS SCULPTURED EARTH,
by John A. Shimer. Stunning
geological tour of America's
scenic wonders. Many marvel-
ous photographs. List Price
$7.50. MEMBERS PRICE
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PICTORIAL ASTRONOMY, by
Alter & others. Brilliant word-
and-picture story of the sun,
earth, moon, planets, etc. List
Price $6.95. MEMBER'S
PRICE $5.50.
THE BOOK OF BIRD LIFE,
by Arthur A. Allen. Covers all
aspects of bird behavior, birds'
relation to man. Illus. List Price
$9.95. MEMBER'S PRICE
$0.95.
THE YEAR OF THE GORILLA,
by George B. Schaller. Exciting
account of a unique expedition
into the realm of Africa's moun-
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Price $5.95. MEMBER'S
PRICE $4.95.
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fabulous original!
A $10.00 Value — FREE
We should like to send you this extraordinary two-
volume library for only S2.95 — as a demonstration of the
many advantages of membership in The Natural Science
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The Natural Science Book Club is designed for every-
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exciting, important books on animal life, nature, astron-
omy, exploration, space flight, archeology — plus many
other topics. These are made available at reduced Mem-
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Simply fill in the coupon below, indicating your first
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■^ The Natural Science Book Club /59 Fourth Ave., NY 10003 ^
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Please enroll me as a member and send, for only .$2.95. the
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Toward a long
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OUR MOST
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How do our living habits and
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w
Bond hunts down in Ian Fleming's
thrillers. The monster then yawps: "Bat-
teries are dead." Or he may grin with
triumph, only to discover later that a
circuit melted. Bird song records emerge
from all this by a mysterious process
known as "good luck."
The present one, by Droll Yankees
Inc.. takes the listener to the farm of
Richard E. Dana in North Pomfret, Ver-
mont, where a bird concert commences
with the crowing of a Plymouth cock.
The other artists are thirty-six undomes-
ticated species from field, orchard,
woods, and swampy places. An instruc-
tive human voice identifies them with
some reverence on Side A, but only the
birds themselves are heard on Side B.
Thus a sagacious statement on the album
jacket suggests that "the record may be
used as a guessing game, to learn the
bird songs, or simply to bring back the
joyful sounds of a May morning." Most
listeners won't quibble with that. Al-
though somewhat boring, the record is
technically adequate, and the Audubon
Societies of Rhode Island and Massa-
chusetts have endorsed it.
William George
The American Museum
Troy and the Trojans, by Carl W.
Blegen. Frederick A. Praeger, $6.95;
240 pp., illus.
PROFESSOR BLEGEN— a modern succes-
sor of Heinrich Schliemann, whose
remarkable deductions first unearthed
Troy— led an expedition from the Uni-
versity of Cincinnati to the site of Troy.
There, in seven meticulous campaigns,
the results of Schliemann's excavations
were tested and refined (1932-38). After
the Trojan enterprise was finished, Ble-
gen undertook the excavation of Nestor's
Pylos. a Homeric site untouched by
Schliemann, which has since become fa-
mous as the location of Linear B ar-
chives. This discovery gave the impetus
to the decipherment of the earliest form
of written Greek.
At Troy, Blegen applied a system of
strictly scientific and unsensational dig-
ging. Little seemed left to be excavated
when the Cincinnati expedition started,
but with the aid of small tools, patience,
and keen observation the preliistoric rec-
ord was read in minute detail. The new
book on Troy gives an abbreviated but
straightforward account of the findings.
The description of the growth of the
citadel of Troy is developed from its
earliest stages (about 3000 B.C.) to the
time of the Trojan War (here dated
about 1260 B.C.) and its brief aftermath.
As a sample of methodical archeologi-
cal reporting the new volume is excel-
lent. It demonstrates how a strict separa-
tion of material facts and theoretical
speculation can be maintained. Many
new insights resulted from the observa-
Explore new worlds of
nature and science!
The EVOLUTION ^
of BIOLOGY ^
M. J. SIRKS,
University of Groningen
CONWAY ZIRKLE,
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MODERN
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)f data previously neglected. The
of animal bones and vegetable re-
may be referred to here as an ap-
iate example. Much was learned
agriculture, hunting, fishing, diet,
van warfare from these sources of
ice. and interesting changes in en-
nent are now apparent. The horse
uddenly introduced at the begin-
if Troy VI. soon after 2000 B.C.. by
; who archeologically are marked
vcomers to the site. These new in-
;nts, as is pointed out in the inter-
ive section, were probably related
earliest Greeks, who entered their
homeland at about the same time,
orse must have been of strategic
tance in the successful movements
immigrants.
volume is well illustrated and
lue respect to the previous genera-
)f Trojan excavators. It should be
IS a modern, unbiased account of
at a famous prehistoric site.
Machteld J. Mellink
Bryn Mawr College
Treasure of the Great Reef, by
r C. Clarke. Harper & Row, $4.95;
1., illus.
the ingredients for an exciting
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it of the action takes place near
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of Ceylon in what is literally a
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rrative of the recovery of sunken
re (including a bronze cannon),
ok rambles into all manner of re-
iubjects: the history of wrecks and
recovery; observations on the be-
of sharks; the legal problems of
water archeology; movie-making;
ques for the preservation of re-
:d objects; giant squid; and. above
in diving.
William N. Tavolga
The American Museum
)C.Y. by Peter Farb. Time,
■ 192 pp., illus.
Inc.,
a glance, this volume in the "Life
lature Library" appears to be one
in the recent spate of lavishly illus-
nature books. The numerous il-
tions— both full color and black
rhite— are well chosen and repro-
; many have lengthy captions. The
deserves more than casual perusal
the author's chapters, which run
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13
A fascinating look at
the world's most
astonishing animal
SILENTLY, BY
Written and
illustrated
NIGHT!
b, RUSSELL PETERSON
Disarming, delightful, and unique in its
intelligent and entertaining treatment
of the world of bats, Russell Peterson's
new book Is that rare and wonderful
thing, a natural history classic.
"Bats vary to a degree which hardly
seems possible," says the author, a
mammalogist who has led expeditions
to New Guinea and Australia for the
American Museum of Natural History.
"It is true that they do not swim under
water (although they can swim on top
of it if they have to), but they seem to
do nearly everything else— from fishing
to eating nectar and pollinating flow-
ers. They differ in magnitude from
something near hummingbird size to
giants with a wingspread of just under
six feet, and they vary in physical size
from a limpid-eyed ball of fur to a
frightful looking apparition which would
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Dame."
Silently, By Night is full of intrigu-
ing information, personal anecdote, and
scientific data about bats and men,
bats as food, bats in captivity, vampire
bats and cannibal bats, bat "sonar" and
its contribution to the New Technol-
ogy, bat species, anatomy, and habits.
Mr. Peterson has illustrated his text
with nearly forty striking illustrations
-ten of them full pages. General read-
ers, amateur naturalists and profes-
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his enthusiastic writing style guaran-
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their captions, set a high standard in
popular science writing. Themes in-
clude: biotic communities, energy flow
as exemplified by food chains, adapta-
tions of various sorts, biological rhythms
and cycles, parasitism, beneficial mu-
tualization, predation, competition, pop-
ulation fluctuations, extinction, and so
on. The complexity of interrelationships
within the biota is reiterated or implied
constantly, and there is a steady under-
current of conservation attitude. The
latter, especially, dominates in the con-
cluding chapter on man versus nature.
Again, the examples are familiar— water
and air pollution, radioactive fallout,
biocides, the population explosion, and
other aspects of our present "predica-
ment of being a ruler over the earth
without knowing the [ecological] rules."
There is a vacant ecological niche for
this book on many a bookshelf.
Ralph S. Palmer
Univ. of the State of Neiv York
Fish-Shape Paumanok, Nature and
Man on Long Island, by Robert Cush-
man Murphy. American Philosophical
Society, $3.00; 67 pp., illus.
THIS book is a graphic account of the
rise and fall of the flora and fauna of
Long Island, and constituted the 1962
Penrose Memorial Lecture at the Ameri-
can Philosophical Society. Dr. Murphy's
account rests on his detailed knowledge
of conservation as he, among few, has
learned it at the font— by observation and
study. His research is profound and the
evidence is written with clarity, accu-
racy, and forceful logic.
Few books have been written on his-
torical themes from the viewpoint of the
trained scientist and conservationist. Dr.
Murphy's short essay stands with Aldo
Leopold's A Sand County Almanac as an
example of great scientific literature.
The author is an outstanding scientific
prophet of our democracy.
The period covered in Fish-Shape Pau-
manok extends from the time of the last
retreating glacier to the crowded plazas
of modern supermarkets and beyond to
the heritage, if it may still be called that,
of future residents of Long Island. Gla-
cial formations, the establishment of the
original flora and fauna, and the vagaries
of wind, weather, and tides are presented
in an introduction to the island. Introduc-
tions of other sorts then follow. These
include Algonkin Indians and the early
English and Dutch settlers. The latter
introduced a chain reaction— slow and
long extended— that led to a complete al-
teration of the Long Island scene.
The sec|uence of historical events pre-
sents the tragic effects of inept farming,
overhunting, and the resultant depletions
of plants and animals, even to extinction
—locally and completely. It dramatizes
bounty systems, fires, and the systematic
removal of forests to supply both si
and shore. Human appearances and i
partures are aptly considered, too.
This theme of flux is extended to
elude the changed ecology of the Lo
Island landscape caused by introducti(
of exotic plants, pollution by deterge:
and chlorinated hydrocarbons, the r
ages of suction dredges, bulldozers, a
land developments. And the end is i
yet. what with the filling of ponds, dil
and fills on wetland savannas, and mi
of concrete slabs leading from here
nowhere. Dr. Murphy sounds a clear c
for immediate federal ownership of tj
wilderness area still existing on the F
Island seashores. All told, the story o
fauna and flora has probably never b«
presented in better perspective. The be
is profusely illustrated with sketcl
by nineteenth-century artist William
Mount, supplemented with photograj
and paintings of past and present seen
The bibliography is excellent and
quotations from Walt Whitman are i
and nostalgic. This is a masterful p
sentation by an eminent scientist a
conservationist.
Edvfin p. Greaser,
Hofstra Univer.
Wasp Farm, by Howard Ensign Eva
The Natural History Press, $3.95; j
pp., illus.
In the overlap of the fields of sciei
and literature, I have often felt t
there are primarily two groups of p
ticipants— competent scientists who c
not write well and competent writ
with a limited knowledge of scier
There are exceptions, but they are
few. Gonsequently, when a scientist v
writes with ease appears on the see
we are indeed fortunate, and when t
scientist is one of the leading authoril
in his field and has a skill with his ]
that rivals his scientific acumen, th
is reason to rejoice. Rejoice we mi
then, in the abilities of Howard Ens
Evans as demonstrated in JFasp Fa,
This small book treats with gentle hui
and sound philosophy the behavior,
pecially the nesting activities, of a vi
ety of wasps that Evans encounte:
when he lived on an eight-acre "Wi
Farm" near Ithaca, New York. Infon
tion about the ways of the fascinat
wasps is augmented by data gaii
through the author's studies of the
sects in various parts of the West
Hemisphere and through the investi
tions of others. I cannot say wheti
you should read this book because of
scientific content or because of its
lightful literary style, but in any ev
I urge you (be you scientist or layms
to read it if you are seeking an evenir
enjoyable enlightenment.
Jerome G. Rozen,
The American Muse
H
'WIMJW^
_i -i ^.
\^Jr AJXI;
This man is producing a flame three times hotter than the surface of the sun!
He's a process engineer with the Manufacturing Development section at the
General Motors Technical Center, and he's operating a plasma jet torch.
The 30,000-degree flame is so hot that it melts the toughest heat-resistant
metals so that they can be sprayed like paint . . . and provide a protective
coating for the searing heat that rocket parts must undergo.
This is just a sample of the work of over 600 people at GM's Manufacturing
Development section. Their job is to improve manufacturing processes by
developing new tools and techniques. They develop ideas and make them
practical . . . make them work! It may mean a way to make stronger steering
gear components, a new way to finish a refrigerator, better techniques for
electroplating car parts, an improved method of assembling radio transistors,
and there are countless others.
Manufacturing Development, along with the Technical Center staffs of Re-
search, Engineering and Styling, is a highly important part of the General
Motors team ... a big reason for GM's technical advances year after year.
GENERAL MOTORS IS PEOPLE...
"Little Snake
With Hands "
7
4
Amphisbaenids are a taxonomic enigma
K':"- :,"/"];'"Vi'
^^
' '^i'^'^^'sr--'
'i-S
t'"\'C:
'3".
V/c- ■/
By Charles M. Bogert
At the southern part of the pen-
XjL insula of Baja California, Mexi-
cans working in the fields occasionally
unearth a small, nearly blind, burrow-
ing animal they know as the axolote.
On the mainland of Mexico, roughly a
thousand miles to the southeast in the
state of Guerrero, a similar creature
inhabits sandy areas bordering the
Balsas River. In Guerrero, the natives
call it a culebrita con manitas, literally
a "little snake with [little] hands."
The animal does resemble a snake in
having a forked tongue and no ear
openings or movable eyelids. Its ser-
pentine appearance is further height-
ened by a slender, pinkish-lavender
body, little larger in diameter than a
pencil. Despite these characters, each
of the short, stout limbs behind its
head terminates in five-clawed digits.
Detailed examination of these seem-
ingly preposterous reptiles reveals
traits that they share with a blind,
limbless burrower restricted to Flor-
ida. No less astonishing, they more
closely resemble other blunt-tailed,
superficially wormlike, limbless rep-
tiles known from subterranean habi-
tats, principally in Africa and South
America. Approximately 130 species
of these reptiles have been discovered.
All have features in common with
those in Mexico and the one in Florida.
For this reason they are placed in one
family, the Amphisbaenidae.
No other family of reptiles has
a distribution quite so bizarre. Among
snakes and lizards a few large families
are widely and more or less continu-
ously distributed in two or more, but
seldom in all, continents. At the other
extreme, a few families— perhaps once
somewhat more diversified— have
dwindled to a single species. Such lone
survivors as the earless monitor (Lan-
thanotidae) of Borneo or the tuatara
(Rhynchocephalidae ) of New Zealand
are restricted to one island, a few
islets, or a tiny fraction of a larger
land mass. Occasionally two or three
species of a family, the footless lizards
(Anniellidael of California and Baja
California, for example, are adjacent
in one small portion of a continent.
Two LEGS ending in five digits (not
all show in photograph) are typical of
Bipes biporiis, also known as axolote.
It is sufficiently mystifying to find
relatives of the iguana in Madagascar
and the Fiji Islands, when all other
members of the family are in the
Americas. What is more surprising,
amphisbaenids are distributed on
parts of five continents, although the
majority- of the species are concen-
trated in two clumps on opposite sides
of the Atlantic. Nowhere else are am-
phisbaenids so abundant as they are in
the tropical and subtropical portions
of Africa and South America. They in-
habit several islands bordering the
Caribbean, but these populations are
essentially outposts of those in the
South American center. The West
Indies species, however, nearly out-
number the few that seem at first to
be haphazardly distributed in warmer
portions of the northern continents.
All of these are found on peninsulas.
The map (page 19) shows that in
North America there are four species.
Three inhabit areas bordering on the
Pacific— two on the mainland of Mex-
ico, a relatively narrow southern ex-
tension of the continent, and one in
Baja California, a slender strip of
land flanking the northwest coast of
the main peninsula. To the east one
species is restricted to peninsular
Florida. The one in Europe occurs at
the southern end of the Iberian Penin-
sula. The few species east of the Medi-
terranean in Asia Minor inhabit either
the Arabian Peninsula, or Turkey and
Iran, both of which are bordered on
two sides by water.
PERHAPS peninsular climates, which
are less rigorous than those char-
acteristic of regions farther inland, ac-
count for this distribution. Seasonal
changes are less pronounced because
the more stable temperature of the ad-
jacent water exerts its effects on the
land. In other words, environmental
conditions on peninsulas more nearly
approximate those prevailing in the
habitats of amphisbaenids in Africa
and South America. The ancestral am-
phisbaenids conceivably adopted sub-
terrestrial habits in order to avoid the
adverse conditions on the surface,
where temperatures fluctuate more
rapidly and exceed the extremes en-
countered in the soil.
The amphisbaenids in western Mex-
ico are the most isolated group in the
family. They are exceptional in one
other respect— retention of the front
17
r
r^'-^
V J' i\
>^
^ j^^
Lateral vNnri.ATioNS of body propel
Florida sand skink under surface. Sand
falls in tunnel, marking sinuous trail.
limbs. Like the limLless amphisbaenids
found outside Mexico, they have rem-
nants of hip bones. We can assume that
the Mexican species arose because of
the geographical isolation of one as-
semblage of similar individuals at an
early stage in the history of the Am-
phisbaenidae. This population perhaps
became separated from its relatives
before many of them had parted with
one or both pairs of legs.
THE fossil record shows that liz-
ards arose in the Jurassic Period,
possibly 150 million years ago. As the
dinosaurs and their relatives declined,
the lizards began to flourish. They
branched out as they exploited unoc-
cupied habitats, and their form and
habits changed. By the time the ruling
reptiles faded from the scene at the
close of the Cretaceous, lizards were
advancing on several fronts. Those in
one line followed a trend leading to-
ward the loss of limbs, of ear openings,
and of movable eyelids, and became
snakes. These peculiarities, among
others, suggest that snakes evolved
from lizards adapted for life under-
ground. It is possible, even probable,
that amphisbaenids were exploiting
subterranean habitats before the
snakes appeared. Remains of the oldest
indisputable snake, from the Upper
Cretaceous, antedate by a few million
years the most ancient amphisbaenids
thus far recovered. But these are from
the Eocene (45 to 55 million years
ago ) , and by that time the amphisbae-
nids were highly specialized burrow-
ers differing little from those today.
Paleontologists are likely to be
pleased, rather than surprised, there-
fore, should fossil amphisbaenids even-
tually be found in rocks older than
those containing snakes. With fossils
no older than those of the Eocene,
however, amphisbaenid ancestry is as
obscure as that of the man who told
CarlSandburg, "I don't know who my
'11
C"-
:ZAiA
Front end of Bipes plods on short
limbs, steering trunk. When reptile
burrows in sand, belotv, it holds L
against body and pushes head doi
ancestors were, but we've been de-
scending for a long time."
Certain it is that amphisbaenids
have been descending for a long time,
literally. Selection resulted in their
becoming increasingly streamlined.
The elongation of the body and the
loss of limbs facilitated their progres-
sion through the soil. They dispensed
with the eardrum along with ear open-
ings—a source of friction to an animal
moving in an underground environ-
ment. The detection of airborne
sounds was then no lona;er an asset.
although amphisbaenids retain
inner ear and the bone (extraco
mella) that once transmitted sou
waves from the eardrum. Other mo
fications may enhance the reception
sound waves transmitted through •
soil. Although snakes, too, lack i
openings, they are sensitive to sour
of low frequency— 100 to 700 eye
per second— as investigators at Prin
ton have shown. Bone conduction
counts for their reception of both s(
borne and airborne vibrations witl
this range. Hence, this may also
of amphisbaenids. Amphisbaenid
protected with a transparent cov-
; derived from a "window" in the
r lid that fused with the upper,
d little friction when the head was
it through the soil. With no pre-
n on vision under such conditions,
ver, the eyes deteriorated. Their
^es are discernible in some spe-
or deeply buried in the most
mlined. where they can be seen
in the translucent hatchlings.
ptiles foraging on the surface
see, hear, or smell their prey, or
oy such specialized organs as
red (heat) receptors to locate
ith few exceptions, subterrestrial
es depend largely upon scent-
possibly sound— to locate their
Beetle larvae, termites, or earth-
is may produce enough noise
feeding or squirming through
ail to be detected by an amphis-
d. The British naturalist Hans
w found the culebritas con mani-
ving in patches of moist alluvial
along the Balsas River, where
left tunnels at least a foot below
lurface that could be followed
ny direction." When Hobart M.
1 reached the Balsas in 1932, a
^ shower had preceded his arrival,
lie found amphisbaenids nearer
jrface. Several were under large
s, often near the bases of trees
irubs, where the soil remained
. Tunnels readily identified as
of the two-legged amphisbaenid
sd that several had worked their
0 the undersurface of rocks,
/eral of the culebritas Smith cap-
had been eating small beetles.
;ntly a foraging amphisbaenid
Dcate and devour insects or simi-
rey without coming to the sur-
It is equally probable that in-
or their larvae gain access to
unnels amphisbaenids create as
move about. An amphisbaenid
Florida, Rhineura floridana. was
n a gallon jar of moist sand and
ved sporadically as it worked its
along the side of the container,
reptile often left tunnels in den-
patterns, as though it had ex-
d various areas in the jar. When
tes were added to the jar, how-
it became evident that it was
than luck that led the animal to
rey. Shortly after the termites
released on the surface, most of
crawled into a fissure in the
at the edge of the jar. Almost
diately the Rhineura headed to-
ward them, vigorously pushing its
head into the soil and momentarily re-
treating while it thrust out its forked
tongue. Leaving a somewhat sinuous
tunnel in its wake, the worm-shaped
reptile nevertheless veered little from
the course that led to its prey, and
within a few moments was rapidly
seizing and swallowing termites.
However, the performance of the
Rhineura did not reveal whether it was
hearing or smelling its way to the
insects. Repeated use of the tongue
strongly suggests that it was being
used to sample the ambient air. Odor-
ous particles adhering to or dissolved
in the film of mucus on its forked tip
were being carried to paired receptors
in the roof of the mouth. Snakes and
some lizards employ the forked tongue
in a similar fashion. When the tongue
is withdrawn the tips are thrust into
a pair of depressions that lead to
chemoreceptors. or specialized organs
of smell, in the palate. By creating
tunnels, amphisbaenids may well pro-
vide avenues for the transmission of
both sound and scent. Amphisbaenids
from Baja California, at least those
kept in moist sand in the laboratory,
occasionally come to the surface. The
small holes they leave as they re-enter
the sand, usually by backing into the
burrow, probably prove inviting to
insects or insect larvae seeking shelter.
LIMBLESS amphisbaenids. although
j once looked upon by Europeans
as rather quaint serpents from the
Mediterranean region, have been
known since ancient times. The Aztecs,
whose interest in natural history led
them to maintain zoological and bo-
tanical gardens in their capital, were
probably aware of the two-legged rep-
tile in Guerrero. No specimen reached
Europe, however, until more than two
centuries after the Spaniards had con-
quered Mexico. An amphisbaenid with
limbs, described as a reptile bipede,
was first depicted in 1789 in a French
encyclopedia. For almost another cen-
tury the creature remained nearly as
m^^thical as the unicorn and the griffin,
although it had acquired a scientific
name. Bipes canaliculatus.
Two-legged amphisbaenids were not
rediscovered until the latter part of
the nineteenth century. The first to
reach any serious student of natural
history came from the Balsas Valley.
Similar reptiles were found in 187-5
near La Paz in Baja California. Nearly
two decades afterward, in 1894, a
E3 AmieUa pulcha
I Annielh geronomemis
■■ - Ophisaunis aitenuatus
^ Anrhjtrvpsh papillo.ms
OphjMiuni^ comprcsstis
M Ophiwtinii ventraUs
Hi Sco^eps rcynnldsi
Limbless and near-limbless lizard
distribution in N.A. is shown, aboie.
Bottom map plots living and fossil
Amphisbaenidae in the Americas.
FOSSILS
R ...Rhineiim
0 ... Other genera
. . . Eocene
O . . . Oligocene
Mexican naturalist. Alfredo Duges, re-
ceived specimens taken near the Bal-
sas River. Another was sent to him
from Tecpan de Galeana, a town on
the coastal side of Guerrero, a few
miles to the northwest of Acapulco.
Duges noted that this specimen dif-
fered from the others in having but
three digits. Furthermore, those from
inland localities along the Balsas also
had tails proportionately twice as long
as the one from Tecpan.
Duges was reasonably sure that this
one belonged to a species unknown
19
previously. To verify his belief he
sent the specimens, along with his
notes, to Professor E. D. Cope in Phil-
adelphia. Cope agreed that the short
tailed, three-toed individual was not
canaliculatus. and for it he used thf
name tridactylum that Duges had pro
posed. But examples of the two spe
cies from Guerrero proved to diflei
from those obtained in Baja Califor
nia, which Cope recognized as a thin
species. It resembled the one inhabit
ing the Balsas Valley in having fiv
digits and a tail about twice th
length of its head. Whereas specimen
from the Balsas had six pores near th
base of the tail, those from Baja Cal
fornia had only two. Cope also note
peculiarities in the scales on the hea(
but to call attention to the more obv
ous character of the pores, he name
the species biporus. Unlike the specie
in Baja California, the three-toed spi
cies had four pores.
Such pores are not invariably di
cernible on amphisbaenids. Althou"
pores of the sort are retained by a
three species of Bipes, some of tl
limbless members of the family lac
them. These structures are not indi
pensable, therefore, nor are they co
fined to burrowing reptiles. Simil
pores are found in many terrestri
lizards of distantly related familif
and in some species are confined
males. Hence, they may play sor
obscure role in pairing or courting £
tivities, but field and laboratory inv(
ligations of mating behavior in lizar
have failed to reveal their functic
Almost nothing has been learn
J^\_ about the courtship of amph
baenids. Relatively few of the 1
species that might be studied unc
controlled conditions in the laboratc
are easily found, and they are i
widely distributed. Thus far, Sij
tridactylum has been so extraordiu
ily elusive that doubts arise conce
ing the source of the specimen Duj
obtained. The two five-toed species i
seldom encountered far from the t
or three Mexican sites where ei
first became known. But not one ad
tional three-toed specimen has bi
Similarities and dissimilarities in
tongues of lizards are of interest to
taxonomists. Tongues of amphisbaenid
and teiid, top, display such striking
resemblance that it reinforces beliei
they descended from common ancestor
Eariess monitor
Gila monster
orted since Duges described the
;ies 70 years ago. The only speci-
1 that Cope or anyone else has seen
i probably shipped from Tecpan de
eana, as Duges reported. But per-
s it was found elsewhere and
ely mailed from that town. After
[ over half a century additional
;imens surely should have been dis-
ered, if only by accident, in the
le area. Nevertheless, when the na-
s of Tecpan and the surrounding
ntry are asked if they ever uncover
•britas con manitas they merely
c surprised. Should they be asked
!ther the animalitos con dos pies
;le animals with two feet ) are
■ found hiding beneath rocks in
area, they may glare suspiciously,
le questioner inquiring about enan-
, or trolls? Does he expect a serious
y to such questions?
Tianito, or troll, would be little
appropriate than "two-handed
rowing snake," a name used in
4 for the Bipes in Baj a California,
vas supplanted by "mole lizard"'
"two-footed worm lizard." neither
vhich is much better. Anyone who
erves an amphisbaenid crawling,
fever, first might suspect that it has
:e in common with an earthworm
a the habitat they share. Despite
functional limbs, Bipes is more
mlike than lizard-like in appear-
e. When unearthed with sand ad-
ing to its body, it usually remains
ionless. Gradually the coiled body
lifests signs of life, and the limbs
in a sort of overhand stroke, as
ugh the creature expected to swim.
: front end soon plods along pur-
efully, but the rest of it, two-thirds
more of the body, inches along
:hworm fashion. The head and
bs seem to steer rather than drag
trunk, which more often progresses
alternately advancing the skin and
1 pulling the body forward inside
Vhen Bipes re-enters the sand, how-
r, it holds the limbs flush against its
ly, thrusts its head down at an an-
and pushes it beneath the surface.
Vere it not for the vestiges of eyes
the head, its appearance would be
re deceptive, but no more so than
vernacular name. This was not in-
ded to convey the impression that
"worm lizards" are worms. But
y may not be lizards, either. The
blem of deciding what they are is
)ld and as cumbersome as the fam-
name Amphisbaenidae. This is de-
;d from the generic name Amphis-
na, the Latinized version of a Greek
term meaning "to go at both ends."
Although it has been suggested, it is
questionable whether Linnaeus se-
lected the name in 1758 because he
realized that the burrower could move
backward or forward with equal facil-
ity. The probability is greater that
Linneaus chose Amphisbaena because
it had been used since ancient times
for a fabulous serpent with two heads.
Moreover, Linnaeus had obtained
specimens from Brazil, where the
name cobra de duas cabecas or "snake
with two heads," is still in use as the
vernacular name for a large amphis-
baenid possessing a rounded snout,
well-hidden eyes, and a blunt tail.
Brazilians apply the same name to
the slender, limbless amphibians now
called caecilians (Natural History,
October, 1962). Linnaeus would not
have brooded over this confusion, for
he himself had classed caecilians, am-
phisbaenids, and miscellaneous limb-
less lizards as snakes.
UNTIL naturalists made detailed
studies of the structure of the
animals they classified, such deficien-
cies were inevitable. But, faults and
all, Linnaeus' work provided the im-
petus for more intensive studies of
structures and relationships in both
plants and animals. When his succes-
sors made increasingly better use of
such information, it became evident
that caecilians bore more resemblance
to salamanders. Amphisbaenids, cor-
rectly recognized as reptiles much
earlier, posed no problems, but only
because no one asked whv they had
been called snakes. The limbless liz-
ards were not satisfactorily distin-
guished from the snakes until 1841,
when Sir Richard Owen devised a
classification that incorporated numer-
ous improvements. Notwithstanding
his advanced ideas, he still maintained
that amphisbaenids were snakes.
Various students, notably Professor
E. D. Cope, questioned Owen's conclu-
sions. Pointing out that several of the
limbless lizards resembled the amphis-
baenids in one way or another. Cope
maintained that they, too, should be
regarded as lizards. But Cope also
noted that the amphisbaenids might
have arisen independently from the
common ancestors of snakes and liz-
ards. If the amphisbaenids arose ear-
lier than the snakes, as Cope's state-
ment implies, and both share features
with the subterranean lizards, their
resemblances can be attributed to con-
vergence. In other words, all charac-
teristics they share are not those of a
common ancestor. Snakes, burrowing
lizards, and amphisbaenids are some-
what alike because each group at some
time in its history became adapted to
the same sort of habitat. Nevertheless,
Cope preferred to regard amphisbae-
nids as extremely specialized lizards.
Within recent years Cope's views
EcG TOOTH jutting forward beneatli a
West Indian amphisbaenid hatchling's
snout, top, is replaced in the aduh,
center, by a curved-back median tooth.
Egg tooth of snake hatchling, bottom,
is lost and not replaced in the adult.
21
have teen accepted with growing skep-
ticism. If amphisbaenids are lizards,
they are far enough removed from any
normal lizard to be aptly described as
outlandish. There is no doubt, how-
ever, that they should be grouped with
the lizards and snakes, the only other
reptiles that have paired copulatory
organs. Moreover, the amphisbaenids
gain their release from the egg by
slitting the leathery shell with an egg
tooth in precisely the same fashion
as snakes and lizards. Although the
hatchling sheds the egg tooth shortly
after emerging, it is a real tooth of
dentine covered with enamel. Such
teeth are not found on turtles, croco-
dilians, and the tuatara, whose hatch-
lings escape from the egg by breaking
the shell with a caruncle. This is a
horny outgrowth of the skin on the
snout, the same sort of egg-breaker
used by birds.
Although egg teeth are peculiar to
snakes, lizards, and amphisbaenids.
once more the amphisbaenids prove to
be nonconformists. They not only have
a strikingly different egg tooth but also
a distinctive feature associated with
it. In snakes and lizards the egg tooth
is near the end of the bone supporting
the snout, just outside the mouth.
When the egg tooth is shed it is never
replaced, even in the lizards and the
few snakes with teeth at the front of
the upper jaw. The egg tooth of am-
phisbaenids, however, is attached in-
side the mouth, but curves forward so
that the chisel-like tip extends under-
neath the snout be^'ond the lower lip.
This alone would not be so remark-
able, but in amphisbaenids the egg
tooth is replaced by a stout tooth,
which is nearly always the largest
one at the front of the jaw. This
tooth, sometimes feebly cusped. curves
slightly inward, wholly different from
its predecessor.
It is exceptional for reptiles to have
a tooth centered under the snout.
Lizards of one family, the geckos,
have paired egg teeth, which they shed
but never replace. Whatever teeth
mammals have at birth are commonly
replaced by somewhat different teeth
later in life. Nearly all snakes and liz-
ards replace teeth or fangs almost con-
tinuously throughout their lives. The
replacement teeth invariably conform
in shape, but, keeping pace with
growth, they are progressively larger
than their predecessors. Amphisbae-
nids are unique in having the egg
tooth replaced by a completely dif-
ferent kind of tooth in the same socket.
The median tooth, perhaps with
some peculiar advantage to a reptile
seizing its prey in the confines of its
burrow, presumably arose from the
egg tooth. As an earlier innovation
the egg tooth appeared in the ancestral
lizards before they branched out into
family groups and gave rise to snakes
and amphisbaenids. The lizards and
their offshoots have continued to be
the innovators— the reptiles that in-
vaded new habitats, essayed new
modes of reproduction, and penetrated
new regions. Species with offspring
having the egg tooth are now twenty
times as numerous as those whose
young emerge with a caruncle, which
might well serve as the hallmark of the
conservative minority.
IN structures, habits, and habitats
the turtles, crocodilians. and the
tuatara differ little from their vener-
able ancestors. All these reptiles, and
there are scarcely 350 species, live on
land, in the water, or divide their time
between the two. A few turtles and
crocodiles are marine, or partly so,
and some turtles tolerate desert en-
vironments. Otherwise their adapta-
bilities are limited. None of them lives
in trees, shrubs, or on cliffs, and while
one turtle inhabits crevices, none of
these reptiles has dispensed with limbs
and become fossorial. Not one has
switched from laying eggs to giving
birth to its young. In contrast, numer-
ous snakes and lizards and at least
two amphisbaenids bring forth fully
formed young. Other members of 1
family deposit eggs in their burroi
but what the majority of the amp!
baenids do, no one knows.
Obviously, however, their adap
bility did not come to a standstill oi
they were specialized for life und
ground. They have become furtl
specialized in shape, size, and me;
of progressing in subsurface envin
ments that vary from humus to san
soil or rocky terrain. Species resist!
to desiccation tolerate relatively c
environments, although most of tb
are restricted to moist soil.
If amphisbaenids were advanc
burrowers by Eocene times, they n
have staked their claim to subter
nean habitats a hundred million ye;
ago. Conceivably the primitive snal
had barely begun to exploit the advi
tages of living underground when tl
encountered amphisbaenids. Compi
tion with more advanced burrow
may not have affected the snakes. ]
certainly some of them returned to t
restrial habitats. Back on the surfa
the primitive snakes could get ale
without external ears or functioi
limbs. With light once more an f
ment of their environment, howev
vision was advantageous. Terresti
snakes re-elaborated their partly
generated eyes, but the eyes contini
to deteriorate in snakes that adhe!
to dark, subterranean habitats. '
might hazard the guess that the bli
snakes, Typhlops and relatives, n
more widely distributed than amp!
baenids, but scarcelv more numero
descended from a primitive snake tl
gained access to regions the amp!
baenids failed to reach.
Meanwhile, terrestrial snakes, fr(
of the restrictions that their erstv/I
fossorial existence had impos
branched out and advanced along lii
that led in some instances to spec
of fairly gigantic proportions. Fosi
found in Eocene deposits in Eg;
and Patagonia reveal that snakes li
attained lengths in excess of thi
22
The conservative amphisbaenids
ined relatively insignificant.
rHATEVER their place of origin,
they managed in one way or an-
te circumvent barriers. Some
' million years ago amphisbae-
were fairly widespread in North
•ica. Fossils found in Oligocene
iits in Wyoming, Colorado, and
e Dakotas closely resemble the
es Rhineura floridana, now iso-
in Florida. As noted earlier, the
;nce of relict populations of am-
aenids in warm regions as far
Je the Tropics as Turkey and the
ern part of the Iberian Peninsula
rhaps attributable to the less rig-
i climates on peninsulas,
sh climatic conditions once ex-
at least sporadically, in portions
e world that are much cooler
•. It is reasonable to infer that
imphisbaenids penetrated such
ns as Wyoming during periods
the terrain, the climate, and
features of the environment ap-
mated those prevailing today in
da. At best, locomotion through
or soil is laborious and time
iming. Hence the dispersals of
lisbaenids must have been pain-
slow. As Hans Gadow observed
years ago, an amphisbaenid pop-
)n might expand its distribution
rate of, say, ten feet per year,
I a continuity of suitable terrain.
If this is a fair guess and the shift
was in one direction, the range of the
hypothetical species would have ex-
panded less than four miles since the
beginning of the Christian Era. In
Gadow's words, "this is a mere noth-
ing in point of time." It would have
required 125,000 years for the species
to extend its distribution a little more
than 200 miles. "To round out this
fanciful calculation to a quarter of a
million years," Gadow continues,
"100.000 years may then be allowed
for hitches on the journey, such as
waiting for sandy patches to join. Idle
dreams? Not at all, since our calcula-
tions afford an insight into what can
be done in time by a slowly spreading
kind of creature."
Gadow wisely avoided detailed dis-
cussion of the complexities of dis-
persal. It will suffice to note that on
very rare occasions land-dwelling ani-
mals accidentally reach distant out-
posts on natural rafts or other objects
on which they are carried to land
masses otherwise inaccessible. It seems
highly improbable that amphisbaenids
reached Africa from South America
(or traveled in the opposite direction )
in this manner, but can we be sure
that something of the sort does not
happen, say once every ten million
years? Had the two continents drifted
apart, numerous other family groups
would be distributed in a similar man-
ner. Instead, other families on both
Typical traits of amphisbaenids are
median tooth, at left, stout teeth, and
a compact skull (four times life-size).
continents are, or were, more nearly
worldwide in distribution.
We need not assume that the am-
phisbaenids crossed an expanse of salt
water as wide as the Atlantic, how-
ever, if they were once extensively
distributed. Negative evidence, where
the fossil record is concerned, does
not preclude the possibility that am-
phisbaenids once inhabited much of
Asia. It is no strain on the imagina-
tion to assume that they existed in
North America much farther to the
northwest than Wyoming during the
Eocene or later. If so, amphisbaenids
might have moved from one continent
to the other at the same time that
camels, horses, and other land mam-
mals were en route between Asia and
North America.
WHATEVER explanation is accept-
able, if the amphisbaenids ex-
panded their distribution no more
than 1.600 miles every million years,
as Gadow suggests, they have had
ample time since the Eocene to spread
over every continent. Presumably they
encountered insurmountable barriers
in some parts of the world. More to the
point, we might infer that the distribu-
tion of the group has been contracting,
rather than expanding, during the last
ten to twenty million years. Gaps in
the range of the family suggest wide
extinctions of populations, if not of
species, in several areas.
Much like amphisbaenids, the limb-
less or nearly limbless lizards now
inhabiting North America tend to
avoid the more extreme climates in the
interior of the continent. Two closely
Bone structure of Bipes biporus is
shown in X-ray, but its vestigial rear
limbs are too small to see in picture.
23
related footless lizards of one genus of
Anniella, are confined to warm areas
in California and northwestern Baja
California. An odd little relict. Anely-
tropsis, with relatives in the Philip-
pines, New Guinea, and Malaysia, is
found only in a narrow strip along the
eastern edge of the Mexican plateau.
Three reptiles of the genus Ophisau-
rus, known as glass lizards because of
their slender, fragile tails, inhabit
Florida. The distributions of two of
these extend to portions of the coastal
plain, but the third is the exception.
Its range extends as far north as the
Great Lakes and west to eastern Texas,
and individuals are occasionally found
near the Caribbean coast of Mexico as
far south as \eracruz.
One other North American lizard,
not yet limbless, but with the limbs
greatly reduced, is confined to Flor-
ida. This is the Florida sand skink,
Neoseps, a burrower with a single
digit on the front limbs and only two
on the hind limbs. Where the family
is more abundanth represented, par-
ticularly in Africa and Asia, a few
skinks have become limbless. In both
these continents skinks exhibit virtu-
ally all stages in the reduction, from
five digits to none, and in some there
is no external sign of limbs. When
vestiges of both pairs of limbs are
present on skinks. however, there are
fewer digits on the front limbs. Fur-
thermore, remnants of the hind limbs
persist after the forelimbs disappear;
the hind limbs never disappear first.
THIS is true of other families, with
one notable exception— lizards in
the family Teiidae. Relatively few of
these inhabit North America, where
only the whiptails, Cnemidophorus,
are widely distributed. In South Amer-
ica, however, the family is extraordi-
narily well diversified. The family
includes the tegus (Tupinambis) , liz-
ards large enough to prey upon small
mammals and birds, but there are also
a number of tiny burrowers in the
group. The limbs are reduced in sev-
eral of these, in some instances to bud-
like remnants. Curiously, in this fam-
ily the hind limbs are in more ad-
vanced stages of reduction. In some
species retaining forelimbs. the hind
limbs are missing completely.
In this respect, therefore, they re-
semble Bipes, the two-legged amphis-
baenids of Mexico. Nearly eighty
years ago a Belgian herpetologist,
George A. Boulenger, employed by the
British Museum (Natural History),
observed that the scales, skull struc-
ture, and worm-shaped body of some
teiids were similar to those of am-
phisbaenids. E. D. Cope ascribed this
to convergence. Others who held sim-
ilar views may not have compared the
tongues of teiids and amphisbaenids.
Comparisons reveal a startling resem-
blance. Tongues of burrowing teiids
conform closely to those of amphis-
baenids. On each the fleshy base is
covered with scales arranged like shin-
gles, and the forked tips are similar.
This resemblance might be attributed
to convergence, but were this so. other
fossorial lizards should share the pecu-
liarity. Obviously they do not. how-
ever, for the tongue of the Mexican
burrower Anehtropsis closely resem-
bles that of its Asiatic relatives in
being covered with transverse plates
and grooves instead of the superfi-
cially fishlike scales.
Consequently there is little likeli-
hood that the tongues of teiids and
amphisbaenids are alike because of
convergence. Burrowing proclivities
account for the reduction or loss of
limbs. The extraordinary tendency of
species in both groups to retain f
limbs after losing those at the re£
less readily explained. Coupled ■
peculiarities of the tongue, this
trait lends support to the belief
amphisbaenids and teiids descer
from a common ancestor.
It need not be disconcerting to
characteristics of snakes combine
amphisbaenids with those of liza
Several fossorial lizards are snake
and a few primitive snakes re
vestiges of the hind limbs, occasion
with other features of the ances
lizard. The amphisbaenids. howe
have their own peculiarities. The}
tain features of the lizard and ]
also resemble snakes, but they are
readily confused with either. The !
rowing teiids parallel the amphis
nids, and appear to retain the ances
tongue. But they have not advai
far enough along similar lines to {
licate other characters. Only the
phisbaenids have a soft skin fori
of numerous rings, each composei
flat, square plates. No other re]
replaces the egg tooth, and few oti
for that matter, have a median t(
in the upper jaw.
Several less conspicuous pecu]
ities point to an extremely anc
separation of the amphisbaenids.
much easier to bridge the gap betw
the snakes and lizards with an ai
of burrowers than it is to link the
phisbaenids to either group. It
mains to be ascertained whether tl
reptiles antedate the snakes, but
phisbaenids have been amphisbaei
for well over fifty million years. V
impeccable logic, those who call
phisbaenids lizards can argue 1
these reptiles could spend even ni
time in subterranean habitats witli
finding a place in the sun. But
criterion is not their antiquity: i
the extent of their divergence. On '
basis, amphisbaenids warrant recoi
tion as a distinct group, apart fi
the snakes and lizards.
Since they are not lizards and i
tainly not ^vorms. they also deser?
vernacular name more appropr:
than worm lizards. Culebritas
manitas has erroneous implicati
too. but W'hat is more descriptive
Bipes than a "little snake with handi
Overhand motion of legs, left, i
characteristic of B. biporus' "wal
Bipes has vestigial eyes, right,
probably finds prey by sound or sm
24
Management of Wate
Technology alone cannot solve problems
By George H. Davis
ONE OF THE GREATEST HOPES for
coping with the world population
explosion is by expanding food and
fiber production in the "underde-
veloped" lands of the arid zones. Most
desert soils are rich in mineral nutri-
ents, and in much of the arid zone the
climate would permit year-round crop-
ping. This fortunate combination per-
mits tremendous production per acre
when such soils are irrigated. Parts of
the arid southwestern United States
have seen intensive development of
irrigated agriculture, especially the
San Joaquin and Imperial valleys in
California and the Salt and Gila river
valleys in Arizona. Experience in these
areas— the failures as well as the suc-
cesses—can point the way to similar in-
tensive development in other arid parts
of the world. The following discussion
is based largely on experience in Ari-
zona and California, and in the San
Joaquin Valley particularly, although
the antecedents of irrigation date back
to prehistory.
Remains of the works of ancient lost
civilizations in arid lands throughout
the world— Babylon in Mesopotamia,
the Roman irrigation works of the
oases of the western desert of Egypt,
the Hohokam Indian ruins of the Salt
River Valley in Arizona, to name but
three— are mute reminders of man's in-
ability to manage water resources suc-
cessfully. In these areas disruption of
the existing social order by invasion
or by some natural disaster, such as
drought, may well have played an im-
portant part in the destruction of a cul-
ture based on irrigated agriculture, but
there is evidence that in all three cases
man failed to cope effectively with a
water problem.
In Mesopotamia there is widespread
evidence that the productivity of the
soil declined owing to salinization— the
concentration of salts in the soil zone
as a result of inadequate drainage and
surface evaporation. In the oases of
the western desert of Egypt shrinking
of the irrigated area was caused by a
decline in the flow of wells as the
26
natural pressure that raised tlie water
to the surface of the land w'as depleted.
In some of the oases, Roman wells dug
to an artesian aquifer ( one that con-
tains water under sufficient pressure to
raise the water above the top of the
permeable, water-yielding deposits )
flowed at relatively high topographic
levels in a series of isolated valleys.
The flow made it possible to irrigate
lower-lying lands by gravity flow from
the wellheads. But the flow exceeded
replenishment, and the artesian head
was reduced until the wells ceased to
flow. Rows of Roman wells may still
be seen along several stages of canals,
each built to replace a higher system
as the artesian head declined. By the
close of the Roman period the head
had dropped so low that only small
oases in the bottoms of the valleys
could be irrigated with flowing weUs.
The Hohokam culture flourished in
the Salt River Valley at the present site
of Phoenix, Arizona, from about the
beginning of the Christian Era to
about A.D. 1400. The Hohokam people
disappeared before the arrival of
Europeans, and little is known of their
relations to other Indian groups. There
is some evidence that the Pima Indians
are descendants of the Hohokams, al-
though the Pimas speak of the Hoho-
kams as a vanished race; in fact, the
term Hohokam means '"those who have
gone" in the Pima language.
Diversion of the waters of the Salt
River into large canals made possible
the irrigation of tens of thousands to
perhaps a quarter of a million acres.
The longest canal was 12 miles long,
and a total of 175 miles of Hohokam
canals has been mapped. Some of the
main canals were as much as 30 feet
deep and 75 feet wide— large even by
modern standards. The Hohokam
canals were not fixed systems; several
were built, each upslope from its pre-
decessor. Evidently this was because of
progressive waterlogging — drowning
of plants by continuous saturation of
the root zones— and accumulation of
alkali in the soils of the lower lands.
The solution of moving upstream with
successive diversions could not be car-
'.«#> ^i.
•Tu
ried above rock outcrops in the bed
the Salt River. Thus, the Hohokan
inabflity to cope indefinitely w
waterlogging and salinization brouj
their culture to an end.
In the so-called underdevelop
modern countries, many of which £
arid, great benefits may be realized
developing small water supplies i
human or stock use. This is relativ(
easy, and involves studies to locate
adequate source of drinkable wa
n Arid Lands
ii'-^-.^' " ■'•■i*'
elatively unsophisticated engi-
g works to move the water from
irce to where it is to be used.
■ engineering works, such as
ind pumps to lift ground water
surface, and pipelines or ditches
ivey water overland from a
, stream, or small surface reser-
an drastically alter a primitive
(ly. Where the environment and
ly are favorable for irrigation,
;hnology is equal, for the most
part, to the task. Basically we are still
building dams, wells, and canals as did
the Romans and Babylonians, al-
though, of course, our construction
techniques are far more sophisticated.
The most complex problems in water
supply in arid zones relate to the
proper management of the supplies.
For example, although evaporation
may impose a practical limit on the
storage of water in surface reservoirs
in arid basins, this does not mean that
Water is sent to thousands of acres
in San Joaquin Valley via a diversion
canal carrying runoff from Friant Dam.
we have exhausted all possibilities of
further water development. Data from
current research suggest that evapora-
tion from reservoirs can be drastically
cut by the use of thin films of chemi-
cals (such as cetyl alcohol) that float
on the water surface but have no effect
on the quality of water. Another prom-
ising method of evaporation reduction
27
involves the use of submerged bubbler
devices, similar to the familiar fish
bowl aerator that brings cool water to
the surface. Evaporation from open
water surfaces increases as the water
temperature increases. Thus, the con-
stant circulation of cool water to the
surface reduces the evaporation rate.
With adequate knowledge of the geo-
hydrology of arid basins, it would be
feasible in many places to store tre-
mendous quantities of water under-
ground in the irrigated area. This
would involve putting surface water
underground when surpluses were
available and pumping it out when the
surface supply was deficient.
OF all water management difficul-
ties in arid lands, salinization
may well be the most frustrating, and
has plagued irrigators for 3,000 years.
Even today it is not controlled beyond
the primitive technique of washing the
accumulated salt out of the soil by
applying excess water. Much the same
could be said of waterlogging. In many
areas we continue to apply surface
water for irrigation so liberally that
the water table rises to the surface and
Irrigation well, often used in arid
western U.S., uses much electricity or
fuel and requires skilled maintenance.
literally drowns the very crops that we
are attempting to grow.
The damage from waterlogging is
twofold. Most crops cannot survive a
long period of saturation of the root
zone; however, this is only a short-
term damage that causes crop loss until
the water table can be lowered. Salini-
zation is much more serious. The
mineral content of the soil moisture
increases whenever evaporation or
transpiration can occur— for example,
after an application of water for irri-
gation. Where the water table is several
feet or more below land surface, the
soil solution is normally diluted a:
flushed by succeeding applications
water, and the dissolved salts are ci
ried away or become concentrated
the ground water. On the other haii
where the water table is so close to la:
surface that evaporation of groui
water takes place, there is no oppc
tunity for residual salts to esca
downward. Moreover, dissolved sa,
are brought to the surface in t
evaporating ground water, and i
crease the soil's salt content.
This concentration of salts is ofti
doubly damaging. First, it is toxic
28
3. Second, if the solution has a
percentage of sodium in relation
Icium and magnesium, soils con-
ng even a small amount of clay
be rendered virtually imperme-
because of the swelling of the clay
cles. Crop yields decrease as per-
lility decreases, until further cul-
on is unprofitable,
e best time to control waterlog-
and salinization is before exten-
damage has occurred. In most
it is possible to maintain the
: table at a safe level by keeping a
ice between the local ground
M
ITIAL (HIGH)
VTER TABLE
>i*>»^^ iSP© <S>tf ^4li
NAL (LOW) .^^"2,
^TER TABLE 4^= '
Commonplace windmill pumps often
can revolutionize local economies in
many of the underdeveloped arid lands.
water that is pumped and the irriga-
tion water that is brought in from out-
side the irrigated area. In places where
ground-water levels cannot be con-
trolled by pumping for irrigation— for
example, where the quality of ground
water is too poor for irrigation or
where wells cannot be developed eco-
nomically—deep surface ditches may
be the most inexpensive solution.
A problem unique to arid lands,
which has only recently come to light,
is the severe compaction that takes
place in many soils during the early
days of irrigation. In humid climates,
rainfall exceeds evaporation and plant
demand; consequently, excess water
can percolate through the soil and re-
plenish the saturated zone of ground
water. In arid lands, the sparse rain-
fall either evaporates or is used by
hardy desert plants, which are capable
of reducing the soil moisture far below
the level at which water will percolate
downward by gravity. Thus, after a
long, dry summer the soil-moisture de-
ficiency may be such that 3 to 4 inches
of water would have to be supplied to
the soil before any could move down-
ward. In many arid areas this soil-
moisture deficiency is never met, and
infiltration can occur only where water
concentrates, as in stream channels.
Stream flow in arid lands is com-
monly in the form of flash floods, and
often the flow could be better classified
as thin mud rather than water. Much
air is entrained in deposits of this
origin and, when dry, such soils may
contain up to 50 per cent air space.
SAND
POROSITY 30%
WATER YIELD 25%
SILT
30' POROSITY 35%
WATER YIELD 10%
GRAVEL
-«*ijr«» «»'o-»!S.^ Ji»-J*€ 5' POROSITY 25%
s". .#/iR . i P. .•n,*i.<s^yr water yield 2§%
CLAY
POROSITY 40%
WATER YIELD 2% I
Small amounts of clay can give suffi-
cient dry binding strength to preserve
the initial frothy structure, even under
loads of several hundred feet of over-
lying sediments. However, when wet-
ted, the clay slakes, the air is squeezed
out, the deposits compact, and the land
surface subsides.
This phenomenon, termed hydro-
compaction, was first observed on a
large scale in the early 1950's in the
western San Joaquin Valley when large
areas of virgin land were put under
cultivation and irrigated with ground
water. Compaction caused the land sur-
face to sink, and within a year or two
irrigation ditches that originally were
3 feet deep and 5 feet wide had become
broad swales 15 to 20 feet deep and 50
feet wide. As the ditches became
deeper they had to be abandoned be-
cause they were below the level of the
lands that were to be irrigated. The
sinking was accompanied by cracking
of the soil, which ruptured pipelines
and caused structural damage to roads,
wells, and buildings.
EVEN more severe was the effect of
soil compaction on what had been
nearly level irrigated fields. Wherever
water accumulated— at a slight depres-
sion in a field or where a ditch or pipe
leaked— the surface sank. This situ-
ation was constantly aggravated as ex-
cess water found its way to the ever
deepening depressions. Releveling of
the fields only alleviated the condition
temporarily. Within a few years the
originally level valley floor had been
changed into a hummocky prairie.
A government test plot that was kept
continually submerged sank 10 feet
within 19 months, and sinking con-
tinued even after the water supply was
cut off. During the test a cumulative
depth of 129 feet of water had infil-
trated. Continuous observation of the
surface sinking, coupled with tests of
the subsurface deposits, showed that
compaction of the deposits and the re-
sulting settling took place as the water
moved downward toward the water
table, locally 300 feet deep. Computa-
tions based on the slowing of the rate
of advance indicated that five and a
half years would be required for water
from a constant source to reach a depth
of 200 feet, and it could take several
Molecular attraction holds water in
sediments and is greatest in such fine
material as silt. Gravel drains freely.
29
Hydrocompaction test plot shows ten-
foot drop after previously level land
was subjected to 17 months of flooding.
decades for water applied at the sur-
face to reach the saturated zone. Ulti-
mate stabilization of the land surface
could not be expected earlier.
Similar compaction phenomena have
since been reported in many places in
some arid western states— Nevada,
Utah, Arizona, and Colorado. Compre^
hensive studies of the geology and hy
drology of the San Joaquin compaction
by an interagency committee of fed
eral and state organizations have re^
vealed the causes and predicted future
effects. This knowledge is vital in plan
ning major structures such as high
ways and canals that must cross the
compactible soils. The only practical
solution so far has been to plan for
compaction in the hope of minimizing
financial losses. Steel pipelines have
replaced leaking ditches and the less
flexible concrete pipelines, and irriga-
tion by sprinklers has replaced irriga-
tion by gravity from ditches. Research
now under way offers some promise
for hastening the ultimate soil compac-
tion by speeding infiltration through
such means as drilling numerous,
closely spaced holes in canal bottoms.
If this proves feasible, water could be
introduced into the abnormally dry
deposits at various depths, and in this
way the wait for natural downward
movement could be greatly shortened.
Probably the most severe single haz-
ard stemming from arid-land irriga-
tion is deterioration of the quality of
water through use. The principal eco-
nomic use— growing crops— invariably
results in a concentration of dissolved
mineral matter in the outflow from irri-
gated areas, and municipal and indus-
trial uses usually add undesirable
chemicals to the water. In irrigation
the difiiculty is uncomplicated but un-
avoidable; plants use water for temper-
ature regulation and to form carbohy-
drates, but they remove little of the
dissolved minerals. Moreover, most
soils in arid climates characteristically
contain much natural soluble salt, be-
cause of lack of leaching by rain water.
IN arid lands water commonly is
used many times in its trip from the
point where it falls as rain or snow
until it finally reaches the sea. For ex-
ample, in the South Coastal Basin of
California, which includes the Los An-
geles area, use of water is so effective
that only 8 per cent of the supply to the
area annually wastes to the ocean. Yet,
in each cycle of use some of the water
discharges to the atmosphere and thus
the remaining water becomes more
mineralized. With ground water, each
cycle of pumping and replenishment
results in a more concentrated blend
of water and dissolved minerals.
In the early development of aric
lands, as in our own West, the problem
of increasing mineralization grows
gradually, and it is only in recent years
that it has become critical in majoi
streams. For example, in 1960 the sum^
mer flow in some reaches of the San
Joaquin River exceeded 3,300 ppm.
(parts per million by weight ) dissolved
solids, and was unsuitable for irriga-
tion of certain crops and for some
other uses. Many specialists considei
irrigation with water that exceeds
1,500 ppm. dissolved solids to be harni'
ful to the soil, and feasible only under
the most favorable combination ol
soils and drainage. The deterioration
of the water of the San Joaquin Rivei
has grown progressively more serious
because of the great expansion in irri-
gated acreage since 1946, and the re-
sulting increases in mineralized drain-
age returned to the streams. Much oi
this additional acreage is on the driei
western flanks of the San Joaquin Val-
ley, where the soils typically contain
abundant gypsum (calcium sulfate)
and other salts. Some drainage waters
from the irrigated lands contain nearly
as much mineral matter as sea water
(35,000 ppm.), although calcium and
sulfate compounds predominate over
those of sodium and chloride, which
are more harmful to plants.
Fortunately, engineering solutions
are possible in the San Joaquin Basin.
30
ireas now affected are in the lower
of the basin. Plans are under way
itercept the highly concentrated
lage water and convey it in canals
lewaters beyond irrigation diver-
, thus restoring the quality of the
m waters so that they are suitable
rrigation of downstream lands,
ery water user contributes dis-
d mineral matter to the streams,
many downstream users are ad-
ly affected. The required waste
isal systems are far beyond the
; of individuals or even of local
- agencies, just as sewage disposal
;ity is beyond the resources of in-
ual homeowners. The obvious way
ipose of irrigation waste waters is
regional or basin-wide system,
lother pressing problem of the
jlogy of arid lands is overdevel-
:nt of the water supply. Where the
is irrigated from streams, farmers
lonly place more land under irri-
n in wet years than the stream
upply in dry years. The principal
i in this situation are in low crop
3 in dry years and consequent loss
pital investments. However, with
;turn of wet years the system may
stored.
lere ground water is the irriga-
Bupply the situation is much dif-
t and the losses may be much
severe. Ground water generally is
ned from wells that tap saturated
-yielding deposits— granular ma-
s such as sand and gravel that
in water in the irregular openings
;en the grains. In sand and gravel
openings commonly comprise 20
I per cent of the total volume of
material. In liner materials, such as silt
and clay, the percentage of openings,
termed porosity, often is from 30 to 40
per cent of the total volume, but such
materials release their water slowly.
Furthermore, the finer the grains the
greater is the proportion of water re-
tained by molecular attraction when
the material is drained. Thus, a dry
desert valley may contain, within a
hundred feet of land surface, sufficient
water to cover the area to a depth of 20
to 40 feet. For example, hydrologists
estimate that the ground-water storage
capacity of the San Joaquin Valley
(surface area 10,000 square miles) in
the zone from 10 feet to 200 feet below
land surface is 93 million acre-feet ( 1
acre-foot := 43,560 cubic feet) . This is
ten times the normal annual flow of the
streams into the valley and more than
three times the capacity of Lake Mead,
behind Hoover Dam on the Colorado
River, the largest surface-storage res-
ervoir in America. Moreover, this esti-
mate is based only on the water that
would drain from the sediments by
gravity, and deliberately ignores the
even greater quantities held indefi-
nitely by molecular forces in the fine
silty and clayey deposits.
NATURALLY, recharge to the ground-
water reservoir is vital. When
wells are pumped for irrigation some
of the water applied, commonly as
much as half, returns to that reservoir.
This, together with infiltrating rainfall
or stream flow, makes up the recharge.
When the average long-term discharge
exceeds recharge, however, the basin
is overdrawn, in much the same sense
that a bank account is overdrawn when
checks consistently exceed deposits. To
carry the analogy further, we generally
start ground-water development with a
full bank account. When the drafts ex-
ceed the deposits, we are reminded
each month by a bank statement; in
the ground-water reservoir this has its
parallel in the hydrologist's report of
recession of water levels.
Overdraft of ground water can end
in complete depletion of the saturated
zone in shallow basins or, more com-
monly, in the lowering of water levels
to a depth at which further pumping
becomes uneconomical and enough
land goes out of irrigation to bring
the withdrawals into balance with re-
charge. The economic effects on water
users are painful, to say the least. As
water levels recede, large investments
are required to chase the supply down-
ward. For example, wells must be deep-
ened, pump bowls lowered, and power
plants enlarged. And the cost of all
these must come out of the income pro-
duced by the use of the water.
One of the more lasting effects of
overdevelopment of ground-water sup-
ply in dry climates is the compaction
of the water-bearing deposits that takes
place with the decline of water pres-
sure in artesian aquifers— those in
which the water is confined under pres-
sure by relatively impermeable, over-
lying deposits such as clay and silt.
The water pressure helps to support the
overlying load. When the pressure is
reduced by pumping, the effective
load on the water-bearing deposits in-
creases. The materials then compact to
compensate for the water removed, and
NE-GRAINED LAYER OF
GH POROSITY.
iME LAYER AFTER COM-
iCTION. POROSITY DE-
tEASES. WATER ESCAPES
I ADJACENT SAND.
SURFACE SUBSIDENCE IS CAUSED BY COMPACTION
SEDIMENTS OF CONFINED ZONE. PUMPING REDUCES PRE
SURE IN THE ZONE, WHICH COMPACTS. THE OVERLYING
CONFINING BED SETTLES FROM ABC TO AB'C
.••O- Q.
31
STREAM FLOW AND QUALITY
CHARACTERISTICS
JULY 1955
• STOCKTON WATER QUALITY
STREAM FLOW AND QUALITY
CHARACTERISTICS
APRIL 1956
STREAM FLOW
Relative quantity of stream flow and
salt load of San Joaquin River system
in its high and low stages is shown in
the widths of the gray and green lines.
the land surface settles. Such subsid-
ence is not evident to the casual ob-
server and generally is detected only
by precise surveying.
In the western San Joaquin Valley
the maximum settlement due to pump-
ing has been as much as 25 feet. Simi-
lar overdevelopment of artesian aqui-
fers has resulted in as much as 11 feet
of subsidence in the Santa Clara Val-
ley, California, and several feet at Las
Vegas, Nevada. Known areas of sub-
sidence exist in other arid or humid
parts of the United States.
The damages from such compaction
are subtle. Well casings collapse pre-
maturely, canal gradients change and
disrupt water-delivery schedules, river
gradients change, resulting in aggra-
vation of flood hazards, and in the
Santa Clara Valley there has been ex-
tensive inundation by the salty waters
from neighboring San Francisco B;
Compaction usually is irreversib
restoration of artesian pressure i
not cause expansion of the materii
Thus, the reduction in ground-wa
storage represented by the compacti
is a permanent loss, in the same sei
that siltation of a surface reservoir
a permanent loss of capacity.
What, then, can be done to mi
the most effective use of water in a
lands? The answer is that there is
simple cure-all. Rather, the soluti
32
in wise management of this most
ic natural resource for the greatest
d of all the people. Such considera-
ns as hydroelectric power genera-
, flood control, irrigation, dilution
'astes, maintenance of fisheries and
llife, and recreation facilities must
ivaluated in adequate planning,
ive major categories that require
ntionare: fl) regulation of stream
by means of reservoirs and water-
1 management; (2) improvement
maintenance of water quality
lugh adequate control of pollution
contamination; (3) proper use of
erground storage; (4) increase in
efficiency of water use through
lination of wasteful irrigation prac-
s and the substitution of crops
I low water requirements for those
1 high requirements; and (5) in-
se of fresh-water supplies by such
ns as desalinization, weather mod-
[tion, and importation of water
n areas of water surpluses,
esearch fields that offer great pos-
lities in increasing efficiency of
3r use in arid lands include: reduc-
of water use by wasteful plants;
iction of canal seepage and of
joration from reservoirs; water-
lity management ; forecasting river
s; saline-water conversion; im-
/ement in re-use of water; and ap-
ations of nuclear energy.
iNE other matter that cannot be
' overemphasized is the need for
sion of conflicting and often un-
istic state and federal laws govern-
water to make them consistent and
gruent with our present knowledge
lydrology. Unfortunately, discus-
is of water rights have been noted
e for discord than harmony— wit-
; those of India and Pakistan over
Indus River, and Israel and Syria
r the Jordan. In most arid areas of
world, where water means the dif-
nce between a prosperous life or
3 survival, probably the most im-
tant objective is to get water users
fork together for the greatest long-
a good for society. Our knowledge
[ydrology is adequate, for the most
t, to meet the technical problems
; arise; the greatest difficulties lie
he fields of law, of sociology, and
conomics.
tor's Note: This is the third in
;ries of articles that will describe
wide-ranging research activities of
United States Geological Survey.
HYDROLOGrC TRENDS IN SANTA YNEZ RIVER BASIN
DROUGHT DROUGHT
1930 1935 1940 1945 1950 1955
ri n n
PRECIPITATION AT SANTA BARBARA
5-YEAR PROGRESSIVE AVERAGE
lllillli
Bars on graph show the annual rainfall year progressive average, on which the
at Santa Barbara. Dotted line is five- low points represent drought periods.
n ~n n r-r
RUNOFF, SANTA YNEZ RIVER NEAR LOMPOC
I
5-YEAR PROGRESSIVE AVERAGE
Runoff of Santa Ynez River supplies Note way fluctuations are accented, in
water for the city of Santa Barbara. particular during periods of drought.
WATER LEVELS IN WELLS
\/\A/^
A^S/^^/'-'^^^^ff^
n n n
ON FLOOD PLAIN NEAR BUELLTON
7f^^A
/^
DN UPLA
MD
NEAR Sfi
N
lA YNEZ
c
■\
V
\/
■<
%l^
1
^
Ground water near a stream fluctuates fluctuate more (B) ; marked overdraft
most in droughts (A); irrigated areas is evident in irrigation pumpage (C).
1 1
PUMPAGE
4U
OTHER
BUELLTON
LOMPOC PLAI
M
i
On
20
iii8
!
MB
ii
II
0
' :
1
1?
1
Greatly expanded irrigation through World War II, and is typical of many
pumpage of ground water followed western stales, including California.
33
In January, after high waters from rainy season have begun
to subside, turtles arrive on islands in Orinoco to lay eggs.
Groups of females, after basking in the sun for several day
move over the sandy beaches, searching for adequate nest site
-umiftif
.^m^C
iHjHj
''"*Sw«»>i*«#%>.
34
Hlgrim of the River
3 cycle of the Orinoco turtle has many unusual features
iEZUELAN INDIANS call the Orin-
o River "Father of All Waters."
ie any good father it has been
surprises for its children— the
IS, and every explorer, past and
t. Our story is about one of
surprises— the Orinoco River
Arrau (Podocnemis expansa),
life cycle presents some extra-
ry features. For long months the
feed in the Orinoco and its
ries, but from January to April
)urney to a few isolated beaches
central Orinoco. There, thou-
of determined creatures creep
he sandy beaches, lay millions
i, then travel back again to their
il feeding grounds.
Arrau is the largest New World
fater turtle, a little smaller than
!en sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) .
has a worldwide oceanic dis-
on. Our record measurement
; carapace of a female was 89
eters ( nearly 3 feet ) , although
3rage is about 2 feet. Some ex-
> in the past have submitted
measurements, probably cor-
By Janis a. Roze
rect, for it seems that the largest mem-
bers of any animal species disappear
and their total number diminishes as
soon as man starts hunting them. The
weight of the female Arrau averages
45 to 55 pounds, and some captured
specimens have weighed more than
100 pounds. The males are smaller:
their almost circular shells are about
one and one-half feet in diameter.
If one is to look for mystery and
drama in nature, it can certainly be
found with this animal. Arrau is a
species of what is probably one of the
oldest groups of living turtles. Its im-
mediate ancestors have been traced
back to the Age of Reptiles (Mesozoic
Era). It survived when the dinosaurs
became extinct, lived during the de-
velopment of many of the recent ani-
mals, including man. and now,
ironically, is itself in danger of extinc-
tion. This is not because it could not
succeed in the evolutionary struggle,
but because of that newcomer in na-
ture— man. At present, Arrau are dis-
tributed throughout tropical South
America, but it is in the Orinoco River
that they are particularly abundant.
During the rainy season, the Orin-
oco and its tributaries cannot hold all
the water supplied by the tropical
rains, and they overrun the river beds,
invading adjacent savanna lowlands,
called llanos in northern South Amer-
ica. For months these extensions are
Arrau feeding grounds. They eat
fruits, flowers, roots, and soft vege-
tation. When the rains diminish and
the waters slowly retreat into their
river beds, so also do the Arrau. Then
they start their long pilgrimage to the
sandy beaches, which at that time are
covered by more than thirty feet of
water. The large and small tributaries
of the Orinoco are the roads on which
the turtles travel, sometimes for more
than a hundred miles, in ever in-
creasing numbers. Once they reach
the Orinoco, they continue either up-
stream or downstream, sometimes
fighting strong currents, sometimes
passing violent rapids and other ob-
stacles. They stop eating, and the
whole life activity from this point on
is directed to reaching the beaches.
The males seem to be the first to arrive
at the remanso (tranquil, protected
waters) near the sandy beaches, where
the eggs will soon be laid; a few days
later the females arrive, and mating
takes place.
AFTER the mating, each step of the
cycle is well marked, as are most
well-established rituals in nature. The
water level is still dropping, increasing
the size of the many sand beaches
around the island, when on an early
morning in late January the water's
edge is adorned with a row of shiny,
wet bodies of Arrau females. They
have started the first step— basking in
the sun. In the early days there are
only a few of them, but soon many
parts of the water's edge are covered
with dark clusters of turtles; some-
times there are up to six thousand
basking in the fiercely hot tropical sun.
They do not fight with each other—
35
there is no aggressive competition
among them. When all the available
places are occupied, other females wait
patiently in the water, their heads ex-
tended like periscopes, until one
basker decides she had enough sun or
is frightened off by. perhaps, unusual
noises or a predator. All the others
follow as she backs into the protective
water. After about five minutes they
all return and slowdy reoccupy the
water's edge.
Their resistance to sunshine is re-
markable—some females bask almost
uninterruptedly for six or more hours.
Others retreat after an hour or so and
reappear later. The excessive heat
raises the metabolism in the females'
bodies, which are loaded with matur-
ing eggs. The first date of basking
varies from year to year, probably de-
pending on the end of the rainy season
and the time at which water in the
river begins to recede. Because rains
have their own regulations, it is im-
possible to predict when in a given
year the reproductive activity will start.
IT is somewhere between the 11th of
January and 25th of February,
while water is still dropping and the
sun is bright in the sky. that the second
step in the ritual takes place. After
sunset the turtles retreat to the water,
but only for a few- hours. If you near
the water's edge when the moon is
dark or clouded over, you can sense
the thousands of Arrau present in the
rernanso, or hear the dry, hard sound
when two large female bodies clash
together, so full is the rernanso of fe-
males eager to start egg laying. Then
they begin to emerge from the water,
usually in groups. The first night is
generally used for exploring the beach,
and only twenty or thirty females ap-
pear. Some begin to lay eggs at once.
\vhile others, after long walks all over
the beach, postpone this activity. The
next morning their trails are found in
the otherwise undisturbed sand, and
by following their steps it is possible
to register their behavior. After a few-
days several hundred or even several
thousand Arrau climb out of the water
and the high season has begun.
While thousands of turtles appear
year after year on the same sandy
beaches, hundreds of humans do the
same, easily removing many eggs and
baby turtles, and a good part of the
female turtle population. The story of
turtle hunting far antedates the white
man's discovery of the Americas, but
36
in latter years, with the advance of our
civilization, the destruction has be-
come more effective, and the turtle has
begun to show signs of diminishing.
The Venezuelan Government, worried
about the situation, offered generous
research funds for our School of Bi-
ology of the Universidad Central de
Venezuela to make an ecological and
economic studv of this renewable na-
tural resource that provides means of
living for many riberenos ( people who
live on the river banks) , be they Indi-
ans or crioUos. who are the descend-
ants of the Spanish.
For the last four years we have es-
tablished, during the reproduction
period of the Arrau, a temporary bio-
logical field station on abandoned,
isolated Cuba Island, located in the
middle of the Orinoco near the Vene-
zuelan-Colombian border, to studv the
reptile. The island is about five miles
long and two miles w ide and its beach,
Playa del Medio, is one of the main
arenas for egg laying. Within fifty
miles are three or four more beaches
where the vearlv pilgrimage ends.
To obtain as precise data as possible
we soent manv sleepless nights on the
sandy beach of Cuba Island observing
—or. it might be said, feeling— our way
with our hands toward some kind of
know ledge in the darkness. The turtles
come out of the water in groups. Some
four or five move ahead, then stop and
listen : nieanw bile some from behind
pass them and walk for a while, only
to stop after a few yards to listen and
observe. They, in turn, are overtaken
by others, and so it goes until the
group has reached some of the highest
elevations of the beach. There they
begin to dig nests, and there other
groups mix with them. During the
walk, a female stops from time to time
and throws sand on her back with her
front legs as if she is trying the quality
of sand. Their approach can be heard
from some distance by a typical "gurc,
gurc" sound. This is particularly loud
on the final nesting sites, and it seems
that it has to do with some character-
istic of the sand— perhaps a higher
concentration of salts or other miner-
als. We could produce the same tvpe
of sound on other turtle islands in the
Orinoco by walking over the sand.
Curiouslv. sands from beaches that are
not used by turtles usually do not pro-
duce this distinctive noise.
Sometimes we arrived on the nest-
ing sites early in the evening, fell
asleep, and awoke to find turtles all
TriiTLiN dig fmall holes to receii
their eggs at the bottom of the larj
holes they dig first, above and righ
\ <
%='^>»
■a
3 in one square meter of ground
dug up and the eggs counted. The
ge per nest was from 82 to 85.
around us— moving, digging, or laying
eggs. The first night we did not know
how to pass unnoticed and make the
needed observations. Since it was al-
most impossible to see anything, we
walked among them, but soon found
out that the turtles rightly took us for
strangers and returned, running, to
the river. So we crawled on our bellies.
The observation was much more diffi-
cult, but at least the Arrau did not run
away. On occasion, to reassure the
turtles, we extended our hands later-
ally and, first with one hand and then
with the other, we threw sand on our
backs as the females were doing— and
it did the trick.
WHEN a female decides she has
found the right place, she starts
digging immediately, using all four
legs. First, there are strokes with front
legs that throw the sand to the pos-
terior; then, one at a time, the hind
legs finish the job. throwing the sand
laterally four or five feet away. When
the legs on the right side tire, the fe-
male uses the legs on the left side until
a hole about three feet in diameter
and almost two feet deep is produced.
This is a difficult task, for the sand is
dry and the walls fall in repeatedly,
but the female goes on until she is
finished, although from time to time
she relaxes for a few seconds.
When the large hole is dug she uses
her hind limbs to scoop out a smaller
hole— about twelve inches deep and ten
inches wide— in the bottom. This is the
spot where the eggs will be laid. The
wet sand starts at that depth, and both
during and after digging the female
irrigates it with her cloacal liquid to
facilitate egg laying and to contribute
to the firmness of the nest walls. When
the nest is carved large enough she
makes a last, quick move, throwing her
body backward to cover the nest hole
completely with the carapace. From
this moment on she is unmovable.
Earlier, any suspicious sound or move-
ment could frighten her away. Once
the egg laying starts, however, we dis-
covered we could move around freely.
We could touch her head or legs or
body, throw sand on her— nothing
could force her to budge. We capital-
ized on this behavior by opening one
side of a nest and, with our hands
inside it, feeling the eggs actually fall-
ing and the turtle using her tail to
distribute them in the nest. For about
37
twenty minutes nothing is heard but
a peculiar moaning. The eggs come
out at intervals of four to fourteen or
more seconds. At first, two or three
are laid at once; later, one by one.
When the egg laying nears its end, a
curious gargling sound is heard, as if
air is coming from the cloaca. By this
time, the stupendous effort has filled
the female's eyes with tears that roll
down her sand-covered face. But the
job is only half-done.
Immediately after finishing the egg
laying, and without lifting her body,
she starts closing first the nest, then
the large hole. It is a good hour's ac-
tivity, as she not only covers the hole,
but smooths over a surrounding area
about twelve feet long and five feet
wide. One end of this area, as far as
possible from where the eggs are
buried, she does not cover completely
but leaves a small depression in the
ground. This gives the appearance of
a recently covered nest, and may be
designed to confuse predators. Com-
pletely exhausted, with wet eyes,
bloody hind limbs, and a tired body,
she returns to the river. The following
year, on the same beach, the pattern
will be repeated.
Sometimes egg laying starts early
in the morning. The first rays of t
sun heat the sand beaches so rapid
that on more than one occasion i
have found exhausted females w]
have died before being able to rea^
the saving waters. While the egg la
ing is in full swing at night, mai
females go on basking during the da
time until their time to lay has coir
and this most intensive activity m
last up to two months.
TO obtain data about the product:
ity of our beach we made a tra
sect, opened one square meter
ground every ten meters, then dug o
and counted all the nests and the nuj
ber of eggs in them. The number
eggs varies greatly; the average
around 82 to 86, although young i
males, called lechonas, lay only 50
60. The record number obtained fro
a single nest is 150. The eggs are so
shelled, elastic, and almost round. T
native boys play ball games with thei
Embryomc de\ elopment of Podocnei7us expcmsa takes about
45 days. In top photograph, two- or three-day-old embryo is
easily visible through the thin egg membrane. Before hatching,
38
the caruncle— a beaklike projection— forms on the snout ju
below the nostrils. This is used to break the shell, and th(
the turtle begins its struggle up through sand to the ligt
the middle of April all the fe-
have gone. The incoming rains
;he water level rise quickly, and
lach is abandoned except for
;ds of predaceous birds, which,
the egg-laying period, hunt for
lished or badly closed nests to
ifter the departure of the fe-
however, the birds wait for the
ngs to come out of their safe,
ground nests. Among the most
int birds are vultures, like the
0 (Coragyps atratus) and Cari-
"aracara plancus) , or the tallest
American flying bird, the
Bird (Jabiru mycteria) , and
)od Ibis (Mycteria americana) .
well-protected eggs continue to
p at an almost constant under-
1 temperature of 31 to 32 de-
;entigrade. After three days of
tion the embryo can be seen
, and after ten days the unmis-
; shape of a young turtle is
through the thin membrane.
However, the development continues
for at least forty-five days. Then the
hatchling breaks the soft shell and
starts to struggle upward to the light.
The sand above is soft, but it takes two
or three days for them to reach the
surface. When those uppermost tire,
the ones below overtake them, the
strongest reaching the surface first.
Near the surface the intense heat of
the sun, which has raised the sand
temperature to over 60 degrees centi-
grade, repels the young turtles; so it is
only late at night or in the early morn-
ing hours that the hatchlings break
the surface and start running toward
the water. We have called this journey
the "death race," for as soon as the
two-inch, one-ounce creatures appear,
all the vultures and other birds begin
a fantastic banquet. The baby turtles
run as fast as they can: they scurry,
stop, and then race off again. But soon
the beach is covered with empty shells
—the bodies have been eaten out by
vultures. The larger birds swallow the
turtles whole. Sometimes the tiny
racers do not seem to know where the
water lies, and they run down the first
slope they find. Many times, certainly,
it leads them to the river, but at other
times the inclination leads them to-
ward the center of the island. The
birds swoop down to kill the first
several thousand hatchlings, but as
more keep running among the dead
bodies of their brethren, the birds
have some difficulty in distinguishing
which is dead and which is a live turtle
that has hesitated for a moment.
For the young turtles who reach the
water, the calamities are not over.
Large and small fishes, like the Valen-
ton ( Brachyplatystoma filamento-
sum), Cajaro ( Phractocephalus hemi-
hopterus) , or Pavon fCichla sp.j, as
well as the Orinoco crocodile (Croc-
odyliis intermedius ) or the South
American caiman (Caiman crocodilus
crocodilus) are waiting to swallow the
unfortunate creatures, and the death
race continues until the relatively few
fortunates— perhaps 5 per cent— have
reached the turbid Orinoco waters.
Nature sometimes plays a tragic
trick; the rains start earlier than usual
and the waters rise so fast that many
nests are inundated before the young
have hatched. The year 1963 was a
particularly bitter one; several million
eggs and newborn turtles never
reached the surface. It was a sad oc-
cupation to open nest after nest and
find lifeless young or grayish eggs
with their rotting embryos.
Toward the end of May the river
rises over the beaches, leaving visible
only a tiny, vegetation-covered portion
of the island. Even this is sometimes
overrun by the violent waters. But the
Arrau will return again as long as
there is an opportunity, and if man
does not wipe them out entirely.
IN 1800 Baron von Humboldt, the
German explorer-naturalist, pro-
vided good descriptions of some as-
pects of turtle exploitation by Indians.
Although they captured the females
for meat, they much preferred the
eggs. Von Humboldt speaks of about
33 million eggs laid on one beach in
one season, and his calculations in-
clude 100- to 120-thousand nests. The
Indians, who frequently worked for
Christian missionaries, collected mil-
lions of eggs in their baskets, washed
them, and then threw them in curia-
ras (small, canoe-like boats), and
39
squashed them. Then they were left un-
til an oily substance from the "whites"
floated on the surface. This was col-
lected and used as fuel for lamps.
There was a time when turtle eggs sup-
plied most of the oil for lamps through-
out northern South America. Turtle oil
is still used for cooking. Even now,
turtle eggs, fresh or dried, are consid-
ered a delicacy.
A T one time Indians who attempted
_/-\^ to catch the females had to com-
pete with jaguars, which were then
abundant. The animals knew how to
flip a female onto her back so they
could eat her at leisure. Another great
enemy of the turtles was the Orinoco
crocodile, and records show that in a
single night the Piaroa Indians killed
eighteen large crocodiles during the
turtle-nesting season. When a demand
developed for crocodile skins for ex-
port, they were hunted eagerly, and
soon became scarce in the main stream
of the Orinoco; thus, fashion helped to
rid the Arrau of at least one enemy.
During the May to December feed-
ing period, the Arrau is caught in sev-
eral ways. The criollos use a blunt
hook baited either with a mango or a
topocho—a variety of banana— while
the Indians use bows and arrows or
harpoons, but in either case the Arrau
are fierce antagonists. Their legendary
resistance was confirmed by a female
we caught on the beach. She had a
rusty arrowhead in the middle of her
brain; the reptile had lived with it for
years, judging from the state of the
iron. To honor the resistance of this
Arrau, we solemnly marked her, and
the riberenos acceded to our request
that she be released.
The great respect that the natives
hold for the Arrau is shown by the
many legends told from generation to
generation. For instance, no woman
is permitted on the turtle islands. Ei
those who approached had to stay
their boats and away from the bea
When questioned about this, an Ind:
answered: "Why, certainly. That's
cause of the Turtle Lady." The be!
is that during the daytime, when
sand is sizzling hot. the Turtle La
appears. She is a tall, beautiful, bla
haired woman in a white, diaphan(
gown. She walks among the baski
rows of turtles, encourages them, a
shows them the best areas in wh:
to bask. She orders away the ones tl
have stayed too long in the sun, a
points out the highest beaches whi
hatchling survival is best. In short, 1
Turtle Lady protects the female turl
in all ways, but she is jealous of a
other woman, and will harm her a
guide all the turtles to other bead
should one approach. In addition, s
will injure any man who is on 1
beaches when she is there. This etl
Local people on the Orinoco catch
turtles on their breeding grounds and
pen them before shipping them to market.
40
Tracks of females seeking nest sites
cover the beach. Wavy lines between the
footprints are made by turtles' tails.
m
-fsr
/ision— and many Indians swear
lave seen her walking among the
s like a nature spirit— has more
r to protect the Arrau than all the
nment laws put together. The
are disobeyed readily, even
enforced by National Guards-
Needless to say, we agreed that
urtle Lady should be respected!
ring the darkest nights— so goes
er story— when the females are
:ided and confused about where
t what time to start egg laying,
Ibador (the Whistler) appears.
Whistler is a huge male turtle, and
listle guides the females straight
nesting grounds that were indi-
during the day by the Turtle
The Whistler can see on the
3t nights, and sometimes he can
e so that no human ear can hear
he female turtles hear him,
h, and his magic call is obeyed
of them. When the Whistler is
on the beach, he warns the females of
danger, including the approach of
men. The turtle collectors, therefore,
have always tried to catch the Whistler
before attempting to capture the tur-
tles, but so far they have been notably
unsuccessful. Also, there are many
nights when turtles lay eggs but the
men can find none in the darkness.
This, too, is arranged by the Whistler.
In myth and reality, then, the Arrau
is an integral part of the lives of the
Indians, who cherish the other's exist-
ence. The Indians do not "possess" the
Arrau— or anything else that lives in
the Father of All Waters— as we pos-
sess, or think we possess, our houses,
streets, sometimes even our wives and
children. They sincerely share their
lives with the turtles, attempting to
outwit them by an honest competition
in which man is armed with his intel-
ligence, and the Arrau is protected by
its instinct and its mystical allies.
Rusty arrowhead, apparently carried for
years, is lodged in this turtle's skull.
MtaMHMi
.^
f^ 0>^>
4^J
/^■-.^
«M -md
Arches and Bridges
42
)f Stone
,— , by WILLARD LUCE
X HE STATE OF UTAH has the greatest collection
of natural arches and bridges in the world, many of
them now in three national monuments: Arches Na-
tional Monument, Natural Bridges National Monu-
ment, and Rainbow Bridge National Monument.
In Arches National Monument near Moab, Utah,
there are eighty-eight known natural arches. Some
are no larger than small windows, while one, the
291-foot Landscape Arch, is considered the long-
est natural span in the world. A good many others
have openings large enough to serve as railroad
tunnels, and one, DeHcate Arch, could curve up
and over a three-story building. The rocks of the
Monument are primarily of Entrada sandstone, al-
though Carmel formations and Navaho sandstone
are also present. Entrada is a brown or reddish-
brown, fine-grained sandstone with subordinate, in-
terbedded siltstone and claystone. The Entrada is
oipapu Bridge, above, is located in Natural
Bridges National Monument. It has a 261-foot span.
Double Arch, left, resulted from the effect
of wind, frost, and water seepage on Entrada stone.
43
probably of a combined water and wind origin; it
exhibits sections that are typically deposited in
water, while others, strongly cross-bedded (cross-
stratified), were probably dune or wind deposits.
On the basis of stratigraphic position, Entrada is
assigned to the Late Jurassic Period.
Utah's red rock country has been affected by
various geological processes. In some in-
stances, an intrusion of salt forced the rocks upward
into huge anticlinal folds or domes. The pressure
from underneath and the upthrusting caused a
warping and finally a cracking of the Entrada sand-
stone. Joints, or cracks, ran parallel to each other
and to the axis of the anticline. The upward move-
ment of the anticline also hastened the erosion of
the post-Entrada material. Erosion continued, eat-
ing down into the parallel joints and into the sec-
ondary cross-joints that ran at right angles. Soil
collected between the fins, and plants grew there,
sending roots into the tiniest cracks. Freezing and
thawing helped widen the space between the fins.
While such intrusions did alter the surface and
texture of rocks, they were not responsible for the
formation of arches. Water, wind, and frost played
the major roles in this phenomenon. As these three
forces gradually ate away at the rock slabs, under-
cutting started, and the softer material was washed
or blown away. This occurred in the Entrada sand-
stone, but it happened far more rapidly in the
Carmel formation, which is of a soft and crumbly
nature. Because the wind is seldom still on the high
Colorado Plateau country, sandblasting became a
continuous process. Slowly, holes were worn
through the fins, and arches were born.
Liooking-glass Arch, below, l\ainbow Bridge, right, is
rises symmetrically in most famous in Utah. It
the South Moab area just spans 278 feet, curving 309
east of U.S. Route 106. feet above Bridge Canyon.
\
fc^*"
''•kS
^^^i^'
y * '^i
Uelicate Arch, located in
Arches National Monument,
could encompass a three-story
office building within its arc.
At other locations, seepage of water formed al-
coves, or caves, by dissolving the cementing ma-
terial and washing it and bits of sandstone away.
Potholes formed on top of the sandstone ledges,
gradually becoming deeper, until finally a large
hole formed in the top of the cove, in some cases
causing the whole roof to collapse. The Double
Arch is a product of both these processes. Coves
working in from two directions finally perforated
the slab of sandstone, while potholes working down
from the top caused the roof to collapse. Two gird-
ers were left, reaching out from one apex to form
one of the most unusual structures in Arches Na-
tional Monument.
The most obvious diiference between a natural
bridge and a natural arch is that a bridge spans a
watercourse, although the watercourse may be dry
most of the year. For example, the canyons of Nat-
ural Bridges National Monument, in the southeast
corner of the state, are usually free of running
water, but during spring runoffs and flash floods,
they sometimes carry a huge volume of water mixed
with sand, trees, and even boulders.
RUNNING water also plays an important role in
the formation of any natural bridge. Slowly,
over eons of time, a stream bed wears down into
rock. Twisting and turning, the water digs an oxbow
channel deeper and deeper into the thick layer of
sandstone. As it continues wearing downward, the
moving water also pushes and churns against the
side of the channel until finally it wears a hole
through the oxbow and takes a shortcut. This is the
beginning of a natural bridge, and the size of the
hole is one guide to estimating its age. A bridge that
has a small opening, with a thick slab of stone above
it, is considered to be more recently formed than
one with a large opening overhung by a thin girder.
On this basis, the three White Canyon bridges of
Natural Bridges National Monument may be classi-
fied as "young." "middle aged." and "old." Kachina
Bridge, the youngest, has a span of 206 feet, but
curves only 98 feet above the canyon floor, while
the sandstone arc above the opening is 107 feet
thick. Sipapu Bridge is middle aged. It is also the
largest and most beautiful of the three. It has a
261 -foot span, and its 56-foot-thick beam of stone
curves 166 feet above the canyon floor. The Owa-
chomo is the oldest. Its thin, 1 1-foot-thick girder is
97 feet above the canyon floor and spans 200-foot-
wide Armstrong Canyon.
Rainbow Natural Bridge, itself a national monu-
ment, is the largest, most colorful, and certainly the
best-known of all Utah's natural bridges. It is lo-
cated in one of the most inaccessible areas in the
United States, Alaska excluded. Within a radius
of fifty miles there are only two improved roads,
neither of them heading for Rainbow Bridge. To
reach it by land requires a fifty-mile drive over a
primitive road that ends fourteen miles from the
bridge. From then on there is only a winding trail
through the red rock canyons. It fights its way from
one canyon to another, always creeping deeper and
46
deeper into a desert of barren sandstone. Rainbow
is much easier to reach from the Colorado River,
and as waters from the recently flooded Glen Can-
yon Dam continue to back up into Aztec and Bridge
canyons, boats will be able to reach almost to the
bridge. Unlike other bridges in the state. Rainbow's
spanning beam arches gracefully and symmetrically
up and over the canyon beneath it. This is why the
Navahos call it Nonnozoshi, or Great Stone Arch,
and the Utes call it Barohoini, The Rainbow. But
neither of the names prepares the visitor for its tre-
mendous size. Its arch is 278 feet across and 309
feet above Bridge Canyon, and there is room
enough beneath it for our National Capitol.
In addition to the natural arches and bridges de-
scribed in this article, there are others scattered
throughout Utah's red and white rock country.
Many are in the area that soon may become Can-
yonlands National Park, which would be near the
junction of the Green and the Colorado rivers.
i he North Window, one of
many smaller arches near Moab,
is 65 feet high. Its beam
measures approximately 130 feet.
I his fortress-like structure
has been aptly christened .
Turret Arch. It is located in
Arches National Monument.
Armor-plated
and Jawless
Fish
D
evonian
Fossil record is clue to pteraspid habitat
By David L. Dineley
Among the most curious aniir
_/\_ ever to appear in the waters
the Northern Hemisphere were
ostracoderms, an ancient group
jawless, armor-plated fishes, many
which may have looked rather 1
giant tadpoles. Most of them were
tv\ een four and twenty inches long, 1
a few grew to larger size. Their
mains are most often found in ea
Devonian rocks, deposited betwf
380 and 400 million years ago,
though they apparently existed duri
earlier Ordovician times. By the e
of the Devonian Period they beca
extinct, yet there remains the poi
bility that our modern agnathous,
jawless, fishes— the lampreys and h;
fishes— may be descended from osl
coderm ancestors. In recent yci
there have been some very detailed c
cussions of the affinities betueen tb
two agnathous groups. These affinit
48
wide scope for conjecture, be-
s only the bony armor and scales
e ostracoderms remain, while the
;rn lampreys and hagfishes pos-
no comparable hard parts.
;tracoderms were entirely aquatic
ures, with varying amounts of ar-
about the head and body. They
lly lacked paired fins and they
1 by waggling a stout tail. In place
ws and teeth, some had a structure
irecting or scooping up food into
mouth; others may have had
ir-like "lips." Basically there were
cinds of ostracoderms— those that
a head skeleton largely compris-
1 single complex shield of bone
Osteostraci) , and the more varied
p (the Heterostraci ) , in which the
and body were encased in sepa-
Dony plates. Although we have yet
id an ostracoderm with any sort
hy "backbone," there is no doubt
that those animals were true verte-
brates, and were among the first to
leavetracesof aspecializedmodeoflife.
The pteraspids were perhaps the
most successful of the heterostracans,
and their fossils are sufficiently numer-
ous to provide us with a fairly detailed
picture of their natural history. At the
turn of the century, six or seven spe-
cies of Pteraspis had been described ;
the number of valid species today is
six times greater, and as many yet-
undescribed, related types are known.
Geological studies by various workers,
including the author, have helped to
give an idea of the environment and
the changing conditions in which these
animals lived.
Pteraspids were rather trowel-
shaped and flattened little creatures,
usually a few inches long, and with
strong tails with the lower, finlike lobe
larger than the upper. This lower part
of the tail served to keep the creature's
nose down as it swam. The snout was
a more or less elongated, solid, single
bony plate. Just behind its lower hind
margin lay a narrow, transverse
mouth. The eyes peered forward and
sideways and were relatively small.
The nasal cavity probably opened into
part of the mouth. A pineal organ was
present between the eyes. Over the
central part of the back and belly were
large, symmetrical median plates, or
discs, while slender, somewhat bowed
branchial plates ran along the shallow
sides of the body. At the hind end of
these branchial plates lay the bran-
chial, or gill, openings from which
water was expelled after it had passed
over the gills. Beyond these, cornual
plates formed the hind "corners" of
the carapace. From the center of the
hind margin of the dorsal disc pro-
jected a spine, which, together with the
49
Coelolepid
cornual plates, may have helped to
stabilize movement through the water.
While the plates forming the top and
sides of the carapace were often found
fused together, the ventral disc always
seems to have fallen away after the
animal died, and it possibly never
coalesced with the other armor.
ONLY very rarely has the delicate
assemblage of small plates about
the mouth been preserved. The oral
plates, hinging down from their pos-
terior ends, formed an apparatus
rather like a mechanically expandable
scoop or shovel. Clearly, such slender
structures were not used for biting or
crushing. None has been found to be
worn or abraded, and presumably
they were covered by or linked with an
epidermis that allowed them to splay
out forward and downward. One can
picture this device being used to scoop
up mud or food from the bottom.
Behind the animal's flattened and
boxlike front part, the rear half of the
body was laterally compressed and
covered with bony scales that were
overlapped, thick, and regular. The
largest were on the flanks, and occa-
sionally two scales seem to have fused
to form curious "double scales."
Both the plates and the scales have
the same remarkable, three-layered
structure. Outermost is a layer of den-
tine, which bears an ornamentation of
"ribs," tubercles, and so on. In the
middle is a cellular or spongy bone
layer, which is the thickest of the three.
On the inner side is smooth, laminated,
bony tissue. The sensory canal system
runs through the middle layer and con-
nects with the outside via small pores.
All of the features described above
are very typical of the pteraspids, espe-
cially the fine ribbing seen on the
plates of the carapace. On the interior
of the carapace is a remarkably con-
stant arrangement of impressions that
gives a clue to the disposition of or-
gans within the body.
From the impressions inside the
dorsal shield we can reasonably sug-
gest that a pair of small nasal capsules
lay just above and behind the mouth,
with the nostrils opening into the
mouth, and behind these lay a promi-
nent pineal organ, two semicircular
canals, and gill chambers in pairs.
Supporting the various soft tissues,
respiratory system, and so forth, was
possibly a mass of cartilage. We have
never yet discovered fossils in which
this cartilage had become ossified, and
possibly no pteraspid ever developed a
rigid bony endoskeleton. Seven or
more pairs of gill sacs or chambers
were present, and may have been simi-
lar to those of modern jawless fishes.
They must have been connected with
the mouth and, either directly or via a
common canal, with the branchial
openings, which lay close to the hind-
most sac. Water, taken in at the mouth.
passed into the pharynx and throuj
a small connection into each g:
cavity. What kept the water moving
not easy to see. The rigid box of a
mor prevented "breathing" mov
ments— contraction and expansion—
the head and body. It is thought vei
unlikely that currents produced by tl
waving of cilia, little hairlike proje
tions from the gut wall, could ha'
been strong enough to propel an ar
mal as large as Pteraspis. Profess
D. M. S. Watson of London has su
gested that the water was kept movii
by muscular tissue that "squeezed"
along the system, as in hagfishes t
day. He thinks that in at least OJ
heterostracan this tissue was a stroi
sheet attached to the ventral surfa
of the brain case not far behind t
eyes and just in front of the first pa
of gill sacs. The fact that the venti
disc resisted fusion with the oth
plates suggests that it may have be
hinged by tissue and moved by t
respiratory activity going on above
In common with other primiti
aquatic vertebrates, the ostracoden
possessed a sensory, or lateral lii
system. This was a network of fi
canals that ran along the sides of t
body and formed a complex patte
over the head, similar to that of t
modern lamprey. In the pterasf
carapace, as we have seen, it involv
a system of canals running throu
the middle layer of the plates a
50
TYPES of ostracoderms—jawless vertebrates— are
1 in rocks of Silurian and Devonian Periods,
h of pteraspid, right, was closed by "scoop" of
ral plates, probably set in the membrane. Plates
:en In longitudinal section in bottom drawing.
ing the exterior through numer-
inute pores. It has been recently
sted that, as in certain modern
, the lateral line system may have
oned as an "echo-sounder," lo-
; objects by measuring the re-
l vibrations set up by the swim-
movements of the animal itself,
rk or turbid water this would
3een particularly useful.
RT from the anatomical interest
offered by these fishes, we have
absorbing problems concerning
geological and geographical dis-
ion, life history, and habits,
of the ostracoderms are known
from isolated or fragmentary
and scales. Many of the first
pid fossils to be discovered were
amplete that they were regarded
remains of moUusks, sponges,
er invertebrates. The true chor-
ature of these fossils was event-
established in 1858 by T. H.
y in London. Complete speci-
are still very rare. Only in 1935
detailed account of newly found
ete fossils published by Dr. E. I.
of the British Museum. Pteras-
however, are now known over
wide geographical area. Origi-
discovered in Britain and Ger-
they have since been found in
s and Belgium, Poland, the
ne, and Spitsbergen. In North
ca they have been found in Nova
Scotia, the Canadian Arctic Islands,
Ohio. Colorado, Wyoming, and in the
Canadian Rocky Mountains.
Most frequently the pteraspids are
found together with various other os-
tracoderms and placoderms ("plate-
skinned" fishes with primitive jaws)
in sandy formations often called the
"Old Red Sandstone" in Great Britain.
These deposits are usually and essen-
tially non-marine— the sediments of
deltas, lakes, and flood plains. Often
the ostracoderm remains occur in iso-
lated pockets and segregations, as
though swept together by streams and
currents. Here, at least, the impression
is gained that the pteraspids and other
ostracoderms lived in inland waters.
Occasionally they are found in marine
sediments and this, together with their
distribution on each side of the Atlan-
tic, prompts the question of whether
or not the animals spent at least part
of their life in the sea. Many of us
who have searched for the earliest
ostracoderms have produced evidence
to show that they originally inhabited
marine waters and, indeed, the ma-
jority of pre-Devonian specimens have
been recovered from marine deposits.
During the Devonian Period, however,
the animals seem to have migrated to
fresh-water habitats (where they even-
tually suffered extinction) . What were
the reasons for this change of habitat
and was it, in fact, as complete as the
fossil record suggests?
So similar are the faunal succes-
sions on both sides of the Atlantic that
there must have been communication
between the now widely separated
regions, with ostracoderms migrating
or dispersing from a common center.
I recently found that the pteraspids in
Nova Scotia, for example, appear to
have been very closely related to, and
contemporary with, those in Britain.
If continental drift is not invoked, the
distances over which the dispersal oc-
curred amount to more than 2,000
miles, even if the center of dispersal
lay midway between the Old World
and the New. If the continents are
grouped together in a manner accept-
able to the proponents of the drift
hypothesis, the distances, while con-
siderably reduced, are still large.
Although the majority of pteraspid
occurrences are in beds of Old Red
Sandstone type, it is becoming obvi-
ous that these fluvial, lacustrine, and
deltaic environments were in direct
connection with the open seas. This
can be seen in the geological succes-
sions in Germany, southwest England,
and eastern North America. Since
pteraspid migration across dry land
was impossible and dispersal was un-
likely to have been very extensive in
fresh waters, this connection with the
sea assumes great importance, for it
presents a way in which the animals
may have migrated over wide areas.
We believe that very probably these
51
Food and debris may have entered gut,
as water, squeezed from gill pouches,
left the body via branchial openings.
ostracoderms spent part of their life
cycle in the sea, especially the shallow
coastal waters. As they were bottom-
dwelling creatures, it is likely they
never moved far from the shallows,
and may have spent part of their cycle
in the ancestral home of the verte-
brates, later moving into fresh waters.
The most numerous of the earliest
pteraspid types seem to have lived in
Spitsbergen, and it may well be that
the migrations of successive groups of
ostracoderms began somewhere in the
northern Arctic.
Pteraspis and its relatives lived in
times of great geological and biologi-
cal change. Mountain-building move-
ments on a wide and drastic scale were
in progress, affecting not only geogra-
phy, but perhaps the climate as well.
("Dinosaurs of the Arctic," Natural
History, April, 1964.) No doubt these,
in turn, exerted much influence on
pteraspid history and, indeed, on the
development of all the vertebrates.
PERHAPS we are now in a position
to outline something of pteraspid
life history and mode of existence.
Nothing is known of the reproductive
mechanisms in these ancient jawless
fishes, but possibly large numbers of
eggs were laid at each breeding season.
These may have been deposited on
sandy or shingle bottoms in the sea.
Here food particles would have been
plentiful, and the young may have
spent some time lurking in, or feeding
on, the bottom sediments. The larvae
were' probably active swimmers, ca-
52
pable of rapid and widespread dis-
persal. At this stage in its existence
the creature lacked the armor plates
and bony scales of the adult, and it is
not surprising that so far we have not
found it in fossil form.
One worker has suggested that the
rigid adult carapace originated in a
fusion of scales— perhaps a result of
tension and compression forces— over
the head and trunk region of the
pteraspid ancestors in early Paleozoic
times. The scales coalesced around
their adjacent growing edges, and
tended to attach themselves around
dorsal and ventral nuclei to form
discs. During late Silurian and De-
vonian times the ossification in the
scales of many ostracoderms set in
around both dorsal and ventral disc
centers and at other points that were
the sites of the paired plates. In some
types, scaled areas persisted between
the major plates, and apparently the
scales were never completely absorbed
by the larger units. Around the mar-
gins of many plates there is a some-
what different kind of ornamentation,
indicating the most recently formed
part, where bony material was depos-
ited as a rim around the nucleus of
fused scales. Once the carapace formed
a complete, rigid, boxlike structure,
no further growth was possible.
We see Pteraspis as a specialized
type of agnath, successfully adapted
for its mode of life, despite its rather
clumsy appearance. Although perhaps
poorly equipped as far as sight and
hearing were concerned, sensory
canals may have provided it with a
means of registering other stimuli.
The mouth apparatus seems to have
been an excellent mechanism for bot-
tom feeding or for scooping up food
as the creature swam. From this it
seems that the food was essentially of
soft, small particles, with tiny plants
or animals or even decaying matter
forming the bulk of it. Forms with
long snouts may have used them to
probe and stir mud and bottom debris;
the blunt-nosed, broad pteraspids may
have merely passed across the surface
of the substrate or over fronds and
patches of weed with open mouths. It
is more than possible that the animals
were "mud-eaters" that took in mud
and digested the organic matter in it.
It has also been suggested that tenta-
cles about the mouth, like those of
catfish, might have been present to
assist in probing debris on the bottom.
Some Russian ostracoderms have been
thought to have been plankton-feed'
sucking in floating microscopic <
mals and plants, but such a feed
method is not likely among pterasp
Food particles (and perhaps mud) 1
water taken in, perhaps in gulps.
the mouth would have been pas
back into the pharynx, where some s
of filter mechanism may have sie
out the food and other solid partii
and directed them into the aliment
tract while the water passed into the
sacs. This filtering system was pr
ably of soft tissues only, for we h
no fossil trace of it. It may have c
sisted of sticky surfaces, rather tl
the comblike system of baleen wha
While food particles were digestec
the gut, mud and sand may h
passed along to the anus. In the b
known species, P. rostrata, the a
was small and close to the carapE
suggesting a small, short gut, proba
not designed for mud feeders.
ONE of the interesting aspects
ostracoderm life that I have
vestigated in recent years is that of
range of environments and the ecolc
involved. Pteraspid remains, like th
of most ostracoderms, usually I
though not always) occur as cone
trations in sediments that show si|
of current action. Nevertheless, fr
the way in which numbers of th
fossils occur together in the rocks
seems highly probable that the anim
lived together in small groups
schools in the Old Red Sandstc
lakes and deltas and that they a
occurred near, if not actually in, 1
open sea waters. Very often they iir
have inhabited some environme:
with other ostracoderms and even w
small placoderms, many of which wi
active predators with snapping jai
Some of these other creatures h
much the same mode of life and woi
have been attracted by the same fe(
ing opportunities, although it is inti
esting to see that the pteraspids, oil
established, seemed to have crowd
out almost every other sort of heti
ostracan from the area. The contei
porary, possibly predatory, placoderi
do not seem to have been large enou|
to prey on the adult pteraspids, 1
though they may have fancied t
young. Of the other inhabitants
the ostracoderms' environment— osti
cods, pelecypods, miriapods, and e
rypterids— only the last would ha'
constituted any hazard. With the
pincer-claws they could have ma(
work of the small ostracoderms.
at we have discussed above ap-
o the pteraspid group of ostra-
ns as a whole, but we must re-
er that they were among the last
ostracoderm groups to appear
lat they had a fairly long evolu-
y span— at least throughout all
ver Devonian times (15 million
. During this period they
led out into many different
each no doubt adapted to a
jlar environment and mode of
ice. Generally speaking, the
t types were small and blunt-
; later pteraspids were either
long-snouted species or big,
broad-nosed types. The biggest of all,
known in southwest England, ap-
proached six feet in length and was a
relative giant. From what we can tell
from the rather metamorphosed rocks
containing it, it seems to have lived in
a coastal lagoon environment.
Inevitably we must ask what caused
the extinction of this peculiar group of
animals and, of course, there is no
simple and obvious answer. It was
probably a combination of geographi-
cal, geological, and biological circum-
stances. Sluggish in movement, poorly
provided with senses to warn of im-
pending danger, and having little but
their armor for protection, the later
pteraspids may have fallen prey to
placoderms. In their larval and im-
mature stages they may have been
especially easy victims of other verte-
brates or large invertebrates. Chang-
ing climatic conditions, possibly with
extensive desiccation, could have been
fatal. By Middle Devonian times
pteraspids had virtually disappeared.
Other ostracoderms persisted longer
by adapting to new modes of life and
perhaps by shedding their armor. It is
possible that our modern lampreys and
liagfishes are descended from these,
but here the fossil record is completely
lacking. We are allowed conjecture,
but have few facts after the Devonian.
rsal projections, with
:eption of DREPANASPSIS,
PROTASPIS
(DORSAL
RHINOPTERASPIS'
(DORSAL)
PROTOPTERASPIS
RDOVICIAN
PRIMITIVE ANCESTRAL
HETEROSTRACAN
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SKY REPORTER
Moon's face— first wonder of our sky
By Thomas D. Nicholson
"T"he face of the moon, acclaimed as the most beautiful and im-
I pressive sight that a telescope can show the human eye, was selected
by astronomers at The American Museum-Hayden Planetarium as the
first of seven celestial objects to be featured in "The Seven Wonders
of the Universe," the summer program for this year.
The identification of seven wonders follows a tradition dating from
antiquity, when travelers in the ancient Greek world selected from
among the artistic monuments erected by man the seven that were
most spectacular in their beauty and grandeur. The earliest known
list of objects, called the Seven Wonders of the World, was made by
Antipater of Sidon in the second century B.c They were the pyramids
of Egypt, the hanging gardens of Babylon, the statue of Zeus at Olym-
pia, the temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the tomb of King Mausolus at
Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes, and the great lighthouse
(Pharos) at Alexandria. The reputation of these seven wonders re-
mains today, although thousands of years have elapsed since the last
was built and little, if anything, is now left of their former glory.
The ancients never explained why exactly seven wonders were
named, although the number seven has always had a special mystical
meaning. There are seven days in the week, named after the seven
wandering stars in the sky (five visible planets, sun, and moon), and
some of the best-known groups of stars in our universe (Orion, the
Big Dipper, the Pleiades, the Northern Crown) each contain seven
stars of exceptional brightness.
The choice of celestial objects to be included among the Seven
Wonders of the Universe was a great challenge. It was decided, first
of all, that each of the seven wonders should be a real, physical object
that we can see or photograph, rather than a concept or a physical law,
such as the expanding universe. Second, we decided to base our selec-
tion upon the celestial objects visible from earth, even though some of
the choices might appear quite different or even insignificant from an-
other place in the universe. Third, each of our seven wonders should
be unique— either the only one we know or the most impressive of a
class of similar objects. And, finally, each should relate in some way
to our plan of showing, through seven objects, the design of the uni-
verse. Our choices met these criteria admirably.
The face of the moon, for example, is unique because it is the only
celestial body on which we can clearly see the features of a solid sur-
face. On only one other world in space, the planet Mars, can we observe
anything at all of the solid surface, and that very indistinctly. The
moon itself can hardly qualify as one of the greatest celestial bodies.
Neither in size, in mass, in distance, nor in the role it plays in the
universe does it match other awe-inspiring objects in our sky. It is
merely a satellite, an attendant of a planet, one of thirty-one such satel-
lites in the solar system, and by no means the largest of those. But its
remarkable face is certainly a wonder of our sky.
On the face of the moon we can observe tens of thousands of indi-
vidual markings or objects, some thirty thousand of which have been
In composite photo of moon, south is at top, west left,
as in an observatory telescope view. Dark areas are plains.
Large crater at left center, above, is Posidoiiiiis, sixty-
two miles across with walls up to 6,000 feet high. Inside,
several straight clefts intersect at a small central crater.
Both Eudoxus (upper) and Aristoteles craters, located
in northern area of moon, have steep, terraced walls that
rise about 11,000 feet. Aristoteles is sixty miles across.
S6
Dr. Nicholson, the regular author of this column, is also
Chairman of The American Museum-Hayden Planetarium.
identified and named. We can see mountains and valle'
and great, flat, dark plains; we observe crater-like form
tions, from tiny pits a quarter-mile across, to mountai
walled depressions over a hundred miles in diameter; \
find long and tenuous ridges marring the level plain
straight and narrow trenches extending a hundred mil
and more, and bright, splashlike rays fanning out fro
some craters as far as halfway around the moon.
The origin of the countless structures and features <
the moon's face has long been one of the most hotly debati
mysteries in astronomy. Are they scars left from the turb
lent surface of the moon when it was created? Are thi
products of eruptions— volcanism and gas discharges— fro
a hot. interior lunar core? Did they come from collisioi
with swarms of meteoroids early in the moon's histo;
when its surface may have been semisolid? Could they ]
the results of a continual bombardment by meteoroids ov
the billions of years of the moon's existence, some resu
ing in violent explosions upon impact? Almost any theo]
can be partly supported by evidence from structures se(
somewhere on the moon and by analogy with terrestri
features. Yet the same theories can be flatly contradicted 1
the appearance of countless other lunar features.
As varied as the face of the moon appears, there are all
f^ signs of remarkable uniformity. The bright rays, se(
best at full moon, differ in size with the crater they su
round. The tiny craterlets and crater pits seem too fi
quently arranged in lines and curves to be the result
chance. The rills— long clefts in the surface— are straig
for long distances, crossing mountains, plains, and crate
in their unwavering paths. It is doubtful that they are ac(
dental faults in the crust. The fine structure of ridges ar
gullies surrounding high-walled craters resembles t(
closely the dried-out watercourses we find on semiar
slopes on earth. Almost everywhere we search in the co
fused detail of the moon's face, we find strange signs ^
form and pattern and similarity.
There is an urgency about studying the face of the moc
today, with man on the threshold of landing there. Will
future space craft come to rest on a hard, firm surface -
rock? Or wifl it settle into a sea of dust? Some dust shou
be there, from micrometeoroids that have rained down c
the moon for ages, from the pounding of the rock surfai
by larger particles from space, from the cooling and hea
ing that occur quickly during the cycle of lunar day at
night. Much of the powdered matter may have settled in
valleys and depressions, however, leaving higher surfao
with only a thin coating. But even this could be a proble:
if it billowed up into great obscuring clouds from the a
haust of a retrorocket during descent. There is some ev
dence, on the other hand, that dust on the moon's surfa(
compacts into a semifirm honeycomb structure. If so, tl
space craft may come down on a slightly crushable su
face— rather like a reluctant sponge— which the retrorock
exhaust could break off and throw about in huge chiml<
The surface of the moon, then, is the first of our Sevf
Wonders of the Universe to be discussed here-the ta
talizing face of a fossil world that will play an increasing
significant role in the future history of our own plan(
SKY IN AUGUST
SEPTEMBER
TIMETABLE
August 1 Midnight
August 15 11:00 p.m.
September 1 10:00 P.M.
September 15 9-"" ■> "
^'-^r-x-~-. ^---*
,'''"*■'■'- >^
^r \ + y'Os
>
i- / *-^;„
CAl
1; -._.. X^.
>
.■^^PRICORNUS.
August 7, 2:17 p.m., EST
August 14, 10:19 P.M., EST
August 23, 12:25 A.M., EST
August 30, 4:15 A.M., EST
!t 4: Mars, Venus, and the moon line up nicely in the
Sky this morning before sunrise. The late crescent
ses first (about 1:30 a.m., local mean time), followed
fteen minutes by brilliant Venus and then the reddish
y dawn, all three are well up in the east, the moon
and toward the right of Venus, Mars lowest and to-
! left of Venus. During the 4th, the moon passes both
nd Mars and rises on the morning of the 5th later
sr than Mars.
;t 5: Mercury is at greatest easterly (evening) elonga-
may be seen in the western sky shortly after sunset,
/vever, is an unfavorable elongation for viewing,
t 11: The Perseid meteors, radiating from near the
ar Mirfak, reach maximum tonight. This is one of the
iwers of the year, with an hourly rate of from twenty
or several nights.
;t 24: Saturn reaches opposition, remaining in the sky
nset to sunrise, and is at its most distant position
! earth this year— 815,000,000 miles.
;t 28: Venus is again in conjunction with Mars. The
unction, on July 18, occurred when Venus was moving
Full Moon
Last Quarte
September 21, 12:31 p.m., EST
September 28, 10:01 a.m., EST
slowly in right ascension as Mars passed Venus in the sky.
Now, in August, Venus is moving more rapidly eastward again
and has once more overtaken Mars.
September 2: The crescent moon is again near Venus and
Mars in the east this morning. This time, the moon and Mars
are both to the right of and higher than Venus. The bright
star Pollux also joins the group, above and left of Venus.
September 18: Mercury is at greatest westerly elongation.
This is a favorable elongation in the morning sky. For several
days before and after, Mercury will be above the eastern
horizon for an hour and a half before sunrise.
September 21: The full moon occurring today is the harvest
moon. Moonrise occurs at nearly the same hour for three days
in a row, the 20th, 21st, and 22nd.
September 22: The sun is at the autumnal equinox at
7:17 P.M., EST. Autumn begins in the Northern Hemisphere.
Throughout August and September, Venus and Mars are
close in the morning sky, each rising about three hours before
the sun. Saturn, at opposition in late August, Is In the sky
most of the night through both months. Jupiter Is well up In
the eastern sky by midnight and remains visible until dawn.
CHRISTIAN OIL LAMPS . . .
FROM ANCIENT PALESTINE!
GENUINE: Excavated terracotta oil lamps,
ancient Palestine, 4th-7th Cent. A.D. FROM:
early Christian necropolis. USED: ceremoni-
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wick. Symbolizes knowledge, serves to stimu-
late the intellect. Superb display piece for
home & office, on hardwood base. ...$10. ppd.
PRE-
COLUMBIAN
HEADS . . .
SCIENCE I IN ACTION
From Anci
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ent Mexico's fa-
"Teotihuacan",
..._j collection of
delightful terracotta heads
dating from 750-1000 A.D.
Each head elegantly dis-
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excite, stimulate and please
all lovers of archaeology
SELECT Specimen S12.50
Aver.ige Specimen S 7.50
CLEOPATRA AGE JEW^ELRY
Egyp
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untains of LURISTAN!
n of bronze arrow-
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Swords, spears, axes, from Luris-
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id 3"-5" $6.50
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*SEE — "The Illustrated London News",
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Dept. N-8B • 520 5th Ave., • N. Y., N. Y. 10036
On ethnological tactk
By Robert L. Carneiro
THE TYPICAL ethnographic monograph
is an impersonal document. It pre-
sents in a completely detached and ob-
jective manner an account of the way of
life of a preliterate people. Nowhere
does the ethnographer intrude his per-
sonality or interject the frustrations and
exhilarations that accompanied the col-
lection of his data.
Yet, the story of how an ethnologist
makes contact with primitive people, how
he gains their confidence, and gradually
pieces together a picture of their culture
deserves to be told. What follows is an
attempt to present, in an admittedly dis-
connected and anecdotal way. some of my
experiences that may impart an idea of
what it is like to work and live among
primitive peoples.
My field work has been done in the
Amazon Basin among the Kuikuru of
central Brazil and the Amahuaca of east-
ern Peru. In both cases it was a joint
venture with my wife. Gertrude Dole,
who is also an anthropologist.
The first problem in carrying out field
work is to establish relations with the
tribe you have selected for study. The
recommended procedure is to work
through an intermediary who has the
confidence and good will of the natives.
Our initial meeting with the Kuikuru
took place at a remote outpost of the
Brazilian Indian Service where some
thirty Kuikuru had come for a visit. Here
we made friends with a number of them
and apprised them of our intention to
live among them. By the time we arrived
at the village, they not only were expect-
ing us but had even begun to build us a
house for our stay.
Our introduction to one group of Ama-
huaca Indians came through a mission-
ary-linguist who had built himself a
house deep in the forest and had influ-
enced several Amahuaca families to
come to the area. We entered the village
of the other Amahuaca group we studied
with no advance word at all. Their cor-
dial reception was especially surprising,
for these Amahuaca were firm believers
in piiA/ocos— white men who appear sud-
denly among Indians with the intention
of killing them and rendering their fat
for use as airplane grease.
Following a friendly initial contact,
the ethnographer can usually count on a
"honeymoon period." But this state of
affairs may change abruptly. One morn-
ing a Kuikuru. to whose friend I had re-
fused a bar of soap the day before, told
us we were stingy and would have to get
out of the village. For a couple of hours
our field session seemed wrecked. Bu
occurred to us to stage an enorm
giveaway of our presents, and thus di
onstrate our generosity to everybod)
gambit that proved effective. Our li
was more consistently good among
Amahuaca. Our relations with them w
excellent from the start, and remainec
the same high level throughout.
The Problem of Gifts
SOUTH AMERICAN Indians are unaba
edly materialistic, and one of
surest ways of pleasing them is to (
tribute presents with a free hand,
machete, a mirror, a fishhook, or a p
of scissors will all find a ready recepti
but the gift usually will be accepi
without the slightest outward sign
gratitude. The average Amazonian
dian will hide completely whatever s
isfaction a present gives him. acting
if he were only getting what he deseryi
Indeed, there is no word for "thank yo
in any Indian language I know. The m
we ever got from the Kuikuru by way
acknowledgement was enu figei, "it ii
present," and that we already knew.
It is always a vexing problem to deci
how often to give presents, to whom, a
on what basis. It is a good idea to try
give material items for services renderi
But this economic principle, so clear
the Western mind, often fails to impn
Indians. My bitterest experience alo
these lines occurred about midw
through the field session among the Ki
kuru. Ten men had helped me brii
supplies back to the village from t
Kuluene River, eight miles away. I ga
each of them a bar of soap, several lar
fishhooks, and some fishing line, makii
it clear that they were being paid f
their valued service. They understood t
all right, but many of the other men wl
had not helped also wanted soap, fis
hooks, and fishing line— and made thin,
difficult until they got them.
Conforming to Customs
ONE of the myths about ethnograpli
field work is that you must alwa
eat or drink whatever the natives put
front of you. If you fail to do so. tl
belief runs, the people will be offende
and your studies will be jeopardizei
Being extremely finicky about fooi
Dr. Carneiro, Associate Curator of
South American Ethnology at The
American Museum, spent nearly one
year with the Amahuaca and Kuikuru.
58
rcT, I soon decided to put this shib-
1 to the test. One day a gourd bowl
f manioc gruel was offered to me,
turned it down. Nothing happened.
fCuikuru did not even seem sur-
I. Actually most Tropical Forest
IS are very permissive, and will not
I force their customs on others,
theless, to take some of the un-
lusness out of my refusals I soon
:d the appropriate Kuikuru excuses,
IS tugupotsi—^my stomach is full."
ship ties are very important to
ive peoples, and one of the ways
ome established as a real human
is to show that you are also part
inship network. This can be done
wing photographs of yourself with
elatives. It helps, too, if you can
■y your relatives with the prevail-
inship terms. The Kuikuru and
Liaca never tired of asking to see
ctures. and would take great in-
In showing them to others, indicat-
e relationship each person in the
bore to us.
1 the Kuikuru and Amahuaca us-
addressed us by kinship terms.
Kuikuru, even persons we judged
if our own age. liked to elevate us
eration, calling us father and
•. The Amahuaca men. however.
ach other either hochi, "older
r," or chambi, "younger brother."
less of the actual relationship that
between them. They fitted me into
stem, and I soon learned whom
Lidged older and whom younger
The Amahuaca even suggested I
r wife chipi, "younger sister," and
e call me hochi, which is how hus-
nd wife address each other within
iship system.
The Language Barrier
HOUT question, the major prob-
m facing ethnologists studying
ve tribes is the language barrier,
lly there is at least one bilingual
in the society, and often he be-
he principal informant, especially
natters where the comprehension
:le details is important. But bi-
persons are often atypical indi-
, and it is good practice to use as
informants as possible, cross-
ig the information supplied by
iinst that of another. To do this,
:se, one needs at least a rough
g knowledge of the language. If
to be in the field a year or less,
g the native language fluently is
the question. However, I have
hat in three months one can ac-
mough facility to phrase intel-
questions about a variety of
s and to understand much of the
of the replies.
)ugh I am not a specialist in lin-
:, I find Indian languages fascin-
truggling to decipher a language
This is Questar, the first modem 20th century
telescope. Mark it weU, for it has made history. It
weighs but 7 pounds, and each Questar resolves
finer detaij than either theory or practice predict
for its 3.5-inch aperture. Never mind what we say:
the photographs Questars take record their powers
of resolution for everyone to see.
This cutaway photograph shows some of the in-
novations that Questar in 1954 brought to the art
of telescope design. First, perhaps, is the Questar
thin-edge perforate mirror that does away with
much useless glass because it is held only by its
central hole without metallic contact.
It is mounted on a long sliding thimble that
sUps along the central light baffle tube which pre-
vents daylight flooding and lets Questar be aimed
right next to arc lights without halations and
false images.
_ This moving mirror lets Questar focus from
mfinity to only 7 feet. Conventional telescopes
cannot attempt this feat, but must remain inflexible.
Thus was born a whole new instrument, the world's
first long-distance microscope. It has proved to be
a very useful tool of science.
Let us look at this array of stainless steel tubes.
Here is jewelry for fair! The long mirror thimble
touches only at small pads on either end, and is
precision ground to microns. The little tube up
front has a wall no thicker than a stiff piece of
paper, and fits so well we need not fasten it.
The photograph shows a few of the 19 internal
knife-edged stops which line the tubes to catch
internal low-angle reflec^lcns that no paint alone
can stop.
The lieht-absorbing paint we do use is very
special. This paint is sprayed upon the inside of
the aluminum barrel too, where all rays that do
not enter nearly parallel to the optical axis come
to rest. The making of these aspherically matched
Maksutov optics, which Questar first mastered and
brought to the world in 1954, is still a problem.
Our solution of it is direct and bold. We just
reject two perfect systems to obtain one superfine
enough to bear our name. The rejects are re-
worked until they either make the grade or are
discarded. That's right, we guarantee each Questar
to far exceed its Dawes limit of resolution. Only
one of each three sets met this test during 1961,
'62 and '63, despite the fact that our skilled
opticians have made more Cassegrain compound
high-power Maksutov telescopes than all other
makers combined. In the beginning we had no
idea superfine optics could be made at all. But
when they occasionally turned up, we said, "Fine,
let's try to make them all that way. Let's make
the best small telescopes in the world."
Does your telescope have a driving wheel whose
diameter is half the length of its tube? Ours does,
and it shows plainly here in the cutaway base.
Above it can be seen the 3 stainless steel disks
of our butter-smooth gearless slow motion drives.
It took us 5 years to learn how to control the
manufacture of these. We purchase 18-8 stainless
sheet from a Philadelphia warehouse and cut it
into 4-inch strips of a certain thickness. We send
them to a firm that owns a 4',-2-inch micro-rolling
mill in Connecticut. When they are rolled enough
times to meet our final thickness, to plus or
minus 3 microns, our strips have work-hardened
to the proper temper, and when stamped into
disks, will stand up for years of normal use.
We write about these details to inform those
who cherish fine hand-finished mechanisms. Few
people realize that good telescope mountings are
costly and exacting machines. We find we have
an investment in special tools of over S35,000.
What do we get out of all this care and con-
science, this stubbornness of purpose? It is very
simple. We not only have gained a worldwide
reputation but we count ourselves supremely
lucky to have such satisfying work as the making
of these beautiful instruments.
Priced from S795. Literature on request.
QUESTAR
BOX 60 NEW HOPE, PENNSYLVANIA
59
AN INVITATION TO TWO EXCITING LINDBLAD TRAVEL TOURS INTO ANTIQUIT
PRE-COLUMBIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES IN PERU,
GUATEMALA, HONDURAS, MEXICO and YUCATAN
WITH DR. J. ALDEN MASON
Our 1963 tour of Pre-Columbian archaeological sites under the expert leade
ship of Dr. J. Alden Mason was sold out within a few weeks after it had bet
announced.
The 1964 tour is even more exciting. This year Dr. J. Alden Mason, (Curat
Emeritus at the University Museum, Philadelphia, Pa. and Editor of publication
Brigham Young University, New World Archaeological Foundation), is again oi
lecturer. Long familiar with the areas Dr. Mason will take you to Peru, where we visit Lima with its many site
Cuzco, Machu Picchu, Trujillo with Chan-Chan. Then to Guatemala where we spend two days at Tikal, stop
Antigua, Lake Atitlan, Chichicastenango and Santiago. In Honduras we visit the fabulous ruins of Copan ar
in Mexico we have extended our stay to include not only the sites around Mexico City, but we also visit Oaxa(
with Mitla and Monte Alban. Finally— Yucatan with Chichen Itza and Uxmal— but this year also Baiancancl
and the very fascinating excavations at Dzibilchaltun.
The size of the group is of course limited and an early registration is recommended.
The tour departs on October 23, 1964 and the price for the 28 days is $1,650.00.
THE CUNEIFORM WORLD WITH DR. CYRUS GORDON
The exciting tour into Antiquity starts on April 6 and returns to the United States on May 3, 196i
after having visited Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Iraq and Jordan.
A study of the Sumero-Akkadian civilization and its impact on the origins of Western cultui
will form part of the program. This unforgettable journey through time to the wellsprings of oi
civilization will certainly be meaningful not only to the expert but also to the amateur archaeologist.
Our lecturer, Dr. Cyrus Gordon, has served as an archaeologist on many expeditions in the Near East. He pa
ticipated in the unearthing of the Royal Tombs at Ur, in discovering the mines of King Solomon, and decipherir
the Tell al-Amarna tablets found in Egypt.
Dr. Gordon is the author of many books and articles on the ancient countries we are visiting. Among the boof
are ADVENTURES IN THE NEAREST EAST; THE WORLD OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, AND BEFORE THE BIBLI
THE COMMON BACKGROUND OF GREEK AND HEBREW CIVILIZATION. For many years he has taught tti
languages, history, and archaeology of Egypt, Greece, and the Near East.
Our tour to Greece and Egypt last spring was a great success, but many had to be left behind due to lack of spaci
Please register early.
MAIL COUPON FOR DESCRIPTIVE FOLDER
To Lindblad Travel, Inc.
One East 53rd Street
New York 22, N. Y.
Please send me the folders describing the Archaeological tours to the PRE-COLUMBIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES with
Dr. J. Alden Mason and the TOUR OF THE NEAR EAST-THE CUNEIFORM WORLD with Dr. Cyrus Gordon.
Name-
Street-
_City_
T different from your own— one
is never been written down— is
challenging, often gratifying,
;asionally amusing. For instance,
ikuru, who were already familiar
atehes, called them gitifutofo. a
omposed of the morphemes gid^
■fu; "knowledge"; and -tofo.
Be." Thus, literally, a watch is
ling whose purpose it is to pro-
lowledge of the sun." This is a
ly reasonable name for it, since
r means the Kuikuru have to indi-
; elapsed time during the course
T is by the changes in the position
lun.
r having seen a pair of binoculars,
r, the Kuikuru had no name for it.
t time I showed them mine I de-
0 give it a Kuikuru name, pat-
on their word for watch. With
rable lexicographic pride I called
pefutofo, "something whose pur-
is to provide knowledge of what
way." The Kuikuru nodded and
rtrhen I told them, and I was sure
;ored a success. Only later did I
■ that kuope did not mean "far"
ut was a place on a small stream
Dn which I had happened to train
iculars that day.
Mlophones and Oinks
language offers its own special
)blems; the Amahuaca language,
iple, is extraordinary in the num-
illophones it contains. An allo-
s a unit of sound that is inter-
nerely as a permissible variation
ler sound, rather than a separate
f itself. Thus p and b, t and d,
, s and th, m and mb, n and nd,
and 0 and u— all separate and
sounds in English— are only
allophones in Amahuaca. This
ly lead one astray. For instance,
ere in my notes I had the word
;o weed," and elsewhere I found
1 uruge with the same meaning.
I interpreted them as synonyms,
ter dawned on me that different
5eemed to me, they were varying
ciations of the same word.
iru had a fair amount of allo-
•ariation. but not to the extent of
ca. It did, however, have a very
sound, the interpretation of
uzzled us for a long time. We
lecided that it was a uvular g.
dt is much like that produced by
trying to imitate a frog.
; was another method of com-
ion between the Indians and
s, although mainly it promoted
good feelings rather than the
mding of specific points. The
ca are relatively unmusical, and
iked us to sing, but the Kuikuru
ipped asking. Their favorite song
Ids was "Old MacDonald Had a
We gave so many command per-
formances of it during the time we spent
with the Kuikuru that we grew to curse
the day it was composed. But it amused
us to hear a Kuikuru, at some unex-
pected moment, muttering under his
breath, "Chick, chick . . . quack, quack
. . . oink, oink."
What Julius Beerbohm observed of the
Tehuelche of Patagonia many years ago
applies to the Kuikuru today: "They are
as easy to please as they are difficult
to satisfy." We often felt obliged to in-
dulge many of their whims and desires
and this usually called for large amounts
of patience. Of course, you cannot accede
to everything, and when you have to
draw the line, the refusal must be made
acceptable. For instance, after spending
our first ten days in the village in a
Kuikuru house, we found living condi-
tions so difficult that we decided to set
up our tent. The Kuikuru, who wanted
us in their midst all the time, were not
pleased at the idea, but did not object
outright. However, when we had selected
what seemed an ideal site and began to
clear it, a very serious-looking delegation
of men suddenly confronted us. We had
made a bad choice, they said. The area
was full of fitsifitsi (a certain kind of
bush spirit), and if we pitched our tent
there, we would have no peace at night.
Knowing that some objection would
be raised to any site we picked, we were
not disposed to be talked out of our
move. At the same time, I did not want
to risk antagonizing the Kuikuru. If
they said the place teemed with fitsifitsi,
then it teemed with fitsifitsi. It occurred
to me that the only way to fight a super-
natural argument was with another one.
From a suitcase I produced a bottle of
vitamin pills and, with gestures com-
bining mystery and flamboyance, took
one pill from the container. All we had
to do, I said, was to take one of these
pills at night, and no fitsifitsi in his right
mind would dare molest us. The Kuikuru
limply gave up the effort to dissuade us
and quietly left. (I should add. however,
that there were many "I told you so's"
when, a few months later, a large tree
limb weakened by termites fell on our
tent and almost demolished it.)
So far I have dealt mostly with estab-
lishing and maintaining good relations
with the people one is studying. But an
ethnographer is not in the field to win
popularity contests. He may never suc-
ceed in really ingratiating himself, or
in enjoying his tenure in the field, but
if he can come back with notebooks
bulging, he has done his job.
Approaches May Vary
THE method of gathering ethnographic
information varies, of course, with
individuals; no two ethnographers work
in exactly the same way. On some proj-
ects my wife and I used quite dissimilar
approaches— not merely in order to com-
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sail out of Newport on a foggy morning
listening to the whistles and the bells.
■ THE SEA AT CASTIS HILL is a 12" mono LP
for those who are perfectly satisfied
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out listening to it, but it could never
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recording of the side-wheeler ALEXANDER
HAMILTON on a trip up the Hudson River,
Beautiful whistles, and the rythmic
aighs and clanks of the steam engine,
1 BIRDS ON A HAY HORNING is another 12"
giving on Side A thirty-six bird songs
just as you would hear them in the East
in Spring, A narration identifies the
birds heard. On Side B the same songs
are given without any talking. Alfred
CHawkes of the Audubon Society of R.I,
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62
plement each other's work but also be-
cause our temperaments differ, and
because differences in sex affect rela-
tions with the informants. In many in-
stances my wife found it most productive
to use an unstructured, casual method by
which she could pick up and follow the
topic of the moment. I often found it
most successful to begin with a number
of points I wanted to investigate, and
to subject informants to a more formal
type of interrogation.
Like ethnologists, informants also
differ one from another. Some individ-
uals may be eager and colorful infor-
mants, but unreliable; others may be
reliable, but disinclined to give more
than the bare bones of an answer.
Individual spheres of knowledge dif-
fer, too. The man with the greatest store
of ribald tales may be poor on genealogy,
while the kinship specialist may be too
reserved to be a good informant about
scatology. Sex differences are also im-
portant in terms of what a person knows.
Indian men, for instance, can readily
identify constellations and tell the time
of year by them, while the women iden-
tify the seasons of the year by the fruit-
ing and flowering of trees and are
ignorant of the stars.
Sometimes one's initial assessment of
an informant may turn out to be wide
of the mark. Pablo, one of the first
Amahuaca I met after landing on Chu-
michinia Island in the Ucayali River,
reminded me of a pirate of the South
China Sea. He had a scraggly little
beard, the rudiments of a droopy mus-
tache, and even the traditional shifty
eyes. From the moment I saw him I
thought to myself, "This man is going
to mean trouble for us." Trouble? A
sweeter man never was born. Indeed,
Pablo proved to be the most obliging
informant I have ever known. As a mon-
ument to his accommodating nature I
offer the following incident.
I had made arrangements to talk with
Pablo, but rain delayed me. and when
I arrived I found him sprawled on the
porch of one of the houses. He had spent
the morning drinking masato, "manioc
beer." and was virtually stupefied. Un-
der these circumstances anyone, any-
where in the world, has the solemn right
to be left severely alone. But with a
dulled sense of social proprieties I de-
cided to ask Pablo one question, fully
expecting to be told where to get off. To
my astonishment, Pablo made a supreme
effort to collect his wits and answered.
Emboldened. I asked another. Again
Pablo replied. In a most extraordinary
display of concentration he continued
to force himself to answer every question
I put to him. But most remarkable of
all was that if a question were slow in
coming. Pablo would say, "iQue otra
cosita mas. Lobelto?" (What other little
thing, Robert?)
Pablo surely rates an A 4- for wil
ness. but he scored only about a B-
such things as depth of knowledge
reliability. The perfect informant
does not exist. The person to whom
can say. "Tell me everything your
pie believe about eclipses," and
proceeds to do just that in a clear,
nected. and exhaustive manner is m
be met with— at least in my experie
Moreover, in dealing with a numbt
informants there are inevitably
crepancies in their information that
not be reconciled. There is no si
"true" version of a myth, any more 1
there is a true description of a fitSi
or of the human soul. Generally one
find that there is a core of attrib
common to all or most accounts,
then a variety of details shared by
cessively fewer accounts. This raisei
problem in recording field data, bi
does in writing up an account. J
monographs present, one might say,
"mean" of a culture without presen
its "standard deviation." Some siir
fication is inevitable in a monogr,
but it is misleading not to point out y
divergences in belief and practice e]
for the divergences themselves are
ture patterns.
Rewards Offset Hardships
WHILE they lead a simple life,
Kuikuru and Amahuaca have
keen and sometimes subtle sense
humor, and did not place us outside
compass. Early in our stay among
Kuikuru we began making a house c
sus in order to learn the names of evf
one who lived in the village. The easi
way to do this was to count hammoi
and inquire who slept in each. In 1
house we saw two hammocks that 1
been strung up higher than the otlie
When we asked who slept in them
were told. "Oh, they belong to Kapi:
and his wife Kuagutafa. They've gone
the Kuluene to fish, but should be ba
in a few days." The days lengthen
into weeks and inquiries about Kapii
and Kuagutafa brought the same rep
Finally we tumbled to the fact that
such couple existed, and that the K
kuru were merely pulling our legs.
I am often asked if I enjoy doing fif
work. No simple yes or no answer can
given to this question. The insects, t
heat, the mildew, the intestinal parasiti
and all the other hardships of life
the rainy tropics make it impossible
give an unqualified "yes." Yet life ivi
the Kuikuru and Amahuaca was ofti
pleasant, even delightful, and this we
far to efface the hardships. But tl
greatest reward of all for an ethnologii
the thing that makes field work wor
while regardless of anything else, is tl
intense satisfaction of discovering ar
recording ethnographic information th
has never previously been made know
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About the Authors
Mr. Ch.\rles M. Bogert, whose ar-
ticle describes the strange creatures
known as amphisbaenids. is Chairman
and Curator of The American Museum s
Department of Herpetology. Among Mr.
Bogert's particular scientific interests
are the thermal requirements, ecology,
and evolution of reptiles, the zoogeogra-
phy of Africa and North America, and
behavior, taxonomy, distribution, and
morphology of reptiles and amphibians.
"Management of Water in Arid Lands"
is the work of Mr. George H. Davis, a
hydrogeologist with the Water Resources
Division of the U.S. Geological Survey.
Formerly in charge of ground-water
studies by the Geological Survey in the
Central Valley of California, Mr. Davis
specializes in ground-water geology and
studies of land subsidence. He is a mem-
ber of the Geological Society and of the
Association of Petroleum Geologists.
Dr. Janis a. Roze, author of "Pilgrim
of the River," is a Research Associate in
the Department of Herpetology at The
American Museum, where he is prepar-
ing a monograph on New World poison-
ous coral snakes. Dr. Roze is Professor
of Zoology and Head of the Department
of Zoology at the Universidad Central de
Venezuela, in Caracas, which awarded
him its Gold Medal of Merit in science.
In 1962 he received the Venezuelan Na-
tional Science Research Award. Dr. Roze
is a specialist in herpetology and ecol-
ogy, and has made extensive investiga-
tions of turtle ecology in Venezuela, of
reptiles (particularly snakes), and of
conservation problems.
In "Arches and Bridges of Stone," Mr.
WiLLARD Luce discusses some of the
striking rock formations of his native
Utah. Mr. Luce, who teaches elementary
school, is a graduate of Brigham Young
University, in Provo, where he lives. He
has written many articles on travel.
Dr. David L. Dineley. whose article
about pteraspids appears under the title
"Armor-plated and lawless Devonian
Fish," is Professor of Geology at the Uni-
versity of Ottawa. He was born in Eng-
land, educated at the University of Bir-
mingham, and began his teaching career
at the Universities of Exeter and Bristol.
His main fields of interest are conodonts
("Problematic Conodonts" appeared in
Natural History, January, 1963), os-
tracoderm fishes, and Devonian rocks. In
pursuit of these interests he has visited
Scandinavia, Spitsbergen, and Germany.
He is currently ending a summer geolog-
ical expedition to Somerset Island, Arc-
tic Canada, in search of pteraspids and
other fossils that he is now studying.
r
\z A
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63
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64
Methods for bringing
scenery home on film
By David Linton
FALL FOLL^GE and landscapes seem to
cry out to be photographed— and in
color, of course. It often seems that with
such breath-taking coloration for a sub-
ject, one has only to point the camera
in almost any direction and a great pic-
ture is sure to result.
All too often a sad awakening comes
when the slides are returned by the proc-
essing laboratory— the spectacular scen-
ery may look flat and dull. Things that
stood out brilliantly in the scene may be
lost in the picture. The magic and en-
chantment have vanished, and what re-
mains is proof of the adage that a picture
of a beautiful subject will not necessar-
ily be a beautiful picture.
Except in a wide-screen movie theater,
a picture cannot fill our whole field of
view as scenery does. That a picture is
small (at least comparatively) and flat,
while a landscape is vast and recedes
into the distance, makes the difierence
between subject and picture more notice-
able in landscapes than in photographs
of other subjects.
There is also an optical difference be-
tween the visually perceived scene and
the picture. When we look at a scene
-^-
we can take in an extremely wide
while simultaneously seeing dista
jects in a fairly large scale. To apf
this effect, a camera would have t(
the attributes of both very short
length (wide-angle) and very Ion"
length (telephoto) lenses, an optic
possibility. This is the most fre
cause of disappointment in land
photographs— everything appears
both tiny and far away.
Selectivity is Crucial
THE key to landscape photogra
and to most other kinds of pho
phy— is selection. The impressive
of a wide view cannot be reprodui
a picture that will be held in the
Therefore, the photographer must
the portion of the scene that be
presses the qualities he wants to po
Since distance is an important fac
almost all landscapes, he must sell
area that will allow him to produ
effect of depth in the flat photogra
Visually, distance is revealed
combination of cues. At near dist
(up to about two hundred feet) th
crepancy between the views seen l
5 gives us a sense of the third
jn. Beyond that range we rely
rences in appearance of objects
LIS distances. The colors of far-
jects are less bright than those of
;s. and shadows are not as dark
ights as light. Remote scenery is
with a bluish haze, produced by
tering of light by particles of
' and dust in the air. Our impres-
distance is also affected by the
iize of objects ; if an object looks
though we know it is large, we
at it is far away,
photograph, the means of por-
iistance are more limited. Even
lotography is not much help in
les, because most such scenes
Ear away to register differently
o views. The size of objects may
i depth effectively in a photo-
scause the whole picture is so
laller than the original scene.
ative size differences between
It different distances are useful
aying depth in a picture. These
is mean that the hazy appear-
uced contrast, and softer colors
F objects are the most impor-
cators of depth in photography,
lalities are attributes of what is
i "atmospheric perspective."
nds like treason to advocate
the brilliant colors of fall, but
;actly how nature shows us that
arts of a scene are distant, and
every device that will help give
re depth.
OBJECTS and haze in the
d depth to this landscape.
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THE MINOLTA SR SYSTEM OF UNLIMITED 35mm
VERSATILITY. Starting with a Minolta SR single lens
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Rokkor lenses range from 21mm ultra-wide-angle
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like the prized 50mm f/3.5 Macro Rokkor and the
80-160mm Zoom Rokkor. Accessories? You name
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to copy stands, microscope adaptors, slide cop-
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The MINOLTA SR-1 has provision for a shutter-
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The MINOLTA SR-7 has a built-in CdS meter,
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you may never use all of these . . .
but it's good to know Minolta has them
MORE THAN
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MORE THAN
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6s
AIR-INDIA
UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE SOCIETY FOR HELLENIC TRAVEL
TWO WINTER
CRUISES TO EGYPT
AND UP THE NILE
By Air and River Boat
TO VISIT ITS FAMOUS SITES AND TEMPLES
4th to 27th November and
25th November to 18th December 1964
LONDON, CAIRO, THE PYRAMIDS OF GIZA, SAQQARA, MEMPHIS, MELLAWI,
TUNEH EL GEBEL, TELL EL AMARNA, THE ROCK TOMBS OF MEIR, ABYDOS,
DENDERAH, KARNAK, LUXOR, WESTERN THEBES, ESNA AND EDFU, KOM OMBO,
ASWAN, KALABSHA, ABU SIMBEL (OPTIONAL), ELEPHANTINE AND KITCHENER
ISLANDS, WADI NATRUN (OPTIONAL), THE FAYUM (OPTIONAL), CAIRO
Guest Lecturers accompanying the two cruises are:
Mr. K. A. Kitchen, B.A., Lecturer in Egyptian and Coptic in the University of Liverpool.
Professor H. W. Fairman, M.A., Brunner Professor of Egyptology in the University of Liverpool.
For folder, please write:
Lindblad Travel, Inc.
One East 53rd Street
New York 22, N. Y.
Please send me by retur
Egypt and Up the Nile.
nail, copy of your folder describing the two Winter Cruises to
MAKE YOUR OWN NATURE AND ART TILES
The tiles illustrated are 4V4-inch square, same size as standard ceramic and
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accessories We supply the special molds. No heat nor pressure is required
and no special tools. For tile booklet containing complete directions, mail
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With Embedments of Colorful Leaves, Flowers, Butterflies,
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All Permanently Protected and Preserved
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Atmospheric perspective works
much the same way in color and
black-and-white pictures. In both cai
it may be increased or decreased, wit
certain limits, by the use of appropri
filters on the camera lens. If no fi!
is used, the haze will generally app
more pronounced in the photograph tl
it did to the photographer's eye.
reasons for this, and a detailed disi
sion of how to control the renditioj
atmospheric perspective in photograp
were presented in this column in IN
UR.\L History. October. 1963.
A simple experiment will show 1
atmospheric perspective operates in
ture. Look at a distant scene. Then 1
at the same scene framed by nearby
jects (two trees, for example). The
ference in color and contrast betw
foreground and distant areas will be
parent. By framing the scene, we 1
vided points of comparison that alio
atmospheric perspective and the rela
size of objects to suggest distance.
Ideally there should be objects
only in the foreground but also at sev
different distances. When these pli
are separated from one another by
mospheric perspective and variation
lighting, they create an impressioi
depth and add interest to the pictut
We will not necessarily make the
possible picture when the atmosphei
clearest. In fact, soft, misty days
often more auspicious for landscape
tography. In any season, one of the
times to take pictures of scenery is in
diately after a rain. Another good
is early in the morning, when the st
low and provides more lighting cent
Back-lighted Scenes
THE type of lighting is of the grei
importance in landscape photo
phy. In general, front light, or light i
ing from behind the camera, mak
scene appear flat. Side light gives i
separation between planes at diSt
distances, and back light (when the^
era is pointed toward the light sou
gives the most.
Back lighting requires a few pre
tions. but the improvement in the r
justifies the extra care. The sun sh
usually be hidden— behind a moui
or tree, perhaps, or outside the pi(
area. A lens shade should alway
used, but it is doubly important fori
lighted pictures. When the angle 0
sun is low. however, a lens shade
not be sufficient to keep direct sun
from falling on the lens. In such 1
the photographer should try to kee]
camera in the shade of some objec
deliberately cast a shadow for the
pose. In this type of work a single
reflex or camera with a ground-
back is desirable because the ii
formed by the lens can be examine
fore the picture is taken to make
66
>T AND FRAMING lead viewer's gaze
itograph through series of planes.
no stray light striking the lens,
naking the exposure always look
mage with the lens diaphragm
down to the aperture you will
metimes light striking the lens
ise a bright spot in the picture
he image of the lens diaphragm,
nay not be visible when the dia-
ls fully open. In other cases,
iking the lens may cause an over-
shed out" appearance, which can
;nized when one is accustomed to
dng system of a specific camera.
'icking a Point of View
; the elements of a landscape can-
usually be rearranged, the selec-
i viewpoint for the picture is the
apher's most important decision,
ihoice depend, to a great extent,
; of lighting and the relative posi-
' the parts of the scene. Along
ighways, the preselected viewing
at look out over a great valley or
of hills are fine for sight-seeing,
m they are not good viewpoints
lOgraphy because the entire scene
ily far away, with little in the
foreground or middle distance. It is far
better to scramble up a hillside or stroll
down into a forest in search of a more
favorable position.
One particular problem with land-
scapes is that they are likely to stretch
out in a long horizontal shape, produc-
ing a picture that has all of its sub-
ject matter in a thin line at the bottom,
while most of the picture space is empty.
Shooting from a higher viewpoint and
aiming slightly downward will help fill
the picture area and it may improve the
perspective. Even the slight difference
between the waist level viewpoint of
some cameras and the eye level view-
point of others is enough to be notice-
able. A long low scene can often be
greatly improved by photographing it
from the top of a stationary automobile.
Many professional photographers carry
a stepladder with their field equipment.
Mountains pose a different problem be-
cause it is often difficult to find a position
from which they really look like moun-
tains. If they are photographed from be-
low it will generally be necessary to tilt
the camera upward to get the top of the
mountain in the picture. This makes it
seem to lean backward. Even when using
You need
never miss
taking
pictures
because it's
raining,
snowing,
hailing,
too damp,
too dry,
too cold,
too warm
...or too
anything
the newNikonos
by Nikon even
takespictures
underwater. . .
withouta
housing.
See this amphibious, all-weather 35mm
camera at your photo dealer. $169.50
with Nikkor f2.5 lens. Write Dept. NH-8
Nikon Inc. 1 1 1 Fifth Ave., N .Y. 3, N.Y.
Subsidiary of Ehrenreich Phoio-Opiical Industries, Inc.
67
a view camera, with which this optical
effect can be corrected, the view from
below will not give a satisfactory ren-
dering. Neither will a view from above,
which tends to dwarf the subject. The
one really satisfactory viewpoint would
be from halfway up a facing mountain.
Obviously there are many mountains that
have no neighbors of the right height and
at a suitable distance. In such cases, a
helicopter would be a fine camera plat-
form except for the excessive vibration.
Color and Composition
AUTUMN foliage runs a color scale
from yellow through red. Think for
a moment how a painting would look if
limited to the same bit of the spectrum.
In nature the effect may be breath-tak-
ing, but a color picture containing only
reds, oranges, and yellows is more likely
to be stifling. Some contrast— in color as
well as intensity— is essential to the vis-
ual organization of a picture.
The contrasting areas need not be
large and they should never be equal. A
picture that is half blue sky and half
orange leaves would look static and un-
satisfying. But a small area of contrast-
ing color, properly placed, can balance
a great mass of foliage. A small lake,
reflecting the blue of the sky. or an out-
cropping of rock will serve nicely. Even
D.4VID Linton's by-line has appeared
under photographs in all the nation's
leading magazines. His camera column
is a regular feature on these pages.
the dark gray line of a highway may help
the picture, although most of us would
prefer not to bring man-made objects
into a natural scene. A smaller area of
foliage— perhaps even a single tree— can
be balanced against a larger area of sky,
but this generally provides contrast only
in color and not in intensity. Therefore
it may be desirable to include a very
bright or very dark patch— a bird, a
snow-capped mountain, or a foreground
object in silhouette.
Photographing Flowers
THE same principle applies to photo-
graphs of flowers. Pictures of masses
of blossoms are rarely satisfactory. It is
better to select one outstanding speci-
men and devote extra care to photo-
graphing it in a closeup or semicloseup
view. One of the few ways a whole field
of flowers can be used effectively in a
photograph is as a background. While
landscape photographs need extra atten-
tion to the foreground, in photographs
of flowers it is usually the background
that is difficult to cope with. When we
look at a flower we are able to cone
trate our attention on it. and we rar
notice the background. How differeni
is when we see it in a photograph! Oi
recorded on film, a distracting ba
ground cannot be ignored.
Since most flowers are comparativ
small, they are usually photographed
close range, and the background is ofi
out of focus. The contrast between
sharp principal image and the unshi
background helps create a feeling
depth, but the background must also i
fer from the subject in color and brig
ness to make the subject stand out.
Here again, back lighting is extrem
useful. In fact, one may almost reve
the old box camera rule and say, "Ne
shoot with the sun at your back."
This list details the photographer, art
or other source of illustrations, by pa
COVER-Willard Luce Dept. of Water Resourc
16-San Diego Zoo-R. Van 31-AMNH after U.S.
Nostrand Geological Survey
18-Charles M. Bogert ex- 32-AMNH after State (
cept top, AMNH California. Dept. of Wa
19-AMNH Resources
20-AMNH after 33-AMNH after U.S.
M. A. Smith Geological Survey
and S. B. McDovaell 34-41-Janis A. Roze
oJic~piy"^[l M B,.„^rt 42-47-Willard Luce
24-25-Charles M. Bogert .„ ^, omnh aftor naui
26-29-U.S. Bureau of Rec-^r^^-AMNH after Oavi
lamation except 29-bot- "'"^'J^^, . , „^
torn, AMNH after U.S. Geo- 54-56-Lick Observator
logical Survey 57-AMNH
30-State of California, 64-67-David Linton
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Greece, this graceful urn is
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I
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Members of The Museum are'
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Please send check or
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The American Museum of Natural HiiU
New York, New York 100
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Ad(ditional Reacding
"LITTLE SNAKE WITH HANDS"
"Studies on Amphisbaenids (Amphis-
baenia, Reptilia). 1. A Taxonomic Re-
vision of the Trogonophinae. and a
Functional Interpretation of the Amphis-
baenid Adaptive Pattern." Carl Gans.
Bulletin AMNH, Vol. 119, pages 129-
204, 1960.
"The Origin of Snakes." A. d'A. Bel-
lairs and Garth Underwood. Biological
Review, Vol. 26. pages 193-237, 1951.
"Miscellaneous Notes on Mexican Liz-
ards." Hobart M. Smith. Journal of the
Washington Academy of Sciences, Vol.
39, pages 34-43. 1949.
MANAGEMENT OF WATER
IN ARID LANDS
Hydrology. Edited by 0. E. Meinzer.
McGraw-Hill, N .Y ., 1942.
The Conservation of Ground
Water. H. E. Thomas. McGraw-Hill,
N.Y., 1951.
Ground Water Hydrology. D. K.
Todd. John Wiley & Sons, N.Y., 1959.
The Role of Ground Water in the
N.\tional Water Situation. C. L. Mc-
Guinness. U.S. Geological Survey Water
Supply Paper 1800, 1963.
PILGRIM OF THE RIVER
The Reptiles. Archie Carr. Life Na-
ture Library, Time, Inc., N.Y., 1963.
The Green Turtle and Man. James
J. Parsons. University of Florida Press,
Gainesville, 1962.
Personal Narrative of Travels to
the Equinoctial Regions of America,
During the Years 1799-1804. Alexan-
der von Humboldt and Aime Bonpland.
Ill Vols. Henry G. Bohn, London, 1852.
ARCHES AND BRIDGES OF STONE
"Rainbow Bridge National Monu-
ment: Arches National Monument; Nat-
ural Bridges National Monument." All
three: National Park Service, U.S. Gov-
ernment Printing Office, 1963.
ARMOR-PLATED AND JAWLESS
DEVONIAN FISH
E\ OLUTION OF THE VERTEBRATES. E. H.
Colbert. John Wiley & Sons, N.Y., 1955.
Fossils: A Guide to Prehistoric
Life. F. H. Rhodes. H. S. Zim, and P. R.
Schafler. Golden Press, N.Y., 1962.
Evolution Eimerging. W. K. Gregory.
Macmillan, /V.F., 1951.
SCIENCE IN ACTION
Native Peoples of South America.
Julian H. Steward and Louis C. Faron
McGraw-Hill, N .Y ., 1959.
Headhunters' Heritage. Robert F.
Murphy. University of California Press,
Berkeley, 1960.
The Cubeo Indians of the North-
west Amazon. Irving Goldman. Illinois
Studies in Anthropology, No. 2, Univer-
sity of Illinois Press, Urbana, 1963.
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Natural Histor
Incorporating Nature Magazine
THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HIS
Vol. LXXIII
OCTOBER 1964
ARTICLES
SCIENCES MEET IN ANCIENT HASANLU
R. H. Dyson, ]
RARELY SEEN SONGBIRDS OF PERU^S HIGH ANDES
William G. Geor^
MAPPING THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH
Morris M. Thompson and Julius L. Spee
RETURN OF THE BEAVER Sydney Andersc
TINY DRIFTERS OF THE SEA John J. Lee and Hugo Freudenth
MIGRATION IN MAINE Paul J. Fournii
PLACE FOR ALL THINGS Paul Bohanno
TOTEM POLES: FAMILY TREES Frederick J. Dockstad,
DEPARTMENTS
BOOKS IN REVIEW
SKY REPORTER
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
NATURE AND THE MICROSCOPE
ADDITIONAL READING
Harry L. Shapii
Thomas D. Nicholsc
Julian D. Corringtc
COVER: Many songbirds in the Peruvian Andes are among the least fami
South American birds. The three species on the cover are: Buthraupis mm
top. Hooded Mountain Tanager: Chlorornis reijjerii. Grass Green Tanagei
Iridosornis reinhardti, Yellow-naped Tanager. Starting on page 26. Dr. W
G. George discusses these and other birds found in Peru. The plates werf
specially for this article by the outstanding bird artist Mr. Arthur S
Vegetation is rendered as accurately as available information permits. I
on cover are Philodendron verrucosum; the orchid is Masdevallia panduri
The American Museum is open to the public without charge every c
during the year. Your support, through membership and contributio
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New York, N. Y., and at additional offices. Copyright, 1964, by The American Museum of Natural
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The' opinions expressed by authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect The American Museum'i
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Photographs, drawings
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SCRIBNERS
BOOKS IN REVIEW
Three histories of man
'By Harry L. Shapiro
A Million Years of Man. by Richard
Carrington. The World Publishing Co.,
ST. 50; 335 pp., illus. And Then Came
Man, by Hartmut Bastian. The Viking
Press, $6.95; 354 pp., illus. From Ape
Man to Homer, by H. E. L. Mellersh.
Taplinger, $5.00; 222 pp., illus.
THE discoveries of science are gen-
erally first announced, as is proper,
in technical journals or in books written
for highly specialized readers. Most sci-
entists, having done this, feel they have
discharged their responsibility to society.
But there is another public with an ap-
petite for knowledge that never or rarely
encounters these publications. It is com-
posed of general readers who are curious
and interested in the general progress of
scientific investigation— and this includes
scientists reading in areas outside their
own specialties. Lacking the highly tech-
nical knowledge and vocabulary to pur-
sue scientific reports filled with allusive
and cryptic statements, or the stomach
for the minutiae of technical papers,
these readers have created a market and
a demand for books on science written
in terms that are accessible to them. The
gift for this kind of so-called popular
writing is unfortunately not widely dis-
persed among scientists, who in any case
are usually reluctant to undertake it at
the expense of their research. As a re-
sult, a growing class of professional writ-
ers has taken on the job of translating
the technical works of science into the
vernacular and making them palatable
to as wide a readership as possible. It
must be admitted that if something of
precision and accuracy is often lost in
this process, the gain in communication
and education may be a compensation.
All three books under review here
belong in this category of popular sci-
ence writing. A scientist in the fields the
books represent is inevitably faced with
certain problems when he comes to them
as a critic. Obviously, if he is reasonable,
he cannot expect the extreme caution
and qualification characteristic of tech-
nical writing. That would be inappro-
priate, not to say self-defeating. But on
the other hand, how much latitude is
reasonable in order to make a book in-
teresting? I suppose in the end the
standards demanded by such hypotheti-
cal reviewers would vary.
Richard Carrington's A Million Years
of Man is a solid piece of work. It covers,
as the title suggests, pretty much the
whole story from the emergence of man-
like creatures up to modern times,
introductory chapters are devote(
fairly standardized information on n
primate ancestry, with emphasis or
evolution of those characters thai
sumed particular importance as a 1
heritage of early man. After recour
man's biological evolution, the au
continues with his cultural developn
On the whole it is a well-informed s
that is marred by errors in detail
are often typical of professional wr
who are not trained in the field thej
cultivating. For example, the bony 1
ridges are identified as areas of atl
ment for the jaw muscles. They are
The australopithecines are classed
family. They are a subfamily. In
gence is said to "depend" on the hi
body size ratio. This presents a fals(
pression of a relationship that is si
somewhat sticky problem.
More troublesome, however, is the
dency to read a social philosophy
the history of cultural developn
Aside from any dissent I might regi
I question whether this book is an
propriate place for it.
Bastian's And Then Came Man ti
the origin of man and his cultur
one of the end products of organic ei
tion. Most of the book is devoted tc
origin of the earth and the histor
the life that invested it. Considering
little space is left in the text for man
his works, the coverage is fairly
quate. if not distinguished. For rea
interested in the whole panorama of
,4nd Then Came Man offers a rea
ably good but elementary coverage,
not know whether the publisher or
author or some other culprit is res
sible for the illustrations. Some of t
are not only poor, but are even grc
inaccurate. For example, a "family"
meant to illuminate the text does
agree with it: it places Australopith
earlier in time than Zinjanthropus.
signing a wrong date to him. and
Pithecanthropus appearing twice at
ferent time levels, neither of whic
correct, and without making it c
whether these two are meant to be
same type or not.
From Ape Man to Homer is by H. 1
Mellersh. an amateur biologist, ace
ing to the publisher's information on
dust jacket. Mr. Mellersh is concei
here mainly with the cultural ev
leading up to the establishment of ci
zation and terminating with the Hebi
and the Greeks. In a little over two 1
Standard Encyclopedia
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6
dred pages Mr. Mellersh can obviously
do no more for this tremendous story
than provide thumbnail sketches of the
various periods and peoples he includes.
But what he does provide is done with
considerable proficiency. Since the docu-
ments that illuminate this stretch of time
are refractory and often open to a variety
of interpretations, there is some freedom
allowable to an author. In general, Mr.
Mellersh exhibits respect for the data.
Dr. Shapiro. Chairman of the Department
of Anthropology and Curator of Physical
Anthropology at The American Museum.,
is a frequent contributor to this section.
On Safari, by Armand Denis. E. P. Dut-
ton & Co., S5.95: 320 pp., illus.
IT would be normal to expect that the
autobiography of a man who has spent
his lifetime photographing wild animals
and primitive peoples would be packed
with information, excitement, and im-
pressions. Armand Denis" autobiography
is but little more informative than a
biography in "Who's Who." and it cer-
tainly tells little of the man behind the
camera. In fact, the book is so devoid of
personality or character that it is a huge
disappointment.
From his boyhood animal collecting to
his current weekly television photogra-
phy. Denis simply tells the reader what
happened. Nowhere does one really find
out how the author is affected. Nowhere
does one get the feeling of a tropical
camp, a real impression of a co-worker
or a native king, or the thrill of adven-
ture. Considering that Mr. Denis worked
for so many years with animals, there is
surprisingly little in the way of original
observations about wildlife.
This is not a bad book. It is readable
but unimaginative. It is illustrated with
photographs that range from good to sur-
prisingly poor for a professional photog-
rapher. The captions, as well as the
pictures, show a lack of imagination.
Richard G. Van Gelder
The American Museum
The Alps, by Wilfrid Noyce and Karl
Lukan. G. P. Putnam's Sons, $15.00; 312
pp., illus.
I am told by those familiar with the
subject that this attractive book on
the Alps is comprehensive in coverage
and accurate in fact. I shall, therefore,
limit my comment to the photographs,
layout, and reproduction in terms of the
interest and excitement they may or may
not create.
This is the age of the picture book.
Some are good; many are sterile, in that
they treat only of the surface aspects of
nature, objects, and people. They may
be informative, but it is increasingly ap-
parent that aesthetic and emotional fac-
VAN NOSTRAND
books for amateur
astronomers
1. ASTRONOMY WITH
BINOCULARS
By
James Muirdi
This exciting b
shows how anyone
owns binoculars
get considerable
surprising astron
cal results with t
versatile instrumi
They are ideal
observing sunsp
craters of the M
satellites of Jup
slow drifting of planets, brightening [
ress of variable stars, comets, and the
cination of the solar system. Illus. $
2. THE AMATEUR
ASTRONOMER AND
HIS TELESCOPE
By
GiinterD. R0I
For the serious
systematic obser
the author offers ii
uable advice on ch
ing basic equipm
how to set up and
a telescope, wha
look for in the sli
The fields of acti
in which the ama
can make contribut
are outlined: from visual observation of I
IVloon. planets, to stellar photometry
photography. Illus. $1
3. THE SYSTEM OF MINOR PLANET
By Giinter D. Roth
The first book in English exclusively on
questions and problems presented by
asteroids. Illus. $<
4. ASTRONOMY AND BEGINNING
ASTROPHYSICS
By Kenneth Hugh Fea
Examines our solar system and the unive
beyond, and introduces such concepts as
celestial sphere, sidereal time, the mi
ment of the planets. Illus. $4
phFREe examination coupon
VAN NOSTRAND
Dept. T-NH-1064
120 Alexander St., Princeton, N. J.
Please send me the books whose numbei
are circled. Within 10 days I will remit pu
chase prrce plus small delivery cost, or ri
turn book{s) and owe nothing.
_STATE CODE
SAVE! Remit with order and we pay deliver}
Return privilege guaranteed.
concentrate on
the lens
so that you
in concentrate
m the picture
ou're a serious photographer, lens quality
ke or break your pictures. That's why we
10 effort to make Rokkor lenses as near
y perfect as possible for Minolta SR 35mm
;ameras. The Minolta SR system includes
an 20 interchangeable Rokkor lenses, from
jitra-wide-angle to a new 1000mm super-
to, including zoom and macro optics. Min-
I'lneers test each one individually against
rid's most exacting standards of optical
on and color correction.
SR cameras combine superior Rokkor op-
h advanced 35mm design. Major features
Minolta SR-7 include a precision-ground
kkor lens, built-in CdS meter, microprism
auto diaphragm and mirror, speeds to
h sec. Under $285 (plus case) with 58mm
Jto-Rokkor lens; under $240 (plus case)
mm f/1.8 Auto-Rokkor lens. The Minolta
; a 55mm f/1.8 Auto-Rokkor lens, provision
ionai coupled CdS meter, ground-glass
speeds to l/500th sec, automatic dia-
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ise). Write today for details and a new
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he name quality made famous
tors should be added to create impact
and transmit conviction. The efficiency
of the medium and the standardization
of procedures weaken much of the per-
ception and interpretation that are the
prime qualities of communicative art
The opportunities latent in the con-
cept of the picture book are seldom re-
vealed. To one who has never directly
experienced the subject, the successful
picture or picture series should convey
authenticity and also give impressions of
the intrinsic beauty of the subject and
comprehension and spirit of the artist.
Some of the photographs in the book
succeed in this goal, but certain factors
in layout and reproduction seriously in-
terrupt the logical and appropriate flow
of the images. The choice of an apricot-
tan paper for the text sections seems
unfortunate in relation to the clear pal-
ette and mood of the mountain scene. It
is especially disturbing in conflict with
the rather bleak, cold black values of the
plates. When seen opposite each other
the illustrations have a rather consistent
quality of vigor and tonal value.
What is called "change-of-pace" is
very important in any picture sequence.
There should be variation not only of
subject but also of tonal weight and of
picture size and shape to hold one's in-
terest. Occasionally a full double-page
spread is rewarding, and an occasional
blank page will give a certain relief in
any extended sequence. "Bleeds." or
pictures running to the edge of the page,
are risky when the edges of the pictures
are important. I have a sense of crowd-
ing in this book; a small picture with a
generous amount of white margin around
it sometimes can be more impressive
than the same picture as a full page,
especially if there is a monotony of
crowded pages in the book.
At the turn of the nineteenth century
Coleridge wrote that all art was the bal-
ance of the external and the internal.
Art should not deny the external world,
and should do much more than merely
translate it at the informative level.
Every serious picture book should be
considered an opportunity for something
more than mere representation. The
reader and viewer should be drawn into
some emotional and aesthetic experi-
ence, not necessarily at the level of the
creative artist, but certainly at a level
beyond his ordinary experience. Moun-
tains, because of their sheer grandeur
and scale, dominance of form, and ad-
venturous connotations, hold their own
in spite of the frequent absence of the
elements of art in their interpretation.
Most of the scenes in this book are
very good record pictures— clean, honest,
sharp, and uninspired. Opinion will differ
because of personally nurtured ideas of
the mountain scene. Most of the photo-
graphs appear to have been printed by
AIR- INDIA
UNDER THE AUSPICES
OF THE SOCIETY
FOR HELLENIC TRAVEL
TWO
WINTER
CRUISES
TO EGYPT AND
UP THE NILE
By Air and River Boat
TO VISIT ITS FAMOUS
SITES AND TEMPLES
4th to 27th November
and 25th November
to 18th December 1964
LONDON, CAIRO, THE PYRAMIDS
OF GIZA, SAQQARA, MEMPHIS
MELLAWI, TUNER EL GEBEL,
TELL EL AMARNA, THE ROCK
TOMBS OF MEIR, ABYDOS, DEN
DERAH, KARNAK, LUXOR, WEST
ERN THEBES, ESNA AND EDFU
KOM OMBO, ASWAN, KALABSHA^
ABU SIMBEL (OPTIONAL), ELE
PHANTINE AND KITCHENER IS
LANDS, WADI NATRUN (OPTION
AL), THE FAYUM (OPTIONAL)
CAIRO.
Guest Lecturers accompanying
the two cruises are:
Mr. K. A. Kitchen, B.A., Lecturer in
Egyptian and Coptic in the University
of Liverpooi.
Professor H. W. Fairman, M.A., Brunner
Professor of Egyptology in the Univer-
sity of Liverpool.
For folder, please write:
Lindblad Travel, Inc.,
One East 53rd Street
New York 22, N. Y.
Please send me by return mail, copy
of your folder describing the two Winter
Cruises to Egypt and Up the Nile.
Name (Mr. Mrs. Miss)_
Street
City
Natural history stories
for young people
and their elders
AMERICAN WILD HORSES
By B. F. Beebe. Illustrated by
James Ralph Johnson. The his-
tory of wild horses in America,
from the wild ponies that inhabit
islands off the Atlantic coast to
the mustangs in the west, and
what is being done to save them
from destruction. S3. 95
THE DINOSAUR HUNTERS
By Robert Plate. A fascinating
dual biography of Othniel C.
Marsh and Edward Drinker
Cope, two extraordinary men
who exhausted their fortunes on
hunts for dinosaur remains. Bib-
liography and Index. 84.50
AMERICAN WOLVES,
COYOTES, AND FOXES
By B. F. Beebe. Illustrated by
James Ralph Johnson. The au-
thor of many distinguished books
on American wildlife presents
fascinating and little-known
facts about wolves, coyotes, and
foxes that live in the United
States. S3.75
THE WILD SWANS FLY
By Pauline Innis. Illustrated
with photographs. This wildlife
story about the rare and beauti-
ful Whistling Swan tells the ex-
citing tale of two swans who are
separated from their flock dur-
ing a migratory flight. S3. 75
ANIMALS OF THE ARCTIC
By Alfred Powers. Illustrated.
These accounts of the many
kinds of animals that live above
the Arctic Circle combine a
wealth of factual data with dra-
matic first-hand accounts. Late
fall. S4.95
DAVID McK AY COMPANY, Inc.
750 Third Avenue, N. Y. 10017
the same photofinisher, and whatever
leveling-off of quality and impact he did
not accomplish the engraver and press-
man completed. Among my selections of
the most expressive shots, only one pho-
tographer (Erick Weber) is represented
by as many as three pictures; another
(Albert Steiner) by two pictures. Hence,
it cannot be said that there is a concen-
tration of the style of a small number
of mountain photographers. The other
photographs remain rather sterile and
conventional; some are of salon charac-
ter, others are weak and indecisive.
Many are sentimental arrangements or
include far too much in the field of view.
The merits of simplifying, cutting to the
essence of things, and printing with con-
viction of tone and texture often are
overlooked by both photographer and
editor. A good editor can suggest appro-
priate cropping, but should not crop
without the photographer's permission!
After many perusals of the photo-
graphs in this book. I feel I have gained
a good look at many aspects of a re-
markable part of the earth's surface.
However, as I read the text I feel a sharp
perception of the basic qualities of the
mountain scene and a rewarding sense
of adventure. These do much to fill in
the gaps of mountain experience that are
only sometimes evident in the photo-
graphs themselves.
Ansel Adams
Photographer and Conservationist
The Art of Warfare in Biblical
Lands in the Light of Archaeologi-
cal Study, by Yigael Yadin. McGraw-
Hill Book Co., Inc., $25.00; 2 volumes,
484 pp., illus.
Scientific and popular studies of the
social, historical, and economic phe-
nomenon of warfare generally pay little
attention to the ancient Mediterranean
world before the Greeks, "i et the lands
that formed this world— Egypt. Palestine-
Syria, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, and
Iran— constantly rang to the clash of
arms. Their histories, which existed for
a good two millenniums before the fall of
Troy and which to a large extent are the
chronicles and annals of their kings and
armies, continued even into Roman
times. For the modern scholar and inter-
ested layman alike, however, there has
existed no comprehensive work that
dealt with the totality of warfare as prac-
ticed in the ancient Near East, together
with descriptions of the development of
weapons and of armor, of land and sea
tactics, of grand strategy, of doctrines
of attack and defense, and of logistics
and training. Such a work now exists in
the book of Professor Yadin, who is
doubly qualified to write it, first as a bib-
lical archeologist and second as a major-
general in the Israeli Army.
Each volume contains two equally im-
*^
TWO I<^EW
RECOMD/A^GS :
SONGS OF THE FORE^
SUNG BY THE HERMIT THRUSH, THE
WCDD THRUSH, AND OTHER. WCBDLAND Bin
■ THE BmOK. Seven inch hi-fi. Hov
water is a soothing sound anywhei
On this record, the soft rushing
a woodland brook is the sound thn
we foLLow. As we record the strt
from its source to the sLow-mov
swamp where we are caught by darknet
we hear, among others, the Phoebe, ■
Fox & the Great Horned O^L. Commei
on Side A wiLL make you feel at ht
on the downstream trip. Same trip
your own on Side B. S 1,25 postpa.
■ SOHGS OF THE FOREST. 12" mono I
To the human ear, certainly the mi
musically talented of North Amerii
birds are the Thrushes. On tl
recording, you wilt hear the end It
variations on the individual thei
available to the Wood Thrush and i
Hermit Thrush. Interspersed is i
etherial f Lute-scale of the Vet
plusother forest bird calls and wo(
land sounds. One side has commei
and Just enough identification,
the other side are the uninterrup\
sounds of a cool Spring woodU
transported into your home. $ 5,
m THE SEA AT CASTLE HILL. 12" mono
is for those who are perfectly sati
tied to hear the surf with no commi
other than the Gull's cry, and i
lighthouse bell. On Side B is a ti
up the Hudson on the Side-Vheei
ALEXANDER HAMILTON. Beautiful sit
whistles wail and sigh. $ 5,
Prices, including postage:
I 1 THE BROOK, 7 inch hi-fi, $ 1,
t 1 SONGS OF THE FOREST, 12" $ 5.
I I THE SEA AT CASTLE HILL S 5.
I \AIL three of the above $ 10.
DROLL "f:OwNKEES IN(
providence:, R.I. 0290
Please send to:
Name .............................
address
Please send the records as my gift i
Nome .............................••'
.................••.•..•.••..• addre:
'EECE AND EGYPT
IRNEY INTO ANTIQUITY.
[ally planned for those with a serious (professional or amateur)
!St in the great archaeological sites of the Mediterranean
itions.
week tours featuring a seven day cruise on the Nile River for
nter travel season.
In addition to Athens and Cairo itinerary includes:
SOS LUXOR and DENDERA
-lA THEBES and KARNAK
'lA ESNA and EDFU
II KOM OMBO and ASWAN
lose who wish, an optional trip by Hydrafoil to Abu Simbel is also
;d.
' departures October 12, 1964 through May 3, 1965.
;roup is limited to 10 persons and will be accompanied by top
who are trained archaeologists.
insportation by fine iet aircraft of Lufthansa German Airlines,
'uise aboard the Isis or Osiris, modern air-conditioned vessels
ed for comfort. Accommodation in deluxe hotels.
our cost from $1,454.70 per person.
RUSSIAN ART TREASURES
^^ DC f^CCAt * comprehensive tour for those with
/ ^ gfC jCCiw ^ serious interest in Russia's diverse
and beautiful masterpieces.
A special group will depart from New Yorl< May 16, 1965 via Lufthansa
German Airlines.
Itinerary includes:
MOSCOW
LENINGRAD
TASHKENT
BUKHARA
SAMARKAND
26 days, total tour cost $1,965.00 per person.
EREVAN
TBILISI
KIEV
PRAGUE
VIENNA
LUFTHANSA
GERMAN AIRL
LUFTHANSA GERMAN AIRLINES, Dept. UX522
410 Park Avenue, New York, N. Y. 10022
Please send me details on the following tour, or tours.
n Greece And Egypt Tour Into Antiquity
□ Russian Art Treasures Tour
ADDRESS-
CITY
My Lufthansa Travel Agent is_
it parts: the text, which chrono-
lly describes and discusses the
s aspects and techniques of war-
1 the lands of the Bible, and the
, which thoroughly illustrate and
ement the preceding discussions.
:hronological framework around
the text is based is that of the Old
nent. Volume I covers the period
the most ancient beginnings in
I.e. (the fortifications of Neolithic
o) until the conquest of Canaan
hua. Volume II continues from the
f the Judges until the kingdoms of
and Israel, and concludes with a
ehensive bibliography, a subject-
for the plates, and the illustration
s for both volumes,
text is supplemented by numerous
rawings in black and white. The
ty of plates are in color and are
r of special note. On the one hand,
re well chosen and vividly portray
litary tools and techniques of the
t Orient. On the other hand, the
s not always accurate, but this is
ir flaw in an otherwise ambitiously
ved and brilliantly executed work.
lOugh Yadin claims that this is
pioneer attempt to investigate the
3 aspects of ancient preclassic war-
ictually it is much more. In my
1, it is the most significant book
written to date on biblical military arts.
It will long remain a classic for the bib-
lical scholar, the orientalist, the military
historian, and all who are interested in
the ancient military past of man.
Ala.n R. Schulman
Columbia University
Green Medicine, by Margaret B. Krieg.
Rand McNally, $5.95; 462 pp., illus.
THERE is scarcely a person in the
world who has not used plants, plant
products, or their synthetic equivalents
for therapeutic purposes. The Americans
seem to consume tranquilizers (origi-
nally derived from plants) like popcorn;
Europeans are antibiotic-happy, and the
Chinese process roots and herbs. All this
is in addition to various plant derivatives
such as curare, quinine, digitalis, dicu-
marol, and many other products that are
used in the treatment of specific diseases.
The story of the history, the ideas,
and— above all— the men and women who
are engaged in the search for plants of
medicinal value should have been told
many times, for it is exciting, important,
and of vital interest to all of us. Yet
Margaret Krieg, a professional writer,
seems to have been the first to recognize
that there was something worth telling.
In her preface, she details the increasing
interest in the field and discusses the
reasons why she wrote this book.
It is inevitable that Green Medicine
will be compared to the standard pattern
for such reporting-the classic Microbe
Hunters, by Paul de Kruif. I regret that
Green Medicine suffers badly by com-
parison. The book is too breathy, too
cute, and too wide-eyed. Although fa-
miliar with most of the subject matter,
I became somewhat lost in trying to fol-
low the thread of her tale. It is a pity
that the book is not all the good things
it might have been, for as De Kruif made
America aware of bacteriology and stim-
ulated many young people to enter ca-
reers in this science, so Mrs. Krieg might
have called attention to pharmacognosy
and plant sciences. She almost makes it,
but not quite.
Nevertheless, Green Medicine has
many good things to recommend it, and
the book is cheerfully endorsed for those
who want an over-all view of an impor-
tant area of economic botany. It is un-
usually accurate— no small praise. The
author has taken the trouble to visit most
of the people about whom she has writ-
ten. Her examination of the voluminous
literature, her historical notes, and her
reportage of current research is almost
faultless, if uncritical. She has at-
tempted, with considerable success, to
ARCHAEOLOGICAL
TOUR
OF THE
NEAR EAST
This exciting tour into Antiquity starts
on April 6 and returns to the United States on
May 3, J 965, after having visited Lebanon,
Syria, Iran, Iraq and Jordan.
A study of the Sumero-A kkadian civilization and
its impact on the origins of Western cidture
will form part of the program. This unforgettable
journey through time to the wellsprings of our
civilization will certainly be meaningful not only
to the expert but also to the amateur archaeologist.
Our lecturer. Dr. Cyrus Gordon, has served
as an archaeologist on many expeditions in
the Near East. He participated in the unearthing
of the Royal Tombs at Ur, in discovering
the mines of King Solomon, and deciphering the
Tell al-Amarna tablets found in Egypt.
Dr. Gordon is the author of many books arid
articles on the ancient coimtries we are
visiting. Among the books are ADVENTURES
IN THE NEAREST EAST; THE WORLD
OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, AND BEFORE
THE BIBLE; THE COMMON BACKGROUND
OF GREEK AND HEBREW CIVILIZATION.
For many years he has taught the languages,
history, and archaeology of Egypt, Greece,
and the Near East.
Our tour to Greece and Egypt last
spring was a great success, but many had to
be left behind due to lack of space.
Please register early.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL TOUR-I.T.L.T. 3136
LINDBLAD TRAVEL, INC.
ONE EAST 53rd STREET
NEW YORK 22, N. Y.
Name (Mr. Mrs. Mi!
Address
City
ORNITHOLOGICAL
SAFARI
THROUGH
EAST AFRICA
When one thinks of Africa it is
usually in terms of white hunters, lions,
elephants and Kilimanjaro. Few people
are aware that while looking at Rhino they can
also watch the fascinating Red-billed
Oxpecker, without whom the Rhitw's life would
be a misery, or study the friendly relationship
between the elephant and the egret.
Nowhere in the world is there a greater, more
accessible selection of
native species of birds than in Kenya.
In Kenya, there are 1033 full species ranging
from the West African forest birds in the Kakamega
Forest to the marine species on the shores
of the Indian Ocean. Lake Nakuru, whose several
millions of flamingos may be seen, has been
described by Roger Tory Peterson, American
Ornithologist, as the "most fabulous bird
spectacle in the world."
You are invited to join a special tour of
"Bird Watchers", leaving New York for
Kenya on February 17 , 1965.
The internationally renowned ornithologist,
John G. Williams of the Coryndon Museum in
Nairobi, will act as advisor to the expedition.
Mr. Williams led the Queeny Expedition of
the American Museum of Natural History in 1950,
the Chicago Natural History Expedition in 1954,
the British- American Expedition to Angola in
1957, the Carnegie Expedition in 1958, and the
Los Angeles Museum Expedition in 1963.
The tour will include visits to Lake Magadi,
Amboseli Game Reserve, the Treetops,
Lakes Naivasha, Nakuru, Baringo and Hannington,
Kakamega Forest, and Sirimon Track on
Mount Kenya — among other places.
This is an opportunity for educational and
meaningful travel offered by Lindblad
Travel of New York.
ORNITHOLOGICAL TOUR-I.T.L.T. 3131
LINDBLAD TRAVEL, INC.
ONE EAST 53rd STREET
NEW YORK 22, N. Y.
I
Name (Mr. Mrs. Miss)_
Address
City
[HE LIVING
riLDERNESS
AS SEEN BY
Rutherford G.
Montgomery
lAGINE being able to spend
lost of your life in the wilderness
IS of the United States— the for-
, deserts and mountains— observ-
and studying the wildlife that
'. abounds in our country. That is
rare privilege Rutherford Mont-
lery has bad. In this fascinating
k he tells all about it.
e, in THE LIVING WILDER-
3S, is a personal aequaintance-
) with wild animals as they live
their lives in their native babi-
with a detailed, first-hand de-
ption of their manner of life,
r habits, their individual traits,
ngly related by a peerless story-
er.
'n the basis of bis own experi-
es, the author tells you where to
s for wild animals, large and
11, from black bears and cougars
accoons and pocket mice; how
observe them and learn their
s, discover their individual traits
respect their way of life.
HE LIVING WILDERNESS,
ne-of-its-kind volume of aiii-
I lore, is illustrated with pencil
tches by the wildlife artist,
npbell Grant, and 32 animal
itographs. Index. $8.50
QUIL
:ESS
)OK
3DD, MEAD & COMPANY
: Park Ave S., New York 10016
erect a solid foundation for an intelligent
reading of the chemotherapeutic news
that is published almost daily in news-
papers and popular magazines. Glimpses
of the international politics, industrial
co-operations and lacks thereof, and of
the labor that forms the basis for dis-
covery are all most fascinating.
Richard M. Klein
A'. Y. Botanical Garden
Photographing Nature, by David Lin-
ton. The Natural History Press, $1.95;
262 pp., illus.
Mr. LINTON is a well-known magazine
and scientific photographer, and
has a great deal of experience in the field
he is writing about. Unfortunately, the
subtitle of this paperback— ^4 handbook
for the beginner and the expert— is a
misnomer, as the book is too complex for
the beginner and too elementary for the
expert. In the first half of the book the
beginner will be faced with complicated
concepts and an excess of verbiage that
will only further confuse him; the expert
will learn nothing that is not already a
part of his craft.
In the second half of his book, Mr.
Linton has done a better writing job, but
he skips and skims over vast scientific
areas in a very unscientific way, leaving
the beginner hopelessly confused, and
the expert a little frustrated with bits
and pieces of hints that are not suffi-
ciently explained.
This reviewer feels that better editing
on the part of the publisher would have
made better use of the valuable material
that Mr. Linton has to offer.
Jack Manning
The New York Times
Byzantine Aesthetics, by Gervase Ma-
thew. The Viking Press, $6.50; 189 pp.
Russian ballet, suggests the author,
is one of the best introductions to
Byzantine art, but. in fact, one of the
best introductions is the book under re-
view. No one interested in Byzantine civi-
lization can afford to neglect this learned,
sensitive, and illuminating commentary.
Father Mathew reviews works of art in
the light of Byzantine texts, expounds
the aesthetic theories disclosed by the
literature, and provides insight into nu-
merous aspects of the Byzantine world:
personalities, situations, and places. Due
emphasis is given to the part played by
the Byzantine emperors, to the impor-
tance of liturgy— religious and lay— and
to the contribution of the extraordinary
civil service of the times. "It seems."
states the author, "to have possessed
some of the close-knit texture of a good
Late Victorian club." By the sixth cen-
tury, however, John Lydus, a Byzantine
civil servant of the period, wrote that
formerly it was the custom "to employ
New35mm
underwater camera
requires no housing
Water-proof, corrosion-resistant,
pressure-proofed to depths of 160 feet,
the new, amphibious Nikonos is
virtually indestructable.
And it is unusually trim and compact —
thoughtfully designed for greatest ease
and speed in handling. Large, knurled
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NIKONOS
BY NIKON
II
to
admiring comments on your
perspicacity when you shop
tkey/HuSeu^kcp
only the finest paper in official business
while the clerks were as resplendent as
the paper they wrote on. But now both
are gone and they exact a most mean and
miserable fee and issue leaves of grass
instead of leaves of paper, with cheap
writing that smells of poverty."
The main factors in Byzantine aesthet-
ics were a recurrent taste for classical
reminiscence, an essentially mathemati-
cal approach to beauty, an absorbed in-
terest in optics— experiments in light,
color, and space— and, finally, a belief in
the existence of an invisible world of
which the material is the shadow. "This
then," wrote Plotinus in the third cen-
tury A.D., "is how the material becomes
beautiful— by communicating in the
thought that flows from the Divine."
Father Mathew points out that there is
little literary evidence that Plotinus'
writings, titled Enneads, were known to
the medieval Greeks, but the altering art
forms of the late third century coincided
with a new Greek theory of aesthetics
that provides an explanation for much
of Byzantine art. The medieval Greeks—
they called themselves Romans— had a
zest for multiple and hidden meanings,
for harmony of color and proportion, and
for tactile sensations caused by rich ma-
terials—gold, silver, enamel, marble,
semiprecious stones, ivoi'y, and silk. In-
deed, the patterns on some of the fi:
Byzantine silks could only be seen w
the wearer moved. They liked stra
machines: fountains that sang as I
played, birds of gold screeching
beating their wings, automatic toys o:
kinds, and the secret of Greek fire
well kept. All this is a far cry from
strictures of the nineteenth cent
which knew Byzantine art only in te
of late Greek and Russian icons
frescoes; little more than fifty years
one of the most complex, subtle, Ic
and beautiful of all artistic styles
partially dismissed as "the narrow
ficiency of perpetual iteration." A
reading Father Mathew's enchan
book such strictures become obsole
John Beckw
Fogg Art Museum, Hat
People of Eight Seasons, by B
Manker. The Viking Press, $20.00;]
pp., illus.
Interest in the life and habits of
Lapps began as far back as
Roman historian Tacitus and contir
today. More than thirty thousand
these self-sufficient people, Europe's
nomads, still follow their reindeer li(
north of the Arctic Circle and still
skis, as they have for thousands of ye
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OUR MOST
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How do our living habits and
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Author of
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i. happily civilized couple,
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tVif/i 67 pen-and-ink sketches by
the author, and invaluable
food and equipment lists
$4.95 • now at better bookstores
:fRED'A-KNOPF, Publisher
>^
The text of this beautifully designed
book by Ernst Manker. Senior Curator
of the Nordiska Museet. Stockholm, de-
tails the Lapps' adaptation of their lives
to migration patterns of reindeer, on
which they depend. The author outlines
the mystery of their origin and describes
their land and its natural resources.
Then, using one present-day family as an
example, he follows the complex series
of marches and countermarches that
make up the yearly cycle— a year of eight
seasons. Within the framework of this
simple life, the author finds there is room
for adventure, beauty, and philosophy.
Nature drawings and illustrations by
Ake Gustavsson enhance the clarity and
charm of the text. Large color photo-
graphs show details of the costumes, and
there are excellent sketches of camp life
and the industries of the people. It is
rare to find a book as authoritative and
at the same time as beautiful as People
of Eight Seasons.
Philip C. Gifford
The American Museum
Pueblo Gods and Myths, by Hamilton
A. Tyler. University of Oklahoma Press,
$5.95; 313 pp. Book of the Hopi. by
Frank Waters. The Viking Press, SI 0.00 ;
347 pp., illus. The Sioux, by Royal B.
Hassrick. University of Oklahoma Press,
$5.95; 337 pp., illus.
ONLY the most determined readers,
or those with considerable prior
knowledge, will be able to learn much
about Pueblo religion from Hamilton A.
Tyler's Pueblo Gods and Myths. This is
not because of a lack of information, for
the author has obviously done consider-
able library research and presents a
great deal of data. The trouble is that
in writing about all the Pueblo tribes.
Tyler must face the problem of differ-
ences among the Pueblos. When he
ignores these differences, the reader does
not know for which Pueblo the informa-
tion is valid, and when he deals with
them, the discussion of the different
names and attributes of the deities in the
various Pueblos is overwhelming. This
confusion is compounded by frequent
allusions to other religions (principally
ancient Greek ) . which do not help the
reader understand Pueblo Indian reli-
gion. Consequently, Tyler fails to pre-
sent a coherent picture of the religion
either of a single Pueblo tribe or of all
the Pueblos.
Book of the Hopi, by Frank Waters,
deals with the religion and history of
this tribe (one of the Pueblos) since the
initial Spanish contact in 1540. The bulk
of the book discusses religion and is
based upon interviews with Hopi inform-
ants tape recorded by the author over
a period of three years, translated by a
Hopi, and edited and rearranged into
a format resembling the Bible. Waters
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13
tends to take Hopi myths and the testi-
mony of his informants at their face
value when applying them to such prob-
lems as the origin of the Hopi. Thus,
he has them coming from Asia to North
America by way of the Pacific-hopping
from island to island and occasionally
making use of drifting continents. Once
here, they wander all over the conti-
nent, helping to build the civilizations
of Mesoamerica and the great Serpent
Mound in Ohio before finally settling in
their present location. This is nonsense,
but not much worse than some of Waters'
interpretations of later historical events.
His description and interpretation of the
conquest of the West is a mixture of
righteousness and chauvinism. The book
is beautifully illustrated and contains
some excellent photographs, but in view
of the text, one can only regret the time
and money the publishers have devoted
to this volume.
Hassrick's The Sioux is a straightfor-
ward ethnography of the Teton Dakota.
The Dakota, commonly called the Sioux,
are typical warriors and buffalo hunters
of the Great Plains. Of all the American
Indians, the Indians of the Plains are
best known to Americans because of
their frequent appearances in motion
pictures, and of the Plains Indians, the
Sioux are probably most renowned in
story and drama. Yet. until now, there has
not been a good popular ethnography
of any of the Dakota groups. Hassrick
has admirably filled this need for the
Teton Dakota. He knows his people well
and has written a book that is a must
for anyone interested in the Sioux or in
the Plains Indians in general.
Stanley A. Freed
The American. Museum
The Amazing World of I^'sects. by
Arend T. Bandsma and Robin T. Brandt.
The MacmiUan Co., $9.95; 46 pp., illus.
THIS is another insect picture book,
but one with a major advantage. The
photographs are outstanding— in fact, I
have never seen better ones and do not
expect to for a long while. Many of them,
although greatly magnified, show almost
incredible sharpness and depth. While
some are posed (with pretty flowers)
there is no evidence of the use of dead
or anesthetized specimens, a technique
that, to me at least, verges on faking.
The text falls far short of the illustra-
tions, being badly lacking in organiza-
tion. Some sound generalizations about
insects are given, and many interesting
facts are related about the species and
groups pictured. However, the insects
—all from Europe, Australia, or New
Zealand— are indiscriminately mixed
gether, often with no clue as to w
they came from. Not all are ideni
as to family, which would have h(
readers in other lands. Some highly
togenic groups receive disproportio
representation, while others, promi
and worldwide, are omitted. Alth(
many of the specimens were identifie
museum entomologists, there are er:
such as identifying a common Euro]
bee ( Anthidium) as a wasp, and in
eral confusing ichneumon and pars
wasps, flies and social wasps. De
such weaknesses in the text, howl
the magnificently reproduced pi
graphs are a joy.
Alexander B. Ki
The American Mm
NOTE: In past years, the Decemt
sue of this magazine has carried a s]
review section surveying science
for young people. This year, lioweve
survey will appear in November. Th
cision to change the date was basea
the large number of requests we havl
ceived from teachers and librarians, v
point out that their purchasing perioi
earlier in the fall. We hope this chai
may also help Christmas shoppers.
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Sciences Meet ii
P^^^
Anci
len
Hasanl
I
^A|j^ By R. H. Dyson, Jr.
Aerial view oI TVIimiliit:!) Citadel
mound at Hasanlu shows 'Hh-century
B.C. excavation. Ne\v digs, at upper
right, have reached 12th-century level.
i6
it fire to their houses which
lilt with art; I made the smoke
im them, like a hurricane, I
cover the face of the sky. . . .
Wusasir the home of Haldia, I
master in the palace, residence
ia, I lived as ruler.
rooms] filled full, which over-
with heaped up treasures, I
e seals of its reserves :
alents 18 minas of gold, 167
2Y2 minas of silver, pure
lead, carnelian, lapis lazuli . . .
ntities of precious stones,
y staffs of ivory, of ebony, of
3c?] with [their] pommels set
d and silver,
isins of bronze, [large vessels]
ze, vessels for washing of
. . bronze cauldrons, pots of
nulticolored robes and tunics
of blue ivool and ivool to be
f the scarlet color of the coun-
Jrartu and Kilhu. . . ."
THUS DID Sargon II, the great mili-
tary leader of the Assyrians in the
eighth century B.C., boast of his success
in a campaign in northwestern Iran in
which he blunted the power of Urartu
by capturing the famous temple of
Musasir with all of its treasure. The list
of booty shows us the richness of the
material culture of the times and indi-
cates a prime incentive for such a cam-
paign. The ninth century had also been
a time of much military activity. In the
reign of Shalmaneser III (858-824
B.C.) the Assyrians first ventured east
into the Zagros Mountains and the
high plateau of Iran. A visual record
of some of these campaigns is still pre-
served on the bronze gates from Bala-
wat, now in the British Museum.
In view of the many towns and vil-
lages reported as having been left in
smoking ruins by the Assyrians, it is
not surprising that many abandoned
city mounds dot the landscape in this
part of Iran. One of these, Hasanlu, lies
a few miles south of Urmia, a salt lake
in a rich valley-plain known today as
Solduz. In ancient times Solduz lay on
the border of the country of Mannai,
which occupied the area to the south
and east. Control of Mannai was
sought by both Assyrians and Urar-
tians. Excavations at Hasanlu during
the past seven years have uncovered
the charred remains of a great citadel
filled with weapons, jewelry, pottery,
and the burned remains of inhabitants
trapped under wooden columns and
brick walls— victims of some sudden
attack in the late ninth century B.C.
Thus today, 2,700 years later, pre-
served through the twin accidents of
charring and unexpected burial be-
neath collapsed buildings, a mass of
exciting evidence on the world of the
ninth century is coming to light. Under
the combined scrutiny of archeology
and several of the disciplines in the
biological and physical sciences, our
knowledge of this world is gradually
expanding.
Consider, for example, bits of wood
found in the form of charcoal or pre-
served by contact with oxidized objects
of bronze or iron. Microscopic exam-
ination of the cell structure in these
small fragments often makes it possible
to identify the species of tree from
Copper relief on Balawat gates from
Iraq-Iran border shows Assyrians in a
battle with Urartians. Battle gear is
like that found on Hasanlu artifacts.
which they came. Such identifications
are of interest, because the present
landscape in Solduz is treeless except
for poplars and willows planted along
irrigation canals or growing along the
Qadar River, and small orchards of
fruit trees planted near houses. The
only trees that now- grow^ here naturally
are high up on the slopes of the Zagros
Mountains and represent a remnant
mixed-oak forest. In the ninth century
B.C., a greater variety of woods appears
to have been available locally and trees
were often mature w hen cut. Poplar, as
at the present time in Solduz, was the
favorite wood for building, and was
used for rafters, door frames, and
columns in the large buildings that we
have excavated. In some instances the
columns stood at least twenty feet high,
made from tree trunks trimmed down
to a diameter of about two feet.
kR. Henry Michael of the Center
'for Applied Science in Archaeol-
ogy at the University Museum in Phila-
delphia cut and polished a fragment of
this w ood and found an average yearly
growth of about 4.4 mm. The regular-
ity of the growth pattern indicates that
the tree received an adequate and
steady supply of water. On the basis of
observable ring patterns from modern
poplars we may estimate that the col-
umns would have been made from
mature trees at least fifty years old.
Probably they grew by the river or a
canal in the manner of modern pop-
lars. Poplar, a soft wood used in the
United States today primarily for
paper pulp, was also used at Hasanlu
in the manufacture of small objects
such as buttons, bosses, and cores for
objects of hammered copper. Another
important wood was elm, a hardwood
used for beams in one of the main
buildings and for the shafts of iron-
tipped spears and arrows. Still another
piece of hardwood, identified as the
handle of a bronze mace, was boxwood
( Buxus sempervirens) , which was once
common in Asia Minor, but is now
scarce. Objects of boxwood are men-
tioned frequently in lists of the plunder
carried off from Musasir by Sargon.
The rest of the wood identifications,
all of which were provided through B.
Francis Kukachka of the United States
Department of Agriculture Forest
Service Laboratory in Madison, Wis-
consin, include cypress, hawthorn,
and apple or pear. Fragments of these
woods were all from small objects. The
hawthorn was from a small bowl, and
17
Part of a drinking horn of hammered
copper, this horse head was found in
the ruins of a great pillared hall that
collapsed during sacking of Hasanlu.
Fragments from ivory plaque, at top,
show diamond-eyed visages of Hasanlu
citizens of 9th century B.C. At center
are pieces of woven fabric, and at the
bottom are buttons cast from antimony,
probably Transcaucasian importations.
the apple or pear wood formec
handle of a bronze mace. Indin
of course, we thus learn that appl
pears were available food.
BESIDES fragments of wood, nu
ous plant remains have
found among the charred ruins,
agricultural economy they refle
very similar to that already know
the Assyrians. The major crops
six-rowed hulled barley (Hon
polystichum] , a glume wheat (j
cum dicoccum, or emmer), ai
naked wheat I T . vulgare, or b
wheat ) . The six-rowed barley h
long archeological history in the .
East, beginning about 4000 B.i
probably originated from the
rowed barley grown at Jarmo in m
ern Iraq about 6500 B.C. Wheat
also one of the original domestic
plants, and emmer has been comm
associated with early village fan
from western Asia to Scandin;
These cereal crops were grown in f
prepared with iron hoes or wo(
plows and were harvested with
sickles. Tools of these types have ]
found at Hasanlu. Once the grain
harvested, the usual procedure wi
thresh it by spreading it on cle,
land and trampling it by driving c
or donkeys around on it in cir
Then it was winnowed by tossin
into the air (probably with woe
forks, although three-pronged
pitchforks were also known ) . G
flour for bread was ground on 1;
stone querns, and the bread was ba
in domed clay ovens. Beer may }
been brewed, as it was by the Ass
ans, for large vats more than hal
tall as a man have been found ass
ated with large pottery funnels. I
possible, however, that these vats 1
wine, as remains of crushed gr£
(Vitis vinijera) also have been foi
Certainly, sun-dried raisins wc
have supplemented the diet. Even
day grapes form a large crop in
valley in late summer. Among
other plants identified by the fam
Danish paleobotanist Hans Helb
were millet {Panicum miliaceui
chickpea (Cicer arietinum) , figs (
cus caricci) , and quince (Cydonia
longa). Millet was grown through
the Near East, having been used
predynastic Egypt, and in Iraq i
Bronze Age Iran ; chickpeas, one of
most nutritious legumes grown
human consumption, were cultiva
as early as 2500 B.C. in Palestine ;
BLACK SEA
CAUCASUS MOUNTAINS
A
MEDITERRANEAN SEA
X
o
ISRAELITES /^
SIDON
•TYRE
-^ A
RED
SEA
■B TRADE ROUTES
▲ ANTIMONY
■ IRON
A GOLD
D COPPER
4 SILVER
• LEAD
• TIN
0 VARIOUS SHELLS
PERSEPOLIS
cia. The figs, which were found
ng on a string or a straw, probably
3 imported from Assyria, where
were grown in the gardens of
irsabad and elsewhere. The custom
Tinging figs is very old; they have
1 found in that condition at Tarsus
1 the Middle Bronze Age (1900-
3 B.C.) • The prehistoric occurrence
uince at Hasanlu seems to be the
reported. In view of the close
tical and cultural connections be-
in Hasanlu and Assyria, as shown
leologically and indicated histor-
y (although we do not know
anlu's ancient name) , we may also
ulate that in addition to these
ts, the gardens of Hasanlu— like
e of ninth-century Assyria— may
have contained such herbs as
t, basil, thyme, and fennel, as well
arlic, onions, leeks, lentils, beets,
lettuce. All of these plants grow
he area today, although none of
1 has been preserved from the
h century. A fruit pit and wood
ments show that two or more trees
1 the apple, pear, apricot, plum,
each group were being grown, al-
igh we cannot at the moment
ify which. They are all cultivated
throughout the general region today.
Like the plants, the animal bones re-
covered from some of the excavations
show that the local domestic animals
were similar to those of the nearby
Assyrians. The identifications of do-
mestic and wild animals must be made
by comparing each bone with those of
known animals until they can be
matched. This is the work of zoologists
who specialize in the study of the early
stages of still-living species. Dr.
Charles A. Reed of Yale University,
one of the investigators of the subject
in the Near East, has undertaken the
task of making the final identifications
of some of the Hasanlu bones. As
might be expected, the major domestic
animals are present— cattle, sheep,
goat, and horse. Among the local
fauna was boar, as indicated by the
tusks that have been found. These ani-
mals are still hunted in the area, and
in winter come down from the hills to
forage in the fields.
A NIMAL bone was used in the manu-
_/~\_facture of small artifacts such as
buttons or tiny arrowheads for hunting
birds or small game. Among other
bone objects, the most common are
tall, rectangular containers made from
long bones and decorated with incised
concentric circles. Sometimes they are
equipped with four tiny feet on which
they stand upright. Unique among the
containers is one carved on four sides
in low relief with representations of
animals and men. The latter are shown
drinking— an activity that the local in-
habitants obviously enjoyed, to judge
by the numerous drinking vessels
found. One of these was in the form of
a sensitively fashioned horse head of
hammered copper. Among the small
containers of bone and bronze, some
held a powdery gray substance that
was analyzed spectroscopically by the
University Museum chemist, Eric
Parkinson. In each case the major ele-
ment was lead. In early historic times
in the Near East, galena, a form of
lead, was used as an eye paint, to ward
off disease, and for religious reasons.
Powdered antimony was used in the
same way. The material was ground up
on a small palette and mixed with
water or a solution of some water-
soluble gum into a paste known as
kohl, which was then spread on the
eyelid with the finger or a small stick
of bone, wood, or ivory. Such a "kohl
19
stick" was found with the carved bone
container, showing that the latter was
in fact an ancient cosmetic jar.
IN addition to using eye paint to en-
hance their appearance, the Ha-
sanlu people also wore necklaces of
metal, stones, and sea shells. The
shells, like the plants and animal
bones, lead us to our colleagues in
natural history, since their identifica-
tion provides us with a knowledge of
habitat. This, in turn, indicates the
direction from which the shells have
been traded. Dr. R. Tucker Abbott of
Philadelphia's Academy of Natural
Sciences has made the needed technical
identifications. Surprisingly, none of
the shells comes from the Caspian Sea,
which is less than two hundred miles
away. Instead they are from the Red
Sea, the Mediterranean Sea (over five
hundred miles due west), or from the
Persian Gulf (a similar distance
south). Among the Mediterranean
shells is a "triton" shell, Charonia
variegata (Lamarck) ; a "cone" shell,
Conns mediterraneus Bruguiere; and
a small spiral shell, Nassarius gibbosu-
lus (Linne) . Shells of the latter species
are fairly common at Ashur, Hasanlu,
Tepe Sialk (near Kashan in central
Iran), and Tepe Hissar (near Dam-
ghan in northeastern Iran). A fourth
shell, Murex brandaris Linne, is from
the rock whelk, which was used by the
Phoenicians in the preparation of the
famous Tyrian purple dye (Natural
History, January, 1964) . While great
piles of the discarded whelk shells have
been found at Sidon near Tyre on the
Mediterranean coast, the occurrence
of the shell in a necklace at Hasanlu
suggests that they were used second-
arily for trade. Significantly, perhaps,
one necklace at Hasanlu contained
only shells from the Red Sea and the
Mediterranean, suggesting that the
necklace itself, rather than the loose
shells, may have been a trade item.
The two shells native to the Red Sea—
Engina mendicaria Linne and Colum-
bella julgurans Lamarck— most prob-
ably followed the established overland
trade route through Palestine and
Syria to Assyria and Iran along with
the Mediterranean shells.
By far the most common shells were
those found in the Red Sea and Persian
Gulf, and in the Indian Ocean. No
doubt they were traded along the main
routes up the Tigris and Euphrates
rivers to Assyria and thence overla:
to Hasanlu and points east. A toe
shell; a conch shell {Strombus decor
subsp. persicus Swainson) ; an Oli
shell; and several others (Nerita poL
Linne, Conus ebraeus Linne, Charor
tritonis Linne, and Murex virgine
Roding) complete the list. Two mari
bivalves {Crassitella sp. and Glyc
meris sp.) were also found, alo
with a snail (Clanculus pharaom
Linne) native to the coast of Arab
These shells are combined on some
the necklaces with shells from t
Mediterranean, indicating that th
were either traded separately at tin
or else were restrung either in Assyi
or at Hasanlu.
THE contribution of malacology
archeology does not end w:
the identification of sea shells, 1
among the excavated remains the
were also shells of fresh-water mussi
and land snails. These belong to ti
species, both of which are found frc
the northwestern corner of Ir
through Turkey. The snail is Hei
Molds for bronze casting were eitl
open faced or double. Half of a doul
mold for ax and lironze ingot are sho^\
dina Rossmassler, and the fresh-
:er mussel is Unio durieui De-
yes. The clam shells occur rather
ely, but the snail, which is edible,
urs in large quantities, showing
t it formed a part of the local diet.
Ihells were not the only imports
n far away. Ivory was used in small
ntities for plaques carved in low
ef or for parts of figures carved in
round. While there is the possibil-
that the raw ivory may have been
orted from Pakistan across Iran-
more likely, via the Persian Gulf—
e is an equal possibility that it
e from Syria, where elephants in-
ited the upper Euphrates Valley
1 they disappeared about the sev-
I century B.C.
he ivory plaques probably formed
sides of small boxes, which were
)rated with scenes representing the
1 inhabitants. The figures shown
:he plaques and on other objects
1 Hasanlu wear knee-length tunics
;ned at the waist with a belt. Some
lese costumes were of leather (two
ments have been identified chemi-
r) and others were of woven tex-
. Charred patches of textile have
1 recovered and examined by
old Burnam of the Textile Depart-
t of the Royal Ontario Museum,
combed yarn was made from wool
lohair and used in the making of
)th of tabby construction— a weav-
method in which the warp and
threads pass over each other al-
ately. Most of the pieces exhibit
ft-faced tabby weave in which the
ids of the weft are tightly packed
obscure those of the warp. In
3 instances, the surface of the cloth
)vered with a pile or fringe. On
specimen, the pile was in the form
oops made in a technique pre-
sly known only later in Coptic
Dt. Sometimes the pile is as much
:ree centimeters long.
[OTHER fragment preserves the
sewed joining of two selvages,
another, embedded in clay, shows
lants of some red coloring. (Red,
ly be noted, was a prominent color
le cloth looted from Musasir by
on.) Even three balls of yarn
;d up. The discovery of these tex-
fragments is a unique event in
ian prehistory, as no other sites
produced actual fabrics beyond
mpressions in verdigris found on
V pieces of prehistoric copper at
and Tepe Sialk. The earliest his-
Cast copper basin handle in the shape
of a bird was cleaned electrolytieally.
Analysis of iron dagger blade, right,
showed that technically it is steel.
Macehead, broken open, shows mold
on inner surface. Shaft fitted in hole.
toric textile found at Susa dates to the
sixth century B.C. Unfortunately, no in-
formation as to the type of loom is in-
dicated by the cloth, but the discovery
of over a dozen doughnut-shaped clay
weights and other weights of stone
suggests the use of a vertical loom in
which the bottom of the warp was
held down by weights. Should this
prove to be the case, it may be a point
of considerable interest, because such
looms were used in this period by
Halstatt Iron Age people in central
Europe and by the Greeks. Since re-
lated tribes speaking Indo-European
languages were entering Iran at this
time, there is the possibility that they
may have introduced this type of loom.
Besides the wool and mohair mate-
rials, several woven bits were made
Oxides now replace the once-solid iron
in plaque decorated with winged horse.
Chasing and repousse, as in Hasanlu
bowl detail, were common in goldwork.
from a bast fiber of some kind— pro
ably hemp, clearly not flax. This bs
fiber was also used to make weft-fao
tabby cloth, but in at least two i
stances it is found as the thread (
which beads were strung. It also w
used for woven belts, as shown by ii
pressions preserved on the corrodi
surface of a copper belt plaque. Sor
species of grass was also employed
make the rope that was used to li
the inside and the outer edge of
copper helmet.
The copper used in the helmet w
one of a variety of metals recover
at Hasanlu. Others were antimor
lead, silver, bronze, iron, and gold. T
variety is not surprising, in view of t
fact that lead, silver, copper, and in
occur together at Mount Sahand i
the east shore of Lake Urmia abo
miles northeast of Hasanlu, in the
ri Mountains about a hundred
; northwest between Lake Urmia
Lake Van, and around the head-
rs of the Diyala River, about a
red miles south. Additional metal
;es lay around the upper reaches
e Tigris River in Turkey and the
River in Transcaucasia. Thus,
y lines existed both locally and
igh the great countries of Assyria
Qrartu. An additional source of
lony lay southeast at Takht-i-
man in what is now Afshar Prov-
of Iran. Little field work has yet
done in search of mines and struc-
associated with these early ore
es, and almost no scientific
ses have been made of the local
amples for comparison with ex-
ed metal objects. When this work
een done, it may be possible to
lint the sources of these metals
precisely.
E presence of pure antimony at
lasanlu in the form of cast but-
surprised us. At first sight, they
r to be hammered native silver,
: was only by means of the spec-
ipe that their true nature was
rered. Probably they represent
ts from Transcaucasia, for ob-
made of antimony were common
t area in the ninth century, but
oddities elsewhere in almost all
Is. Certain of the bronze weapons
es and daggers— also suggest
;t with this area. Like antimony,
vas imported. Part of it, at least,
lave come from Zenjan, east of
du, for many gold objects have
excavated in the mountains be-
that city and the Caspian Sea,
ome are closely related stylisti-
:o objects at Hasanlu. The docu-
tion of gold at Hasanlu is a great
tage to us, because it provides
es of known age and archeologi-
ntext in Iran. Modern forgeries
nian gold antiquities have been
iblem for museums for many
but there has been no known
d of checking the authenticity of
sees objectively. It has been gen-
accepted that gold, essentially an
metal, does not change signifi-
over the years. This conclusion
t altogether certain, however,
it remains to be tested in the
)f the new methods of investiga-
leveloped by modern chemistry
hysics. Several pieces of gold of
;nt known ages, including some
from Hasanlu, were photographed
under the electron microscope by Mrs.
Althea Revere of Vineyard Haven,
Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. In
the photographs, the outlines of vari-
ous shapes, the bodies of which have
the same light color as the background,
may be seen. Mrs. Revere believes
that these predominantly octahedral
forms may be an indication of the an-
tiquity of the object, as they were not
seen in the one modern object studied.
Whether these shapes are to be ex-
plained in this way is not yet clear; at
present they simply represent an un-
explained phenomenon.
Additional gold objects documented
to different periods, and some of those
photographed by Mrs. Revere, are now
being studied by Dr. P. Hornblower
at the Research Laboratory for Ar-
chaeology and the History of Art at
Oxford University, with an electron
probe analyzer. This is a specialized
instrument that scans cross-sections of
the gold objects. It is hoped that it may
be possible to detect some evidence of
change in the region of impurities in
the gold's outer surfaces. This might
appear as a purer gold content near the
surface because of the disappearance
of less stable impurities. The question
is unanswered, but holds some promise
for the future.
Among the problems presented by
the Hasanlu metal objects is that of
discovering the use to which some of
them were put. Take, for example, a
group of bronze objects that are com-
monly called maceheads, but which
are sometimes also referred to as end
pieces for furniture legs. These occur
in several forms. Often they look like
a ball set on a short tube. Sometimes
the ball is replaced by the many pro-
jecting points of a star. The latter
form is certainly a true macehead, for
one example has been found with the
impression of its wooden handle still
intact. The ball-shaped forms are, how-
ever, more problematical. Tubes of
several of these were filled with a
powdery gray substance, which, upon
analysis, proved to be powdered lead-
just as in the case of the bone con-
tainers. The powder filled the hollow
central tube, which, in the case of the
star-shaped mace, was the socket for
the wooden handle.
These ball-shaped forms were fur-
ther shown to be containers rather than
maceheads when one of them was found
with a small wooden plug still in posi-
tion at one end of the tube. Lying be-
Knife haft is adorned in cloisonne,
using gold strips and inlays of stone.
tween the central opening into which
the lead powder was packed and the
bronze outer surface of the ball was a
gray-buff clay core left inside from the
casting, and consisting of aluminum,
silica, and other elements. Clearly
these were used as kohl jars and not as
maceheads or furniture attachments.
A NOTHER problem involves the diffi-
jr\_ culty of uncovering sufHcient sur-
face of badly corroded objects to re-
construct their original appearance. It
is possible to pick up some of the lines
or raised surfaces by brushing the
corrosion lightly to remove the dust
and loose particles, and by then ob-
serving them in light directed at dif-
ferent angles. This examination may
be aided on occasion by the use of an
X-ray, a technique used on several
Hasanlu pieces by Drs. Madden and
Parthe of the School of Metallurgical
Engineering at the University of Penn-
sylvania. By combining visual and
X-ray information, partial reconstruc-
tions have been possible, as in the
case of a hammered copper plaque
from a box found crushed on the floor
of the pillared hall in Burned Build-
23
ing III at Hasanlu. The plaque repre-
sents archers defending a fortified wall
from its towers. The fortification bears
a striking resemblance to the wall
surrounding the Citadel at Hasanlu
and recalls Urartian towers seen on
the Balawat gates. Where the corro-
sion is not too advanced the metal can
be cleaned successfully by soaking it
in constantly changing distilled water
over long periods. Unfortunately, such
treatment is not always possible. Cast
bronze fares better in this respect than
thin, hammered, copper sheet metal,
which is highly vulnerable to corro-
sion and is often not solid when found.
OBJECTS of iron are even more vul-
nerable to destructive forces of
weathering. The ninth century B.C.
marks the high point of the early Iron
Age in this part of Iran, and many
tools and weapons were made of the
material. When excavated, they are all
too often simply a pile of rust main-
taining a semblance of the original
shape (what metallurgists call a '"pseu-
domorph") but little else. Some pieces
can be prevented from falling apart if
they are first impregnated with poly-
vinyl and then removed from the
ground, but none of these any longer
contains a core of solid iron. Conse-
Carved bone cosmetic box has a small
hole at base for one of two pegs that
held bottom of the container in place.
Gold granulation decorated edge of
IVa-inch limestone square with an agate
set in its surface. Its use is unknown.
quently, no amount of cleaning aw
of the corrosive products will rev
any original metal forms within 1
mass of iron oxide; so we must
satisfied to observe what we can vi
ally, as in the case of the winged ho:
plaque shown here. An X-ray reve
only that there are a number of ho
around the outer rim, probably us
to attach the object to some backi
material. In spite of the disappearar
of the core metal, some technical d;
can be obtained, as the work carr:
out on an iron dagger blade by J
Reed Knox, Jr., of the University
Pennsylvania School of Engineerii
has recently proved. A cross-secti
was cut from the end of the broli
blade, was mounted on Lucite, grouj
and polished. It was then possible
study the structure, which includet
few tiny particles of metal in oxi
matrix. The particles proved to bf
typical high-carbon steel with a fi
lamellar structure called pearlite. 1
ghost of some of the structure
mained in the oxide after the ir
itself had disappeared. The stu
showed that the blade had been f;
ricated by hammering, and that it h
been cooled at a slow rate from a hi
temperature. According to Dr. Cy
Smith of M.I.T., the bronze hilt h
been cast onto the tang of the ir
blade, for some of the bronze had r
into a seam in the iron. This casting-
technique was also used in the mai
facture of some Luristan bronze a
iron daggers. Whether the producti
of a high-carbon steel was intentioj
will be better known when other spe
mens are studied. What is shown i
the first time by this particular analy
is, as Knox points out, that "it is p
sible to distinguish ancient wrou<
iron from steel by metallurgii
means, although all metal has be
converted to oxide."
Thus, modern techniques of analy
and modern knowledge of natural h
tory are able, by working in tand(
with the archeological spade, to bri
new perspective to natural histc
and to the history of technolo;
Together they begin to reveal son
thing of the "heaped up treasures'
which Sargon spoke; treasures of
field of knowledge infinitely rid
than even he could ever have imagin(
Hammered silver beaker has raisi
electrum-overlaid figures. Impress!
of textile shows on corroded surfa
24
^^^^^^!^^^^
"\m&^\x§^ mf'*<m ■ ■■ rWrr- ' ^^^kSrM^:
,«r-'Vj
•»«>.'■ •.■~\-<.'' -^
1^
■ . "■"■ -.- - *"^^
By WILLIAM G. GEORGE
-L HE Peruvian Andes look as forbidding as they ever have,
I suppose, but this is ofFset today by roads that cross the
river canyons, scale the cliffs, and traverse the ridges. Not
long ago I traveled upward by car into the highest habitats
of the Andean avifauna, and for nine months easily scouted
through regions that the early naturalists had to labor hard
even to reach.
Some of the tanagers, honeycreepers, and finches that
occupy the brush and woodlands of the Peruvian Cordil-
leras rank among the least known of South American birds.
Their nests, eggs, and life histories still remain unreported,
and their distribution and seasonal movements have yet to
be fully worked out. Furthermore, many unanswered ques-
tions exist concerning the degree of relationship that the
various species have to each other within the songbird
assemblage to W'hich they belong, the American Nine-pri-
maried Oscines (Natural History, February, 1963).
The South American members of this group, numbering
about 500 living species, include principally the vireos,
wood warblers, blackbirds, orioles, and the already men-
tioned honeycreepers, tanagers, and finches. One of the
least typical is the Giant Conebill, Oreomanes fraseri. I
found it a common bird at about 13,000 feet in the Depart-
ment of Puno, along the road from Nufioa to Macusani.
There the road climbs a grassy ridge and enters a rich,
parklike woodland that seems misplaced at that altitude and
in that region. The trees in this area are Polylepis. They are
40 feet or less in height and have a peculiar bark, rather like
that of shagbark hickory, consisting of paper-thin layers
that tend to separate, peel, curl, and flap noisily in the con-
tinuous wind.
IN appearance, size, and habits, the Giant Conebill gen-
erally parallels the Sittidae, or nuthatches— a family of
holarctic songbirds that does not reach South America. It
feeds in the bark and less often works among the leaves.
It crawls over the trunks and larger branches, but never
descends face downward or delivers group contact and for-
aging calls, as do nuthatches. It searches for insects by
using its long bill both as a probe and as pliers to grip
the sheets of bark and wrench them away. This operation
produces splintering sounds and tugging movements that
merge with the rustling of the wind-blown bark. Because
the outer bark surfaces are cinnamon-colored like the cone-
bill's underside, and the inner bark surfaces are bluish gray
like the conebill's back, the bird is so well camouflaged that
it ranks high among species that provide support for the
theory of protective coloration in animals.
The bird seems to be confined to Polylepis and to pre-
fer the most luxuriant growths. On the other hand, the
bird also occurs in the impoverished Polylepis that grow
as mere bushes on many of the dry western slopes of the
Andes. This is a recent discovery, and one that indicates
the species may well be found in places beyond its present
26
Rarely Seen
Songbirds
of Peru's
High Andes
recorded range. The bird heretofore has been known onl
from the eastern Andean slope from Bolivia to Colombii
I suspect it will soon be found in northwestern Chile, for
encountered a specimen in stunted Polylepis of the westei
sierra above Tacna, not far from the Peruvian-Chilean bo
der, across which Polylepis woodlands presumably extern
The mating of the Nuiioa population was in progress o
October 19, 1962. The males were chasing and were singir
from their treetop perches a high-pitched, plaintive, an
monotonous "ssit, ssit, ssit," or "sseet, sseet, sseet." Whe
I returned to the site on November 30, small mixed flocl
of adults, immatures, and a few juveniles were presen
As the conebill painting shows, the juveniles have oddl
streaked and spotted breasts, a characteristic of some juv
niles of another and better-known bird of the tempera
zone of Peru, the Coal-black Flower-piercer, Diglossa ca
bonaria. This may indicate, in combination with certai
technical data, a near relationship of the two species.
In the Department of Cuzco, northeast of Nuiioa, tl
Chestnut-belted Finch, Poospizopsis caesar, inhabits wide
spaced brush thickets in steep ravines among the stark hil
above Paucartambo. It is a Peruvian endemic of narro
distribution and of wild habit. They fly from their thicke
instantly on sighting a human being; after spanning se
eral hundred yards they plunge into another thicket ar
vanish. The juveniles, which I saw being fed by adults c
December 9, flew off as quickly as the adults.
The Tit-like Dacnis, Xenodacnis parina, is another P
ruvian endemic, and clearly an aberrant form. Its princ
pal habitat may be Gynoxis, a soft-leaved shrub. On tl
western slope of the great mountain Picchupicchu. Gyno^
grows immediately below the lowest limits of Polylef
brush. Almost silvery in appearance because of its pall
gray leaves, and standing about eight feet in height,
forms a conspicuous zone that can be easily spotted agair
its background of dark soil and brown rocks.
Numerous Tit-like Dacnis' were present in the Gynoi
on Picchupicchu from December 21 to January 24. Thf
breeding season had ended prior to the December date, ai
the entire population, adults and immatures alike (I s£
no juveniles) , were still undergoing the post-breeding mo
They moved in small groups among the bushes in t
Illustrations by Arthur Singer
/ifliin^<^^^^,^iik
Dubusia tacniala
ines, feeding on insects down in the maze of bare, col-
ral stems that together emerge from the earth in the
:e of a main stem. When disturbed, the birds seemed
ctant to abandon one ravine in favor of another; they
lid simply slip out of view or fly within the ravine for a
rt distance. They have a low, deft, and effortless style of
It, and even as they launch themselves suddenly out of
ish they are strikingly graceful. None of them emitted
notes at any time when I was in the area.
enodacnis is one of those "problem" genera that per-
; the taxonomist. Alone of the American Nine-primaried
ines it has the bill of a titmouse. Its tongue refinements,
to some extent its feeding behavior, also parallel those
le titmice, or Paridae, a northern family that does not
^e into South America and with which Xenodacnis
es relatively few significant traits. For example, titmice
; ten primaries in the wing while Xenodacnis has nine,
there are other important anatomical disjunctions be-
;n them. Nevertheless, Xenodacnis merits the name
nouse-like." Accordingly, it provides, as does the Giant
ebill, an example of a neotropical songbird that has
lired several characteristics of holarctic songbirds from
;h it is genetically distinct. The problem is, which genus
le assemblage of nine-primaried songbirds may be its
est kin? There are four possibilities. The first isDacnis,
nus of honeycreepers, the males of which exhibit blue
leir plumage. But the bills of all Dacnis are sharp and
irved, and their tongues are highly modified for suck-
nectar; furthermore, the female plumage of none of
1 is like that of Xenodacnis. Traditionally, it is true,
nomists have aligned Xenodacnis with Dacnis, having
. guided less by any biological similarity of the species,
spect, than by the occurrence of the term dacnis in
generic names. This nomenclatorial convergence tends
nply close relationships of the species; but the names
; coined in 1817 and 1873, during the period of explora-
when Andean birds were relatively unknown.
HE second and third possibilities lie within the blue
buntings of the genera Passerina and Cyanocornpsa,
within the finches of the genus Catamenia. The males
ese species are totally or partly deep blue or slaty-blue,
some of the females have tawny-brownish underparts
the female of Xenodacnis. However, the buntings and
les are seed-feeders and have tough, thick-walled stom-
adapted for grinding harsh foods; so, to a large ex-
do insectivorous species, for the chitinous parts of
■ prey must be mashed during digestion. Xenodacnis
[sectivorous, yet it has a relatively tiny, thin-walled
ach, scarcely better developed than the stomachs of
jr-feeders. The hint in this seems unmistakable; Xeno-
.is probably stemmed from a honeycreeper line, and
ibly from the same one as Dacnis after all.
le fourth near relative is another honeycreeper genus,
Irostrum. These are small, warbler-like species that
t be considered because they possess among them a
; spectrum of plumage features that more or less agree
some of those of Xenodacnis. To be honest about it,
, one has to admit that the Tit-like Dacnis is a species
may agitate taxonomists for many years to come,
found the rest of the birds portrayed in the paintings
le of the richest birding areas in Peru— the Hacienda
aynioc, within the Department of Junin. To reach it,
must travel from Palca on a road that is a mere twenty
^
PAUCARTAMBO
/t
^ "NUN
\ <
PICCHUPICCHU MT.
(mainly vertical) kilometers in length. After leaving the
eastern outskirts of Palca, the road more or less soars over
a series of grassy slopes of the temperate zone. Ultimately
it crests among clumps of large, lichen-clad bushes, de-
scends into and out of the hacienda village, and enters a
valley. It ends at 11.000 feet on a ridge overlooking a river
canyon choked with a lush forest of temperate and humid-
temperate trees that eventually mix far below with the up-
per level of the subtropical vegetation.
The abundance of birds during late May, both within the
forest and on its brushy outskirts, was unlike anything I
had seen before. In a tropical habitat it is the insects that
quicken the awareness of teeming life. At Maraynioc that
awareness comes from the birds, and especially from hum-
mingbirds like the Sparkling Violet-ear (Colibri coruscans)
and the giant Sapphire-wing (Plerophanes cyanoptera) .
The conspicuous Trochilidae tend to eclipse the activities
of the many shyer species. The Chestnut-bellied Tanager,
Delothraupis castaneoventris, and the Buff-breasted Moun-
tain Tanager, Dubusia taeniata, w-ere both quiet and timid.
They fed on insects and buds on the brushy hillsides, fre-
quenting a small tree named Hesperomeles.
The morning sky was usually clear and blue at Maray-
nioc, but as each day wore on mist would begin to gather
far down in the subtropical valley of Chanchamayo. By
early afternoon it rose through the river canyon, drench-
ing the forest and turning out hordes of gnats. Thrushes,
honeycreepers, wrens, hummingbirds, finches, flycatchers,
and some tanagers— among them the Chestnut-bellied—
then leaped out of the Hesperomeles to fly, bills snapping,
through the gnat swarms. This, as much as the mist itself,
signaled the approach of dusk and a night of dankness.
The Grass Green Tanager, Chlorornis reifferii; the Yel-
low-naped Tanager. Iridosornis reinhardti; and the Hooded
Mountain Tanager, Buthraupis montana— the largest of all
the tanagers— stayed within the high foliage of the humid
temperate forest, foraging together in wandering bands.
The sound of bustling and twig snapping sounded from
wherever they fed, and entire sprays of leaves tumbled
down at the same time, yet the birds were difficult to see.
The forest at Maraynioc remains unspoiled. The owner
of the hacienda discourages visitors, and the forest itself
has discouraged the zeal of the lumbering interests in Peru.
As a result, this gloomy and moist birding heaven, which
clings to extraordinarily steep rock walls, seems today to
be little threatened by the encroachments of civilization.
29
Topographic maps portray works of man and natun
Mapping the Surface
of the Earth
By Morris M. Thompson
and Julius L. Speert
EVERYONE IS FAMILIAR with maps
of one sort or another, most of
which depict the activities, works, or
history of man but tell little, if any-
thing, about the natural w orld he lives
in. An important exception is the
topographic map.
A topographic map is a graphic
representation of the physical features
of a portion of the earth's surface,
plotted to scale on a flat sheet. It de-
picts relief, w'ater features, vegetation,
and the works of man, thereby por-
traying the cumulative effects of the
forces of nature and man.
Because they literally picture the
face of the earth, topographic maps
are used mainly in applications re-
lated to surface features. Perhaps the
most important and best-known uses
are in the fields of engineering and
economic development. In hydraulic
engineering, including flood control,
water-power development, irrigation,
water supply, and the design of dams
and reservoirs, topographic maps are
a prime necessity, for they show in
detail the characteristics of the drain-
age basins involved. Highways, rail-
roads, power lines, sewers, and other
arteries cannot be planned economi-
cally and safely without precise knowl-
edge of the terrain, most readily ob-
tained from topographic maps.
In many instances, a real-estate sub-
division, including its lots, streets,
sewers, and other utilities, is first laid
out on a topographic map. A manu-
facturing concern seeking a site for
a new factory is apt to study numer-
ous topographic quadrangle maps to
find a location near water, transporta-
tion routes, power supplies, raw ma-
terials, labor supply, and its poten-
tial markets. The list of uses in civic,
economic, and in industrial develop-
ment could be extended indefinitely,
30
but we mean to focus our attention on
the use of topographic maps in study-
ing natural features.
Perhaps the most popular use of
such maps among nature enthusiasts
is in the planning of outdoor recrea-
tion. Because the topographic map
shows woodland, trails, streams, and
hills, it is ideal for planning hikes;
hunting, fishing, and camping trips;
and similar excursions. From the
community point of view, the topo-
graphic map is a prerequisite to the
planning and construction of parks,
playgrounds, natural-state reserva-
tions, and wildlife refuges.
THE information shown on topo-
graphic maps generally falls into
the following four distinct categories:
hypsographic, hydrographic, wood-
land, and culture.
Hypsographic, or relief, features of
a map are normally printed in brown,
and the usual method of showing relief
is by means of contours. A contour is
an imaginary line on the ground, all
points of which are at the same eleva-
tion, or height, above a horizontal
reference datum, usually mean sea
level. Thus, the shoreline of a quies-
cent pond or lake is, in effect, a con-
tour. Lines drawn on the map to rep-
resent the contours are contour lines,
but are frequently called contours, for
short. If you envision a hilltop sliced
off bv a horizontal plane, the perimeter
of the slice is a contour. Picture, now,
another horizontal slice twenty feet
below the first, then another, and an-
other, and so on. The perimeter of
each slice would determine a contour
line on the map. With the slices
twenty feet apart vertically, we have
set a contour interval of twenty feet.
If the ground is steeply sloping,
the contour lines will be close to-
Corumbia Crest ' -
MOUNT ■■ RAINIER , /„
Topographic map shows crater of an
inactive volcano as well as numerous
glaciers emanating from Mount Rainier.
.-^
^/ rM"
Landscape of Mount Rainier was made
from northeast at sunrise. At left of
Columbia Crest is the Gibraltar Rock.
31
gether; if it is gently sloping or almost
flat ground, the contours will be widely
spaced. Thus we can determine the
slope of the ground by the spacing of
the contour lines. If the ground is so
steep that the contours would be
crowded on the map, we must use a
larger contour interval to allow more
room between them. Similarly, if we
double the scale of the map we auto-
matically spread the contour spacing
and can use a smaller contour interval
without crowding. In practice, the
interval selected is that which can best
portray the character of the terrain at
map scale without undue crowding.
CONTOURS on a map would have
little meaning unless they could be
identified. Therefore it is customary
to emphasize every fifth contour and
to label these "index" contours with
their elevation. Then, to read the
height of any point on the map, the
heights of the adjoining contours are
determined by counting the number of
contour intervals from the nearest
Menan Buttes, in Idaho, are really
volcanic cinder cones. Large craters
are indicated by depression contours.
labeled contours, and the height of the
point is interpolated by estimating its
relative distance from the two adjoin-
ing contours. With a little practice this
can be done accurately.
Much can be learned about an area
from a study of its contour map. If
the ground has a uniform, steady
slope, the contours will be equally
spaced. If the country is rough, this
will be reflected in the irregularity of
the contours. Some common topo-
graphic features are shown in the
illustration comparing a perspective
drawing with a topographic map
(bottom, right) . Note how easily each
feature can be recognized from the
shapes of the contours.
In multicolored renderings of the
maps, hydrographic, or water, fea-
tures are usually printed in blue. These
include oceans, lakes, rivers, streams,
glaciers, canals, and swamps. As the
level of the ocean is usually the refer-
ence datum for elevation, its shore-
line is, except for minor technical
refinements, the zero contour. Since
rivers and streams run downhill from
their source, they must cross all con-
tours between source and mouth. Note
on the illustrations (right) how tl
shape of the contours clearly indicat
the location of a watercourse or m
ural drain. Canals are characterizi
by their straight lines, a condition n
usual in natural watercourses, and i
the fact that they usually run near
parallel to the contours instead
crossing them, as streams do. Swamj
occur in flatland that is poor
drained, and are shown by speci
symbols. Glaciers appear on mou
tain slopes, with their surface definf
by blue contours.
Woodland is shown on maps by
green overprint. Special symbols a:
used to portray orchards, vineyard
and other distinct types of vegetatio
Culture is the name given to tl
works of man that are shown on top
graphic maps. This category includi
all types of construction, roads, rai
roads, political boundaries, and plai
names. They are usually printed i
black, but red is also used to he]
classify certain types of highways ar
boundary lines. If all the building
in heavily built-up areas were showi
such areas would appear almost so
idly black. To avoid this, built-u
urban areas are shown by a screene
red overprint, with the street pattei
fully developed, and all houses i
the area are omitted except landmai
buildings, such as public building
schools, and churches.
Most people tend to take the su
face of the earth for granted. It w£
here when we arrived, we expect t
leave it here when we depart, and v
are unable to notice any significai
changes in it during our stay. Tli
study of geology teaches us, howeve:
that the earth's surface is not stabl(
It is undergoing constant chang
under the influence of all of the force
of nature, both from within the eart
and from without. Some of the intej
nal forces act so slowly as to be ur
noticeable except to the expert. The
account for the gradual rising or se
tling of continents and of the ocea
floor. Other internal forces, such a
earthquakes and volcanic eruptioiii
produce such sudden and catastrophi
changes that they are abundantly ap
parent. Many of our great valleys an
mountain ranges have been forme
during a shrinking of the earth's cms
in much the same way that the surfac
of a prune becomes wrinkled as th
plump, fresh fruit is dried.
But while powerful forces are worl
ing from within to change the face o
ER-55 PROJECTORS
TRACING TABLE
ED AERIAL PHOTOS are projected
rni optical model of terrain on
ng table, permitting operator to
convert 3-D image to topographic map.
Below, sketch of river valley, bay, and
hooked sand bar is compared to a map.
the earth, equally powerful but more
subtle forces are working from with-
out to sculpt the surface into the
various features that are so familiar
to us. These external forces include
wind, sun, rain, frost, rivers, ocean
waves, glaciers, and vegetation. Each
operates in its own way, alone or in
conjunction with others, and forms
features characteristic of its powers.
Some of these forces and surface fea-
tures they create, which show on topo-
graphic maps, are discussed below.
ACTION of rivers: Rivers work in
two principal ways to change
the face of the earth. Together with
freshly fallen rain, the rivers and
streams scour the surface of the earth
and the river beds; they undercut
riverbanks and carry away soil. Later,
when the water is no longer able to
carry the load, it deposits the sediment
on flood plains, deltas, or alluvial fans.
Glacial erosion: The work of gla-
ciers in some respects resembles that
of rivers; glaciers erode the earth
along their path, carry the load a
distance, and drop it as the leading
face melts and recedes. The typical
products of glacial erosion, such as
cirques, drumlins, and eskers, are read-
ily identified on topographic maps.
Work of the wind: Wind sculpture
is most evident in areas of sparse
vegetation. Its handiwork is easily
recognized in such features as bar-
khans and dune ridges.
Coastal formations: Tides, waves,
and ocean currents produce character-
istic patterns along the coastlines in
the form of barrier beaches, hooks,
spits, and other features.
Volcanic physiography : The char-
acteristic shape of a volcanic cone and
its crater are easily recognized on
a topographic map (opposite page).
Influence of vegetation: The effect
of vegetation on physiography is less
obvious than that of the principal
erosive forces— wind and water. It
is mostly protective; it tends to re-
tard the erosive action of the others.
But since vegetation requires a favor-
able combination of moisture and tem-
perature, there are regions where
trees do not grow, either because of
lack of water or because of low aver-
age temperatures at high altitudes and
at high latitudes. The timber line, be-
yond which trees are scarce, is often
well defined on topographic maps.
By the same token, tree growth is
likely to be more lavish where there
33
is ample water and where tempera-
tures are favorable. Thus we often
find that growth is denser and the
trees are larger along watercourses
than in the surrounding countryside.
CONSIDERING the vast amount of in-
formation involved, the reader
may well wonder how topographic
maps are made. Prior to the modern
age of mechanization and automation,
say thirty or forty years ago, prac-
tically the entire process was done in
the field. The principal tools, still
used extensively today, were the plane
table ( a drawing board supported on
a tripod) and an alidade (a sighting
telescope fastened to a flat base with
a straightedge for drawing lines on
the map manuscript) . In addition, the-
odolites and transits (for measuring
angles) , steel tapes and stadia rods
( for measuring distances ) , and levels
and level rods (for measuring eleva-
tions ) were used for control surveys.
The topographer reached the area
to be mapped by the best transporta-
tion available to him. From then on
it was his responsibility to cover the
ground— on horseback, by canoe, on
foot, or by whatever combination of
facilities he could manage— as best he
could, carrying his equipment. Even
when the automobile arrived on the
scene, many of the areas to be mapped
were far removed from passable high-
ways, and much of the country still
had to be covered by the more primi-
tive means of transportation.
The season's work would be started
with a clean sheet of map manuscript
paper on the plane table. On this
would be plotted a projection grati-
cule (network) of parallels and meri-
dians (latitude and longitude) to con-
tain the area. Then any control sta-
tions previously established by control
surveys would be plotted in correct
position with respect to the projection
lines. At this point, the topographer
was ready for the field. All too often
he was also the control surveyor, and
the two operations overlapped.
With the plane table set up on a
high vantage point, a large expanse of
ground could be surveyed. Distant
points were located and plotted on
the manuscript by triangulation, in-
tersection, and resection techniques.
Elevations of points were computed
from vertical-angle measurements
with the alidade. Contours were
sketched to fit the measured elevations
while the topographer studied the
34
actual shape of the ground. Drainage
was located and plotted, and cultural
features were added to the map. By
diligent search for ground evidence
and legal records, and extensive in-
quiry of local residents, information
was obtained on political boundaries,
names, and other essential map data.
With all available field information
assembled, the map manuscript was
brought into the headquarters office
for fine drafting and reproduction.
Thus another topographic quadrangle
map was born.
With the advent of modern aircraft,
precision aerial cameras, and related
plotting equipment, a new era de-
veloped in map making. No longer
does the topographer cover the ground
on foot or on horseback, sketching as
he goes. No longer is he severely re-
stricted by short working seasons or
adverse weather. Through the eye of
the aerial camera, his vantage point
has been moved from the hilltop to a
point thousands of feet above the
ground. He can now see both sides of
the distant mountain range instead of
only the near side. He can study the
photographs in comfort in an air-
conditioned laboratory and measure
the ground surface with greater speed
and economy than was possible befc
By studying the pictures in ov
lapping pairs through an optical s
tem in which the left eye sees one f
ture and the right eye sees the oth
he can get a three-dimensional opti
model and see and measure the re]
in fine detail. In fact, the view av:
able in the stereoscopic model (pi
31, top) is superior in almost all
spects to that observed from
ground stations.
THE viewing system contains
"floating dot" or similar dev
that can be raised or lowered by '
operator to keep it "on the grour
as it is moved over the model. A per
moves over the map manuscript
trace the path of the dot over 1
model. Thus the photogrammeti
traces roads and streams, buildin
forests, and other details. By movi
the floating dot along the ground
a constant height above sea level,
traces a contour on the model and
the map. For the next contour he me
ly raises or lowers the dot by one c(
tour interval and repeats the proce
Nevertheless, field work has i
been completely eliminated. To ma
tain correct scale, position, a
TIME TOPOGRAPHER worked with an
ide and a plane table, left, which
acked with supplies to survey site.
V
G O R G E
.C'.""-^""
viTE Gorge, Grand Canyon, right,
mapped at turn of century. Tinted
:1 corresponds to air view, below.
AL PHOTO shows fidelity of map.
rado River scoured the mile-deep
<■. I)t-Il Kip C (IIlll)UI- .llf ( Iit1-.
\^^
35
Hoover Dam, lower left, above, is of topographic map. Surveys before
shown in enlargement of small part flooding yielded submerged contours.
Overhead aerial view of Lake Mead
and Hoover Dam, bottom center, above,
is step in preparation of such a map.
36
Promontory Point and Hoover Dam
are seen in an oblique photo. Compare
this view with the illustrations at left.
orientation of the map and of eac
stereo model used to prepare it, ai
to insure accurate positions and el
vations of the features shown, son
field measurements are still neede
For this purpose, points that are di
tinctly recognizable on the picture a
identified on the ground, and contr
surveys are run to determine the
latitude, longitude, and elevation,
needed. Some of these control poir
are marked on the ground with ol
cial bronze or aluminum tablets set
masonry or rock, and are shown (
the maps by appropriate symbo
They are useful as a reference datu
for many other kinds of surveys. 0th
points, intended only for the specii
mapping project, are not so marke
After the photographic models ha
been assembled and adjusted to fit t
ground control, and after all t
visible topographic detail has be
transferred to the map manuscri]
there is still need for further field i
vestigation. A competent "field co;
pletion" surveyor takes the mar
ipt into the field with his plane
le and alidade. By a few judicious
asurenaents he tests the accuracy of
office compilation. He verifies the
)togrammetrist's interpretation of
p detail. Was that break in the
sds a trail or a mountain stream?
hat building a barn or a factory?
adds detail that was obscured by
ise foliage or by heavy shadow.
obtains information on political
mdaries. place names, and similar
a not obtainable from the photo-
phs. After field completion, the
nuscript is returned to the office for
ting, cartographic processing, and,
mately, publication.
^HE basic responsibility for pre-
paring and publishing general
pose topographic maps of the
ited States and its outlying areas
been assigned to the United States
(logical Survey. The topographic
ps prepared by other government
ncies in connection with their regu-
activities are edited and published
by the Geological Survey and are in-
cluded in the National Topographic
Map Series. The standard map unit is
a quadrangle, a four-sided figure
bounded by parallels of latitude and
meridians of longitude. The area
covered by a quadrangle map depends
on the size of the quadrangle and its
location with respect to latitude. For
example, a 7Vo-minute quadrangle,
covering 71,4 minutes of latitude by
7V2 minutes of longitude, usually at a
scale of 1 :24.000 I or one inch to 2,000
feet I, may have an area between 49
and 70 square miles; a 15-minute
quadrangle, usually at a scale of
1:62,500 (approximately one inch to
the mile ) , may have an area between
197 and 280 square miles. Another
important series, at the scale of
1 :250,000, covers one degree of lati-
tude by two degrees of longitude, with
areas varying between 6,346 and 8,669
square miles.
Approximately 70 per cent of the
United States is covered by accurate
modern maps in the 7V2-minute and
15-minute series, and an active pro-
gram is under way to complete this
coverage as soon as possible. Cover-
age in the 1 :250,000-scale series is vir-
tually complete today. A descriptive
folder on topographic maps, index
circulars for each state showing the
availability of specific maps, and
other map information may be ob-
tained from the Map Information Of-
fice, U.S. Geological Survey, Wash-
ington 25, D.C.
In this article we have touched only
briefly on topographic maps— what
they are, how they are made, what
they show, how they can be obtained,
and a few of their uses. Many excel-
lent books have been written on this
subject and on specific aspects of it.
To a student of nature and natural
history, the topographic map presents
an invaluable record of the evolution
of the earth's surface: what happened
to it in the past, and what is hap-
pening today. The topographic map
is a powerful tool in nature study
that is all too frequently overlooked.
fm^^r:
-^ -^;'~- •-.
>*■ ■ • -■jg'^^
Return of the Beavei
Economic factors have had a large bearing on population flu:
By Sydney Anderson
THE HISTORY of the North American beaver presents a
conservation problem that has affected many of our
continent's natural resources— that of maintaining a proper
balance between overexploitation and overprotection. The
beaver first became a significant economic entity during
the sixteenth century as fur trade originating in North
America attained large-scale international proportions. At
first, trade was carried on only to a limited degree by
French fishermen who got furs from Indians in exchange
for trinkets. The prices these pelts brought in Europe pro-
vided an incentive for many of the fishermen to become
full-time trappers, but most of their activities were carried
out along the coast. As the demand for hats, trimmings, fur
for linings, and leather shoes began to increase toward the
38
end of the sixteenth century, Henry IV of France saw ;
fur trade a way of building an economic empire. With th
vision, he sent many explorers to the coasts of Nova Scot
and Newfoundland.
But although it was the French who led the way, it w;
ultimately the powerful Hudson's Bay Company— create
in 1670— that came to dominate the fur trade in Norl
America. While Europe provided Hudson's Bay and lessi
companies with a market for marten, otter, wolverin
mink, and other pelts, the largest demand by far was fi
beaver. It has been estimated that between the years 18J
and 1877, Hudson's Bay sold nearly three million beav
pelts. As the continent was being settled, the range of tl
beaver was extensive— from coast to coast and from Alas!
^sm^
When a beaver dives,
nose and ear valves shut
and remain closed until
the animal surfaces. The
beaver is able to remain
underwater 15 minutes.
Heavy outer coat, soft,
dense underfur. and
body oils all combine
to keep animal warm
and insulate it against
icy streams and cold air.
39
to the Gulf of Mexico, with the exception of the frozen
tundra and some drier areas of the interior. Subjected to
continuous exploitation over many decades, however, they
began to disappear— first from local streams, then from
river systems, and finally from entire states. About 1900,
when the beaver population in the United States fell to its
lowest level, many state legislatures passed laws prohibiting
beaver trapping. In some areas, a few of the animals sur-
vived and multiplied, and some game departments obtained
beavers from other states and released them in the wild.
Gradually, the beavers spread as the young sought new
homesites, moving upstream, downstream, and overland-
becoming abundant again in habitats where their numbers
had been virtually exterminated. In Illinois, for exampl
the beaver population had nearly disappeared by 1912. 1
1924, beavers were reintroduced, and by 1950 they wei
found in 45 of the 102 counties in the state and numberf
over 3,500. By 1954, beaver were in 55 counties.
As beavers became more numerous, so did complain
that they were cutting crops, flooding cultivated lands wil
their dams, and damming up irrigation ditches. At firs
game managers tried trapping them alive and moving the
to other areas. This method of control was expensive, ar
it eventually became ineffective as the beavers sprea
Other methods were tried; sometimes, state employei
trapped and pelted the beavers, special hunting permi
were granted to landowners troubled by the animals, ar
occasionally open seasons were declared. In many state
economic factors have had a decided effect on the ups ai
downs of beaver management. In Illinois, the annual ha
vest declined from 659 in 1951 to 250 in 1955, althou^
the beaver population was increasing. The state huntir
and trapping regulations and the low price for pelts di
couraged many trappers.
CURRENTLY, we are beginning to realize that neithi
uncontrolled exploitation nor absolute protection
satisfactory in regulating the beaver population. The be
management must be based on such factors as reprodu
tive and mortality rates, food supplies, and degree ar
rate of dispersal.
Having traced the pendulum-like fortunes of the beav
in North America, it is appropriate to examine, at lea
briefly, the object of so much intellectual, economic, ar
legislative attention. Many books and articles have, <
Beavers have a varied
diet, such as duckweed
and many other aquatic
plants, grass, shrubs, the
roots of soil plants, bark
and outer layers of trees.
Dams are usually built
only in smaller streams.
By raising water levels,
they provide pools in
which beavers store food
and hide from predators.
40
SPLIT claws on webbed hind feet groom fur, spreading
proofing oil. The forefeet, center, manipulate foods.
Upper incisors hold the wood, while the lower pair cut.
Lips draw tight behind teeth and permit underwater cutting.
16, been written about the beaver— perhaps because
with his capacity to build things, is especially inter-
in animals that also have the ability to construct,
d in Eurasia as well as North America, beavers are
orld's second largest rodents; only the South Ameri-
:apybara is bigger. American beavers are usually
ded as a species, Castor canadensis, separate from
'Id World Castor fiber. At one time, however, Ameri-
eavers were introduced into Finland, where they inter-
with native beavers and produced fertile offspring,
which indicates that probably all the living beavers are
members of the same species.
In the Pleistocene, another North American beaver was
the giant Castoroides, whose remains have been found
in several widely separated northern states, indicating its
extensive range. From nose to tail, they measured over
seven feet— longer than a black bear. The average modern
beaver measures between three and four feet and weighs
from thirty to seventy-five pounds. Like all rodents, beavers
have two pair of gnawing teeth— one pair in the upper and
■m-.i
Offl*^' ' ,««.■>;*-,
41
Cut trees are peeled for food; the remainder may be used
in dams. In winter, sticks are cached in mud beneath ice.
Some trees cut by beavers measure more than one foot in
diameter. They can fell smaller ones within a few minutes.
another in the lower jaw. A space separates them frc
chewing teeth that are located farther back in the mou
These large front teeth are one of the beaver's most d
tinguishing features and enable it to perform such fe,
as felling a tree more than a foot and a half in diamet
Other remarkable anatomical features allow beavers
thrive in water, while equally remarkable habits help thi
create and maintain conditions necessary for their surviv
Underfur of an unusually soft, smooth, and dense qual
traps air, insulating the beaver's skin from contact w
water or cold air. The animal's legs are short and stroi
The large hind feet have five webbed toes, forming
powerful paddle. The two inside toes have split claws w
which the beaver grooms itself. The front feet are smal
and not webbed. The "trade-mark" of the beaver, of cour
is its broad, flattened, scaly tail. Ten to twelve inches lo
and six inches wide, it is used for steering and to a les:
extent for propulsion when the animal swims. The tail a
serves as a prop when a beaver stands while gnawing,
when it carries mud, stones, grass, or other materials w
the forefeet to plaster a lodge or a dam.
IN addition to these two structures, beavers also bu
burrows and canals. Dams are usually built in smal
streams to raise the water level, while canals are used
transport food, and lodges and burrows provide shel
from adverse weather or predators such as bobcats, moi
tain lions, or man. Lodges, like dams, are usually built oi
in smaller streams and are perhaps the most interest!
beaver structures. Roughly conical in shape, a lodge ir
measure thirty feet across the base. Sometimes it beg
as a pile of tree limbs left around a burrow or feeding pli
after the bark has been eaten. Converting such a pile ii
a lodge involves the expenditure of much beaver enerj
Limbs, grass, mud, and rocks are piled higher and high
Usually, more than one underwater passage is built ii
the lodge, whose interior may be enlarged to six or eij
feet across. The top of the lodge is the thinnest part a
often allows some ventilation. Although most lodges i
surrounded by water, some are built against a bank
over the entrance to a burrow in the bank.
While, as indicated earlier, beaver habits have made I
animals unpopular with some farmers and other las
owners, it should be added that beaver structures often h<
positive effects. In parts of the western United States, :
instance, beaver dams conserve water by slowing do
runoff, and prove beneficial to agricultural and otl
interests by stabilizing the flow of streams. Ponds creal
by the dams may also aid in flood control by acting
catch basins, as well as providing water for irrigation
The activities of the beaver, then, are both benefic
and detrimental to the interests of man— depending on 1
circumstances in each local area. The eventual status
the animal in terms of protecting and limiting its popu
tion will, in turn, be dependent upon continuous reseai
carried on in every environment where the beaver is foui
Beavers cannot determine the direction in which a ti
will topple, and consequently animals are sometimes kill
LoDGEHOUSE Contains one large room, and must be ni
deep water where the entrance tunnels can open under i
y,^
/f.mm^
"*I3*. ••>•,
^-
5 7, f
ALTHOUGH FISH are probably the
. most obvious members of the
marine biota, it is becoming increas-
ingly apparent that their importance,
as well as their numbers, is dwarfed by
multitudes of smaller, less-known or-
ganisms. A man casually watching the
waves from ship or shore, or even from
the vantage point of a diver, can only
imagine this world that is made up of
microorganisms— diatoms, radiolaria,
acantharia, foraminifera, dinoflagel-
lates, yeasts, molds, and bacteria.
For obvious reasons, more is known
about the creatures that live on the
edges of the ocean than about those
inhabiting the depths. Also, it is easier,
and certainly more economical, for a
biologist to put on hip boots and wade
out a few feet to collect organisms than
it is to find a ship that is equipped to
handle collecting in the open ocean.
Fortunately, as increasing emphasis is
put on studies of the sea, more oceano-
graphic research vessels are becoming
available. For instance, we have been
especially fortunate in having the co-
operation and assistance of the United
States Coast Guard in our studies, and
have traveled on a number of their
patrols to make deep-sea collections.
Although plankton is found in all
the oceans and at all depths, water
rapidly absorbs sunlight, so that photo-
synthetic organisms are rarely found
deeper than 250 feet. It is in this photic
zone that the many small animal spe-
cies are found feeding on the marine
photosynthetic algae. Collecting them
is simply a matter of straining out the
plankton from the water with a special
plankton net— a large cone of very fine
nylon mesh attached to a metal frame.
Our primary interest has been the
collection of planktonic foraminifera,
a large group of marine amoebae
that have tests, or shells, of calcite.
Usually they are relatively minor con-
stituents in a mixed population of
organisms dominated by pelagic crus-
44
Tiny Drifters
of the Sea
By John J. Lee and Hugo Freudentha
tacea. However, we have sometimes
been fortunate enough to find them in
large numbers, or "blooms," where
ideal conditions have permitted the
foraminifera to multiply rapidly, over-
growing other organisms.
Recently we have learned more about
the seasonal and spatial distribution
of foraminifera, and have been able,
by culturing them in the laboratory, to
begin to understand their physiology.
The foraminifera contain a number of
unusual cytological organelles of as yet
unknown function. Perhaps some of
them serve as flotation devices, since a
freshly collected foraminifer will sink
like a stone. The noted biomathemati-
cian Sir D'Arcy Thompson remarked
on this apparent paradox nearly fifty
years ago. Indeed, it is difficult to
understand how an armor-encased
amoeba can be found floating within a
few meters of the surface in water more
than five miles deep. Many foramini-
fera, as well as the radiolaria, acan-
tharia, and some pelagic diatoms, bear
spines. These structures increase the
surface area of the organism, allowing
it to plane near the surface on the
turbulence of the waves.
THE left center photograph shows
a mixed group of foraminifera.
Globigerina hulloides is the yellower,
more rotund species, while Globoro-
talia truncatulinoides is the flatter and
the more closely coiled one. Next to
these (right center) is an individual
Orbulina sp.. one of the most beautiful
of the spined foraminifera. It is a
creamy-white, glossy sphere, some 750
microns in diameter (1.000 microns
equal one millimeter). In addition to
the long spines, pseudopodial append-
ages extend through the delicate round
holes in the test.
We have often found radiolaria and
their close relatives, the acantharia,
in dense blooms accompanying the
foraminifera during the winter and
spring months in the North Atlanti
These radially symmetrical, spined an
mals are among the most beautiful an
delicate creatures to be found in tl
sea. Their shells, while intricate
pierced like those of the foraminifer
are not of calcite but of biological
secreted silica glass. Beneath the shf
lies a central capsular body of cyb
plasm often colored yellow, red, brow
violet, blue, or green by the preseiK
of oil droplets. Most radiolaria ran;
in size from 100 to 500 microns ar
are well represented in the oceans.
THE acantharia are close reli
tives, both phj'logenetically an
morphologically, of the radiolaria, bi
differ in that they have a thin mar
brane around the central capsule, an
their skeletal material is constructed i
strontium and calcium sulfates in add
tion to silicates. Because the acanthar
are able to absorb, concentrate, an
incorporate strontium as a part of the
normal metabolic processes they ai
uniquely useful in various studies (
radioactive fallout over the great e:
pauses of the oceans of the world.
The largest and most elegant of a
the animals that we have collecte
are the medusae. These are mult
cellular, radially symmetrical coelei
terates ranging in size from one to iii
millimeters in diameter. They may 1
variously colored or nearly transpa
ent. They prey on clam larvae, cop
pods, and ostracods by using rows i
'"stinging cells" borne on arms thi
surround a central digestive cavity.
From the standpoint of classic
ecology, the sea has been considerf
a relatively infertile environment. Tl
increasing world population, with i
demands for a higher standard of e:
istence, is now forcing all nations 1
reappraise their views about the sea
productivity and, in many cases, 1
embark on basic research progran
concerned with marine microbial lif
Mixed planktonic foraminifera
Spherical foraminifer
i^H*
%
#
#
•
Planktonic medusa
Migration in Maine
Eastern brook trout are threatened by man-made obstacles
DUT leaps falls to reach remote
grounds in Misery Stream.
Low-water period, before late autumn
rains, precedes the October trout run.
\UL J. FOURNIER
lY AUTUMN, far up on the lonely
!adwaters of Misery Stream in
estern Maine, an event takes
lat is seldom witnessed save by
asional woodsman or a disin-
I moose or deer— the spawning
ion and courtship of Salvelinus
lis, the brook trout.
fish, also known afEectionately
rlers as brookie, redspot, or
ail, is a member of that large
of so-called cold-water fishes
to ichthvologists as salmonoids,
nclude most of the fishes known
nly as trout and salmon. As do
if its cold-water cousins, the
trout spawns in the fall,
big trout of northern Maine,
for a relatively few "resident"
refer the region's deep, cold
id ponds to the streams, which
id primarily as breeding and
' areas. The approach of the
g season manifests itself in
s northern areas as early as mid-
when miles of the traditional
and summer fishing spots in the
ecome virtually bare of sizable
lost overnight. That is the time
le trout emerge from their mid-
r lethargy and embark upon the
iges of the dangerous journey
II reach its climax a couple of
later on spawning beds far up
ler streams and rivers,
ng late August and early Sep-
the trout cease feeding and
congregate at the mouths of
tributaries. Throughout this
with fish packed into relatively
reas, knowledgeable fishermen
ap a bounteous harvest. The
tirred to a high pitch of excite-
rike pugnaciously at practically
e presented to them.
Another manifestation of the ap-
proaching spawning season is the un-
usual appearance of the trout brought
in by the fall fishermen. The roe-heavy
females have a distended, rounded con-
formation. The bellies and fins of the
male are alive with color that ranges
from glowing orange to nearly blood-
red. The red and black spots on the
body deepen and show very promi-
nently. In addition, some of the larger
males grow a hook, known as a "kype,"
at the tip of the lower jaw. The pur-
pose of the kype is a mystery to ichthy-
ologists. It is common to most salmon-
oids, especially the salmon group.
The trout usually remain schooled at
mouths of the tributaries until mid-
October, waiting for conditions— espe-
cially the water temperature— to be
right before starting the upstream
push. Usually the most-favored spawn-
ing beds are miles upstream, and the
intervening mileage is composed
chiefly of boulder-studded rapids and
riffles. The trout must fight up every
inch of the way. often being forced to
leap over small waterfalls and the rem-
nants of old logging dams. Lumber-
men's log-driving dams have often
formed insurmountable barriers to the
migrating fish, and even the dam-
building efforts of beavers frequently
bar the way to the coveted spawning
grounds. Maine biologists and game
wardens often tear down or dynamite
portions of these old dams to make
passageways for the fish.
Adding to the journey's hazards are
a host of predators. Chief among these
in the Maine area are mink and otter.
I received firsthand proof of this one
day last fall. I approached a small
waterfall to watch the fish leaping and
arrived just in time to see a large mink
emerge from the deep pool below the
falls, stagKerina; under the weiofht of a
trout nearly as long as itself, and drag
its prize under a nearby brush pile. On
another occasion, while checking the
spawning beds farther upstream, my
attention was attracted to a tall clump
of grass on the stream bank when a
Canada jay dropped into it. A moment
later it popped up again with some-
thing hanging from its bill. I parted
the grass and found a mound of eggs,
a few entrails, and a couple of large
fins— all that remained of what had ob-
viously been a good-sized female trout.
One Maine fishery biologist told me
he has often caught blue herons in the
act of killing trout (they kill large fish
by stabbing them in the spine with
their sharp bills! , and he believes they
may take a heavy toll of the spawners
when they are jammed into the narrow
confines of the spawning beds. And, of
course, there are the human poachers.
Most Maine game men and woods-
men are of the opinion that the area's
healthy population of black bears prey
little, if at all. on the spawning trout,
as do their famous salmon-fishing
cousins of the Pacific Northwest. This
they attribute to the fact that the
Maine trout are not driven by the
frenzied, do-or-die determination of
the northern Pacific salmon and,
therefore, are more likely to shy away
from anything as large and menacing
as a black bear.
ON the other hand. I once saw trout
acting in a most irrational man-
ner. Several days of torrential rains
had brought the stream up over its
banks, and the water pouring over the
falls was too much for the trout to
scale. They were trapped in the pool
for several days, and in desperate at-
tempts to clear the obstacle many
leaped along the edges of the rushing
water and slammed head-on into the
stone ledges, where a number of them
lay on the bare rocks for several
seconds, stunned by the impact. In-
deed, when I stepped close to the
water's edge to see them better, several
crashed against my feet and legs with
such force that I had to step back to
avoid actual injury. Had I been so in-
clined, I could easily have picked up
all the trout I wanted with my bare
hands. Presumably, a bear would have
made the most of the situation, and
certainly the bulk of my body and my
movements must have appeared as
menacing as a bear's to a fish's eye.
Yet, driven by the urge to propagate,
they were heedless of my presence.
47
Fishery biologist digs a passageway
for the trout through old beaver dam.
Canada jay eats dead fish. Note eggs
on the bird's beak and near its feet.
Salvelinus has always been particu-
lar in selecting a habitat and especially
the spawning grounds. For one thing,
it is probably one of the least tolerant
of all fishes to polluted or silted waters.
For another, the brook trout is truly a
cold-water fish. It is seldom found in
waters warmer than 60 to 65 degrees
and generally prefers it colder. Ideally,
the bottom of a spawning stream is
composed of coarse gravel, loose
rubble, or fine, clean sand. Whenever
possible, the trout also chooses a
stretch of stream bed that is fed by
underground springs that insure a
constant supply of cold, clean water-
especially in spots where the tempera-
ture is near the ideal egg-incubation
point of 40 degrees.
THE trout generally stay on the beds
for several days to a week or more,
and their presence is marked by con-
siderable thrashing and splashing. The
males, now aggressively vying for the
females' attentions, engage in many
battles, marked by nipping, shoving,
and lightning-fast chases upstream
and downstream. A fishery biologist
reported he had once watched a pair
of lusty males lock jaws and roll over
and over a long stretch of rapids.
Apparently oblivious to this vio-
lence staged for her benefit, the female
critically selects a suitable site and
busies herself in preparing the "redd,"
or nest. Lying on her side near the
bottom, she violently flaps her blunt,
powerful caudal fin and caudal ped-
uncle (tail fin and muscular tail root)
up and down. Currents generated by
48
the action loosen bottom material and
wash it downstream. Alternately flap-
ping and resting, she remains at the
task until the nest's dimensions suit
her. Generally it is from four to twelve
inches deep, and one to two feet in
diameter, depending to some extent on
her size. Then the female slowly swims
in over the nest and remains nearly
motionless, while one or sometimes
two males move next to her. pressing
against her sides. Eggs and milt are
released simultaneously. Fertilization
(in the form of the male spermatozoa
entering the ovum through a tiny aper-
ture called the micropyle, which is
open for scarcely two minutes after
the egg is released ) , takes place as they
drop into the nest and are mixed by
currents. The female then immediately
moves upstream and loosens some bot-
tom material, which is carried down-
stream and covers the fertilized eggs.
The process of spawning is a tre-
mendous, body-sapping ordeal to the
trout. For weeks they have been
battling the obstacles of frothing-white
rapids, leaping over near-vertical
waterfalls, and evading a host of pred-
ators. Yet, overnight the stream is
left nearly empty of fish, as the trout
race downstream to the lake or pond
from whence they came. There, under
the protective mantle of winter ice that
sheaths the waters, they spend a rela-
tively quiet winter, feeding and slowly
regaining the strength that was lost
during the non-feeding period before
spawning. It takes them many weeks to
recuperate, and many do not show
their characteristic vitality until late
winter or early spring. Some probal
do not survive.
Meanwhile, water percolati
through the loose bottom gravel of
spawning beds keeps the fertilized ei
moist and supplied with oxygen dur:
the incubation period, which vai
with the water temperature and ta
about 90 days at 40 degrees Fahr
heit. After hatching, the young troi
now known as sac fry or prolarva
remain in the nest for many m
weeks, taking nourishment from
yolk sac until it is absorbed. At t
point they wriggle up through
gravel and emerge into the stre;
ust contain ample nursery
ir the advanced fry remain in
im from one to three years.
:heir early life, the young feed
y on immature aquatic insects
er minute animal life, later
ng to larger insects and finally
fish. Growth rate varies con-
,', depending on the individual
productivity, but generally
ich the legal length of six to
;hes in their second year.
inus fontinalis has long been
3 aristocrat of the game fish
f sport fishermen. Originally
to waters from Labrador
"d along the Appalachians to
and westward to the upper
(pi River waters, its popu-
s caused the species to be in-
to many parts of the world.
3 its range has thus been vastly
id artificially, its natural
as been drastically reduced in
mes.
f the waters in which it has
oduced come anywhere near
the exacting requirements of
m water and extensive spawn-
nursery areas. In addition,
the waters already contain
)ulations of other fish species,
5 such fiercely competitive
brown trout and the undesir-
igh," or "trash" fish, such as
srch, with which the trout is
)ed to compete. The brook
ives best when it alone, except
c BEDS reached, the trout will
iiake nests to receive the eggs.
for small forage fish, occupies a fish-
ery. In many of the stocked waters, few
breeding fish— probably less than 10
per cent— survive from one year to an-
other, and much of the trout popula-
tion exists on a put-and-take proposi-
tion, governed by the output of the
hatcheries and the regularity of the
stock truck's visits. In the wild, per-
haps 50 per cent survive.
EVEN on their traditional home
grounds of the northeast, the
brook trout are now inexorably losing
ground before the advance of civiliza-
tion. More and more waters are be-
coming polluted. Forests are being
stripped off, with subsequent warming
and drying and increased silting-in of
waterways. Undesirable fish species
are infesting once-exclusive trout
waters. Many experienced woodsmen
are of the opinion that a prime trout-
producing stream, such as Misery, is
"worth every fish hatchery in the
state ! " Fishery biologists won't go that
far, but they readily admit that natural
reproduction of trout is more efficient
than artificial production. They have
also become convinced that spawn
from wild stock is far superior to that
produced artificially and purchased
from out of state, and as a result the
Maine Fish and Game Department's
Hatchery Division recently began
trapping wild spawning trout and
stripping them of their eggs. From
these they hope to develop a strain of
FiNGERLiNGS are in "nursery" stream,
where they stay for one to three years.
fish that will become brood fish as
adults and will supply embryos for
future stocking of streams.
The eastern brook trout still manage
to make their annual pilgrimage to
their ancient spawning grounds as
they have done for millenniums, de-
spite the ever increasing obstacles
thrown in their paths by man and his
"improvements," which unfortunately
include pollution, dams, bulldozers,
and the thoughtless sowing of exotic
fish species. If such programs continue
or expand, the existence of wild trout
will become increasingly precarious.
•^'^^S*^^"lS^'tfSw
'%i.
SKY
REPORTER
The wondrous rings of Saturn
By Thomas D. Nicholson
ONE of the most widely used astronomical symbols is
that of a ringed planet. The use of this symbol is a
little strange in one way, for ringed worlds are not at
all common. So far as we know, there is only one— the
planet Saturn— in all of the universe. It is unique and
beautiful to behold, in telescope or in photograph, and
somehow stimulates interest and challenges the imagina-
tion. These are probably the reasons why Saturn and its
rings are so popular as a symbol of astronomy. These are
also some of the reasons why the rings were the second of
the Seven Wonders of the Universe chosen by astronomers
at The American Museum-Hayden Planetarium.
Saturn should be easy to find in the evening sky during
October. It is in the constellation Aquarius (see map, page
53), high in the southeast during early evening hours.
Meridian passage (when Saturn is in the south) occurs at
about 9:30 p.m., local mean time, at the beginning of the
month, about an hour earlier in the middle, and two hours
earlier at the end of the month.
Once found, Saturn offers anyone with a small telescope,
or even a pair of good, steadily mounted binoculars, an
interesting opportunity to relive some of the great mysteries
and discoveries in astronomy. This October the rings of
Saturn are inclined to our line of sight from earth by about
10 degrees. We are looking down at the north face of the
rings and can see Saturn's north pole on the visible hemi-
sphere. At this inclination it would be difficult to identify
rings around the planet with a small optical device, but
patient watching with a well-steadied instrument should
easily show that there is something peculiar about Saturn
—that it is not simply a spherical object but has an append-
age of some kind on either side of it. This is precisely what
Galileo saw in July, 1610. when he looked at Saturn for
the first time with a telescope, for Saturn and its rings were
oriented for him just about the w^ay they are for us this year.
"I have observed Saturn to be triple . . ."' Galileo wrote
to his colleagues, as his explanation for the strange ap-
pearance of the planet. But it was to become stranger still
for the astronomer. By 1612, Galileo, although he did not
realize it, was looking directly along the plane of Saturn's
rings, because the earth was then located very nearly in the
ring plane. The appendages he had seen in 1610 had disap-
peared completely, and Saturn simply looked like a single
disk, just as it will appear to us in 1966 when the earth
again passes through the plane of the rings. Not knowing
what he was looking at. Galileo asked in a letter, "Has
Saturn, perhaps, eaten his own children? Or were the
appearances [of 1610] indeed illusion or fraud?"
50
The mystery of the changing appearance of Saturn v
explained by the Dutch astronomer Christian Huygens.
first put forward his ideas in 1656 in the form of an ai
gram, which reads literally, "It [Saturn] is encircled
a ring, thin, plane, nowhere attached, inclined to 1
ecliptic." Later, in 1659. he wrote the Systema Saturniu
in which he described and explained his hypothesis to i
count for the changes in Saturn's appearance.
ACCORDING to Huygens, Saturn was encircled around
equator by a broad, but thin ring that was visil
because of reflected sunlight, when it was tilted with resp
to the earth. The plane of this ring, because of the inclii
tion of Saturn's equator, is inclined to the ecliptic by ab(
27 degrees. Most times, the earth is located above or bel
the plane of the rings, so that we can see one face or anotl
of the ring tilted to our line of sight. But on two occasic
during each revolution of Saturn around the sun (29
years ) , the earth is in the plane of the ring so that it
invisible to us. This explanation of Huygens' accounted i
the great variations in the appearance of Saturn reporl
by Galileo and others. It happened that Galileo discovei
the abnormal appearance of Saturn at a time when the :
of the ring was slight and decreasing swiftly. Had he (
served it at another time, he might himself have guess
at its true nature.
Up to this point, we have spoken of a "ring," for it v
not until 1675 that anyone suspected that it was not men
a single disk that surrounded the planet. Giovanni Cassi
an director of the Paris Observatory, reported that
seen a dark band extending through the ring. He
observed that "the breadth of the ring was divided
rk line into two equal parts, of which the interior
irer one to the globe was very bright, and the ex-
lart slightly dark." A third ring was observed by
erican astronomer G. P. Bond of Harvard College
itory in 1850. Bond saw a faint, dusky light filling
ion inside of Saturn's bright ring, clearly casting
w on Saturn. The new ring was separated from the
les by a faintly seen dark band, and its inner edge
ierved to be short of the visible surface of Saturn
rhe semitransparent, veil-like appearance of this
5st ring prompted the English astronomer W. Las-
lame it the crepe ring.
we now know that the rings of Saturn are three:
, the outer ring; Ring B, the central and brightest
id Ring C, faintest of all, the crepe ring. The linear
r across the entire ring system is about 169,300
ling A is about 10,150 miles wide. The gap between
;r and inner rings, known as Cassini's division, is
,750 miles across. Then comes Ring B, widest of
le 16,450 miles across. Inside this, with no appre-
ivision, is Ring C, the crepe ring, about 9,850 miles
The inner edge of the crepe ring is some 6,000
bove the visible surface of Saturn. All in all. the
dth of the ring system is about 38,200 miles,
hickness of the ring system remains a puzzle even
The earliest observers noted that the rings were
invisible for only a short period of time as the earth passed
through their plane— a matter of hours, certainly less than
half a day. This fact of observation supported the belief
that the rings were quite thin. Successive observers who
have sought to estimate the rings' thickness have produced
smaller and smaller values as better instruments became
available. In 1789, W. Herschel, in England, estimated the
thickness to be "less than 280 miles." Later observers low-
ered this figure, and in 1919, the value put forth by L. Bell,
in the United States, was "less than ten miles."
As to the structure of the rings, Cassini suggested, in
1705, that Saturn's rings might be made of countless small
particles in orbit around the planet. The French mathema-
tician and astronomer P. S. Laplace proved in 1785 that
a solid ring, unless rotating, would collapse under Saturn's
gravitational attraction. He went on to describe a system of
many infinitely thin rings, each rotating around Saturn
eccentrically, and each unevenly distributed around their
circumference, which could account for the appearance of
a solid ring. Aside from these suggestions, however, it was
generally believed, until the middle of the nineteenth cen-
tury, that the rings were solid.
THE theory of solid rings was finally abandoned when
James Clark Maxwell, an English mathematician, pub-
lished his paper On the Stability and Motion of Saturn's
Rings, in 1859. Maxwell showed that a solid ring or system
of rings, no matter how the mass might be distributed
around the planet, could not remain stable for long, but
SI
White bands, spectrum of Saturn and rings, are crossed
by lines showing motion. Variance in tilt of lines, as seen
in diagram, indicates that rings could not be solid mass.
would inevitably disintegrate. He concluded that "the
only system of rings which can exist is one composed of an
indefinite number of unconnected particles, revolving round
the planet with different velocities according to their re-
spective distances." Thus, be theorized Saturn's rings were
an enormous number of satellites revolving around the
planet in a common plane. Each object, of course, revolved
in accordance with Kepler's laws of planetary motion, so
that the more distant particles moved in orbit at a con-
siderably slower speed and for a longer period than the
ones located closer to the planet.
The observational proof of Maxwell's theory of the ring
structure was provided in 1895 by James E. Keeler of the
Lick Observatory, California. Keeler obtained photographic
spectra across the long axis of the ring system. These spec-
trograms showed the typical dark line spectrum of sunlight
reflected from the planet and from the bright portions of
the rings on either side of the planet (illustration, above).
The dark lines in the spectrograms were produced, how-
ever, by a rotating source. The parts of Saturn that were
rotating toward the earth caused the dark lines to shift
toward the violet end of the spectrum. Where the reflecting
surface was rotating away from the earth, the lines were
shifted toward the red end of the spectrum. The cause of
the shifts was the well-understood Doppler effect, whereby,
with respect to an observer, the wavelength of light from a
source in motion is increased or decreased as the source
is in motion away from or toward the observer.
In Keeler's spectrograms of Saturn, the rotation of the
planet was clearly seen in the inclination of the dark lines
of the planet's spectrum. The approaching edge of Saturn
caused the lines to shift toward the violet, and the receding
edge to shift toward the red end of the spectrum, thus
causing the inclination of the lines observed. On either side
of the spectrum of the planet's disk were the narrow spectra
of the two ends of the rings. If the rings rotated as a solid
disk, then the lines in the spectra of the rings would in
each case be inclined in the same direction as the lines in
the spectra of Saturn. The inclination would occur because
the outer edge of the rings would be rotating fastest and
Dr. Nicholson, the regular author of this column, is also
Chairman of The American Museum-Hayden Planetarium,
would cause the greatest displacement of the lines. B
such was not the case.
The thin spectra of the two ends of the rings appeared
be untilted, but careful inspection of the plates reveal
that each showed a very slight displacement in the oppos
direction of the tilt of the lines in the disk spectrum. Th
the outer edges of the rings caused a lesser displacement
the lines than did the inner edges of the rings. This indicat
that the velocity in the rings is least at the outer edge,
it must be if the ring motion obeyed the laws of planeta
motion. The spectrograms gave direct proof, therefo
that the rings were composed of individual particles,
Maxwell had proposed.
But what were the particles? Were they particles creal
or left over from the original cloud that condensed ii
Saturn itself, particles that had failed to produce one la]
satellite, as other parts of the original cloud had produce
Or were they the shattered remains of a satellite that 1
disintegrated under enormous tidal forces imposed
Saturn, and which had since ground themselves into d
by internal encounters among them? Both these theoi
have been considered seriously by astronomers.
Studies by the Russian astronomer M. S. Bobrov fr
1951-56 led him to conclude that the particles composi
the rings are "fairly large" and probably have rou
angular, and pitted surfaces. In 1958 A. F. Cook and F.
Franklin of Harvard College Observatory studied the o;
cal properties of the rings and decided that the averj
particle size is still open to question. They discussed 1
hypotheses as equally satisfactory to their observatior
one in which the average particle size in the rings is ab
a yard in diameter; the other in which the particles
microscopic in size. Dr. A. Dollfus. at the Pic-du-M
Observatory in Paris, suggested in 1958 that the parti(
are long and thin, with their long axes aligned in tl
orbits. G. F. Kuiper, of the Yerkes Observatory in ^
consin. who in 1943 discovered the atmosphere of Tit
Saturn's fifth satellite, has found evidence that ice crys
may be present in the rings. Much, of course, still is
be learned about the particles.
WITHOUT its rings, we would hardly hear of Sat
itself, for it would be paled by the greater size i
brightness of its neighbor. Jupiter. With the rings. Sat
stands alone of all the celestial bodies we know— a rin"
world, which brightens or dims as its rings expose or h
their faces. When the rings are open wide to our view
they were in 1958. and will be again in 1973, Saturn rh
the most brilliant of stars, except for Canopus and Sir
But when the rings are closed to our view, as in 1965 i
1966. the planet fades with them, until it is no more not
able than an ordinary bright star.
The gradual accumulation of knowledge about the ri
of Saturn has not in any way tarnished the beauty i
grandeur of their appearance. Although few persons I
ever get to see the rings as they appear in a telescope, nei
everyone has shared something of their maj estic appeara
in the excellent photographs produced by modern obsei
tories. In the entire universe around us, nothing else
motely resembling Saturn's rings has ever been fou
52
MAGNITUDE SCALE
■# —0.1 and brighter
• 0.0 to +0.9
* +1.0 to +1.9
* +2.0 to +2.9
+ +3.0 to +3.9
• +4.0 and fainter
October 5, 11:20 A.M., EST
October 13, 11:56 A.M., EST
October 20, 11:45 P.M., EST
October 27, 4:59 P.M., EST
TIMETABLE
ber 1 10:00 P.M.
'-^r 15 9:00 P.M.
!r31 8:00 P.M.
iLocal Mean Time)
ober 1: The late crescent moon joins Mars and Venus
morning sky today. About two hours before sunrise,
s well up in the southeast, Venus is low in the east, and
oon is between the two, somewhat closer to Mars. On
arning of the 2nd, the moon rises just below and to the
Venus.
Dber 4-5: The bright star near Venus in the morning sky
se two days is Regulus, in the constellation Leo. On the
sgulus is to the left of Venus, and to the right on the 5th.
is in conjunction with the star at 1:00 a.m., EST, on the
ut they are below the horizon in the United States.
3ber 16: Saturn is close to the waxing gibbous moon in
ening sky tonight. At 1:00 p.m., EST, the moon passes
degrees south of Saturn. By dark this evening, the moon
! to the east and below Saturn in the southeastern sky.
Dber 20: The Orionid meteor shower reaches maximum
but the brightness of full moon, in the sky all night,,
ake observation of meteors rather difficult.
Dber 22: Jupiter and the moon are in conjunction at
6:00 P.M., EST, just before moonrise. They rise in tonight's
sky, in the early evening, quite close together.
October 29: The conjunction of Mars and the moon, at
4:00 A.M., EST, is visible in the morning sky over most of the
United States. Mars, at that time, is three degrees south of
the waning crescent moon in the southeastern sky.
Morning stars for October are Venus and Mars. Venus (mag-
nitude —3.6) is very brilliant over the eastern horizon at dawn,
rising about three hours before sunrise. It rises later and
appears lower as the month progresses. Mars is higher and
well to the right (south) of Venus in the dawn sky, but not
nearly so bright (magnitude 1.5) as Venus. In the constella-
tion Cancer, it rises shortly after midnight.
Jupiter appears above the eastern horizon shortly after
nightfall, and is conspicuously bright (magnitude —2.4) until
dawn. Late in the month, it moves from Taurus into Aries,
still going in s retrograde (westward) direction. Saturn (mag-
nitude 0.8) is in Aquarius, well up in the southeast at sunset.
The planet remains in the sky until it sets after midnight.
Place for All Thing:
'^^-■■■^^
m^^^
WKS^-.
««K?%
LESE WOMAN balances her goods
id, left, as she walks to market.
Vendors and buyers, above, congregate
in the market place at Gulu in Uganda.
can markets fulfill many functions
AUL BOHANNAN
RKET PLACES are found indige-
nously throughout North Africa
he Congo, and are especially
developed in almost all parts
t Africa. They are much less im-
t in East Africa south of Ethi-
nd, until they were introduced
ropeans, seem to have been all
iknown in the Rhodesias, Mo-
jue, and South Africa.
t market places were absent in
larts of Africa until the colonial
of the late nineteenth century
lOt mean that goods were not
: and sold on the market prin-
f price, regulated by supply and
d. Nor does the fact that market
are almost overpoweringly pres-
other parts of Africa mean that
societies are dominated by the
; principle and its accompany-
al principle of contract, as is the
the modern West. The market
in Africa are almost as im-
t politically and socially as they
inomically.
ket places can be, and some-
are, highly developed institu-
;ven in areas in which trade is
andary importance. The differ-
one that was drawn at least as
IS Marx, and that must be re-
specifically in the case of
Africa. Marketing is an activity in
which the producer takes some of his
produce to market and exchanges it
for other produce. This is a difference
in degree and social emphasis from
producing for the market, where the
producer takes his produce to market
and exchanges it for money with
which he buys the major portion of
his subsistence from the same market.
While many agrarian economies are
marked by highly developed produce
markets, the societies would not perish
if those markets were to disappear.
People would be made uncomfortable
and they would have to change their
style of living, but the society would
not fall apart or even alter its structure.
Trade, on the other hand, is an
activity in which entrepreneurs buy
in cheap markets and sell in dear
markets. That marketing and trading
often go hand in hand does not mean
that they are inseparable. Market
places appear in many parts of Africa
in which trade was only minimally de-
veloped ; trade, across the Sahara and
along the east coast, often took place
in the absence of market places.
Much marketing in the West Afri-
can and Congolese areas was done
traditionally by women. In many, but
not all, of these areas where the women
were the chief marketers, the men were
the chief producers. There have been
Tribal youth in market at Langshi,
northern Nigeria, holds live chicken.
55
\, ^ u laJ '^ p
y-J^ r HAUSA* -^\ -^ \
DAHOMEY. .YORUBAV f-^-*^'-
a> •IBO
ap shows areas in
est Africa where market
aces are most highly
iveloped. DIoula and
3usa kinship groups are
ime links in north-south
ade. Women of Dahomey
id Yoruba dominate in
arket activities. Ibo men
e now replacing women
marketing and trade.
for decades now— the history of the
matter is not at all clear— many women
who have slipped over from marketing
into trade, particularly if (as with the
Yoruba. for example) men did the
major tasks in food producing. By the
second and third decades of the twen-
tieth century ( and perhaps long before
that I the major internal trade in pro-
duce throughout the West African
area was in the hands of women. Al-
though their wealth and their activities
have sometimes been grossly overesti-
mated by travelers, it is nevertheless
true that some women, particularly
from the Yoruba and Dahomey areas,
built up large empires in trade, and in
some cases became the chief sources
of merchandise for European import
and export houses.
TODAY that situation is changing.
Competition to market women is
coming from men who are grasping
more and more of the trading oppor-
tunities as the market expands and be-
comes central, rather than peripheral,
to the economy. The clans and ex-
tended families, or kinship groups, of
Ibo in Nigeria, for example, as well as
new "firms" of Ibo founded on con-
tractual relationships, are taking over
much of the long-distance trade. Ibo
women resent the fact that their trade
Dancers and musicians perform in a
market in Ghana, above. The guns are
fired during dance. Medieval marke
of Europe also offered entertainmei
Tribeswoman examines the wares of
a salt seller at Langshi, above. Girl
at a refreshment stand in a Ghani
market, below, prepares fruit snacl
S6
en their marketing is now being
;ut by men.
sa and Dioula kinship groups,
have always provided the most
ant link in the north-south trade
n forest and savanna, are ex-
ig their activities. The telegraph
the posts and telegraph depart-
of the government makes it easy
3 in touch. These groups own
if trucks. The result is that Ibo
lausa trading "empires" are
through Nigeria and across its
iries into neighboring coun-
iVith the development of trade
the communications and trans-
on network, the market prin-
as entered more fully into the
' all Africans, and market places
iken on new emphases,
individual transaction in most
1 markets involves a good deal
gling. Traditionally— and to a
xtent today— prices varied with
:us of the individuals involved:
her the customer, the more he
pected to pay— and he would be
;d to pay less. On the other
irices in some areas— traditional
ean market places, for example
rigidly controlled by the king's
cracy and by producers' guilds.
rica, labor and time are seldom
luated in terms of money be-
hese factors of production are
tributed by the market mechan-
3nce knew a Nigerian who car-
xteen gallons of palm oil on
d almost fifty miles to market.
I asked why he did not take a
le said he did not want to "spoil
ley." I suggested that he would
his body if he did not: his
as that he would recover. This
: so much an economic choice—
h, from the economist's point
, it can be so considered— as dis-
that his labor might be sold.
marketing is not distinguished
ving. The economy cannot be
jished, in such cases, from the
ic economy. Everybody "lives
e store."
amount of internal trade that
rough the market places in vari-
rican countries is tremendous,
3ody has any idea how much
or what value of goods may
' be distributed in this way.
3 and measures are more or
ent, although in many parts of
itinent standard weights and
es have appeared in the last few
Pygmies in Congo inspect fish for
which they will swap meat. Coming to
market from outlying areas, Africans
exchange news in addition to staples.
S>7
Mats for sale in Sura, Nigeria, ;
made from split stalks of Guinea co
Containers of varied shape and size
measure oil of palm in Doka, Nigeria.
Roots and binples are lashed to I
top of Nigerian shopper's hat in Kai
Hat salesman in Nigeria sits beside
fezlike headgear in market at Panyani.
?s. The quart beer bottle, the
rd-size cigarette tin and four-
kerosene tin, and an empty
shell casing, for instance, are all
s measures. There are also many
andardized units of measure-
Moreover, no formal records are
y individual marketers,
n those marketers who do a little
trading along with their market-
ver separate their marketing or
rading from their domestic ac-
;. Obviously, acquiring any kind
ntitative ideas about the amount
value of such goods becomes a
n data acquisition that has
ly been tackled, let alone solved.
true that vast quantities of local
)duce such as food, craft prod-
ivestock, cloth— everything that
itaff of life and the basis for pro-
ng society — may go through
narkets in parts of West Africa
le Congo. Yet in relatively few
are people significantly depend-
the markets for the basis of their
day subsistence.
kets, however, are vital links-
re the very nodes— in the trans-
on network. The famous "bush
ph"— the rapid spread of news
!ans unknown to Europeans—
in part through the market
Africa is a country on the
and it appears that it always has
However, the peace of the
jl era and the improvement of
that accompanied it meant that
t places increased in number,
e amount of travel to and from
ting increased vastly, and there-
le bush telegraph worked with
and better efficiency,
kets are, throughout that part
continent to which they are in-
us, organized under political
ity. Indeed, in those parts of
nd South Africa to which they
leen introduced, it was colonial
iment that introduced them. In
tribal areas of West Africa,
retain direct control over the
ts and either themselves or
h special deputies maintain the
t place and keep the peace with-
in other areas, committees of
representative in whatever way
sidered important to the com-
T, take it as one of their most
i civic duties to maintain a
t place so that their part of the
can be "kept on the map" and
rity can reign.
All African market places are
policed by someone. In many areas,
this task has gone to the policemen of
the regular local government. In
others, however, they are policed by
special appointees, by kinsmen of the
chief, or special groups designated by
the chief or by the elders. These police-
men are always subject to the authority
of somebody who is the headman (it
may be a committee) to whom they
can refer wrongdoers and disputes
that occur in the market place. Dis-
putes inevitably arise in market places,
because people may cheat each other,
and because they may meet their
enemies and their debtors. For this
reason, every ordinary African market
has, as a necessary concomitant, some
place in which a court is in session. It
may be no more than a market court
concerned with arguments over short-
changing, quality of goods, and petty
theft. In other market places, however,
the judges of the local government
may set up their courts.
In some parts of Africa, the market
authorities enforce quality control.
They disallow the sale of rotten meat
or other unsatisfactory goods. The
usual approach to questions of quality
is caveat emptor, but some control is
maintained, the degree varying with
the personalities and power of the
market officials.
These administrators are usually
rewarded. They may be paid salaries
by the local government. They may,
on the other hand, be allowed to make
a levy on the goods sold in the market.
Sometimes entry fees are demanded
from marketers who intend to sell
goods. The amount of the levy or en-
trance fee is itself subject to what the
market will bear. If the levy is too
high, traders and marketers will avoid
such market places and establish new
ones nearby. The only way to avoid
this is for governments to demand con-
trol and licensing of market places— a
situation that was fairly widespread
in colonial Africa and is found in a
few of the new African states.
Market places can "die," which
means merely that people cease to
come to them. They can also be
"stolen," which means that one gains
popularity at the expense of another.
In short, the location of market places,
their organization, and their popu-
larity are all highly volatile and sub-
ject to quick change. Since it is to the
advantage of individuals and govern-
ment officials to control large popular
market places (by so doing they are
able to see and influence large num-
bers of people), few petty tyrannies
can be kept up for long.
In traditional Africa, almost all
market places were associated with
religious activities. That is to say, they
were consecrated in one way or an-
other, and to this day, most African
market places have shrines associated
with them. Such consecration guaran-
teed that supernatural sanctions would
back up the political authorities in
their maintenance of peace in the
market place. These sanctions, and the
shrines that were their symbols, varied
with the particular tribal religion in
question. They may have been no more
than a bundle of "medicine." In many
areas they were specially consecrated
trees. In some, there were special small
huts with carved figurines in them. It
is well recognized that it is impossible,
in even the best-policed market place,
to be sure that all who cheat or steal
or water their beer or sell bad meat
will be caught by the mundane authori-
ties. Therefore, it is best to reinforce
vigilance with supernatural sanctions.
Violence can still occur, however.
Today weapons are forbidden— and
usually were so even before colonial
governments reinforced the practice.
Moreover, throughout the indigenous
market area of Africa, people sit in the
position in the market place closest to
the path leading to their homes— this
is particularly true of women market-
ers. Such seating arrangements keep
the escape routes open. Yet, market
places are, at the same time, often
legal sanctuaries, because of their posi-
tion of political neutrality and their
consecrated shrines.
MARKETS are also fun. Each dis-
plays an element of the fair or
the carnival. In West Africa and the
Congo they are major centers of enter-
tainment. Dancers come to the market
and display their skills. Work parties,
wedding parties, christening parties,
and spur-of-the-moment parties come
to the market to dance and sing and to
announce their good news to enlarged
audiences. In all these regards African
market places are reminiscent of those
in Europe during the Middle Ages
(and indeed up into the eighteenth
century), which were also fairs held
in the shadow of the church and
policed by the bishop and the market-
master and their officials.
Different market places specialize in
59
different goods and in different activi-
ties. One market is a good place to buy
Y and sell Z. The next one may be well
known for its beer drink, and the one
after that for its wise counselors and
judges. Such specialization, when com-
bined with the fact that markets do not
meet every day, lead to two vital points
about the marketing system of western
Africa and the Congo particularly.
First, every community is at the center
of a group of markets that meet every
fourth, fifth, or seventh day. depend-
ing on the tribal area. There is. there-
fore, an association of market places
with time as well as with special prod-
ucts. In a neighborhood with markets
that meet every five days, each com-
munity is likely to be either at or near
the center of a ring of five markets,
each of which meets one day of the
five-day "market week" that results.
These market rings overlap in a chain-
mail fashion, and spread across the
countryside. With a few gaps they run
from Dakar almost to the Nile, and
south well into the Congo Basin.
IHE other major characteristic of
the market system is that goods
can move through market places and
traverse very much greater distances
than can people themselves. Every dif-
ferent African product that goes
through a market place follows a route
based on the specialization of market
places and the successions through
which the product passes. A large
number of "middlemen" add to the
price, but the markup is amazingly
small, considering the number of in-
termediary links that may separate a
producer from a consumer.
Thus, market places provide an-
other map, based on a different insti-
tution, by means of which space, time,
and social structure are co-ordinati
This market map permeates differi
tribes, different cultures, and crosi
national and language barriers. IJ
market place is commonly used
several tribes, the consecrated shrii
and the ritual that surrounds tb
contain elements from each tribal
ligion. There may be, indeed, v(
highly original rituals consciou
created and especially performed
order to get in the vital elements fn
several religious systems.
One of the first reactions to color
control was the vast expansion in
number of market places in Afri
and of the goods that went throu
them. Only later did the market pla
themselves begin to dwindle as th
task was taken over by modern tra
port systems and expanding firms a
thousands of entrepreneurs, so
petty, some handling large volume.
Tailor in the Bida market, Nigeria,
presides at sewing machine under tree.
Disputes are dealt with by offici
in a market place in southern Moroc
60
Dortance of market places grew
the importance of the market
lie also increased. The "market"
. its senses was spreading,
ipean governments encouraged
)wth of market places, and by
icing coinage and demanding
ices be paid in it (and abetting
ation of goods that could be
with it) , they actively hastened
irgement of the social scope for
rket principle.
ey is probably the most impor-
igle item in the changing of an
ly. Money is a cultural trait that
;n discovered several times in
tory of the world, including
places in Africa. However,
1 money and money,
ca had some examples of general
I money— cowrie shells in a few
in West Africa and the Congo
ich. Most African money, how-
rved only one purpose and can
ed "special purpose money."
imple, the metal "hoes" of the
[ Guinea and Liberia were used
ily for bridewealth: aborigi-
nally, one could not use them to acquire
subsistence; during the era of the slave
trade, many of the items included in
the "sortings" of goods with which
slaves were purchased were limited to
payment and were not standards of
value; they were also the prerogative
of certain political figures.
Modern economic change in Africa
is the result of the victory of general
purpose money and the concomitant
spread of the market in both senses.
When that economic situation is com-
bined with the kind of polity known as
the nationalist state, we see three funda-
mental tools that have helped create
the African revolution.
ONE vivid example of the spread of
the market principle in Africa
must suffice. In many parts of the con-
tinent, a man had to purchase rights in
his bride. Those rights could be paid
for only in a special purpose money
—if such were not the case, the trans-
action would amount to a monetary
evaluation of the bride, a situation
that Africans both joke about and
seriously deny. Bridewealth in East
Africa was paid in cattle; in central
Africa in spears; in West Africa in
cowries, metal rods, or some other
special purpose money.
When special purpose moneys were
undermined by government introduc-
tion of general purpose money, it often
happened that coinage came to be used
to pay bridewealth. For the first time,
brides "entered the market." One
could work, or trade, or sell produce,
and then save coinage and buy a wife.
Wives traditionally never entered the
same market as farm produce, because
there was no "money" that could evalu-
ate both. The spread of the market,
here and in many other areas of life,
has created great moral problems.
In rural Africa, the noisy, colorful
market place is a growing phenome-
non. But a reverse trend has also set
in: in urban centers, the market
principle and its institutionalization
in the firm have begun to take over.
The market principle is becoming
dominant, and the market place is
being turned into the supermarket.
iiC^^ ^ '
M^'i
.. v.r.A/»,:
t-'^*
By Frederick J. Dockstader
0m^^
fc
,.;M^J
,-. I - -TN,
iWr'
M.
•tfi'
lotem Poles:
Family Trees
thwest Coast Indians symbolized their histories in wood
)rthwest Coast Indians are well
for their sculpture, and these
utstanding examples represent
lions of totemic art. They are
larly interesting for what they
their owners. All are from the
1, one of the three branches of
imshian Indian peoples living
the Skeena River, in British
3ia. Thanks to Dr. Marius Bar-
beau, the great Canadian ethnologist,
records and names of many of the
carvers have been preserved.
The segments of design present a
"family tree" or narrative history of
the owner and are placed outside his
home. The famous Skaimsem Pole at
Gitwanlkul (jar left) was carved about
1870-80 by Hesemhliyawn, one of the
greatest of Kitksan sculptors. The de-
sign shows the mythical character
Woodpecker perched atop the children
of the legendary Mountain Eagle, who
in turn protects the many children of
Git'weedzarat, who holds his favorite
son in his arms. These were all ances-
tors of the Wolf family, of which
Weerhe— in whose honor the pole was
erected— was head chief.
Also fronting Chief Weerhe's home
is the Kaohdihgyet Pole (third from
left), carved somewhat earlier by an
unknown Nass River artist. It is a
complex repeat design of the mythical
Split Person with Weerhe's children—
a tribute to his large family.
Two basic forms of totemic symbol-
ism occur in the Tsemelih Pole at Git-
segyukla (second from left) and a pole
at Kitwanga (below) . In the Tsemelih
.Pole, the design of an animal with a
flat tail curled against the body, chew-
ing on a stick, identifies Tsemelih the
Beaver. The Kitwanga Pole shows
Gyedemranptaw, a legendary forebear,
holding a song stick or a chief's staff,
an indication of prestige.
Thus one can "read" these poles, and
gain an introduction into the family
of the owner. But knowing such sym-
bolic designs is not enough, for the
reader must also be familiar with
Tsimshian legend. For example, Tsi-
wiladaw., an ancestor of Chief Weerhe,
secretly adopted a -woodpecker as a pet
and hid it in her house, where it grew
into a mysterious monster. This epi-
sode is merely suggested in the design.
Just recognizing a woodpecker on the
pole would not suffice in reading
such heraldic insignia— one roust also
know, why the design was included.
DO YOUR
BUGWATCHING
WITH A
HONEYWELL
PENTAX!
Watching a praying mantis
through the razor-sharp lens of a
Honeywell Pentax camera may be
so absorbing that you'U forget to
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and completely controlled depth
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PHOTOGRAPHIC PRODUCTS
64
About the Authors
Mr. Robert H. Dyson, Jr.. author of
"Sciences Meet in Ancient Hasanlu," is
Associate Curator of The University Mu-
seum at the University of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Dyson, an archeologist and anthro-
pologist, has specialized in the area of
Asiatic prehistoric archeology.
"Rarely Seen Songbirds of Peru's
High Andes'" is the work of Dr. William
G. George, Assistant Professor of Zool-
ogy at Southern Illinois University. The
illustrations that accompany Dr. George's
article are by Mr. Arthur Singer, who is
recognized as one of the leading bird
painters in the United States.
The preparation and uses of topo-
graphic maps are the subject of Messrs.
Morris M. Thompson and Julius L.
Speert, civil engineers with the U.S.
Geological Survey. Mr. Thompson is
Deputy Assistant Chief Topographic En-
gineer for Research and Technical
Standards. Mr. Speert is Chief of the
Operations Research Unit of the Control
Surveys Section.
Dr. Sydney Anderson, who wrote
"Return of the Beaver," is Assistant Cur-
ator in the Department of Mammalogy
at The American Museum. His major
scientific interests include the syste-
matics and biology of mammals.
Drs. John J. Lee and Hugo Freud-
ENTHAL wrote their article "as a by-prod-
uct" of studies on planktonic foramini-
fera made in the Department of Micro-
paleontology at The American Museum,
under a National Science Foundation
grant to Dr. Freudenthal. The authors
are respectively Director and Associate
Director of the Living Foraminifera Lab-
oratory. Dr. Lee is Assistant Professor
of Biology at New York University. Dr.
Freudenthal is Associate Professor of
Biology at C.W. Post College.
Mr. Paul J. Fournier. author of "Mi-
gration in Maine.'" is sports editor of the
Bath Times. He has long been interested
in natural history, was a registered Maine
guide at the age of eighteen, and has pub-
lished many articles on natural history
and the outdoors.
African market places are discussed
by Dr. Paul Bohannan. Professor of
Anthropology at Northwestern Univer-
sity, and a Fellow in 1963-64 of the Cen-
ter for Advanced Study in the Behavioral
Sciences. Stanford L'niversity. Dr. Bo-
hannan has spent approximately three
years in Africa doing field work in cen-
tral Nigeria and in Kenya. The article
was excerpted from his book Africa and
Africans (Natural History Press). ©
1964 by Paul Bohannan.
Dr. Frederick J. Dockstader, author
of "Totem Poles: Family Trees," is Di-
rector of the Museum of the American
Indian. Heye Foundation. He is also tlie
Chairman of the Indian Arts and Crafts
Board, U.S. Department of the Interior.
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mature
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croscope
ireparing your own
ilood slides
ly Julian D. Corrington
D DIFFERS from Other tissues in
t it consists of discrete cells and
icles floating freely in a complex
e plasma. It circulates about the
rough the blood vessels and per-
jmerous vital functions, grouped
ansportation and protection. The
iroach to understanding this all-
nt tissue is to prepare and study
a blood slides; even the beginner
:e first-class specimens,
ials needed for this fascinating
iclude blank slides and cover
an alcohol lamp, lancets, mount-
le labels, and one bottle each
buffer, and alcohol. All of these
purchased from biological or
1 supply houses.
microscope slides are made of
;1 grade of non-corrosive glass,
bubbles or striations. The regu-
ize is 3 X 1 inches, with other
' special purposes, and they are
in boxes of one-half gross. A
type has a portion of one end
o permit writing on it with pen
il. The slides appear sparkling
hen unpacked, but they should
36 cleaned before use and then
only by their edges, which are
round to prevent cuts. Cover
:ome in various sizes and shapes ;
ended for studying blood are 22
lares, thickness 1. They are sold
containing one ounce of covers,
ilcohol lamp is a squat bottle
wick and cap and gives a low
i. Bunsen burner may be used
if it is turned low. Blood-letting
are of many sorts— needles.
Dlungers— but by far the simplest
lolets, tiny little points of stain-
;1, each sealed in a paper. They
losable, and their cost is low.
gedorn blood lancet, a straight
;edle 70 mm. long, is also used,
referable stain is Wright's blood
;st purchased as a solution ready
lecause preparing it is somewhat
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complicated. It is customarily furnished
in a small bottle with a ground-glass top
equipped with a dropper, and must be
kept closed when not in use. After a
while precipitation may occur; to rem-
edy this, add a few drops of pure methyl
alcohol. This alcohol is an extremely
poisonous fluid and should be handled
cautiously. The Mcjunkin-Haden buffer
solution contains phosphates, has a pH
(hydrogen-iron concentration) of 6.4.
and is stable. The best alcohol for the
individual experimenter is the commer-
cial grade of isopropyl alcohol, which is
tax-free, as it is not potable. The mount-
ant may be Canada balsam or one of the
newer synthetic neutral resins. Slide
labels are one-inch squares of gummed
paper, to be affixed to the left end of
finished slides. The pertinent data should
be printed on the labels, preferably in
black India ink.
Preparing the Slides
CLEANLINESS is of paramount impor-
tance in this work. Wash the slides
and covers in a thick, creamy paste of
household powder cleanser mixed with
a little water; then, without rinsing, set
them away to dry. As they are needed,
polish them with a clean, soft cloth or
moist chamois; the residue of powder
comes off, leaving the glassware shining
and clean. An alternative is to bathe
them in alcohol before wiping, then prop
them slantingly against some object such
as a book or slide box so that they may
be picked up rapidly by the edges.
To obtain a blood specimen from your
finger, use the following procedure: first,
wash one finger tip with soap and v
blot dry, then sterilize with a h
cotton dipped in alcohol. Pass the 1
through alcohol or, better, througl
flame of the lamp. Pinch the fingf
from the two sides until it is suf
with blood, then puncture with a s
light jab. Pinch the finger tip aga
produce droplets of blood.
Reject the first drop and use th(
ond. Place a single small drop ii
middle and toward one end of a
and immediately hold a second sli
a 45-degree angle to the first, so th;
drop of blood is within the acute a
As the drop is touched, the blood
spread out along the line where tb
slides meet. Immediately push
number two along number one. dr:
the blood out into a thin film. The
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be pulled out (not pushed ahead
inclined slide), a process accom-
by capillary attraction. In this
- a thin film can be secured with-
ishing the corpuscles. Wave the
the air to dry; this fixes the blood
?hen again place the slide in a
y position, film side up, where it
main until further processing,
are several smears in this manner,
amine one under the microscope.
■ed cells are massed or clumped,
p of blood taken was too large;
: are fairly large circles of empty
;ontaining no scatterings of cor-
, the slide was greasy and im-
y cleaned. If most of the slide
ems to contain only innumerable
rpuscles and few, if any, white
;les, the drop was too large, and
;tes all followed the pushed slide
!nd of the first one. In a correctly
;d smear, the corpuscles are uni-
distributed.
take two cover glasses. Place a
rop of freshly drawn blood in the
of one, and immediately cap it
e other, so that the corners of the
project. Then quickly slide the
lart sidewise without lifting or
g. When properly done, there
be an even, thin film on both
Wave them in the air to dry. and
Im side up, against some object,
aking these films, on either slide
;r, speed is essential to prevent
)rtem changes of the blood cells,
n all actions quickly, but remem-
t you may have a number of fail-
fore you achieve satisfactory re-
Inother essential is sterilization.
be certain to sterilize the skin
B lancet before the puncture is
and sterilize the wound again
ithdrawing blood samples.
Staining
H a number of slides and covers
epared with dried blood smears,
; ready to proceed with staining,
a counted number of drops of
's stain on the smear. Use quite
:or the slide, one or two for the
^lass— enough to cover the area
;h to stain, but no more. You may
this stain with a toothpick or a
ip tube of fine paper. Allow it to
ne minute, but bear in mind that
It batches of Wright's stain vary
lat and one can never tell the
ming until a few trials are made,
without draining or disturbing the
add twice as many drops of the
solution for twice the length of
Example: two drops of Wright's
minute; four drops of buffer for
nutes. Next, drain into a waste
cle and flush with distilled water
i further action. Now examine the
under the microscope. The red
;les, which cover the field and are
This stunning composition is worthy of John James Audubon. Arrow points to the nervous but
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enormously in the majority— 625 reds to
one white— should be a salmon-pink; the
whites should show a nucleus that is blue
to purple. In order to check your stain-
ing, have handy a colored plate of human
blood corpuscles under Wright's stain.
This can be found in any histology text-
book. If the nuclei of the white cells are
not sufficiently stained, the duration of
staining was not long enough or the de-
staining with the buiTer was too long.
This microscopic examination must be
done quickly, as the distilled water on
the slide will continue to destain. When
judged satisfactory, blot the preparation
gently with filter paper and wave it about
to air-dry. With films you wish to keep
only for a short period, use films on cover
glasses. These may be examined by plac-
ing the cover, film side up. on a blank
slide. Films made on slides should be
neither covered nor labeled; they are to
be used only with oil-immersion lenses.
The reason for allowing them to remain
uncovered is that the preparation keeps
better and the stain does not fade as
rapidly. After each use, flush off the oil
with benzene.
To make a permanent mount of films
made on cover glasses, invert the cover,
film side down, over the center of a clean
slide on which a medium-sized drop of
mountant has been placed. Gently lower
the cover, first touching one edge to the
slide, then letting it drop, allowing the
mountant to spread out evenly. Label
and keep flat until dry, then store or
proceed to study. Should you have a good
film, but an unsatisfactory staining, use
buffer until the slide is destained and
then repeat the staining procedure.
Studying the Slides
BLOOD is composed of a fluid plasma
and a solid content, not all of whose
materials are cells; hence the term
"formed elements" is usually employed.
Erythrocytes, or red corpuscles, com-
prise by far the largest percentage of
these formed elements. Their function
is to transport oxygen from gills or lungs
to tissues and cells all over the body.
They are biconcave, circular discs in all
mammals except members of the camel
family, in which they are oval. In all
mammals erythrocytes lose their nucleus
during the final stage of their formation
in the bone marrow, causing the profile
shape to change from biconvex to bi-
concave. Lacking nuclei, they are not
complete cells and some histologists pre-
fer the more precise term of erythro-
plastids. In vertebrates below mammals
they are true cells, nucleated and oval.
In a film of fresh blood, red corpuscles
are not red, but a faint greenish yellow.
In mammals, the bright red color results
when these corpuscles are piled up in a
layer of appreciable thickness. Then
they transmit the red end of the spec-
trum and absorb the blue end, because
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presence of the pigment hemo-
the characteristic element of
s iron. In most arthropods the
; is hemocyanin, with copper as
linant element, which combines
ygen to impart a blue color,
lost effective way to study eryth-
is to place a medium-sized drop
I blood in the center of a slide
D it immediately with a cover
he shape and size of these cells
;n be examined in fresh condi-
te that because of their adhesive-
ey tend to stack up in overlap-
ws, like a spilled-over pile of
hese stacks are called rouleaux,
few minutes, as the film begins
HILS in a field of red blood cells.
jt the edges, cells with spiked
— crenated corpuscles— will be
1, their change in shape caused
ikage from loss of water. If dis-
iter is added at the edge of the
) it can run under and dilute the
asma, the corpuscles will absorb
sr, swell up, and become faint
, In this swollen condition, they
led "blood shadows." If the ab-
continues. they will burst. In
stained blood the center of each
will appear either darker or
han the periphery, according to
th to which the microscope is
; the uninitiated may mistake the
or a nucleus. But as the focus
;ed, this appearance also alters,
results merely from the bicon-
ape of the cell. In sections of
stained with a combination of
ylin and eosin, the red cells are
in a properly stained Wright's
ley are salmon-pink, a color that
ised as a guide for judging when
: is correctly stained.
Leucocytes
hite blood corpuscles, or leuco-
, are the only true cells in the
3cause they possess nuclei. When
ing they are spherical, but they
remarkable power of changing
' sending forth pseudopodia, like
iba, so are said to progress by
d movement. They may force
y between adjacent cells in the
capillaries and pass out into the
ling connective tissues, then re-
he blood via lymph channels. In
a dried blood smear white cells become
flattened and their size is larger than
when they are circulating— the reverse of
the erythrocytes. They may be kept alive
for some time on a warm microscope
stage. Although the precise function of
most of the different types is still not well
understood, leucocytes have been called
the police force of the body. This is be-
cause, in addition to their amoeboid
movement, some white blood corpuscles
form food cups of pseudopodia, like an
amoeba, and ingest such solid particles
as bacteria. This ingestion process is
known as phagocytosis, "eating of a
cell," and is one of the methods by
which the body combats infection.
Leucocytes are divided into two main
classes, the agranulocytes and the gran-
ulocytes—those without and those with
numerous distinct granules in the cyto-
plasm. The agranulocytes, in turn, in-
clude two kinds, lymphocytes and mono-
cytes. Lymphocytes embody the smallest
of white cells— the average size is 6 to
8m in diameter, although they range up
to IS/ii. It is believed that their main
function is the production of antibodies
following infection. They make up 20 to
25 per cent of the white corpuscles.
When stained, the small lymphocytes
appear to be almost entirely composed
of a spherical, dark purple nucleus. A
thin rim of cytoplasm that has stained
robin's-egg blue surrounds the nucleus.
As the cells increase in size, the relative
amount of cytoplasm also increases. An
indentation in one side of the nucleus,
scarcely evident in small lymphocytes,
becomes more prominent. The cytoplasm
may contain a few large granules, but
these are not constant.
Monocytes are scarce. They comprise
only 3 to 8 per cent of the white cells,
and range in size from 15 to 20m, becom-
ing the largest corpuscles of the blood.
In color, the nucleus is lilac, rather than
purple, and its form varies— it may be
oval, kidney-shaped, horseshoe, or
twisted. The cytoplasm is grayish blue
and somewhat granular.
Granulocytes always have large num-
bers of specific granules in the cyto-
plasm, and a nucleus that is spherical
in young cells. As the cell ages, it shrinks
and divides into increasing numbers of
lobes connected by thin strands.
Most numerous of all leucocytes are
heterophils, called neutrophils in man.
The granules in this type are so numer-
ous and fine that they cannot be counted.
Heterophils are neutral in staining, and
take on a lilac coloration with Wright's.
The nucleus is three- to five-lobed and
stains a deep blue. Recent investigation
has discovered an amazing sex difference
in the cells. Those of females show a
small knob, called the drumstick, at one
side of the nucleus, connected to the
main mass by a slender stalk. The drum-
stick is thought to represent the sex
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Dr. Corrington, who is well known
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retired as Professor of Zoology at
the University of Miami in Florida.
chromosome and to be present in all fe-
male neutrophils, although it has been
observed in only about 3 per cent. The
cell must be flattened in just the right
plane for the drumstick to be visible.
Eosinophils comprise only 2 to 5 per
cent of the white cells and average 12m
in diameter. In a properly stained smear
they may be spotted instantly by their
many large, bright red, cytoplasmic
granules, large enough to be counted.
They often obscure the nucleus, and
seem at times to project from the pe-
riphery of the cytoplasm. The nucleus is
bilobed. often C-shaped, and blue.
Basophils are so uncommon that they
are encountered rarely and with diffi-
culty, for they make up only one-half of
one per cent of leucocytes. The granules
are like those of eosinophils, but stain
a dark, purplish blue. The function of
basophils and eosinophils is unknown.
Blood Platelets
BLOOD platelets are bits of cytoplasm
broken off from the pseudopodia of
megakaryocytes, the giant cells of bone
marrow. Their enumeration is difficult
because they adhere to each other and to
every surface with which they may come
in contact. Some authors believe them to
be present in the ratio of 250.000 per
cu. mm. of blood; others give a figure as
high as 750,000. Their shapes vary from
circular to irregular, and their diameter
ranges from 2 to 4m. With Wright's stain,
a platelet has a purplish-red, granular
color body or chromomere— either cen-
tral or peripheral— and a pale blue, re-
fractile. clear hyaloplasm. Platelets
occur only in mammals, and function as
part of the blood-clotting mechanism.
The study of blood can furnish many
fascinating hours to the careful micros-
copist. This article has tried to provide
an introduction to technique and identi-
fication. There are many other aspects of
the subject we shall undoubtedly touch
on in future discussions of microscopy.
This list details the photographer, artist,
or other source of illustrations, by page.
COVER-Arthur Singer 52-Lowell Observatory
16-25- R. H. Dyson. Jr., 53-AIVINH
except 16-bot., Courtesy 54-Colin Turnbull
of British Mus.; 19-AMNH 55-Rada Dyson-Hudson
after R. H. Dyson, Jr. except bot. right, Robert
27-28-Arthur Singer M. Netting
29-AMNH after William 56-Colin Turnbull ex-
G. George cept center, Robert IVl.
30-36-U.S. Geological Netting; top left, AMNH
Survey, Dept. of Interior after Paul Bohannan
except 31-bot., Ansel 57_colin Turnbull
?K^T Rr^t Fairrhiid 58-60-Robert M. Net-
AerialSurvey New York \\"K\'T, l^lf./'^^^'
38-43-Leonar(i Lee Rue K^|n 'v pa mer Phot^
Ill-Annan Photo Fea- a^nL
tures agency
44-John J Lee 61-Colin Turnbull
45-Janies R. Allen and 62-63-Dcnovan Clem-
John J. Lee son- Annan Photo Fea-
46-49-Paul J. Fournier tures
50-51— Lick Observatory 66— Julian D. Corrington
?^^j0^i^
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Additional Reading
SCIENCES MEET
IN ANCIENT HASANLU
The Heritage of Persia. Richard N.
Frye. World Pub. Co.. Cleveland. 1963.
Iran from the Earliest Times to
THE Islamic Conquest. R. Ghirshman.
Penguin Books, Ltd., Harmondsworth,
1954.
"Ninth Century Man in Western
Iran." R. H. Dyson. Jr. .Archaeology,
Vol. 17. No. 1. pages 3-11. 1964.
RARELY SEEN SONGBIRDS
OF PERU'S HIGH ANDES
The Birds of Colomria. R. M. de
Schauensee. Livingston Pub. Co., Nar-
berth. Pa., 1964.
"Studies of Peruvian Birds." (1-66)
.1. T. Zimmer. AMNH Novitates, N.Y.,
19.31-53.
MAPPING THE SURFACE
OF THE EARTH
Great Surveys of the American
West. Richard A. Bartlett. University of
Oklahoma Press, Norman, 1962.
The Story of Maps. Lloyd A. Brown.
Little, Broun & Co., Boston, 1949.
Mapping. David Greenhood. Univer-
sity of Chicago Press. Chicago. 1964.
RETURN OF THE BEAVER
The Fur Trade. Paul Chrisler Phil-
lips. University of Oklahoma Press.
Norman, 1961.
The Beaver. Its Works and Its
Ways. Edward Royal Warren. The Wil-
liams & Wilkins Co.. Baltimore, 1927 .
TINY DRIFTERS OF THE SEA
The Sea Around Us. Rachel L. Car-
son. Oxford University Press, N .Y ., 1951.
Field Book of Seashore Life. Roy
Waldo Miner. G. P. Putnam's Sons. N.Y..
1950.
MIGRATION IN MAINE
"Fishes of Maine." W. Harry Ever-
hard. Maine Department of Inland Fish-
eries and Game, .Augusta. 1961.
"The Spawning Habits of Cutthroat
and Eastern Brook Trouts." 0. A. Smith.
Journal of Wildlife Management, Vol. 5.
No. 4. pages 461-71. 1941.
PLACE FOR ALL THINGS
Markets in Africa. Edited by Paul
Bohannan and George Dalton. North-
tcestern Univ. Press, Evanston, 1962.
Peasant Marketing in Java. Alice G.
Dewey. Free Press of Glencoe, N.Y..
1962.
Trade and Market im the Early
Empires. Edited by Karl Polanyi. Con-
rad M. Arensberg. and Harry W. Pear-
son. Free Press of Glencoe, N.Y., 1957.
TOTEM POLES: FAMILY TREES
The Wolf and the Raven. Viola Gar-
field and Linn A. Forrest. University of
Washington Press, Seattle, 1948.
"Totem Poles." Marius Barbeau. Bul-
letin, National Museum of Canada, No.
119, Vol. 1-2,7950.
THE HEARTWARMING Gil
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Good Hunting with Bolex
For nature motion pictures, Bolex is
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SHOOTING POSITION
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UP, TIME LAPSE ShOV/S BLOOMING
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No wonder the Bolex is favored by
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Please send me more information
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atura
Bolex saySyfrom this Christmas on
home movies won't have to look lilte
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I things are ready, if our minds be so."
— Shakespeare
insistent questing of the creative mind is the
I force behind Monsanto' s widespread research
',rams . . . We have 800 scientists doing just that.
y think, experiment, develop, apply . . . and
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sense no limits to the mind of man.
Wim Monsanto, St. Louis, Missouri 63166
PRESIDENT
Alexander M. White
DIRECTOR
James A. Oliver
ASSISTANT DIRECTORS
Walter F. Meister, Joseph M. Chamberlain
MANAGING EDITOR
Robert E. Williamson
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REVIEWS
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CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
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Natural Histor
Incorporating Nature Magazine
THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISK
Vol. LXXHI
NOVEMBER 1964.
ARTICLES
CANNIBAL OF THE POND
STRANGLER FIG, NATIVE EPIPHYTE
LONG JOURNEY OF THE DOGFISH
BRONZE AGE SEEN IN GRANITE
LAKE ERIE NICHE FOR GULLS
Syd Radinovsky
Virgil N. Argo
Walter N. Hess
Holger Arbman
Ralph S. Palmer
DEPARTMENTS
1964 SURVEY OF SCIENCE BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
SKY REPORTER
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
TRAVEL FAR AND NEAR:
ART OF AJANTA AND ELLORA
SCIENCE IN ACTION:
THE BIOLOGICAL COLLECTOR
ADDITIONAL READING
Thomas D. Nicholson
Robert S. McCuUy
Jack J. Rudloe
CIRCULATION MANAGER
Joseph Saulina
COVER: The water scorpion, seen impaling a guppy in a laboratory tank,
an interesting combination of characteristics. First, it is not a scorpion; it i
insect. Second, it looks like a walking stick. Third, its habits are very sin
to those of the carnivorous, cannibalistic praying mantid. Ranatra jusca Beam
the most abundant species in its North American genus, can be found in ni
fresli-water ponds. Its fascinating life history has been studied in detail by
Syd Radinovsky, whose article begins on page 16. He took all the photogra
accompanying his text, in addition to the extraordinary portrait on the co
The American Museum is open to the public without charge every da]
during the year. Your support, through membership and contributions
helps make this possible. The Museum is equally in need of suppor
for all of its work in the fields of research, education, and exhibition
1 of Natural History, Central
•i. 10024. I'ublished niontily, October through May: biinonlhly Jur
-. In Canada, and all other countries: S5.5D a year. Single cojiie
• York, N. Y., and at additional offices. Copyright, li)64, by The
part of this periodical may be reproduced without the written c
.IDC M., iVITUr T,-a\aHiTeA II <; P„t..n, C\ff,^a T inc.l i..i r..rt n.„Ti>i£„r:
cation Office; The
. 10024. Published monthly, Oc
all othe
You will 6nd N
. registered U.
ill be handled '
iressed by authoi
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ted in Reader's Guid,
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i Periodical Lit
APPRENTICE
These young men are preparing for important careers with General Motors.
Under the GM apprentice plan, they are learning the diemaker's skills. Once
they have mastered this craft — and it will take them four years (8,000 hours)
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At the conclusion of their four-year courses, apprentices will have gained skills
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GENERAL MOTORS IS PEOPLE ...
Making Better Things For You
Natural History's 1964 Surv
FOR THE PAST FOUR YEARS, this maga-
zine has printed in its December issue
a review section devoted to books in the
biological sciences published for young
people. The appearance of the fifth an-
nual survey in this issue reflects a direct
response to a demand.
During the last two years or so, an in-
creasing number of teachers and librari-
ans have asked us to schedule the review
at an earlier date. Their reasons are two-
fold: first, schoolbook purchasing time
takes place during the months immedi-
ately after the fall term reconvenes;
second, school purchasers sufficiently re-
spect the opinions of our reviewers to
■want to check their comments before
buying. We hope this year's change will
be of help to those members of our
school systems who are faced with the
enormous responsibility of weeding out
the mass of available science literature.
We also hope it will give a little more
time to the Christmas gift buyer.
As in previous years, the survey has
been prepared by reviewers who are
members of the scientific staff of The
American Museum of Natural History.
The 71 books reviewed all deal with the
biological and earth sciences or with
astronomy and space— disciplines that
are either directly or peripherally re-
lated to work carried on in the scientific
departments of the Museum or The
American Museum-Hayden Planetarium.
As a result, many excellent books in the
physical sciences must automatically be
eliminated from our consideration. This
is regrettable but necessary in view of
the Museum's frame of reference.
It might be of interest here to mention
the symposium on science books for
young people that was in the planning
stage as this section went to press in
1963. Sponsored jointly by the Graduate
School of Library Sciences at Rutgers
University and Natural History, it at-
tracted over 300 men and women from
several states to New Brunswick, N.J.,
generated much heat, and may even have
shed a little light on the question of how
to judge a science book.
Although it is impossible to speak here
for the others who attended the full day's
meeting, it is possible to speak for the
reviewers who participated. All felt the
exchange of opinions among authors,
publishers, librarians, teachers, and re-
viewer-scientists was extraordinarily
stimulating. All felt an increased respon-
sibility to the reader.
As in previous years, reprints of this
year's survey will be made available
■without cost to teachers and librarians
■who write us on their official letterhead
an'd include a stamped, self-addressed
envelope. Any other readers who wish
reprints may obtain them at the cost
price of 20 cents apiece.
All requests should be sent to: Re-
views, Natural History, Central Park
West at 79th St., New York, N.Y., 10024.
Anthropology
THIS year it has become evident that
it is impossible for a social anthropol-
ogist adequately to review the archeo-
logical books now being written for
young people. This is partly because of
a rise in the level of sophistication and
abstraction in the books concerned, and
partly because of the ever increasing
complexity of the field— each branch of
the general anthropological discipline is
turned further within its specialized
self. Particularly with books for young
readers, who lack the critical facility of
more-advanced students, one must be
sure of the facts, and one must be able to
separate opinions from those facts.
Therefore, I have consulted with Shirley
Blancke on the general archeology books
and with Dr. Junius Bird on the book
dealing with Peru (both are with this
Museum ) , and this review includes their
opinions on those volumes.
Adventuring in Archaeology, by C. A.
Burland (Frederick Warne). is written
to create an interest in archeology, and
it will probably succeed. It consists of
one- or two-page synopses of various ar-
cheological topics accompanied by many
good illustrations. Unfortunately, how-
ever, much of Mr. Burland's information
is inaccurate or misleading. His plan of
Stonehenge bears little resemblance to
the monument, and his description of its
use by prehistoric stargazers is com-
pletely unfounded. To build a model of
a house on pilings sounds like fun. but
the author leaves one with the nine-
teenth-century misconception that the
Swiss Lake Dwellings were erected high
over water, when in fact the pilings were
deep foundations in marshy lake shores.
Curiously, the pile-dwelling myth has
also crept into a book that is on a much
higher level scholastically. Dr. Gordon
C. Baldwin, in The {Forld of Prehistory
(Putnam), provides a great deal of de-
tailed information about man's past in
his descriptions of various "firsts"—
first inventions, and so on- but the book
is rather dull. It could have been
leavened considerably by good illustra-
tions, but apart from one or two maps the
pictures are restricted to small draw-
ings above the chapter headings.
A more lively, if semifictional book
is Worlds Lost and Found, by Azriel Ei-
senberg and Dov Peretz Elkins
ard-Schuman). It is a collec
stories, half of which deal with
literary sources, and half with tl
vation of biblical towns. These
are anecdotal, along the lines
am's Gods, Graves and Schola
contain some fictional conve
based on fact. They are told in
sorbing fashion, and the descri]
the method by which Egyptiai
glyphics and cuneiform script v
ciphered is interesting and not ii
The Search for Early Man, 1
E. PfeifFer (American Heritagt
vivid and arresting account of 01
Age man and some of the mode
who have dug him up. It pres«
kinds of problems archeologis
when probing the distant past,
nature of the evidence on whii
base their deductions. The illus
of sites and archeologists at w
excellent, but some of the recons
scenes of Old Stone Age life shot
been omitted, for they give the
sion that Paleolithic man wai
lievedly moronic. However, this
worth reading and conveys the
phere of genuine archeology.
Gold and Gods of Peru, by Ha
mann (Pantheon), is a specific
tailed book dealing with P
archeology. It is richly illustral
highly attractive. It does have
small errors, but these do not of
book's value, as it is not writ
specialists. Mr. Baumann's book
stimulate an interest in Peruvian
tory and the Spanish Conquest.
Various events are described I
the eyes of witnesses and partici
some real, some fictional. An
boy, captured by the Spaniards,
Pizarro's arrival in Peru. Guama
De Ayala, the remarkable sixteei
tury writer and artist, tells of t
toms and past of his people, and e
of his drawings are used to il
his comments. The color plates
cellent and the Andean spe
scenes, and people were well chc
Moving into the realm of coni
ary peoples, and in particular tl
the North American continent, v
first mention two books that do n(
erly fall within the scope of this
but should nonetheless be mer
Monuments in Cedar, by Edw
Keithahn (Superior), has a ti
contents that suggests the autli
a juvenile audience in mind. I
text and arrangement of the hoc
this. The art and religion of the
west Indians, described by me
personal reminiscences and ci
chosen pictures, taken by p
' Science Books for Young People
^raphers, complement the work,
is would reward a serious student,
ould not attract a young reader
no prior interest in the subject.
Keithahn and the same publisher
produced another book, Eskimo
•ture, a readable autobiography. It
well stimulate young people to a
r interest in. and more serious
of, Eskimo life. The photographs,
at the turn of the century, could
)een better in content and quality,
■e tantalizing. I wish a few more
photographs had been offered.
) very disappointing volumes are
f a series published by Lyons and
han, Indian Legends of Eastern
ca and Indian Legends of the
West. Both cite Johanna R. M.
k as author, but give no indication
low she came by the legends or the
itions. Both volumes also carry
■f the same extraordinarily con-
[ding introduction by G. Waldo
le, full of such paternalistic non-
as: "The Indian, like a child, had
d remarkably acute in one direc-
but undeveloped in others. He
grasp but one truth, and that with-
y abstract reasoning."
tales are not arranged in a way
)nvinces us of the abstract reason-
)wer of those responsible for the
contents. Regardless of Indian
Its such as tribal origins or con-
? role, the legends are lumped un-
irious states as they exist today,
om which we can only guess— since
e not told— they were collected,
mimaginative. strictly geographi-
■angement deprives the tales, all of
are full of intrinsic interest, of
ely the background against which
vould have had full impact and
1. The illustrations by Richard
who is himself an Indian, help
the books somewhat less unattrac-
■ut as science they are worthless,
ther book that does not make the
is The Art of the North American
, by Shirley Glubok (Harper &
It is lavishly presented with ex-
photographs, type, and other
hing minutiae, but the text is not
the space it takes. Miss Glubok
Titten some descriptions of the
graphs that do not make a reader
wiser than had there been no text
And where the text is more gen-
with information, it is frequently
ilized to the point of being misin-
tion, or is couched in unfortunate
Even with the few words allowed
3 primarily photographic book, a
deal more could have been said of
direct significance. As for the pic-
themselves, they are presented
merely as a museological gallimaufry.
There are, however, two good books
about North American Indians. Needless
to say, one is by Robert Hofsinde. His
Indians at Home (Morrow) follows his
usual, straightforward, simple format.
The type is bold and the author's line
drawings show something important. In
making the home his central theme,
Hofsinde again limits himself to a sub-
ject he can handle with ease and clarity
in a short book. He talks of the Algon-
quian wigwam, the Iroquois long house,
the Seminole chikee, the Mandan earth
lodge, the Pueblo adobe, and of the
plank house and the Indian home of
today. He tells us in a few pages more of
the real Indian, his life and thoughts,
than all the books above put together.
Also good, but written at greater
length, is Home of the Red Man, by Rob-
ert Silverberg (New York Graphic So-
ciety). Early in the book the author
writes: "If anything, white men, with
their pinkish skins, deserve the name of
'red men' more than the Indians!" I,
therefore, wish another title could have
been chosen. The book deserves it, for
it is a sensible and sensitive general
introduction to a study of North Ameri-
can Indian peoples. It covers early
history and attempts to depict the dif-
ferent groups of Indians as they were
before the coming of the pink man. It
is as attractively illustrated— by Judith
Ann Lawrence— as it is written, and no
attempt is made to pander to lazy young
people. This book should interest and
inform any intelligent student, and there
is a useful index.
Turning to Africa, we are faced with
another problem book. Stories from
Africa (Duell, Sloan and Pearce) are
"retold by Shirley Goulden" and glori-
ously illustrated in color by Maraja.
There are only six tales, and although
each stands fully on its own, I again wish
we could have been told more about how
the tales were collected and from where.
A short introduction to each tale would
in no way have detracted from this book,
and I think would have added enor-
mously to its value. Such facts might in-
terest the young reader without lessening
the pleasure given by the folk tales.
Africa: Adventures in Eyewitness His-
tory, by Rhoda Hoff (Walck). claims to
tell us about African history through the
written word of observers from Herodo-
tus on. It does nothing of the sort. Pre-
senting African history is not without
problems, but there are much more reli-
able ways of doing it than by citing mis-
cellaneous individuals whose only com-
mon qualification seems to be that they
have at one time or another set foot on
the African continent. Many of the au-
thors are bigoted, ignorant, or idiotic,
and it is difficult to see what one can
derive from this book except the jaun-
diced vision and understanding of most
of those quoted. Rhoda Hoff's brief in-
troductions to each section only tell us
about the writers, who in turn tell us
more of themselves than of Africa.
The Vikings, by Frank R. Donovan
(American Heritage), with Sir Thomas
D. Kendrick as consultant, is as finely
illustrated and as attractively presented
as one would expect of a Horizon book.
The sensible use of consultants enables
these books to be presented uniformly,
yet with a reasonable assurance of au-
thenticity. They do not set out to be aca-
demic but stimulate a healthy interest
by arousing a healthy imagination. The
Vikings does not skirt controversial
areas, such as the alleged Viking "dis-
covery" of America, and cites differing
points of view.
Finally, having begun by disclaiming
the right of a social anthropologist to
review books on archeology, it is a
pleasure to welcome a book on contem-
porary peoples written by an archeolo-
gist. Dr. Baldwin— who also wrote The
World of Prehistory, reviewed above-
gives us another book. Stone Age Peoples
Today (Norton). It is a fine offering. It
covers hunters and gatherers from all
over the world, thus bringing together
in one volume a wide cross section of
different peoples who can be sensibly
compared. Dr. Baldwin chooses not to
make the comparisons, but we must cer-
tainly be grateful to him for setting forth
the necessary material in the way he has.
There are a number of points with
which I could take issue. Some of them
are quibbles, such as the use of the col-
loquial term "blackfellows" for Aus-
tralian aborigines. Dr. Baldwin's in-
sistent use of the term "dwarf" for
pygmy peoples is a little more serious
for it is an important and significant
fact that, while short, they are not
dwarfed. Generalization is inevitable in
a book of this kind, and its limitations
must be accepted. Some of the author's
generalizations are apt to be gravely mis-
leading, however, as in the statements
that most Bushman dances are "purely
for pleasure," and that the Andaman
Islanders have "the unique"' custom of
exchanging presents.
A map showing the distribution of
hunters throughout the world would
have been an asset, but there is a good
index, a glossary, and a short bibliog-
raphy. Dr. Baldwin crosses from one
branch of anthropology to another with
ease and understanding, and he has
given us a real science book that can be
used as such in teaching young people.
BOOKS
WORTH
published by UNIVERSITY
OF OKLAHOMA PRESS
THE GREAT ARC OF
THE WILD SHEEP
By JAMES L. CLARK. Foreword
by S.DILLON RIPLEY, Secretary,
Smithsonian Institution. Scien-
tific facts and hunting lore of
a fascinating creature whose
habitat is an arc extending
from North America westward
to the Middle East. Illustrated.
$6.95
I =1=1
WILDFLOWER
PORTRAITS
By ELOISE REID THOMPSON.
100 stunning full-page plates
in color, facing botanical de-
scriptions by EDNA W. MINER,
232 pages, 8V2 x 11. $15.00
THE YELLOWSTONE
NATIONAL PARK
By HIRAM MARTIN CHITTEN-
DEN. Edited and with an intro-
duction by RICHARD A. BART-
LETT. How one of the most
scenic areas in all of North
America was discovered and
explored. $1.95
ICELANO SUMMER
Adventures of a Bird Painter.
By GEORGE MIKSCH SUTTON.
A delightful account of a sum-
mer's quest for Icelandic birds,
by a latter-day Audubon. With
striking paintings by the author.
$5.95
I — n
JOHN JAMES
AUDUBON
By ALICE FORD. The most ac-
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Audubon ever published, based
on new material. Lavishly illus-
trated with Audubon's art.
$7.95
Now at your bookstore
UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA PRESS
Norman, Oklahoma
Just as important, those young people
can read it profitably and enjoyably.
Colin M. Turnbull
Astronomy
SPACE exploration is continuing stead-
ily, as expected, and the number of
books on the subject is growing even
faster. Unfortunately, the viewpoints of
most of the authors and publishers are
as limited and unimaginative as ever.
One of the worst in this regard is
Gemini and Apollo, by Gardner Soule
(Duell, Sloan and Pearce). It seems to
be an exercise to determine how little
narrative is required to hold together a
collection of forty photos and art pieces
acquired from the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration and the pub-
licity departments of twelve corporations
engaged in spacework. The effort fails.
A better enterprise was undertaken by
Irl Newlan. Manager of Technical Infor-
mation of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
of the California Institute of Technol-
ogy. He has written an authoritative ac-
count of First to Venus (McGraw-Hill)
apparently aimed at the young space buff
who already has a command of space lan-
guage. It is written about the prepara-
tion, launching, and flight of the Mar-
iner II mission to Venus, so it ought
to be a milestone. Adventure tales should
begin dramatically, and this starts as the
launching countdown resumes at T-mi-
nus-five-minutes after a long "hold" or
delay. If a team of psychologists was told
to invent some activity that would stead-
ily increase tension and excitement, it
could not do better than to use a count-
down broken by occasional unexplained
and frustrating holds. To understand the
reason for tension, one must know what
can go wrong, what has gone wrong, and
how much depends on all going well. I
suspect Mr. Newlan lived through much
of the adventure he reports, and his
editors may have shortened his tale.
Throughout the book 1 have the feeling
that editors and a predetermined num-
ber of pages forced him to omit much
impressive detail, and that the omissions
have not been successfully smoothed
over. For instance, we read: "Ten sec-
onds until shut-off of the Atlas main
engines. Then crisis ! She begins to roll !
The seconds tick off. 'Mark One, on
time!' The booster engines shut off.
'Mark Two, on time!' The booster en-
gines separate. On the thirty-fifth roll.
Atlas recovers, stabilizes; only three de-
grees to spare. Sustainer engine is burn-
ing normally." That's nice; but what
would have happened if another three de-
grees of roll had occurred? We'll never
know. After one further weak reference
to this "crisis," it is forgotten.
This is an excellent idea for a book
and might have succeeded had it not
been rushed onto the market.
More rocketry is treated in All
Rockets and Space Flight, by Ha:
Goodwin (Random House). As
Director of the Office of Scientil
Technical Information of NASA.
not criticize Mr. Goodwin's techn
formation about rockets, but I can
celestial mechanics are faulty. "!
velocity is just enough to carry a
craft beyond the point where
gravity can bring it back agaii
spacecraft is barely moving as it
the point of no return." Many paj
used to explain this incorrect idea
ally, at the instant of burn out-
tion into orbit— the craft may have
velocity. This is the point of no
The author also misuses Newton
of mechanics to "balance" for
achieve orbits. The great misforl
that the wrong explanations are
easier to write and visualize, bul
are always those readers who reall
to understand, and they will find
possible to follow these wrong- pa
One of the better reviews of pi
post-sputnik rockets and space re
is Our Work in Space, by Wil
(Macmillan). It is written by an ,
plished author, and one who wa
ciated with much of the German
research in the 1930's. Thus it is re
and should be considered author
While I feel some of the celesti
chanics could be improved, I ca
recommend this book for its pi
Works concerning astronomy r
complete range this year. Two se
graphical books are included. P
Astronomers, by Navin Sullivan
neum), is a good book. Mr. Sulliv;
cusses the accomplishments of eij
astronomers from Copernicus to si
cent times that four of them ar
active. The author has expended a
amount of time in research for this
and it shows. His dramatic accou
discoveries by my contemporaries
accurate as my personal knowledg
must have been obtained by fir;
interviews— or secondhand ones at
Evidence of Sullivan's control of h
terial is apparent in that the tale
of the earlier astronomers are j
readable as those of living pionee
The Quest of Johannes Keple
tronomer, by Barbara Land (D
day), shows ICepler to have been
more than an astronomer. Any si
of science has known of some of hi
tributions to science, although G
his contemporary, has received
more attention from biographer;
historians. It is important to hai
"quest of Kepler" chronicled fc
younger reader so he may become
iar at an early age with this truly :
mental figure of science. While cei
not a biography or even a reasonal
count of the life and times of Keple
book can be recommended as a cle<
e statement of his contributions
ce in general and to astronomy in
!ar. I would not recommend it as
xposure to science, however, for,
I many histories of science, a
)und knowledge of the subject is
if the significance of the devel-
3 described is to be understood.
e introduction of Star Maps for
•rs, by I. M. Levitt and Roy K.
II (Simon and Schuster), the au-
laim a history of over twenty
experience with these maps. Ap-
r it has been worth it. The star
e designed for someone quite un-
with the sky and, despite their
ntional outlines, they succeed
ell in giving the user a sense of
snsions of constellations relative
jther and to the terrestrial scene,
onth's map is accompanied by a
icussion of the mythology pecul-
at part of the sky. Although the
ive no more (mercifully, even
an the unaided eye can see, the
ipter is devoted to a useful dis-
of the practical properties, mer-
demerits of binoculars, monoc-
md amateur telescopes. This
es the desire of many individuals
late from constellation study to
ig, thus to advance from a rather
'inning to a more serious enjoy-
the marvels in the sky.
lave been reaching for the moon
;e they knew it was there; now it
illy within grasp. Viewing it
ir, we have learned much about
est world outside of the earth,
;h of what is known is reviewed
oon, by Virgilio Brenna (Golden
rhe strikingly realistic and beau-
strations will catch the eye first.
! real photographs of lunar sur-
lels built in Milan, Italy. They
"ully planned to illustrate chang-
lination over a lunar "day" with
)ect to the appearance of the
d the background sky. The ex-
d relief and stark shadows, re-
ily by earthshine, are all there
ss the reader with the mood of
n world. However, the models
jagged to conform to the true
the heights and lengths of such
Surprisingly, the models also
give evidence for stratification,
; sedimentary rocks exposed in
rican Southwest. It is true that
;lmaker could ask how else the
Duld be seen in the detail he pre-
d we would be forced to shrug,
mly beginning to know.
it is possible to criticize the
is necessary to praise the book,
ina has not been dogmatic, he
jeen condescending, gratuitous,
[s at any point; he lias not mini-
lat is not known, nor that which
;t to controversy. He has dis-
he two extreme hypotheses of
crater formation with arguments for and
against each. And herein lies the great
value of his work: Mr. Brenna has ex-
plained the scientific method in the for-
mulation of a hypothesis and in the test-
ing of it. In so doing he is not afraid to
use words that should be in the vocabu-
lary of any good high school student.
When, then, will Golden Press aban-
don its incongruously puerile, gaudy,
washable plastic covers in favor of those
that might indicate the respect due a
young adult audience? When my three-
year-old daughter was given a cloth-
bound book for Christmas, she exclaimed
with awe and quiet pride: "A grown-up
book!" Are those in this book's intended
audience any less responsible?
The earth is a rotating ball revolving
about the sun. S. Carl Hirsch, author of
The Globe for the Space Age (Viking),
introduces the young reader to this fact
with enough discussion to prove how in-
adequate any flat map must be in the
representation of large areas. Some crit-
ics may remark that his explanations are
incomplete, but others will point to the
virtue of not telling too much. Anyone
will get the feeling of space and spher-
icity, which the author has intended, and
the reader may well wish to learn more
of the problems of cartography, geo-
physics, or astronomy.
And now we come to the less palat-
able fare. Astronomically, The Solar
System, by Angelo Rocca (Duell, Sloan
and Pearce), is acceptably correct (only
about three minor errors of fact were
noted), probably because the book is
superficial. One usually cannot go far-
right or wrong— in fifty-eight pages. But
I wonder why this Italian book was trans-
lated into English. It may have been use-
ful in the Italian market, but it seems
to fill no significant void in America. As
gaudy as The Moon, the illustrative ma-
terial is all artwork. The artist is good
and, as such, enhances the verbal exposi-
tion. This is often necessary, but if a
good artist merely abstracts excellent
photographs, what is the purpose?
All astronomical observation is con-
ducted through the gathering and ana-
lyzing of electromagnetic energy. Light
and radio waves are all-important to the
astronomer, and must be thoroughly
understood. Light, by John Rublowsky
(Basic Books), is no help in spite of a
positive statement by Willy Ley in the
foreword. Perhaps he didn't read the
book. The author insistently shows his
ignorance of Galileo's chronology. He
also clearly misunderstands stellar struc-
ture and evolution, and how the cosmic
abundance ratios of the elements were
determined. In one paragraph he says,
"Color can exist only wliere there is
strong light." He follows in the next
with, "Actually, colors are not really col-
ors at all. Ordinary sunlight, as is shown
by the rainbow, consists of all the colors
From
COLUMBIA
THE NATURAL
GEOGRAPHY OF PLANTS
Henry Allan Gleason
and Arthur Cronquist
Why don't beech trees grow
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the plants, even from a car?
This handsomely illustrated
book describes the factors in-
volved in plant distribution in
the United States and Ganada.
The common species of differ-
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convenient guide for Sunday
afternoons or cross-country
travels. 251 photographs. $ 1 0.00
THE INSECTS
Url N. Lanham
This beautiful book is a natural
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behavior, reproduction, adap-
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other facets of an amazing
world. 25 photographs, 70draw-
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COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS, o^pt nii
2960 Broadway, New York, N. Y 10027
-i
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. copies of THE INSECTS @ $6.95 ea.
I understand that I may return the copies
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PASSPORTS
TO
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from
DOUBLEDAY
THOSE MYSTERIOUS
ETRUSCANS
By Agnes Carr Vaughan. A fasci-
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brilliantly, though briefly, on the
Italian peninsula.
Illustrated, $5.95
ROAD TO NINEVEH
The Adventures and Excavations
of Sir Austen Henry Layard
By Nora Benjamin Kiibie. "A
biography of one of the most im-
portant figures in the history of
archeology . . . extremely read-
able.''—/V. Y. Times
Illustrated, $5.95
SECRET OF THE FOREST
By Wolfgang Cardan. A famous
German explorer tells of his quest
for the hidden temples and ob-
scure origins of the Mavan peo-
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AZTECS OF MEXICO
Origin. Rise and Fall of
the Aztec Nation
By George C. Vaillant. Revised and
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THE HOUSE OF
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A Re-creation of Minoan Life
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of the spectrum." He never says that
color is a physiological response to the
wavelengths of the light entering the eye.
Mr. Rublowsky also must misunderstand
how a prism deviates and disperses light
or he would not have allowed his name
on a book with an incorrect illustration
of the subject.
Passing on to the glossary at the end.
I count twenty-one wrong or misleading
definitions out of seventy-five attempts.
This book cannot be recommended.
Another work in my growing collec-
tion of horrible examples is A Short His-
tory of the Universe, by Arthur S. Gregor
(Macmillanl. Mr. Gregor writes well,
but with frequent errors. On one page
he misplaces the Magellanic Clouds by
over 40 degrees. A 600-foot radio tele-
scope is pictured, although the construc-
tion of this instrument was canceled in
1962. two years before the copyright
date of the book. Later. Mr. Gregor be-
gins a tale of stellar evolution, which is
quite wrong, and which he uses again in
the book. In another example, he says,
"Stars differ in size, color, brightness,
temperature, and chemical composition.
Such differences indicate that stars
evolve from one stage to another.'' No
one who thinks can understand how the
one statement can be related to the other.
Yet there it stands in a book, and "books
contain all knowledge'' school children
are trained to believe. "Since this is sci-
ence, and I cannot understand it, I can-
not understand anything scientific," a
student might say, using perfect logic.
What a pity!
It is beginning to appear to me that
some bad authors read other bad authors
and perpetuate the same faults. As only
one of the many examples I could men-
tion, the 600-foot radio telescope error
appears in both Short History and Light.
Perhaps some writers do all their re-
search at high school science fairs. Pop-
ularization does not mean "write a book
with drama and small words." It means
that an author must understand his sub-
ject and explain it competently to inter-
ested but untrained people to the satis-
faction of audience, editor, and scientist.
K. L. Franklin
Botany and Ecology
THE seven titles I have reviewed this
year include five books in the general
field of conservation, one on microbiol-
ogy, and a biography of an important
but little-known American naturalist of
the nineteenth century. It is a pleasure
to note that most of these books are ex-
cellent in their coverage, interestingly
written, and reasonably free of technical
or interpretational errors. The matter of
errors in scientific information has been
a particular point of criticism in previ-
ous reviews in this series. Although this
year's books indicate a much more care-
ful approach to scientific information.
and the subject matter is for the
part applied biology, the texts cc
few basic biological facts or con
It seems to me that there is a con;
attempt to avoid rather than to pi
such facts and concepts accurati
Microbes and Men, by Harold J. i
( McGraw-Hill ) , one of the series of
tas of Science Books" produced h
National Science Teachers Assoc
with support from the National C
Institute, is an exception to this <
alization. It considers important as
of basic and applied biology. pr(
them concisely and lucidly, and ap
to be well researched and car
written. (Since I am not a microbiol
this evaluation is that of an infc
layman.) There is a brief introdi
to the history of the discovery of r
organisms and of their roles in b:
chemical cycles and diseases, and d
sions of the size range of microc
isms, their phylogenetic relations
their astounding reproductive capa
and unbelievable populations— "A
ful of soil contains more bacterial
than the total number of human 1:
that have ever lived on the earth."
ogenic bacteria, methods of prevs
infection, structures and processes
human body that inhibit or destro
croorganisms, methods of transmi
and techniques for detecting and i'
fying microorganisms are lucidly
ered. An especially interesting ch
concerns chemotherapy and antil
Teachers and students will also ap
ate the list of projects and experin
Three hooks— Conservation : The
lenge of Reclaiming Our Plan,
Land, by C. William Harrison {.
ner) ; Conservation and You, by
S. Hitch and Marian Sorenson
Nostrand) ; and Ours Is the Eart
Allan A. Sollers (Holt. Rinehart
Winston 1— are complementary cove
of conservation in the United S
Harrison's approach is historical
other authors limit their texts largi
contemporary problems and prac
The history of a subject can be m;
dynamic, fascinating analysis of i
philosophies, contemporary leaders
selected cause-and-effect case hist
Harrison adopted this approach, ai
tells of a pristine continent that was
washed by thin breakers of explor
and then by a tidal wave of exploit
that passed rapidly over the land
left eroded and depleted soils, rav
forests, and exhausted mineral dej
in its wake. However, his objective i
to damn our despoiling ancestors, 1
understand the shifting philosopi
natural resources. This philosophic
ysis of the times may be the mos
portant concept of the book. The u:
lying thought of each era is cone
stated, and clarified by real or,
conversations were unrecorded, ficti
quotations from a man of the time.
0 have some criticisms of Harri-
text. For example, he underesti-
the effect of the pre-Columbian
1 population on the landscape. In
; he devotes too much space to
us matters {the hypothesized per-
:e of mammoths in the Middle West
he sixteenth century) and to mat-
lat have little relation to his theme
chapter is a fictional rundown of
tivities of various North American
1 tribes on the day Columbus
d land in the Caribbean).
' basic biological facts are men-
in the text, which is probably for-
, since several that are presented
ated poorly. For example, tran-
ion. the evaporation of water from
tissues, is defined as "the exhala-
f water vapor by living plants."
;xt is illustrated with photographs,
ey lose some of their appeal be-
the paper used in the book is yel-
and thin enough to allow type
he reverse side of the page to show
;h. Also, the photographs some-
do not correlate with the text.
5 Is the Earth, subtitled "Apprais-
atural Resources and Conserva-
treats water, soils, forests, range-
wildlife, and minerals in separate
!rs and concludes with a discussion
ture conservation planning." Al-
1 the organization of the book is
itforward, the author makes fre-
interpretational errors— even using
iheading declaring that ''Trees
le." He consistently personifies na-
nd generally conveys a superficial
standing of his subject. Among the
reviewed this year, this one is out-
ng for its lack of technical editing.
s especially unfortunate, because
)pe of Sollers' treatment is broader
bat of most books on conservation
s age group.
servation and You is a review of
recent or contemporary conser-
problems— including city smogs,
ent and pesticide pollution, radio-
fallout— rather than a comprehen-
)verage of all aspects of conserva-
The organization of this text,
red with that of Outs Is the Earth,
jdgepodge. But its timeliness and
nversational presentation largely
nsate for its lack of order,
problems are presented factually,
than emotionally, with the solu-
hat have been applied or proposed,
.ces, the authors are surprisingly
For example, they admit that
ervation, in many places, means
g more than good hunting and
; available to sportsmen." The text
strated by well-chosen and well-
luced photographs,
principal criticism of the text is
nature" is personified throughout,
criticisms include the use of the
"food" for fertilizers, the state-
that there are no young saguaro
cacti in Saguaro National Monument,
and the implication that lichens were the
first terrestrial plants.
I also disagree with the statement that
ecological studies can be carried out only
in places "untouched by man's design."
Ecologists have comprehended, and in
the future must give much more attention
to, the interrelationships of organisms
and environment in the man-dominated
landscape. Although the study of natural
areas will always be of vital importance
in assessing ecological baselines and po-
tentials, the rapidly maturing science of
ecology must be focused on the altered
environments and biotas that have de-
veloped as a result of human modifica-
tion. Let's face it. man is here to stay—
at least until his ignorance of, or dis-
regard for. ecological principles results
in his self-annihilation.
A fourth book in the general field of
conservation is John Upton Terrell's The
United States Department of the Inte-
rior (Duell, Sloan and Pearce). This
is an informal, brief description of "the
chief conservationist of the nation." The
Department houses the National Park
Service. Bureau of Land Management,
Geological Survey. Bureau of Mines,
Fish and Wildlife Service. Bureau of
Indian Affairs, and a number of other
agencies that administer the natural re-
sources of our country. The Department
is large but this book is small, lacks
details, has no index, and is not too well
organized. The result is an interesting
introduction to the activities and respon-
sibilities of the Interior Department, but
one that leaves the appetite unsatisfied.
Another book on conservation is a
career guide. Foresters and IP hat They
Do, by John and Jane Greverus Perry
(Watts) . This couple wrote the excellent
book, reviewed in last year's column.
Exploring the Forest. The present vol-
ume is based on interviews with foresters
on the job, made in the course of an
8.000-mile trip during 1962, and it also
includes a great deal of other informa-
tion provided by federal and private
agencies. It is a broad account of the
many facets of the modern profession of
forestry, including range, wildlife, and
recreation management, and should al-
low a high school senior to gain a better
concept of the variety of work, respon-
sibilities, and remuneration associated
with the job of forester.
By far the best biography of an Ameri-
can naturalist to come to my attention
is Plants in His Pack, a Life of Edivard
Palmer, by Janice J. Beaty (Pantheon).
Palmer, the son of a Norfolk County
farmer, was born in eastern England
about 1830. Early in his life he developed
a great interest in birds, insects, and
other living things. In 1849, Palmer im-
migrated to the United States and be-
came a protege of the famous naturalist,
Dr. Jared Kirtland, of Cleveland. His
first major collecting trip was as a mem-
WILFRED
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least known peoples leads a
strange, primitive, and all but
amphibious existence. For seven
years, Wilfred Thesiger shared
this life as one of them. His day-
to-day experiences and his exten-
sive travels in a native reed canoe
with two Arab helpers provide a
vivid and fascinating picture of
an anachronistic, isolated realm
of water and reeds, of floating
houses and tyrant sheiks. Thesi-
ger evokes the landscape and
its teeming wildlife with
great beauty.
110 superb
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ber of the crew of the Water Witch,
which sailed to Paraguay in 1853 to ex-
plore the La Plata, Parana, and Para-
guay rivers. Palmer made many other
journeys— throughout the newly opened
American West, to Mexico, and to other
areas— during the next 57 years, and he
collected more than 100.000 plants, many
new to science, as well as thousands of
birds, mammals, insects, shells, and In-
dian relics. Mrs. Beaty relates the ad-
ventures, the disappointments, and the
intellectual rewards of these journeys in
a manner that gives the reader vicarious
thrills of Indian uprisings. Civil War
battles, and lonesome treks through un-
inhabited wildernesses, but she never
overwhelms the reader with involved bo-
tanical descriptions or overdetailed route
outlines. Palmer is properly assessed as
one of the most active collectors of nat-
ural history specimens of the nineteenth
century, and as an avid collector of the
plant lore of the Indians. He was not a
botanist, as were his contemporaries Asa
Gray and George Engelmann; he only
collected specimens and did not care to
spend time in the laboratory studying
and classifying them. Plants in His Pack
will provide absorbing reading for any-
one interested in American natural his-
tory or in the conditions of travel and
living in the Western Frontier region of
a century ago.
Jack McCormick
Geography, Geology
and Paleontology
TWELVE books are reviewed in this
section. The first six are excellent,
one is adequate, the rest are poor-to-dis-
astrous. Comparing this score with those
of previous years. I feel there has been
some progress. The excellent books are
diverse in subject matter, and include
material on deserts, polar regions, dino-
saurs, and caves. They are also diverse
in their levels of sophistieation.
An excellent biography in depth has
been written by a non-scientist. Oliver
Warner presents a tremendous amount
of information in Captain Cook and the
South Pacific (American Heritage ) . with
Dr. J. C. Beaglehole of New Zealand
acting as consultant. There is enough
historical and scientific background to
enable the reader to sense the scholarly
contributions of Cook the scientist and
to appreciate the stature and growth of
the man. Captain Cook was made of
hero's stuff and he makes excellent copy.
Of humble origin, he made his way to
the top through the quality of his mind
and the steadfastness of his purpose. His
major contribution was the exploration
of the Pacific Ocean, accomplished dur-
ing three voyages between the years
1768 and 1779. As this book makes abun-
dantly clear, Cook's achievements can
be viewed in two ways: as the culn
tion of the early epoch of explon
that began in 1513 when Balboa
"stout Cortes'") first gazed at the Fe
Ocean; or as the beginning of
modern, scientific epoch of explora
Either way you have a good story,
an important one from the viewpoi
man trying to get information about
eventually to understand, his world
The striking illustrations, com
by the editors of this Horizon bool
elude many reproductions of cor
porary drawings, paintings, and maj
Speleology, by George W. Moore
Brother G. Nicholas (D. C. Heath) ,
authoritative, soft-covered book on
natural history of caves. In additi(
descriptions of caves and a discu;
of their complex origins, the sciei
authors point out some little-known
ets of their geology and biology,
some caves "breathe"' in and out is
cussed, and the origins of this phei
enon are tracked down and eventi
expressed in the form of a simple e
tion. Here, in capsule form, the inte
tual adventure of physical sclent
presented: the odd observation,
analysis, and the final quantit
theory that can explain and predic
The biology of caves is examined
similar manner and interesting
abound. There is some error, how
For instance, recent studies have si
conclusively that vampire bats
blood— not lap it. as stated by the
thors. Lapping noises would wake
sleeping victims. The special chara
istics of cave animals are used as a i
point to explain their evolution.
The small size and relative simpl
of the cave community make it eas
delve into important ecological concf
the interdependence of organisms,
the cycle of nutrients through produ'
consumers, and decay organisms.
Another good biography, this on
a professional writer, is The Dino
Hunters, by Robert Plate (McK
Two highly interesting men domin
the scene of American paleonto
from the Civil War years to the en
the century: Othniel C. Marsh and
ward D. Cope. During these years
quest for scientific knowledge of
American West commenced. Among
most dramatic fruits of this harvest i
discoveries of vertebrate fossils-
simply new species or genera, but
types of mammals, birds, and rept
Fossils of giant dinosaurs, huge and
likely mammals of long-extinct ty
and toothed birds, all were discoverei
Marsh and Cope in two decades.
The two principals in this history
came engaged in a titanic battle
scientific recognition and competet
make the first discovery. Both men s
fortunes in the task, and each drove 1
self at a high pitch. As the battle
tensified it became more underhan
spies, informers, and all-but-pitched
■s among the contenders or their
collectors. This book demonstrates
although the history of science is
:y of discovery, it may also involve
ireers of men seeking something in
ion to pure truth.
)arctica, by Carl R. Eklund and Joan
man (Holt. Rinehart and Winston),
best book for the general reader I
seen on the subject. The senior au-
Dr. Eklund, was a scientific leader
ilkes Station during the IGY Ant-
; program, and the book is filled
interesting and accurate informa-
.nd up-to-date theory. Key problems
itarctic research and their relevance
; whole fabric of science are clearly
)rth. Pertinent material from many
ces is included-biology, meteor-
■, geology, and geophysics,
e arid lands of the earth, including
;reat deserts, have a perennial al-
for those of us who live in wetter
;. The First Book of Deserts, by
i C. Knight (Watts), examines
regions from a scientific point of
(although the author is not a sci-
t), and the reader is rewarded with
)k that is accurate, informative, and
written. The illustrations are strik-
and are integrated with the text.
Y aspects of deserts are covered, in-
ng their origin, the life that dwells
i, the formation and migration of
s, and mirages.
an Villiers is a well-known author
ocean adventurer and in The Ocean
;ton) he has given us a record of
s efforts to learn to travel on the sea.
uch it is a success, beautifully writ-
)y one who knows ships, sailors, and
time matters. The title, however, is
;ading. The book is not about the
ns as objects of scientific study. Only
slender chapter even attempts to
r this voluminous material.
nal Reefs, by Lois and Louis Dar-
(World), is an adequate presenta-
of a scientifically important subject,
pity is that, with a little more effort,
ight have been excellent. The au-
3 do explain what a reef is and how
jvelops, but the reader who has not
rved a reef under water will not
ly be able to picture how the whole
munity is knit together, and what the
tion is between the living reef and
rest of the reef complex,
he following books are in the "poor-
isastrous" category and are, there-
, reviewed only briefly,
hree books that seem to have no real
pose are IFonders of Snoiv and Ice,
Zhristie McFall (Dodd, Mead) ; The
iders of Water, by James H. Win-
der (Putnam) ; and When the Ice
%e. by David 0. Woodbury (Dodd.
id). The first cannot really be called
, but it is certainly pointless. We are
:n facts and photographs of ava-
3hes, nuclear submarines, Eskimos,
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icebergs, and glaciers, but that is all.
The Wonders of Water is smoothly
written, but is a mixed bag of scientific
and historical items pertaining in some
way to water. Subjects include the Span-
ish Armada and the use of water in fire
fighting. \^'hy not water's crucial role in
the manufacture of soda pop?
In When the Ice Came David Wood-
bury writes well enough when he has
nothing but anecdotes to relate, but is
confusing when he treats matters of sci-
entific importance. Many of the illustra-
tions are crude and unclear.
Planet Earth, by Gerald Ames and
Rose Wyler (Golden Press), is poor:
there are too many topics covered in too
short a space, and the illustrations seem
to come directly from the French Impres-
sionist school. As patterns they are inter-
esting, but as science illustrations they
are confusing and often misleading.
The Boys Book of Mountains and
Mountaineering, by E. C. and M. E.
Pyatt (Roy), is unfortunate, as it con-
sists of a good book on mountaineering
history and techniques juxtaposed with
a poor section that purports to be a sci-
entific study of mountains. The chapter
on great mountain ranges is dull and the
rest of this section is filled with half-
truths and equivocal statements.
John Imbrie
Zoology
OF the twenty-four books reviewed
for this section, the majority con-
cern aspects of the natural history of
various animal groups, while others deal
with general biology, either from a his-
torical perspective or as a synthesis of re-
cent research. Some, at least, stimulate
the imagination and may even entice
the young reader to look with new eyes
at life around him and to carry out ex-
periments on his own. Several volumes,
however, are dull and pedantic— they
give facts, but are hardly worth the
reader's time or the publisher's costs.
In A Short History of Biology (Nat-
ural History Press). Isaac Asimov
briefly surveys achievements from the
beginnings of biological science to con-
temporary research in molecular bi-
ology. The book— not written specifically
for young readers— is fast-paced and
lucid, and Asimov presents biological
concepts logically, clearly, and with a
minimum of extraneous detail. The in-
fluence of his own interests in biochem-
istry, and the highly publicized current
developments in this field, however, have
led to a somewhat biased coverage. He
leaves the reader with the impression
that the study of evolution concluded
with Darwin; neglects such fields as
ecology and paleontology after Cuvier;
omits recent research in the mechanisms
of embryonic development, endocri-
nology, and animal behavior. Such omis-
sions would be understandable in a short
history, if Asimov had not used appri
mately the entire last third of his bool
review details of recent discoveries
biochemistry and molecular biology. '.
example, two pages are devoted to rai
active isotopes as tools in biochemis
but no mention is made of their usf
paleontological dating.
For the intended readers of this be
for whom illustrations and diagrams
most important, the few line drawi
assist the text but little. There is
index, but there are no references
anyone who might wish to pursue
ther the history of various discipli
within the science of biology.
A timely volume on The Reprodua
of Life (Basic Books) is by Roberl
Lehrman. a high school science teac
and a writer of considerable skill. '
author stresses the fundamental nal
of life as the reproduction of self-ore
izing systems. Here is a wealth of
formation woven into a fine accoun!
reproduction on a number of leve
molecular (DNA. RNA, and proteii
cellular (mitosis and meiosis), org
ismic (development of the organism
the physiology of reproduction), and
cial (mating and parental behavic
The level of writing is fairly soph
cated— it would seemingly have to be,
the ideas covered— and even persons 'v
some knowledge of biology and chei
try could profit from its unifying cono
I do have some objections to this b(
however. The illustrations were exect
by the author, and while they are <
quale, many should have been lar
Additional diagrams, especially for
lustrating the ideas of the control
development, would also have been h
ful. The author's explanation of
processes of mitosis and meiosis will
be easily grasped by the na'ive reai
Mr. Lehrman erroneously states I
chromosomes split during mitosis,
this is not rectified by his later treatm
of DNA replication. There are also i
eral factual errors of greater or lei
importance. There is an index but tl
are no references.
In spite of these shortcomings. I
recommend the volume because of
tacit insistence that each level of .
logical reproduction is to be underst
from an analysis of the organizatior
that particular level, and thus that
understanding of life cannot be redu
solely to an understanding of molecu
A relatively new area of scieni
study is nicely illuminated by the sn
volume Animal Photoperiodism,
Stanley D. Beck (Holt.Rinehart and ^
ston ) . In recent years, it has become
creasingly clear that internal rhyth:
processes are vital for the life of an
ganism. Such processes appear to be
ordinated and synchronized with e
other by the daily rhythm of dayh
and darkness— in other words, by
photoperiod. Photoperiodism is relev
: many and varied processes investi-
by such biological disciplines as
gy, behavior, endocrinology, neu-
jT, and biochemistry. This extremely
and well-written text, together with
e but appropriate and enlightening
rations, shows the importance of
periods to the activities and inter-
)rocesses of mammals (including
, birds, and insects. There is also a
er on biological clocks, which seem
temperature-corrected and rhyth-
;hemical processes that are regu-
by environmental cues.
B volume is indexed and has a list
lated readings. Animal Photoperi-
i is highly recommended as an in-
ction to this subject. The publishers
d be congratulated for obtaining
an excellent manuscript and for
icing such a fine little volume,
igraphies of three famous biologists
appeared in the "Immortals of Sci-
' series published by Franklin
i. They are Louis Pasteur: Founder
'.crobiology, by Mary June Burton;
'es Darwin and Natural Selection,
ice Dickinson; and Gregor Mendel
ieredity, by Robert N. Webb.
e volume on Mendel is the simplest
he dullest. Its limited appeal will
those of junior high school age who
not yet heard the familiar story of
lei's experiments with garden peas.
beginning biology textbooks ex-
with greater clarity and interest
principles of heredity Mendel de-
from his horticultural work. Men-
is a person, never seems to come
in this telling.
e biography of Pasteur is more suc-
j1. It is aimed at a slightly older
nee that might have had a bit more
ce. It starts slowly, but gains mo-
iim as Pasteur conquers disease
disease. The reader is caught up
16 excitement as Pasteur devises
for the diseases of silkworms,
I, and men. The realization that mi-
s are the cause of disease is grad-
impressed upon the reader as it
ipon Pasteur. The spirit in which
ught many of the leading scientists
; time for acceptance of his theory
Bease is sympathetically portrayed,
^ouis Pasteur emerges as a real and
ring person.
ce Dickinson's biography of Dar-
vill be difficult reading for all but
lost-advanced high school students,
details of the voyage of the Beagle
ikimmed over rapidly, and more
; is devoted to Darwin's struggle
illness, his difficulties in writing,
;he raising of his family. It is diffi-
:o see why it was necessary to write
lOok at all, for the type of student
might enjoy it is capable of reading
injoying Darwin in the original or of
ng any of the multitude of books
articles about him that were pub-
d for the centennial, in 1959, of the
publication of On the Origin of Species.
In addition, the book contains one glar-
ing error: Darwin's contemporary, Al-
fred Russel Wallace, is repeatedly re-
ferred to as Arthur Wallace!
In spite of these objections, Darwin's
theory of natural selection is presented
in an accurate manner, and the difficul-
ties Darwin experienced both from the
religious and the scientific personalities
of his day are well told.
All three of these biographies are
sparsely illustrated with lackluster
drawings that add little to the clarity
or intent of the texts. All are indexed;
the Pasteur book contains a glossary.
Although advances in molecular bi-
ology may make headlines and fire the
imagination, there is stiU great excite-
ment and, of course, escape (particu-
larly for city dwellers) in reading about
the confrontation of raw nature as writ-
ten by naturalists and scientists from
personal experiences. A sampling of
such writings is found in A Sense of
(Fonder, compiled by Dorothy Shuttles-
worth (Doubleday). This anthology, as
stated in the introduction, "may be said
to touch on earth, sea, sky. and the ani-
mal kingdom," and includes works from
the able pens of W. H. Hudson, Maurice
Maeterlinck, Rachel Carson, Charles
Darwin, William Beebe. Albert Ein-
stein, and others. I especially enjoyed
the selections concerned with fossil hunt-
ing (Roy Chapman Andrews), ocean
waves (Henry Beston) , April in the Ant-
arctic (Richard E. Byrd), wasp ways
(Jean Henri Fabre), auroras (John
Muir), and tracks and trailing (Ernest
Thompson Seton). For those readers
who want more, there is a bibliography
of other writings by the same authors.
Adventure ivith Freshwater Animals,
by Richard Headstrom (Lippincott) , is
a guide to observation of, and experi-
ment with, a variety of invertebrates and
vertebrates from protozoans to turtles—
forty-seven adventures in all. Mr. Head-
strom, who illustrated his work with
line drawings, gives some insights into
the lives of these aquatic animals and
provides hints on where to find them and
how to maintain them in a home labora-
tory. Aside from a microscope, which
is sometimes required, the necessary
equipment is easily obtained or made.
There are a few minor errors and an un-
fortunate lack of an index and reference
list. However, the book can be recom-
mended as a good source of information
for the student who wants to know more
about the fascinating animals that in-
habit lakes, ponds, and streams.
Four other books deal with inverte-
brates—one with spiders and three with
insects. Laura Barr Lougee has sup-
plied the text for a very attractively de-
signed book. The Web of the Spider
(Cranbrook Institute of Science). The
author skillfully, and with a minimum of
words, touches upon spider anatomy,
-the
perfect gift
a subscription to
ARCHAEOLOCY
the handsomely illustrated quar-
terly published by the Archaeo-
logical institute of America which
brings you the latest discoveries
from all over the world. The
excavators describe their own
work and interpret their finds in
nontechnical language, espe-
cially for the layman.
For your own enjoyment, for a Christmas
gift of lasting pleasure, may we suggest
ARCHAEOLOGY. An attractive gift card
will be sent in your name.
$5.00 a year. Same rote for foreign
mailing. Make checks payable to
ARCHAEOLOGY.
ARCHAEOLOGY, Dept. N15
100 Washington Sq. East,
New York, N.Y. 10003
Send ARCHAEOLOGY for year(s) to:
I enclose check/ money order for $
Name
Address
Send gift cord In name of
13
For the
first time —
individual
market values
for more
than $40,000
worth of shells!
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Identifying illustrations Paperback J4.50
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Catalog. Includes more than 100 strik-
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that this catalog is used as a supple-
mentary text in many art courses); and
a spedal section on museum jewelry
in replica
k
rentano's
how spiders spin out silk, silken webs and
traps, how orb webs are made, and how
spider enthusiasts can collect webs. The
drawings and photographs are both of
excellent quality. In short, this small
volume is a delight to look at and to read.
It should convert many of all ages to an
appreciation of spiders and their webs.
Butterflies, by J. F. Gates Clarke
(Golden Press), is an introductory text.
It briefly describes the external anatomy
and the development of butterflies and
then treats of 187 familiar North Ameri-
can species, arranged and described ac-
cording to families. The beautiful color
illustrations by Andre Durenceau go far
toward making this a successful book.
And successful it is, for it does what it
intends to do— invites "young and old to
learn about the more common North
American butterflies." The book is in-
dexed and has a reference list.
A book on Beetles, by Wilfrid S. Bron-
son (Harcourt, Brace & World), treats
these insects as "machines-plus." The
author's analogy of a beetle to an auto-
mobile does not come off well, especially
when he makes such errors as comparing
a beetle's stomach to a car's motor, and
stating that the radio antenna on a car
is sensitive to sound vibrations. His dis-
cussion of beetle behavior is sophomoric
and sometimes anthropomorphic. His
discussion of the beetle's brain, mind,
and feelings is plain nonsense. All of this
is unfortunate, because the book has a
certain charm, and the author's many il-
lustrations are fun and enlightening.
References and an index are provided.
From the standpoint of interpreting
behavior with precision, by far the best
volume of those reviewed is An Ant Is
Born, by Harald Doering and Jo Mary
McCormick (Sterling). Miss McCor-
mick, the author, gives a good, brief ac-
count of ant life history and some aspects
of behavior. She does not resort to an-
thropomorphisms and instincts to ex-
plain their behavior, but instead shows
that ant colony organization, at least in
part, is dependent upon reciprocal
stimulation between worker and worker,
worker and queen, and worker and
brood. Mr. Doering's many superb
photographs and the legends accom-
panying them excellently supplement the
text material. (One photograph shows an
aphid responding to tactile stimulation
from an ant by exuding a drop of
"honeydew.") It is a treasure of a book.
Either of two books on fishes could
fill a gap in the young ichthyologist's
or fishing enthusiast's library. Boy^s
Book of Fishes, by Edward C. Migdalski
(Ronald Press), and Fishes and Their
Ways, by Clarence J. Hylander (Mac-
millan), deal with fish anatomy, phy-
siology, reproduction, and habits. Both
describe the common species, particu-
larly the game fishes, of streams and
lakes, and of the seas bordering the
United States.
Mr. Hylander's book is more com
hensive, and I think by far the b(
volume, although it contains its q
of minor errors. The many good draw
of fresh- and salt-water fishes are a
cided asset. There is no index, but
fish species are listed with refer
pages under their respective famili(
Roy Pinney's Animals, Inc. (Doi
day) is a slim volume on zoos and an
collecting. The reason for its exist
seems to be as a vehicle for nume
photographs, many by the author,
certainly are not outstanding. Mr.
ney tells some of the adventures of :
animal collectors as Frank Buck, Ar
Jones, Carl Kauffeld, and Henry 1
flich; he boringly. but fortuna
briefly, discusses past and present z
he relates the modus operandi for
turing, transporting, selling, and ca
for zoo animals; he speaks, though
very energetically, about the wo
vanishing wildlife. There is a short
liography and a list of current pi
paid for animals.
The World of the Red-Tailed Hawl
G. Ronald Austing (Lippincott) , is
only bird book reviewed this year,
it is a recommended addition to
amateur ornithologist's or natura
library— no matter what his age. IV
of the author's striking photogr;
show red-tails on the wing; others d«
the home life of red-tails and the di
opment of the young. The author j
his own observations and other cut
data on the red-tail through the
seasons of the year. His long hour
observation and many encounters '
this bird make his text a stimulating
The red-tail is on the point of externa
tion in many parts of the country,
this is pointed out, but not with s(
mentality. However, red-tail behavic
often explained in anthropomorj
terms or by the concept of insti
Bibliography and index are inclui
Of the eight volumes on mammals
ceived this year, six are for the r
part disappointing. Mammals, by I
aid F. Hoffmeister (Golden Press),
a text that starts out as a pretty
introduction to the biology of manin
but quickly falls into a run-of-the-ii
encyclopedic treatment. Description;
various species and groups of mamn
are dull, and very little, if anythino
included about mammalian commun
tion. social behavior, or ecology. S(
of the colored illustrations are good,
many are poor. The book has some
tual errors and is poorly edited.
The less said about Meet the M
mals, by C. H. Keeling (Watts),
better. It is poorly organized and is fi
with inaccuracies and fundamental
rors. Nature is considered willful, ;
Lamarckian theories of evolution cr
in. The author gives tips on how to c
for various wild mammal pets and se(
to have a genuine concern for anim
her in captivity or in the wild.
umal Servants of Man, by J. J.
oy (Lothrop, Lee & Shepard), con-
3 the domestication of dogs, cats,
;s, cattle, and other animals. The
might have some appeal, but I'm
luite sure to whom. There are many
s, especially in the chapter on
keys and apes. (I think the author
:hes the point when he includes the
on. orangutan, and gorilla as serv-
of man.)
F. Beebe's American Wolves, Coy-
and Foxes (McKay) is a sort of do-
urself guide to killing coyotes,
es, and foxes by shooting (from the
nd, airplane, and snowmobile),
ing, poisoning, trapping, running
hounds, driving, and den hunting,
rrect scientific names, many anthro-
orphisms, textual errors, poor
ng, and dreary writing further mar
book. Miss Beebe also has written
rican Lions and Cats (McKay) , but
no better.
ild Cats, by C. B. Colby (Duell,
n and Pearce), is a dull treatment
le world's large and small cats. It
ributes nothing to what has already
I better written elsewhere,
vo mammal books that can be recom-
ded for young people were not writ-
specifically for that audience. Gara-
a, by Desmond Varaday (Dutton),
tale about a pet cheetah, who is
ribed as being passionate, sensitive,
capricious. The author, a game
len of a private African reserve,
s an interesting account of life in the
can bush and sidelights on the lives
he animals in his domain— lions,
ards, crocodiles, vultures, jackals,
las, antelopes, and elephants. The
y is suspenseful and has an unex-
ed climax. The accompanying
ographs supply local color. Unfor-
tely. the book is laced with anthro-
orphisms, and I cannot believe
ything the author says, but his con-
over the plight of many African
lals and his sense of drama make his
; worth reading.
wealth of fascinating information
at beavers is found in The World of
Beaver, by Leonard Lee Rue III
)pincott). It stems from the author's
onal observations of the animals over
limber of years and through every
on. Mr. Rue refutes much of the
sense written about beavers as skilled
ineers with the knowledge of how to
trees so they fall into the water. A
i account is given of the ecology of
beaver and how this animal— the
Id's second largest rodent— affects an
I in which it settles. The author's
tographs clarify many points (he
1 swam with beavers in order to get
erwater shots of their swimming
hods). The few anthropomorphisms
lot mar the volume's excellence.
Kenneth K. Cooper
You may never have to shoot an Alosa pseudoharengus being
fitted with a contact lens. But there is no reason why you
shouldn't enjoy the same picture quality in your work. All it
takes is a 35mm camera with the responsiveness of a Nikon F,
and a lens with the resolution of a Nikkor.
But there is only one Nikon F. And this Nikon F, with its many
accessories, and more than 29 interchangeable Nikkor lenses,
stands out as the finest and most versatile 35mm equipment
today— a complete, comprehensive system whose capabilities
extend into every aspect of the photographic process— from
photomicrography to astrophotography— from the infinitesimal
to the infinite. See itatyour Nikon dealer, or write to Dept. NH-11.
Nikon InC.lll Fifth .Ave., N.Y.3. ^ subsidiary of EhrenreichPnoto-Optical industries, mc.
15
Cannibal of the Pone
New study elucidates biology and behavior of water scorpio
By Syd Radinovsky
THE WATER SCORPION, fiflwa/ra fusctt
Beauvois, is not a scorpion at all.
It is an insect belonging to the family
Nepidae of the order Hemiptera. De-
spite its name, it bears little resem-
blance to the true scorpion, which is
terrestrial and has a long, segmented
abdomen with a potent sting at the tip.
In appearance, the water scorpion re-
sembles a walking stick— that familiar,
large, sluggish insect whose common
name is so apt. However, the walking
stick is an orthopteran and a mem-
ber of the family Phasmidae. Func-
tionally, R. jusca is much like the well-
known praying mantid, also an orthop-
teran, of the family Mantidae. Both
are predaceous and both exhibit can-
nibalism. Both have peculiarly modi-
fied raptorial front legs that strike out
Adult water scorpion, which greatly
resembles the familiar walking stick,
i6 "
uses raptorial forelegs to seize box-
elder bug that has fallen into water.
swiftly to grasp prey. Endowed wi
infinite "patience," both lie in wait f
their prey almost motionlessly, fro
legs in an upraised position, and bo
are capable of slow stalking. Both al
have functional wings, but are r
strong fliers.
Water scorpions comprise only o
of a number of families of aqua
Hemiptera, each of which is distinct]
in structure, biology, and behavii
Water scorpions, or nepids, are d
tinguished from all other water br
by their slender and elongate cauc
respiratory tube, which consists of t
filaments with middle grooves. Wh
these filaments are pressed togeth
the grooves form a tube that condu
air to two spiracles situated at I
caudal end of the abdomen. Anotl
distinguishing feature of the wa
scorpion is the presence of three pa
of small, oval, disklike, static sei
organs at the sides of the second, thi
and fourth visible ventral segmer
These probably aid in orientation
water and in depth perception. 1
anterior legs are raptorial; the mid
and hind legs are slender and lo:
Thus, the insect is better adapted
move among aquatic vegetation tl
to swim in open water where, althoi
the legs thrash alternately and viole
ly, it makes but slow progress forwa
Three easily separable genera
water scorpions are known in re
rimmed, fresh-water ponds in No
America. The genus Nepa is stric
eastern and Curicta is a Neotropi
genus, only two species of which re:
into the southern part of the Uni
States. Ranatra is distributed throu
out North America, and R. jusca is
most abundant species in the genus
All water scorpions are predate
utilizing their environment both
a source of food and as a place
liide. Their dark, brown-gray cole
tion blends perfectly with the veg(
tion. Water scorpions commonly pi
themselves in an optimal predation ;
based on at least three factors: cam
flage, light, and prey traffic. Pla
provide cover and an oviposition s
''""s;s^
'MfxM^SM
W'
M"^*''
t^gi^f-
CAL HABITAT of the water scorpion Ranatra fusca is a
rimmed, fresh-water pond, such as that seen at top.
After first molt, nepid hangs head down from the reeds,
as at left center. Other insects are the larvae of mosquitoes.
: areas may aid in camouflage, as
isects' sticklike appearance is con-
ibly more enhanced in a dark
tion, and this might deceive both
and possible predators. They sta-
themselves in areas of the great-
rey activity and eat a wide variety
ther aquatic insects, even includ-
small fish. Nepids, in turn, are
ed upon by the predaceous diving
e Dytiscus, the dragonfly nymph
hna, and are also parasitized by
itic mites.
D take advantage of prey traffic,
ds suspend themselves head down-
1, at an angle of 35 to 45 degrees
I the vertical, by clinging with
. the middle and hind pairs of legs
to the stems of rushes, reeds, grasses,
or other vegetation. Their raptorial
forelegs are held in front of them,
poised and ready to strike out at any
moving object that chances by. The
tibia and tarsus of the forelegs are
scythelike and razor-sharp. They fit
into the grooved femur like the blade
of a pocketknife fits into its handle,
and can form a viselike grip. Often the
nepid uses one leg to catch a leg of its
prey; the victim can escape only by
leaving its leg in the predator's grasp.
Periodically, a nepid's need for oxy-
gen compels it to walk backward up
the vegetation, thrusting its snorkel-
like caudal respiratory tube through
the water surface. Long periods of sub-
mergence are found in many aquatic
Hemiptera. Ranatra fusca can stay
under water for periods of 30 to 35
minutes before surfacing for air.
DURING the past six years at Cor-
vallis, Oregon, and in Lawrence,
Kansas, I have studied aspects of the
biology and behavior of R. fusca. In-
sects were collected from fresh-water
ponds and brought into the laboratory
for close and constant study. Life his-
tory and behavioral data accumulated
in my Corvallis studies are almost
identical with those from Lawrence.
In general, water scorpions over-
winter as adults and lay eggs in the
spring. The mating appears to be in-
17
Body of nepid, at left, carries a 1
cluster of parasitizing aquatic m
One mosquito larva is eaten by a
nepid, which holds another by for(
Dragonfly nymph, at left, beloi
a principal predator of Ranatra fi
fluenced by time of day. On occasion
1 have seen mating occur in the after-
noon, but in the majority of cases it
takes place in the early morning or late
evening. On one occasion, duration of
mating was 20 minutes, although the
process might have been prolonged or
shortened as a result of the disturbing
influence of the light that was used to
photograph it.
During mating, the male positions
himself beneath and to the side of the
female. The dorsal aspect of the pos-
terior portion of his body faces the
ventral part of the posterior portion
of the female. The ventrally situated
aedeagus is brought upward to a dor-
sal position, where it is clasped by the
female genital sclerites. Transfer of
sperm presumably takes place at this
time. The two halves of the male's res-
piratory filaments are spread apart to
permit the aedeagus to make this mi-
gration upward.
The fertilized female climbs ou
the water and onto a horizontally fl
ing. soft, dead reed. She then elev
the front part of her body while fir
grasping the edges of the reed with
second and third pairs of legs,
forelegs are held together on a
with the body, which slants down f
the head at an angle of about .35
grees. The ovipositor is then extm
and the tip is pressed into the reec
a downward, backward, and forw
\
•r"
movement, while the respiratory fila-
ments rest on the reed. After piercing
the reed, the female partially with-
draws her ovipositor. Then she opens
it laterally, and inserts the egg into
the newly made hole.
The long, respiratory filaments of
the egg come apart in a V-shaped fash-
ion as the ovipositor is withdrawn.
The female then moves forward about
one-eighth to one-quarter of an inch
and repeats the process, inserting an
egg as before, until as many as 50 eggs
are placed in a straight line. In those I
observed, the female usually returned
to the row of eggs several days or even
a week later to continue ovipositing.
The eggs are elongate oval and about
3% mm. long; the respiratory horns
are about 4 mm. long.
RECENT research by H. E. Hinton
on the structure and function of
the nepid egg indicates that each of
these horns consists of a central mesh-
work that contains gas. This is con-
nected, according to species, either
directly or through aeropyles (fine
canals or tubes), with a peripheral
plastron meshwork. The plastron itself
is an air storage mechanism in the
form of a thin film, so held by a sys-
tem of unwettable or water-resistant
hairs or scales that its volume remains
constant. The plastron meshwork may
cover most of the respiratory horn or
may be confined to its tip, and pro-
vides a large, water-air interface when
the egg is immersed. The gas-contain-
ing meshworks of each horn are joined
basally to the gas-containing mesh-
work of the egg's inner shell wall,
making the air film of the former con-
tinuous with that of the latter. The egg
shell fills with air only after the egg
has left the common oviduct. The plas-
tron is resistant to wetting by excess
pressure, and so provides a wide safety
margin against such contingencies as
heavy rains, floods, or submersion of
reeds by other animals. As long as ade-
quate oxygen is dissolved in the water,
the plastron can act as a permanent
physical gill that needs no renewal,
and eggs so equipped can remain sub-
merged for long periods of time.
Eggs normally are laid so that the
respiratory horns and sometimes part
of their apexes project above the sur-
face of the water. The remainder of
the egg is below the surface, so from
this point of view, respiration is essen-
tially terrestrial. Presumably the plas-
tron becomes functional only during
19
Mating takes place in the spring and
seems to be influenced bv the time of
day. It usually occurs either during
the early morning or the late evening.
heavy rains or when the egg is ot
wise immersed in water. From my <
experience, eggs purposely submei
for as long as three or four days de
oped apparently normally and hate
in the normal time into nor
nymphs. There is a possibility, not
investigated, that there is a critical
riod of incubation during which t
must be at the water surface— with
respiratory horns projecting above
water— after which they can be tot
submerged and still develop norm;
IN life history studies, it was fa
that a time lapse of 17 days
curred between mating and ovip
tion (data based on 19 individua
The incubation period lasted from
to 19 days (data based on 18 ii
viduals). Following egg hatch tl
are five nymphal instars. each look
like miniature adults. The first :
second nymphal instars lasted appr(
mately 8 days each, the third in;
about 8V2 days, the fourth instar
days, and the fifth and final instar-
longest of the five— 22 days. A tota
76 to 80 days was required from <
to adult. The first instar nymphs m(
ured 6 to 7 mm. from tip of beak
end of respiratory tube; the second
to 12 mm., the third 18 to 20 mm.,
fourth 26 to 27 mm., the fifth 45
46 mm. The adult was 63 to 68 n
The first nymphal instar emerges
forcing open a small round cap at
Female inserts ovipositor into a soft,
dead, floating reed and deposits eggs.
20
Two-forked respiratory horns on egg
rise above surface of the water, right.
RICATION of a nymph from egg is seen in three stages.
5 at first are close to body, but they begin to unfold
when about two-thirds of the emergence is complete. Nymph
occasionally becomes entangled in sibling's horns and dies.
oent end of the egg. Hatching is a
inating process to watch. The soft,
lie, bright yellow, red-eyed nymph
ly emerges from the egg case, get-
larger and larger, like a genie from
agic lamp, until it is about twice
length and width of the egg that
ained it. When the nymph is about
thirds of the way out of the egg its
which until this point have been
very close to the body, begin to
lid. This first nymph utilizes its
[y freed legs almost immediately;
ives the floating reed and heads for
the water. Sometimes it becomes en-
tangled in the respiratory horns of
other eggs, is unable to extricate it-
self, and perishes. Soon after entering
the water it assumes the typical head
down, angled position and uses the
hind and middle pairs of legs to cling
to the reed it has just left.
TO survive, first instars must have
floating vegetation that reaches al-
most to the water surface. The animals
may periodically leave their islands
of support, but they always return.
particularly when they catch prey. I
placed first instars and small bits of the
aquatic plant Elodea in 34 x 24 mm.
plastic zipper vials filled with pond
water or tap water that had aged for
48 hours. The Elodea either floated or
partially submerged in an almost up-
right position, and the young njmphs
readily gained a foothold and assumed
their typical "resting-questing" stance
(head downward at about a 45 degree
angle to the vertical plane and with
outstretched forelegs ) . Occasionally,
the Elodea would slip down to the bot-
tom of the vial, and the young nepid
would remain for a time near the water
surface, floundering and thrashing and
apparently unable to orient to the rest-
ing-questing position. Eventually the
nymph would also slip down, thrash
around the bottom of the vial and, if
not given assistance in the form of new
floating Elodea (or even a piece of
toothpick) , would drown. Early morn-
ing checks sometimes revealed mortal-
ity from this cause.
In addition to serving as a support
upon which the nymph can back up
to get its life-giving supply of air, and
to increasing the camouflaging stick
effect, vegetation also provides a neces-
sary anchor upon which the nepid
braces its hind and middle pairs of legs
to facilitate the lightning-fast move-
ments of the forelegs when making a
strike. On several occasions I have
observed the attack and capture of a
late instar mosquito larva by a first
instar nepid that had become sepa-
rated from its vegetation refuge. The
struggling larva, about the same size
as its attacker, pulled the latter all
21
First nymph, just a half-hour after it
has left egg, assumes preying position.
Nymphs, right, at 3V2 days old, hang
from surface debris and wait for prey.
over until the nepid encountered some
Elodea, which it immediately grasped
with one or both pairs of posterior
legs. Once firmly anchored to the
plant, the nepid assumed the 45 degree
angle position, grasped the mosquito
larva with both its raptorial front legs,
and then inserted its beak. Sometiines
the nepid held the struggling, wrig-
gling larva under the water until it
subsided, doubtless because of anoxia,
before it began feeding.
OFTEN the water scorpion cleaned
its scythelike forelegs with its
middle legs when mosquito larvae
were first introduced into the zipper
vials. This pattern of behavior was
observed in all instars. Several times
the same behavior was observed after
an insect had managed to escape the
clutches of the nepid.
Generally, a first instar nymph in its
typical prey-awaiting position would
strike and capture an active mosquito
larva within seconds after the larva
was introduced. The nymph would
affix the larva to its beak while feed-
ing, thereby freeing the two forelegs
for further prey capture. If another
larva came by. the nepid would often
strike again, and if successful would
hold the second larva in one of its fore-
legs while feeding on the first one.
Occasionally I have seen an adult nepid
use its only free appendage to strike
out and capture still a third larva.
Prior to molting, the first instar
nepid becomes enlarged, inactive, and
unresponsive to introduced prey. The
increase in over-all size is proba
caused by a combination of feed
and the extra intake of air and,
water in preparation for the molt,
molting begins, the skin splits ak
the posterior head region and the
closed second instar begins a slow .
steady movement forward and out
its cast skin, or exuvia. It does
use its legs as it moves forward; tl
remain tight against the body c
appear to be enclosed in a thin, tra
parent sheath. Waves of body sw
ings that move slowly backward se
to aid in the extrication. Presuma
blood, air, or water is accumula
anteriorly and then forced posterio
along the outer margins of the bo
When the second instar nymph
about four-fifths out of its exuvia,
Molting process, above, in which second nymph frees itself
from, its cast first nymphal skin, took about 2V2 minutes.
At right, the third and larger nymphal instar emerges fr<
its old skin, and is humped at lower left of the photograj
t-colored legs are freed from the
y and used in the final extrication
n the exuvia. This second nymph
early twice as long as the first and
ppreciably larger in girth.
put second instar nepids into
er containers (85 x 55 mm. baby
1 jars) and added larger pieces of
iea. Stalking of prey was first ob-
ed at this stage. When the prey
beyond its reach the nepid occa-
lally moved almost imperceptibly
ard it, in a manner reminiscent of
stalking movements of a praying
itid. This controlled movement was
Dmplished by means of the long,
od-like middle and hind legs. The
les of extension and flexion of the
to the body slowly changed, with
result that the water scorpion
moved forward, upward, downward,
sideways, or backward, ever so slowly,
until it was in a striking position.
The second nymph, when ready to
molt, becomes quiescent and enlarged
and, like the first instar, is indifferent
to prey. It was not observed to feed
within four hours prior to molting. On
two occasions I saw two large and rela-
tively inactive second instar nymphs
strike out at passing mosquito larvae,
but they were unable to hold them,
even though contact was made. Of
these two nymphs, one molted 5^2
hours, the other 6% hours later. The
molting process for the second nymph
is essentially the same as that de-
scribed for the first instar. Feeding
does not take place for several hours
after a molt has been completed.
The third nymph is again appre-
ciably larger in size, and wing pads
appear for the first time. Feeding,
stalking, and other patterns of be-
havior are generallv the same as in the
preceding instars. The molting process
differs only in that more use is made
of the legs in earlier stages of extrica-
tion from the exuvia.
Other than increases in size and
appetite, the fourth and fifth stages
of R. jusca exhibit no significant be-
havioral differences from those of
earlier nymphs. 1 began feeding these
later instar nepids damselfly and drag-
onfly nymphs, water boatmen, back-
swimmers, small hydrophilid and hali-
plid beetles, and other live material.
A hungry adult water scorpion will
strike at virtually anything that crosses
its path. One that had not eaten in
many days struck at my finger, which
I held above the water, and actually
positioned itself so that it could break
through the water surface in an at-
tempt to capture aerial prey. In this
manner they can grasp terrestrial in-
sects that have fallen into the water
and pull them below the surface before
beginning to feed.
Asleep or awake, the water scor-
_[\_ pion assumes virtually the same
resting-questing position. Sometimes,
after I had introduced mosquito lar-
vae or other prey early in the morn-
ing, the nepid, aroused by the activity,
apparently woke up, made a feeble
stab at the prey, and invariably missed
on the first two or three strikes. Sub-
sequent strikes were speedier and
more accurate, until the action was
lightning-fast. Hence, a kind of warm-
ing-up period is exhibited in the early
morning. Once awake the nepid usu-
ally will capture the introduced prey
with one strike if it comes close.
After the prey is caught, and if it
is not struggling too violently, the
nepid grasps it in both forelegs and
brings it up to the elongated, three-
segmented beak that houses the four
long, slender, and needle-like pierc-
ing stylets— the two mandibles and
the two maxillae. The maxillae are
the main stylets of the beak. They
fit together to form two tubes— a saliv-
ary tube through which saliva is
pumped into the body of the prey,
and a food tube, through which the
body fluids of the prey are drawn. The
nepid presses its beak against the prey
and probes around and over the sclero-
tized surface in search of a soft, mem-
23
branous spot (usually an interseg-
mental membrane), through which it
inserts the needle into the victim.
I once observed a nepid feeding on
a haliplid beetle while a free foreleg
clasped the midsection of a mayfly
nymph. A second nepid approached
and tried in vain to take the mayfly.
The first nepid would not let go; the
two fought, pulled, tugged, and lunged.
During the melee the first nepid con-
tinued to feed on the haliplid. Finally
a "compromise" was reached: the sec-
ond nepid began to feed on the may-
fly, while the first one continued to
feed on the haliplid, although it did
not relinquish its hold on the mayfly.
Five minutes after the second nepid
began feeding, the first nepid dis-
carded the exsanguinated haliplid and
began sharing the mayfly feast.
On one occasion I introduced a
dytiscid beetle I three-quarters of an
inch long) into an observation tank.
Within five minutes, an adult nepid
caught it, but could not penetrate the
exoskeleton. The nepid held the active,
struggling dytiscid under water for
about three-quarters of an hour and
drowned it, then pierced a leg (be-
tween coxa and trochanter) and be-
gan to feed. Two hours later, two
nepids were sharing the meal, which
lasted another hour.
CANNIBALISM is perhaps the great-
est of the perils to confront a
nepid. This phenomenon is mani-
fested in many ways, and nepids are
subj ected to it throughout their nymph-
al existence. Generally in a batch of
eggs laid about the same time, those
nymphs that emerge first will feed on
later emerging nymphs. The former
will cannibalize only after their exo-
skeletons have undergone at least two
hours of hardening and darkening
(sclerotization and melanization) .
More often, the newly emerged first
nymph becomes the victim of older
nymphs and adults.
Most of the egg hatch occurs some
time during the evening and early
morning. Probably there is survival
value in emerging in the dark, where
some protection from older siblings
may be afforded during the first criti-
cal hours. Perhaps this means that
a circadian rhythm exists that has
evolved to trigger the hatching process
at an optimum time.
When we add cannibalism to the
predation of other aquatic insects, we
can appreciate the high fecundity of
24
Nepids are cannibals; second nymph
here feeds on first nyniphal sibling.
nepids. Wherever I found adults in the
spring and summer, 1 always observed
thousands of eggs imbedded in the
reeds. Yet later in the season I never
collected more than nine or ten adults
at one time. In fact, only in the spring
and early summer have I collected as
many as a dozen. When one considers
that an adult water scorpion can can-
nibalize any immature individual, and
that each nymph can successfully at-
tack any other younger or smaller
nymph, each adult that we do find may
represent a number of "nepids that
could have been." On the other hand,
scarcity of adult nepids might reflect
either flaw's in my collecting tech-
niques or late summer dispersal.
There is much more to be learned
about Ranatra jusca, such as the me-
chanism of orientation and the sense
organs involved, feeding physiology,
learning ability, rhythmic activities.
Adult has attacked a first nym
in variation of cannibalism, rig
dispersal, and overwintering sites
have found adult nepids overwinter]
in mud and water in Oregon (whi
the temperature usually stays ab(
freezing), but I have not been a
to find the overwintering site in Le
rence, where winter freeze-ups i
prevalent. The nepids apparently c
survive under the ice and perhaps b
row into the mud where the tempe
tures are above freezing. The ad
nepid probably goes into some ki
of winter diapause, or dormancy,
which respiration is consideral
slowed down. Or perhaps the adi
crawl or fly to another site, where tl
spend the winter.
This type of studv permits one to
a few steps beyond biology per se ii
biological and experimental behavi
It is a step that leads to the ultim
satisfaction of seeing, thinking, a
ing, doing, and drawing conclusio
25
Strangler Fig, Natiy
By Virgil N. Argo
A NORTHERNER driving south along
the Atlantic Coast for the first
time becomes aware of an increasing
number of plant species that are living
full and normal lives perched on the
trunks and branches of roadside trees.
These epiphytes appear in about this
order: mosses, polpody ferns, Span-
ish moss, larger bromeliads, and or-
chids. The last two classes are not to
be seen in abundance until the traveler
reaches the latitude of the Everglades
in Florida. Manifestly, they are all
plants that do not grow in cold weather
and need frequent rains and humid
air. They have special leaf and root
adaptations for obtaining water di-
rectly from the falling rain or from
atmospheric humidity.
Not until one reaches the coastal
margins of the southern half of Flor-
ida will one encounter the most in-
teresting of our native epiphytes, the
strangler fig, Ficus aurea.
The genus Ficus is one of the most
remarkable aggregations of closely re-
lated plant species in the world. As of
1930, the Index Kewensis listed 1,580
apparently valid species that are
worldwide in distribution. There are
895 listed for tropical continental and
insular Asia, 378 for continental Af-
rica, 257 for tropical continental and
insular America, 12 for continental
Europe, and 38 species are listed with-
out locations. They vary in size and
form from large trees to creeping
vines, but all exhibit certain unmistak-
able characteristics. The most signifi-
cant and recognizable is the syconium,
the fig-type fruit (the flask-shaped end
of a stem or receptacle) lined with a
large number of minute, one-seeded,
closely crowded, reduced flowers. This
fruit structure is always recognizable
and is unique to the genus. Inciden-
tally, the Roman name for fig was
ficus but the Greek name was sykon,
hence "syconium." This will explain
the common name sycamore, which we
give to species in the genus Platanus,
because they have leaves that resemble
those of Ficus sycomorus, the mul-
berry fig of the Near East and the
"sycomore" of the Bible. (Luke 19:2-4
tells of Zacchaeus, chief of the publi-
26 '
piphyt<
Leaves and small, immature fruits of the Ficus
aurea are seen in close-up of the twig, above.
Seedling, which began on bark of a palm tree,
has quickly developed roots, stems, and leaves.
Masonry of East Martello Tower in Key West,
Florida, furnished the support for F. brevifolia.
27
Palmetto trunk, above, is the host f
a fig seedling, rooted near the grour
Independent growth of fig can occ
when seedling starts at tree base, le
Tree roots enclose and hold up i
that remains of a masonry wall, rigi
Cypress trunk is barely visible
mass of intertwined fig roots, belo
cans, who climbed a "sycomore" in
Jericho to see Jesus pass by.)
The edible fig of worldwide fame is
Ficus carica, with its hundreds of rec-
ognized varieties. Incidentally, it is
one of the few species that does not
require a humid tropical climate. This
fortuitous preference for a warm dry
environment accounts for its impor-
tance to the peoples around the Med-
iterranean. The pollination of some
varieties of carica presented to horti-
culturists of this country a problem
that was not solved until after long
study. The whole story of the fig and
the fig wasp, Blastophaga psenes, is
complex enough to confuse many oth-
erwise well-oriented biology students.
OUR own Ficus aurea starts out in
life when it sprouts from a seed
left by a bird in a crevice among the
leaf bases of a palmetto or on the
rough bark of a cypress tree. The tiny
seedling rapidly develops roots, stems,
and leaves. It has no special water-
collecting structures, but it does have
pronounced resistance to wilting, a
characteristic strikingly illustrated by
some of the other latex-producing
28
■•^^■^««t«.^^
h
'^^'■'^
^m^--
s M\U
^Si^
i^
■r
^aI"^.: ^
•i^2?< *%r-
•l,-,^ ^^.^
l:--*-!^-
ts. In any event, it thrives and
,'s with surprising vigor, and soon
and sturdy roots have extended
n the trunk of the host tree to the
ind. During this period of its early
vth one is hard put to understand
the plant obtains enough food to
)ort its rapid and extensive growth,
iter the roots have reached and
itrated the soil, establishing their
lections with water and minerals,
growth speed is much accelerated,
first roots branch abundantly and
are joined by others creeping down the
outside of the host. They increase in
diameter and flatten against the trunk
of the tree, fusing together wherever
they touch, until the host is encased in
a strait jacket of anastomosing roots,
which suggest nothing so much as a
tangle of writhing and constricting
serpents. Some roots may drop free to
the ground and grow into auxiliary
trunks. This is the case of the banyan,
Ficus bengalensis—a. fairly close rela-
tive that often begins as an epiphyte.
The strangler fig does not absorb
food from the body of the host tree;
an increase in the diameter of its roots
along and around the trunk of the host
causes them to squeeze against it so
strongly that any subsequent increase
in trunk diameter is prevented. As a
result, the vascular cambium cannot
produce new xylem and phloem to ac-
commodate the water and food trans-
port needs of normal growth, which,
of necessity, stops. Palmettos are mono-
cots and do not have expanding trunks
29
Serpentine effect of encroaching
root structure is seen on palmetto.
since they lack a vascular cambium.
Instead, they produce new conducting
tissue at the growing tip of the trunk.
If the strangler fig has its start at a low
point on the palm trunk, the host may
live a long time without injury, but if
the interloper starts among the bases
of the green leaves of the crown, it
lives up to its name and does some
strangling of the terminal bud. It also
produces shading, which interferes
with the host's photosynthesis. In any
sequence of events, the strangler fig
will grow faster than the host and will
become a large tree with spreading
branches and heavy foliage. Its trunk
may be five or more feet in diameter,
completely enclosing the host's trunk.
It may take considerable searching to
find traces of the dying or dead host
inside the meshwork of the fig.
Ficus aurea is native to southern
Florida and the Caribbean, but an-
30
Strangler fig increases rapidly in
diameter and will ultimately kill host.
other strangler fig, Ficus brevifolia,
the shortleafed fig, occurs in the ex-
treme southern part of the Florida
mainland and the Keys, and in the
Caribbean. Its appearance and habits
are almost the same as aurea, but the
outline of the leaf is slightly but con-
sistently different, and the small fruit
is distinctly stalked in contrast to the
sessile aurea fruits. F. brevifolia is
not as abundant as aurea, and many
Floridians do not separate the two spe-
cies. (One fine specimen of brevifolia
grows down over the surface of an ir-
regular fragment of brick and mortar
construction against the north wall of
the East Martello Tower, adjacent to
the municipal airport at Key West.)
ALL species of Ficus produce latex.
^ The India rubber tree, Ficus elas-
tica, was the first source of commercial
rubber, but it has been replaced by a
member of the Euphorbiaceae. Hevea
brasiliensis, and has now been retired
to the passive position of being one of
our most popular foliage plants for the
home. The most revered tree in the
world is undoubtedly Ficus religiosa,
the sacred Bo Tree of Burma, Ceylon,
and India. Tradition says that the spe-
cies was born the same year as Gau-
Huge fig. right, encloses cypress tri
which is now completely rotted aw.
tama Buddha, and that he sat und
its shade for six years while he dev
oped his philosophy. Bo Tree mea
literally "Knowledge Tree." This :
minds one of the legend that Alex£
der the Great camped with an an
of seven thousand soldiers under 0
banyan tree, Ficus bengalensis.
The Moraceae, the family to whi
Ficus belongs, is one of the "Fi
Families" of the flowering plants, c(
sidered to be contemporary in ori|
w ith the Magnoliaceae and other ea
floras. This ancient lineage helps
explain the multiplicity of species a
variety of life habit in Ficus, and ac
to the integrity they all show in adh
ing to the basic genus pattern. Fru
may be produced in bizarre fashio
They may grow along the mt
branches and the trunk from buds
reduced twigs that push out throu
the bark. They may develop on und
ground parts of the plant. But tl
are always recognizable figs. Rela
genera of the Moraceae— mulberri
paper mulberries, breadfruit, a
osage orange— all have received att
tion because of their value to man, ]
the number of species in these gen
is extremely small compared to th
that have evolved in the genus Fit
Long Journey of th
THE MIGRATION of animals has in-
terested man from earliest times,
and there has been much speculation
regarding its nature, including its
causes and meaning. Some animals mi-
grate because of seasonal scarcity of
food, others because of severe climates,
and still others to find a suitable place
for rearing their young. In all cases, it
is a periodic movement between sum-
mer and winter homes. The master
migrant of all animals is apparently
the Arctic Tern, which nests north of
the Arctic Circle and winters in the
Antarctic regions, completing a round
trip of over 20,000 miles yearly.
Among fishes of the sea, one of the
great migrants is a small species of
shark known to scientists as the spiny
dogfish, Squalus acanthias. It makes a
round trip each year from the Caro-
lina-Virginia coastal waters, where it
spends the winter, to Labrador. Prob-
ably few fish excel this shark in speed
and in distance traveled. In order to
cover such long migration distances,
certain physical characteristics, such
as streamlined bodies and long, power-
ful tails, are essential. These dogfish,
which favor water that is between 42°
and 58° F., frequent the shore waters
of the coasts of North America, Eu-
rope, and the Mediterranean. While
32
By Walter N. Hess
they are usually found one or two feet
from the bottom of the ocean, they may
be anywhere between the surface and a
depth of 100 fathoms or more. How-
ever, they have never been found in
the deep ocean and do not enter fresh
water. Unlike many common fishes
they do not have sw im bladders, which
may account in part for their ability to
move from considerable depths to the
surface and back again at frequent
intervals. It is remarkable that they
can withstand such great changes in
pressure in so short a time.
THE name dogfish evolved because
sharks hunt the prey in "packs."
A single pack may be composed of
more than 1,000 sharks, all chasing a
single school of fish, usually herring.
It has been estimated that as many as
27,000,000 spiny dogfish are caught
unintentionally by fishermen along the
Massachusetts coast in a single year.
If one adds to this the number caught
along the remainder of the New Eng-
land and Canadian coasts, the total
annual catch may exceed 100,000,000.
Of all the fishes in the ocean, spiny
dogfish are among those most hated by
professional fishermen because they
are destructive both to edible fish a:
to fishermen's nets. In Maine coas
waters in late June, we have oft
found recently molted lobsters in t
stomachs of large dogfish sharks. .
other times, however, the lobster
apparently able to defend itself agair
them. There is every reason to belie
that this shark is also destructive
Canadian lobsters during their mo
ing period, which occurs in July ai
coincides with the time that the lar
dogfish are abundant in Canadii
waters. Of the dogfish not discard(
when caught, a few are eaten by ma
but by far the greatest number— abo
50,000 each year— are dissected
college and university laboratori
throughout this country and Cana(
because in some ways their anaton
bears a resemblance to the structu
of the human embryo.
Unlike our common edible fishe
fertilization and embryonic develo
ment in spiny dogfish are internj
When the eggs leave the ovaries thf
resemble in size and appearance tl
yolks of large hens' eggs. From 01
to seven of them usually pass into eac
oviduct, where a thin, horny shell
secreted around them, forming what
often called a '"candle." At this tiir
the elongated shell is transparent an
o
gfish
ble. Each of these clear, protective
s usually contains more than one
or embryo.
hen the embryos are about nine
ths old and about 6I/2 cm. long,
lorny shell disappears; from that
until they are born they are free
ove about in the mother's uterine
:ies. Food for growth is available
eir yolk sacs, but they must obtain
ed oxygen and get rid of body
es through the wall of the mother's
Js. When hatched the pups are
It 28 cm. long and are able to care
hemselves. Most adults range from
to three and a half feet, and weigh
n to ten pounds. Females are
lly from three to eight inches
er than males.
a pregnant female is removed
rom the water within three or four
ths of term, the pups often are
1 in a few minutes. When placed in
vater, they quickly swim away un-
ley find a kelp plant or some simi-
protection under which they can
. The pups have enough food in
: yolk sacs to last until they can
in their own, and the sea provides
jen even more abundantly than do
r mothers. Nevertheless, because
lelicate sacs are easily ruptured, it
A STREAMLINED BODY and powerful tail aid dogfish in swimming
long distances. Annual round-trip migration covers 2,500 miles.
Two TRANSPARENT EGG CASES, OF Candles, Contain total of five
eggs. When embryos are about nine months old, candles dissolve.
33
Delicate yolk sacs provide food for
the pups until they can get their own.
is very doubtful whether these prema-
ture pups can survive for long in the
sea. But if they are placed in glass or
plastic containers so that their yolk
sacs are not injured, and are provided
with gently running sea water, they
will mature in the same manner as in
the uterus. It takes 22 months for the
pups to develop inside of the mother.
Apparently this gestation period is one
of the longest known among animals,
and as a result a female dogfish gives
birth to pups only every other year.
Scientists at the biological labora-
tories at Woods Hole, Massachusetts,
have known for years that a northern
migration of the sharks passes through
the coastal waters of that region in
April and May and that a southern
migration takes place in October and
early November. I have observed the
northern migration in May and June
in waters near Mount Desert Island,
Maine, and the southern movement in
September and October. Their arrival
in Newfoundland and southern Labra-
dor coastal waters— the limit of their
northern range— in June and July and
their departure south in the autumn
has also been reported.
Our studies indicate that the pups
are not born during migration but af-
ter the arrival of the dogfish in the
Carolina-Virginia coastal waters, and
that female dogfish also become preg-
nant in these waters. F. L. Hisaw and
A. Albert state that when sexually
mature females arrive at Woods Hole
during May, they can be divided into
two distinct groups, depending on the
stage of development of their embryos.
Embryos in the earlier periods have
barely begun to develop and are all in
34
the late blastoderm stage; those in the
later period are fully formed and have
reached an average length of about
16 cm. Furthermore, examination of
large pregnant females during their
southern migration in Maine waters in
early September reveals embryos that
are either about 5 cm. long or pups
that are approximately 22 cm. long.
If pregnancy occurred throughout the
year, two distinct groups such as have
been observed would not exist. More-
over, since all embryos in the early
period are in the late blastoderm stage
in mid-May, it may be calculated that
pregnancy occurred about two months
earlier, at which time the sharks were
in the Carolina-Virginia coastal wa-
ters. This evidence is corroborated by
the observation that the 16-cm. em-
bryos are in approximately the four-
teenth month of development.
Studies also show that between 8
and 9 per cent of large female dogfish
sharks that we have caught during
migration in Maine coastal waters
carry no young. When pregnant dog-
fish, either with early or late embryos,
are placed in "live cars" and anchored
in ocean water, they abort their em-
bryos in a short time. It is probable
that abortion sometimes occurs when
the sharks are caught on trawl lines or
are otherwise injured during migra-
tion. There is no placental attachment
to the mother, so abortion is easily
accomplished. Whenever the pregnant
females are in such trouble for any ex-
tended length of time, their uterine
sphincters apparently relax and they
discharge "excess baggage." From
these observations it appears that non-
pregnant mature females either do not
become pregnant at all or have aborted
their embryos during migration.
In the northern migration of b
it is often the male that arrives
at the destination, but this conditic
reversed in dogfish migration,
largest females, which are usu
pregnant, precede all others. Then
two- and three-year-old females arj
somewhat ahead of the mature mi
and last are the immature one-year
males and females. Perhaps they
leave their winter quarters about
same time, but when they reach
Massachusetts and Maine coasts,
are more or less spread out and se
ated into these different groups v
of course, some overlap. The orde
migration appears to be largely a ]
ter of the strength and enduranc
the older and larger dogfish. S
mature females are much larger 1
mature males of all ages, it is t(
expected that they would reach t
destination sooner. Weak or yc
dogfish may turn back before read
their destination. As far as we are
to determine, there is no evidenc
sex attraction during migration.
WHEN the sharks reach the C
lina-Virginia coastal waters
in October, the number of females
ceeds the number of males by a]
five to one. By late November
early December the species becc
much more abundant, and the pert
age of males near shore is fur
reduced. Our studies show that
pups are born during late Decer
and January in protected places
shore. Perhaps pregnant females n
sure that males, as well as other 1
carnivorous fish, are not around v
the young are born, for at this
most of the mature males and the
mature males and females are som
to 40 miles offshore. Undoubted
contributing factor to this segrega
is protection of the newborn from
nibalism by others of the species
Studies lead us to conclude
early in March, about two month;
ter the pups are born, the sexi
mature females that are not preg
come into some sort of oestrus,
mature males that have been
"bachelor" quarters now come to
coastal waters. Commercial collet
of dogfish in these areas tell us
this is the only time during the
when the proportion of female
males in the Carolina-Virginia co;
waters is about equal. By April 1, i
of the mature females seem to 1
become pregnant, and at this \
CANADA
f^
UNITED STATES
N HATCHED, dogfish piips measure
Dximately 28 centimeters in length.
lorthern migration is under way.
le of the great mysteries about
ligration and feeding activities of
: small sharks is how they keep
her in packs, since the sea is so
ious and is relatively dark at the
is where they are usually found.
their larger shark relatives,
anthias have an exceedingly keen
: of smell and a lateral line sense
electing vibrations in water; these
help them stay together.
Hamilton College in central New
; State one expects to see robins
[arch 14 and rarely is one disap-
:ed. Year after year the swallows
n to Capistrano on March 19.
believed that the regularity of
ation by certain birds is con-
id in part by length of daylight
by the hormones associated with
reproductive organs. No such
rs regulate the migrations of dog-
because their arrival in a given
n along the coast varies as much
I'o or three weeks from year to
Changes in water temperature
available food have a decided
: and are probably the controlling
derations in their migrations.
we have said, the fish migrate
iward to Labrador in the spring
return to the Carolina-Virginia
; in the autumn— a round trip
iproximately 2,500 miles. To ac-
ilish this it is necessary for them
ravel, on an average, about
miles each day— certainly a
exceptional feat of migration.
ISH CATCH may end in laboratory
issection by students of anatomy.
Sharks leave wintering sites around
April 1, and return in late October.
i'>t A •%?'■'•
Bronze Age Seen
in Granite
Early inhabitants of Sweden
left images carved in rock
By HoLGER Arbman
ROCK CARVINGS and paintings in caves, on rocky m
tain slopes, or on loose stone blocks occur in r
parts of the world. The oldest of them date from Paleol
times, and the latest were made toward our own time,
ranging from perhaps 1,500,000 years to about a hun
years ago (Natural History, June-July, 1964). Sch
and amateurs have speculated on the meaning of thest
tures, and artists have found in them a source of ins
tion. But apart from the most recent carvings we are r
able to find reliable information about the probably r
cal significance of these pictures and the powers that
v,ere intended to influence. When confronted witii
carvings we must admit, more often than not, that sc:
and knowledge have their limits. A rock carving is 1
picture book without a text, and although a carving
contain symbols of an apparently magical or relij
character, the concepts to which the symbols were (
nally linked have long since vanished, and it is fair ti
36'
tip- V
CURVING at \ itlycke. near parish of Tanum. Sweden,
i group probably performing ritual dance aboard ship.
RECUR OFTEN as design motifs in incised pictures
[ill the surface of sloping rock expanse at Vitlycke.
ive shall probably never be certain of the meaning,
ere are two groups of rock carvings in Scandinavia.
)lder group, which is found in Norway and northern
en, depicts reindeer, elk, bears, whales, water birds,
almon. The oldest date from as early as the Stone Age,
)ximately 3000 B.C., but the majority may be of a con-
ably later origin.
rther south in Scandinavia, in scattered areas center-
n Bohuslan, southern Norway, Uppland, Ostergotland,
outheast Skane, we find quite different carvings, with
ns that represent ships, sun wheels, soles of feet, people
Terent positions, w eapons, and other motifs. These are
the more recent Bronze Age, and their date is approxi-
ly 1300—500 B.C. To judge from the content of the
res, they are evidently connected with fertility magic,
ulture, and cattle raising.
e greatest concentration of these carvings is in the
ince of Bohuslan, Sweden, where thousands are found
Style of figures differs from that of rock carvings in
other areas, and group appears to be work of a single man.
Seven humans with arms raised in a devotional atti
walk behind object that may be doll carried in process
on cliffs that were worn smooth by the inland ice. In some
places there are large areas covered with figures ; in others
the pictures occur only sparsely and are often rather
casually drawn. It is probable that the areas with many
carvings, often of high artistic quality, were originally
sites of important "public" cults, whereas isolated pictures
may represent a more private cult associated with a par-
ticular homestead or family. We know that one or two
thousand years later, sometime between the pagan and the
Christian eras, private cuhs existed on farms in Scandi-
navia. The master and mistress of the house ofiSciated as
priests and only the family and members of the household
participated in the ceremonies.
THE largest groups of carvings and those that are best
in quality lie within a fairly restricted area in the
parish of Tanum, in Bohuslan. Many of them are on a slope
above an open plain, across which flows the Alnan River.
When the carvings were cut into the cliffs some 3,000 years
38
'^:
',"'J\ '
1 • .'*."*, *
>i
the plain was marshy with rich water meadows— excel-
pastureland but impossible to cultivate. Higher up on
Jry, sandy soil lay the farming strips.
T us examine one of the rock-carving sites near Vit-
lycke, a farm lying about a mile south of Tanum. The
gns are cut into an exposed, light-colored piece of a
lite hillside that slopes gently down toward the plain,
reen the carvings and the valley where the river flows
; is now a sparse curtain of deciduous trees, but these
ji recent origin. At the time the carvings were made,
ock sloped straight down to open pastureland.
1 a sunny day it is difficult at first to distinguish any-
5 on the white stone apart from the shadows of trees,
gradually, as one's eyes adapt to the light, the pictures
•ge and are seen to fill the whole surface of the rock,
first thing we notice is a row of small holes punched
the surface, crossing it like the tracks of a marten in
y fallen snow. To the sides of these tracks are warriors
lifted axes and shields. They are tall and slender and
almost to float. Then one design follows another: a
of stylized ships, human figures, animals, and unin-
;ible signs. One discerns no formal arrangement of the
ires, but there is somehow a certain rhythm as one
5 the surface. The figures, however, were not placed
azardly, and one picture seldom cuts into another.
)uld seem that one and the same man cut all the pic-
, and his style differs clearly from that of carvings in
• areas. Yet, the carving was not executed as a planned
)osition or a huge, homogeneous mountain picture,
ipparently developed by degrees as figure was added
gure. The origins of such carvings, which probably
ig to a particular, limited period of time, must be
idered in connection with their probable significance,
h was almost certainly magical.
le Vitlycke carvings, like most others of their kind,
dominated by pictures of ships, which are usually
n without human figures, but with small, closely drawn
:es that may represent crew members. The forms of
hips vary a little, but they all depict the same general
of boat: high stemmed, with a projecting keel that
have been an underwater ram. Sometimes the prows
are topped with an animal head {page 37) that is reminis-
cent of the dragon's head that later came to be associated
with Viking ships.
Some of the Bohuslan rock carvings are in coastal areas
and others are near watercourses farther inland. Because
they depict many weapons similar to ones shown on objects
—especially razors— found in graves, we have been able to
assign them to the Bronze Age. This was a time when Scan-
dinavia had a lively trade with other countries, and all
bronze used for weapons, ornaments, and tools was im-
ported. It is reasonable to suppose that the Northmen of
that period had a considerable navy, although it was per-
haps not comparable with that of the Greeks in the Myce-
naean era or with that of the Phoenicians. Thus, it is quite
natural to find ships among the rock carvings, but what
they symbolize is harder to discover. Are they boats of the
Sun or some other god? Do the pictures depict cult-boats,
or are they symbols for a god? We do not know.
ON one boat at Vitlycke we can see thirteen people. They
are kneeling, and all but two are holding up objects
that have small round hollows at the top. It is an elegant
drawing, very suggestive in its repetition. One might guess
at its being a picture of oarsmen with raised paddles, but
this seems rather improbable; it is more likely to be a group
of people doing a ritual dance on a ship. Their attitude
indicates that they are dancers, and this would jibe with
what we already know about the importance of dancing in
cults. A connection with a cult is more clearly seen in the
representation of a procession, which is shown below.
There, seven small human figures, with arms raised devo-
tionally, walk in line behind a larger object, which appears
to be a doll carried in procession (only the lower part shows
in the photograph I . One cannot help thinking of carnivals
in our own time, in which huge figures of different kinds
play an important part. Today carnivals are fairly detached
from any deep meaning, but they are remnants of religious
or magical traditions. Even if we cannot actually trace a
line from the rock carvings of the Bronze Age to the carni-
vals of the present, it is interesting to think that there may
have been connections between them.
We can see human beings in action in many other situa-
>V'%**"*t? ' t'< '
* J^-^'
39
Marriage scene is common in rock images throughout the
province of Bohuslan, and links carvings to fertility cult.
Vibrant depiction of charioteer and two-wheeled vehicle
provides a tantalizing glimpse of life in the Bronze Age.
Posterior appendages of combatants were probably tails
of animal skins worn as costume by participants in rites.
■V
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4l
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/-< ' 1
r *
< •* 1
/ y^
.^^ iN-<,
^
fcv^sT^
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IL.-'^yj
r*'"
^N^^
^- ^.-^'"^ '
' '-T ■^
*- 1
^""*y
j^ ^ i
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i:
i» '
k^
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41
tions, too, on these Vitlycke carvings. The man and the
woman in a wedding scene (page 40, top) represent a com-
mon motif in Bohuslan. It is one of several pictures that
give us at least some idea of the meaning of the rock carv-
ings—their association with a fertility cult. In many dif-
ferent parts of the world harvesttime has been the occasion
for popular rites that include an ancient, symbolic perform-
ance of a marriage. A well-known example is the ritual
marriage ceremony, hieros gamos, that was performed at
the feasts of Dionysus in Athens. This celebration marked
a stage in the drama of the seasons, and in the Vitlycke
carvings we can interpret marriage scenes and also battle
images (on pages 40 and 43) as having a similar mean-
ing. In fact, marriage ceremonies and struggles between
the representatives of summer and winter were both ele-
ments in various popular festivals of recent ages.
A prominent feature in rock-carving pictures is that com-
batants often have tails, and even the man in the mar-
riage scene in the Vitlycke carving is thus adorned. The
tails have sometimes been interpreted as representing
swords, but it is hardly likely that warriors armed with
swords should always be shown fighting with other
weapons, such as axes, spears, or bows. Furthermore, it
would seem strange that men who are plowing fields or
participating in wedding scenes should be armed. Often,
the men shown with tails have horns, too, which resemble
those of a bull. It seems probable that these pictures repre-
sent groups of celebrants costumed in animal skins and
tails. Instances of rites participants who wore animal skins
or tails are to be found in many parts of the world and
occur particularly in connection with fertility rites. For ex-
ample. Pan, the fertility god, was usually shown tailed.
We are much more uncertain about how to interpret the
picture of a huge snake advancing upon a small man who
stands in a devotional attitude with upstretched hands
(below). It is clear that the picture is connected with the
concept of fertility, since the man is ithyphallic. It is pos-
sible that he may be worshiping the snake, which repre-
sents some power, perhaps the earth.
A dramatically rendered charioteer (page 41) is even
more difficult to interpret. He stands balanced on a two-
wheeled chariot drawn by an elegantly stylized but li
static horse. The only thing that indicates any connec
with a cult is that the man has horns— unless these ap
dages are actually meant to be large ears. Otherwise
scene appears to be a genre picture from everyday
In any case, it is very interesting for us to have a pictu
a chariot from the Bronze Age.
The rock carvings at Vitlycke are typical of the 1
mountain pictures at a cult center in Bohuslan. The fig
on the cult-center rocks nearly always include certain i
bols, such as ships, hollowed-out basins, soles of feet,
^vheels, with meanings we cannot fathom. Perhaps
represent gods that were not allowed to be depicted in
other way. This is known as aniconism and is a prim
form of worship of a sacred object that symbolizes, b
not meant to resemble, a god or supernatural power,
also possible, however, that they were drawn as sym
for certain rites occurring in the cult. Apart from the i
bolic signs, there are pictures of cult ceremonies and
connected with crops, fertility, battles, and death, w
mark the beginning of the next year's cycle. It is posi
that these scenes were cut into the cliffs at the same
the cult ceremonies were performed on the site in o
that the power should continue to work after the ceremc
were over. It is very doubtful that any of the rock carv
portray myths, and it is also uncertain whether or no
can point to any of the figures as being images of god
has been suggested that the very large human figures
meant to be such images. This is possible, but it is r
likely that the figures are an epiphany— an apparitio
manifestation of the divine power and its way of disclo
itself to the faithful who are represented in a cult cerem
As yet we have not been able to find proof for the exist
of gods in human form during the Bronze Age.
DESPITE the difficulties of interpreting the content
the rock carvings, and the certainty that it wil
impossible to penetrate deeper into the world of ideas
lies behind them, these pictures will always have a fasc
tion for modern man. When we stand by them, we
come nearer than at any other place in Scandinavia tc
people who inhabited the area some three millenniums
~,ri*
Ithyphallic male and giant snake are hard to interpret.
Manmay be worshiping snake that symbolizes a great power.
42
y^Kj^ —
Scene of battle may be associated with a fertility (
representing strife between personified summer and wii
J.~-I-^
\
The Great Nebula as photographed through the 200-ineh teles(
SKY REPORTER
Orion has provided man with beauty and mythic inspirati<
By Thomas D. Nicholson
IN the star-studded sky, there is one region more remark-
able than all the rest— the region of Orion. Through the
ages, the stars of the Orion group have suggested to men
everywhere the erect figure of a great giant, hunter, or
warrior. In Greek mythology, the mighty hunter Orion was
the son of Poseidon. According to many accounts, he was
slain by the goddess Artemis for making love to Eos, and
after death was changed into a constellation. It remains the
best-known figure among the stars, and it has become one
of the most interesting to modern astronomers. For these
and other reasons, Orion is the third of the Seven Wonders
of the Universe chosen by astronomers at The American
Museum-Hayden Planetarium.
Each year in the month of November, Orion— the most
brilliant constellation of the sky— rises in the east about
three hours after sunset. Although best-known as a winter
44
constellation, Orion is a prominent feature of the <
evening sky from late autumn— when the nights are gro
longer— to the early spring, when it is setting in the
as darkness comes on during the shorter nights of J
and May. Even when the constellation is low in the sk
it is before midnight in November, the brilliance and (
of its stars can readily be observed by the city dw(
for Orion's stars are among the brightest we see.
The seven brightest stars of Orion are gathered
an area of about 17 by 8 degrees in arc and easily atl
attention by their striking arrangement. Six are 1
white in color; the seventh is red. The difference in c(
is caused by surface temperatures, blue-white stars b
many thousand degrees hotter than red ones. Four :
form a large, slightly irregular rectangle, and the other t
are in a nearly straight line in the center of the
le. This grouping suggested "the tallest and most beau-
of men" to the Greek poet Homer. The three bright
I in line at the center of the figure— Alnitak, Alnilam,
Mintaka, from left to right as we see them in the sky
1 in the upper photograph at right I —represent the
tline of the figure and are known as Orion's Belt. A
p of fainter stars extends down and to the left of the
from the Sword of Orion.
le two bright stars above the Belt of Orion are Betel-
e— the brightest— to the left, and Bellatrix to the right.
1 represents one of the shoulders of Orion; usually
Igeuse is at his right shoulder, when the hunter is
ired as facing the sky-watcher. Below the Belt, Rigel,
e right, is the brightest star, and marks Orion's left
. Saiph, to the left, is the figure's right knee.
HE names of these stars are Arabic words, derived from
descriptive terms that identified the stars' positions in
maginary figures pictured in the constellation by the
;nts. Betelgeuse, for example, is a corruption of an
)ic term referring to the armpit of a figure; Rigel
is the foot or the knee. Among the three Belt stars, the
3 Alnitak is an Arabic synonym for a belt; Alnilam is
an Arabic term referring to a string of pearls, which
an early symbol for the Belt stars: Mintaka refers, in
»ic, to a girdle or belt. As mentioned earlier, six of
I principal stars are blue giant or supergiant stars of
t brilliancy, some among the most luminous stars we
,'. The seventh is an enormous red supergiant star with
)1, dull red surface, but so large— about 900 times the
of the sun— that the total amount of light it radiates
smendous. The following is a description of the prin-
characteristics of each of the brightest stars in Orion:
itelgeuse is a red supergiant star known to be a spec-
opic double. It is also a long-period, irregular vari-
star, changing about 0.9 magnitude over a period of
(fears. It has a surface temperature of about 5,400
ses F., a mass about 40 times the sun's, a luminosity
1 to 25,000 suns, and is about 900 times the sun in
leter. Betelgeuse is about 600 light-years away,
illatrix is a blue giant with a surface temperature
!t 63,000 degrees F. Its mass is roughly five suns; its
nosity equals 10,000 suns. It is some 80 times the sun
ameter and about 470 light-years from earth,
nitak is a blue supergiant star— actually a visual double
The brighter component has a visual magnitude of
and the fainter, separated by about 2.4 seconds of
is 4.2 magnitude. Alnitak has a surface temperature
),000 degrees F., a mass of 15 suns, a luminosity of
30 suns, and is about 20 times the sun in diameter,
about 1,600 light-years from the earth,
nilam is another blue supergiant, similar in tempera
mass, luminosity, and size to Alnitak, and about the
; distance from earth.
intaka, a very hot blue giant star, is a visual double,
a brighter component at magnitude 2.5, and a fainter
Donent— distant one minute of arc— about magnitude
The brighter component is also an eclipsing binary
af the Algol type, with components separated by about
lillion miles, revolving around each other in a period
7 days. Mintaka has a surface temperature of about
30 degrees F., a mass equal to ten suns, a luminosity
),000 suns, and a diameter of about 12 times that of the
It is at a distance of about 1,500 light-years.
Glowing clouds of interstellar gases surround the seven
bright stars that make up the figure of Orion, the hunter.
HoRSEHEAD Nebula near Alnitak is formed by a dark cloud
intervening between earth and distant field of bright gas.
45
Great Nebula was sketched from visual observation. The
four bright stars in the center constitute the trapezium.
Exposure required for photo has obscured the trapezi
Energy from four stars causes surrounding clouds to g
Saiph is a blue supergiant star similar in characteristics
to Alnilam and Alnitak, but more distant, probably at about
2,100 light-years from earth.
RiGEL, the brightest star visually of the seven, is a blue
supergiant star, with components 0.34 magnitude and
7.0 magnitude separated by about 7.2 seconds of arc. The
fainter component is also a spectroscopic binary star with
a period about 9.9 days. Rigel— the bright component— has
a surface temperature of about 36,000 degrees F.. a mass of
20 suns, a luminosity of 50,000 suns, a diameter 30 times as
great as the sun's, and is about 900 light-years away.
Four of the seven stars described above are separated
from the earth by various distances, while the three Belt
stars are about the same distance away. Clearly then, the
figure formed by the seven stars in our sky is an effect of
the direction from which we observe them. If we could see
the same stars from some other point in space, their ar-
rangement might bear no resemblance at all to the familiar
and spectacular group we see in our sky.
The entire region of Orion, as can be seen in the upper
photograph on page 45, is surrounded by diffuse, faintly
glowing clouds of gas. These bright nebulae are especially
apparent around the star Bellatrix, the Belt stars, and in
the region of the Sword, but other faint clouds surround
the entire constellation. The most prominent of these is
the one around the star Theta Orionis. the brightest star
in the Sword of Orion. Known as the Great Nebula in
Orion, the beautiful cloud is shown in the photograph on
page 44. The nebula is about a degree across, and bright
enough to be seen by the unaided eye. Visually, or in a
small telescope, it has a faint green color. Nearby hot
stars, whose radiation is rich in ultraviolet, supply the
energy that causes the cloud to glow in visible light. About
1,000 light-years distant and about ten light-years across,
the Orion Nebula contains gas, mostly hydrogen, equiv-
alent in mass to about 10,000 suns.
The very bright clouds around Alnitak are illuminated
and supplied with energy by that star. These clouds are
about 1,200 light-years distant. But there is apparently
another cloud of dark gas and dust between the earth and
the more distant bright clouds. This intervening dark
cloud, some 300 light-years distant, is silhouetted by the
bright clouds beyond, forming a very beautful pattern of
bright and dark regions in the sky. One small dark patch
extends into the brightness in a shape that has evoked the
46
name Horeshead Nebula (see loiver photograph, page
Some of the stars in the central region of Orion, ]
the Belt and the Sword, comprise a very rich associa
of hot stars of the spectral classes 0 and B, which nun
in the several hundreds. There are also many short per
irregular variable stars of a peculiar nature near the 0
Nebula. These variable stars are of a type often found a
ciated with nebulae, and they may be unstable star
study of the color and brightness of the stars in the 0
association, as related to the theoretical evolution of 1
sive stars, indicates that the system is made up of ^
young stars. A subsystem in the region of Orion's Belt
been estimated to be about five million years old; ano
subsystem of stars in the Sword region has been estim
to be about half a million years old.
The motions of some of the stars in the Sword rej
have also been used to estimate their ages. The stars ap]
to be dispersing from the system at a speed of about
miles per second, which would indicate that some are ir
order of 100,000 years old. However, three appare
"runaway" stars have dispersed from the system by n
than 1,000 light-years. These stars— one each in the
stellations Auriga. Columba. and Aries— appear to be r
ing away from the region of the Sword at about 80 n
per second. Their distances and velocities indicate that
are some three million years old, if part of the system.
THUS many of the stars in the Orion association ap;
to be members of a very young group a few mil
years old as compared to the five or more billion years
stars like the sun. Their newness suggests that stars
still being born in that region of the sky. Further evidi
that Orion is a region of continuing stellar creation is fc
in the numbers of T-Tauri type stars (yellow and red di
variables, irregular, and believed to be unstable) fo
within the nebulous regions of the constellation. In a
tion, a number of Herbig-Haro objects, named for
astronomers George H. Herbig and Guillermo Haro,
first identified them, have been found in the region. T]
are nebulous, starlike images with emission spei
thought to be protostars. Both T-Tauri stars and Her
Haro objects may be stars in an early stage of evolul
Dr. Nicholson, the regular author of this column, is a
Chairman of The American Museum-Hayden Planetarh
MAGNITUDE SCALE
it —0.1 and brighter
•k 0.0 to +0.9
« +1.0 to +1.9
* +2.0 to +2.9
+ +3.0 to +3.9
■ • +4.0 and fainter
Moon November 4, 2:16 A.M., EST
Quarter November 12, 7:20 A.M., EST
/loon November 19, 10:43 A.M., EST
Quarter November 26, 2:10 A.M., EST
TIMETABLE
Nov. 1 10:00 P.M.
Nov. 15 9:00 P.M.
Nov. 30 8:00 P.M.
(Local Mean Time)
Dvember 2— Saturn is stationary in rigtit ascension and
mes direct (easterly) motion.
ovember 4— Mars may be seen in tine morning sky, 1.3°
h of tlie briglit star Regulus, in Leo, tow/ard the southeast,
ovember 5— The Taurid meteors, radiating from the region
e Pleiades, reach maximum today. Meteors of this shower
jbserved for almost a month, and reach an hourly rate of
0 per hour from about November 3 to November 10. Since
lew moon is just past, observing should be excellent,
ovember 13— Saturn appears 3° north of the gibbous
n, toward the south in the early evening sky.
ovember 13— Jupiter is at opposition, that is, on the oppo-
side of the earth from the sun. It is then at its greatest
ince from earth for the year— 372,500,000 miles— and is
ie sky from sunset to sunrise.
ovember 16— The Leonid meteors, which were responsible
he great meteor storms of 1799, 1833, and 1866, reach
• maximum. The present hourly rate of this shower is only
Jt 15. Since the moon is almost full, observations of the
Leonid meteors will be limited to the hours just before dawn.
November 18— Venus is 4° north of the bright star Spica,
in Virgo, low in the east before dawn.
November 18— The nearly full moon and the planet Jupiter
appear close in tonight's sky. At moonrise, Jupiter is above
and to the east (left) of the moon. As the two move across the
sky during the night, the motion of the moon in its orbit can
be seen easily by observing how it changes position with
respect to Jupiter. At 11:00 p.m., EST, the moon and Jupiter
are in conjunction (Jupiter 2° north of the moon). Thereafter,
the moon moves east of Jupiter.
November 26— Mars is 3° south of the last quarter-moon
in this morning's sky. The star Regulus, in Leo, is also close
by, slightly to the right (west) of Mars. All appear in the south-
east just before dawn.
November 30— Mercury is at greatest easterly (evening)
elongation, and may be seen in the eastern sky shortly after
sunset. This, however, is an unfavorable elongation for view-
ing, because Mercury is situated quite close to the horizon.
I
»?/ f'
Beak of ring-billed gull has band of
black, which is imperceptible, above.
.ake Erie Niche
or
Gulls
!alph S. Palmer
lUARTER-CENTURY AGO. the ring-billed gull (Lams del-
warensis) nested mainly on shoals and islands in
3 of the northern prairie region of North America. Its
inown breeding distribution, however, was— and is—
lal. Aside from the main area there were half a dozen
colonies along the eastern North Shore of the Gulf
. Lawrence (one of which was first reported by
bon ) , alleged nesting ( now proved I at Lake Melville
brador, and known breeding at Great Slave Lake in
la's District of Mackenzie. Other sites also existed.
; past two decades, especially, there has been a popu-
explosion or shift, or both. This has been conspicu-
1 the establishment and rapid growth of ring-billed
olonies in the eastern Great Lakes and their vicinity,
hawk, or "Gull," Island, near the Canadian shore in
eastern Lake Erie, where the accompanying photo-
s were taken, mirrors this recent population change,
lodern ornithological history of the three-acre island
3en it as a ternery in 1938-41, when approximately
pairs of common terns (Sterna hirundo) nested
About 1943, a few pairs of ring-billed and herring
(Larus argentatus) also bred. In several subsequent
ns, storms disrupted the nesting of the majority of
irds on the island. In 1948, ring-billed gull nests
ered 125, and 145 young were banded. As recently
'50, the terns were the predominant species— some
nests— but in 1952, about 2,000 ring-bills (not all
:s) were present, while tern nests numbered about
Gulls, nesting and in the
air, are seen at Mohawk
Island breeding site in
northeastern Lake Erie.
Silhouette of Mohawk
Island, at left, conceals
the grass and the other
sparse vegetation there.
1^ M
MmSBflf"~~
» ^
49
500. In addition, there were some 20 herring gull nests.
In 1954 there were about 1,200 ring-billed gull nests,
some 360 of the common tern, and perhaps three dozen
breeding pairs of herring gulls. In 1961, five banders put
1,582 bands on young gulls of preflight age. Today, gulls
and terns continue to nest on Mohawk Island in numbers
that vary from year to year.
The changing population of Mohawk Island is interest-
ing in comparison with that of Little Galloo Island in
eastern Lake Ontario. Just when ring-bills first occupied it
—presumably quite recently— is unreported. On June 7,
1945, this thirty-acre island had about 2,000 breeding gulls
in a ratio of ten ring-bills to one herring gull. The popula-
tion increase in the next decade was enormous. In May,
1955, for instance, there were an estimated 45,000 ring-
billed gull nests on a twenty-acre portion of the island.
Similarly, on a five-acre island in Lake Champlain, the first
definite nesting report dates from 1949. In June, 1955,
about 2,000 adult ring-bills were present, concentrated on
less than a single acre.
It is entirely reasonable that a gull of the prairies should
occupy low islands that have extensive areas of grass or
other short or sparse vegetation. Such places also are ideal
for a bird whose breeding density sometimes exceeds
2,000 nests per acre. Since these new gulleries are well
within the ordinary range of the ring-billed gull, and
apparently there has been no competition for the islands
with appreciable numbers of any other gull species, the
mystery remains as to why the ring-bill did not occupy
Mohawk and the other islands long ago.
OR many other reasons, the ring-billed gull would be
most interesting for a thoroughgoing study. It is more
buoyant and agile in flight than the herring gull— a real
advantage in maneuvering to catch small prey and enter-
ing and leaving crowded gulleries. Apparently its closest
affinities are with the common gull ( Larus canus), pri-
marily an Old World species, for this gull's immature plum-
age patterns are more like the ring-bills' than are those of
other Larus species, such as herring and California gulls.
What is the ring-billed gull's future? Checks on its popu-
lation include storms and prolonged inclement weather
that disrupt nesting. There is also a comparatively high
mortality of downies, especially in colonies subject to dis-
turbance by man or other animals. Moreover, a chick thirty
inches from its own nest is in hostile territory, in that it is
exposed to often fatal attack by other ring-bills. A recent
study showed that 2 per cent of the birds that were banded
in preflight stage on Mohawk Island and that survived to
leave the site were found dead or dying in their first fall
or winter. This is a considerable recovery rate for banded
individuals (a dead gull is fairly conspicuous), but prob-
ably reflects only the high first-year mortality generally
characteristic of avian species.
Prior to their first fall migration, young ring-billed gulls
disperse widely across country. From the prairies east-
ward, southerly migration normally occurs between August
and early October. Some of these gulls go to the nearest
water that remains unfrozen through winter, while others
migrate only as far as nearby garbage dumps. The winter-
ing coastal population of the Atlantic area, however, is
centered in the Carolina-Florida area. The return migra-
tion occurs in March and early April, and at that time
Mohawk Island again comes alive with nesting activity.
50
Common tern and ring-bill are at top
of tree; herring gull is at lower left.
i»l\(,-l!il 1 '~ ^oar on l)hick-lij)i)('<l wings
over the Mohawk Island nesting sites.
DowNiES are probably ring-bills, but
even banders have misidentified young.
r-
TWO 2^EW
RECOMD/J\lGS
S0NG5 OF THE FOREST
>.
S< iHHiH sLm^mmmawmmm i/,x
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On this record, the soft rushing of
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we hear, among o thers, the Phoebe, the
Fox & the Great Horned OwL. Comments
on Side A wiLL make you feel at home
on the downstream trip. Same trip on
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To the human ear, certainty the most
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variations on the individual themes
available to the Wood Thrush and the
Hermit Thrush. Interspersed is the
etherial flute-scale of the Veery
plus other forest bird calls and wood-
land sounds. One side has comments
and Just enough identification. On
the other side are the uninterrupted
sounds of a cool Spring woodland
transported into your home. S 5.00
■ THE SEA AT CASTLE HILL. 12" mono LP
is for those who are perfectly satis-
fied to hear the surf with no comment
o ther than the Gull' s cry, and the
lighthouse bell. On Side B is a trip
up the Hudson on the Side -Wheeler
ALEXANDER HAMILTON. Beautiful steam
whistles wail and sigh. $ 5.00
Prices, including postage: n-i
f I THE BROOK, 7 inch hi-fi, S 1.25
t I SONGS OF THE FOREST, 12" $ 5.00
I I THE SEA AT CASTLE HILL $5.00
I I All three of the above S 10.00
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PROVIDENCE, R.I. 02906
Please send to:
Mame •.•..>...••.••...•«....«.,...,,
• address. .
Please send the records as my gift io:
Home •••»•».•».«...,.•,,,.,,..,,,,,..,.
•••i«o«.... ••••.............,. address.
52
About the Authors
Dr. Syd R,\di-\ovsky, author of "Can-
nibal of the Pond," holds an assistant
professorship at Millersville State Col-
lege in Pennsylvania, where he teaches
entomology and zoology while continuing
with research on the biology and be-
havior of insects and mites. A Canadian
citizen, he did undergraduate and gradu-
ate work at the University of Manitoba.
He received his doctorate in entomology
at Oregon State University, then spent
two years at the University of Kansas as
a research associate working on the biol-
ogy and behavior of ectoparasitic mites.
"Strangler Fig, Native Epiphyte," is
the work of Dr. Virgil N. Argo, a fre-
quent contributor to Natur.\l History.
Dr. Argo. who prior to his retirement
was Associate Professor of Biology at
The City College of New York, has for
more than two decades done extensive
photography in the field of biology, con-
centrating on botanical subjects. He has
traveled widely throughout Mexico,
Europe, and North Africa, and is espe-
cially interested in the botany and agri-
culture of the Mediterranean region.
Dr. Walter N. Hess, author of "Long
Journey of the Dogfish," is a visiting
Professor of Biology at Converse College
in South Carolina. He graduated from
Oberlin College, received his doctorate
from Cornell University, has taught at
several universities, and recently has
been on the Governing Board of the
American Institute of Biological Sci-
ences. He has a summer home at Har-
rington. Maine, where he has observed
the migrations of spiny dogfish for more
than twenty years.
The discussion of Swedish rock carv-
ings. "Bronze Age Seen in Granite," is
the work of Dr. Holger Arbman. of the
Historiska Museum at the University of
Lund, Sweden. Dr. Arbman studied at
the universities of Stockholm and Upp-
sala, and in 1928 became Keeper of
Antiquities at the Statens Historiska
Museum in Stockholm. Since 1945 he
has been Professor of Medieval and Pre-
historic Archeology at the University of
Lund. His field work has included ex-
cavations in Sweden, Germany, France,
and India, and he is especially interested
in the Viking period.
Dr. Ralph S. Palmer, author of
"Lake Erie Niche for Gulls," is a zoolo-
gist who describes his major interests as
"ornithology, mammalogy, fine arts, and
trying to "improve' a piece of rural real
estate." Among Dr. Palmer's published
works are The Mammal Guide, which
he wrote and illustrated, and Volume I
of The Handbook of North American
Birds, which he edited. Dr. Palmer
studied at the University of Maine as an
undergraduate and received his Ph.D.
in ornithology from Cornell University.
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VEL I FAR AND NEAR
'Art ofAjanta and Ellora
By Robert S. McCully
iiE TWO HUNDRED MILES inland from
ombay. near Ajanta in west central
. there are about thirty man-made
in a canyon wall. These caves were
as dwellings and meeting halls by
idhist order from about the start
e second century B.C. until the
th century A.D.. when, because of
ersecution of Buddhists in India,
ives were abandoned and were lost
m for the next thousand or more
The caves, in a desolate canyon
Indhyrdri Hills, were rediscovered
itish soldiers in 1817.
.nta means "no man's land."' and
•ea is indeed remote, set in a cres-
jf steep hills studded with strata
!canic rock. The cave-temples are
ed near the source of the Wagura
. which is a mere trickle in spring,
roaring torrent during India's rainy
IS. Over the years, the river eroded
inyon in which the Buddhist caves
eluded.
ny of the inner walls of the caves
)vered with murals that represent
; of finished maturity that has been
■ce of inspiration for all later Bud-
dhist art. In turn, most forms of oriental
art cannot be separated from the Bud-
dhist influence that was carried from
India to other countries by monks.
The caves are of two main types:
"monastery." or dwelling quarters; "ca-
thedral." or meeting halls. To enter the
area of the dwelling halls one crosses a
broad veranda, its roof supported by
pillars. The veranda gives access to a
hall, averaging in size about thirty-five
feet by twenty feet. Dormitories are ex-
cavated so that they open onto this hall,
and a statue of the Buddha carved from
volcanic stone usually stands in a niche
facing the entrance. In the larger caves,
pillars support the roof on all three sides,
forming a sort of cloister around the hall.
The meeting halls extend back into the
rock about twice as far as do the dwelling
halls. Some caves are carved a hundred
feet or so back into the solid rock, and
at least four of the caves antedate the
Christian Era. Those that contain the
finest paintings date from the Gupta
Mural of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara
dominates Ajanta Cave I. Lotus blossom in
hand is a symbol of great creative powers.
HOLD
THAT TIGER
WITH A
HONEYWELL
PENTAX!
This cat is not snarling at
the photographer. He likes to have
his picture taken with a Pentax
camera. He knows that his portrait
wUl be razor sharp because the pho-
tographer is composing and focusing
through the same lens which will
make the picture.
Furthermore, the telephoto
lens makes possible dramatic shots
like this from a distance; the subject
is not distracted by the photogra-
pher's presence. There are 13 inter-
changeable lenses for the Pentax,
making possible an infinite variety
of photographic opportunities.
Your Honeywell Photo Prod-
ucts dealer wUl be glad to demon-
strate a Pentax for you. He will show
you the Hla (f 2.0) at $169.50, and
the H3v (f 1.8) at $229.50.
Write for full-color brochure to
Ron Hubbard (209), Honeywell,
Denver 10, Colorado.
H
1#[
■till I 'V^HFJ L_ i
Honeyivell
PHOTOGRAPHIC PRODUCTS
53
Ellora temples were carved from single
mass of volcanic rock. Siva Kailasanatha
Temple, in background, represents Siva's
abode, central peak or axis of the world.
period, roughly within the fifth and sixth
centuries a.d.
The Ajanta caves are approached by
a steep, serpentine gravel walk from
which one passes to a narrow rock ledge
that runs along the mid-face of the cliffs.
The caves that contain paintings are also
richly carved, and there is constant
counterplay between stonework and
painting. The Ajanta colors, fresh and
magnetic, are very difficult to capture
with a camera. The earth colors— red
and yellow ochers— play a dominant role:
terra verde, lampblack, lapis lazuli, rich
pink, orange, and white are mixed with
earth colors, all of which combine to
create a marvelously warm luster that
has survived the passage of time. The
almost luminous qualities of the original
paintings are missed in most reproduc-
tions. In the amygdaloidal or laval rock
along the approaches to the caves one
can still see cavities fiUed with deposits
of pink and blue-green calcite. quartz,
agate, and other minerals that the artist-
monks extracted, powdered, and used as
pigment in mixing their paints.
At Ellora, about 70 miles northeast of
Ajanta, there are other rock-cut temples
dating from the eighth century a.d. Some
of the caves served as monasteries, and
these shrines and temples are not only
of Buddhist origin; even more strongly
they reflect Hindu and Jain influences.
Only crumbling walls and a few black-
ened shrines remain of the city of Ellora
itself, capital of the first Rashtrakuta
emperors of the eighth century a.d. As
at Ajanta, EUora"s rock-cut caves and
$109.50 less lens!
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The Nikkorex F accepts 25 Nikkor lenses — the same ui
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the f2 Auto-Nikkor 50mm lens, for example, the Nikkoi
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Nikon dealer or write:
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Subsidiary of Ehrenreich Photo-Optical Industries, Inc
54
3s are set in a crescent of hills,
great artistic achievement of El-
es in its sculpture and stone archi-
e. not in its paintings. Monks
I and chiseled the Siva Kailasan-
"emple. which is almost a hundred
1 height, from the top downward
E a single, gigantic rock. It was
to represent the paradise of Siva,
id the circumference are carved
int caryatids (supporters of the
■se) that appear to bear the tem-
^eight. The walls of the temple, and
■ck-cut caves that surround it like
sive stone horseshoe, are intricately
1 with numerous scenes depicting
roic deeds of Siva.
; may see Siva portrayed as the
archer soaring in an aerial chariot
1 by prancing steeds, and releasing
ow to destroy the forces of evil that
en mankind. In another instance,
consoling his queen consort, Par-
who has become frightened by a
1 with twenty arms. There is no
less here, no feeling that one has
led on memorials of an alien time;
■, one is engaged by the very human
y of the sculptured figures,
ween Ajanta and Ellora. the West-
may find considerable difference
s own responses. The masterly
y, grace, and delicacy of the human
s of the Ajanta paintings are ap-
t; nevertheless, it is not as ea.sy
; Westerner to grasp the profundity
ise murals as it is for him to em-
:e with the sculpture at Ellora. One
; basic reasons for this lies in a
mental difference in purpose be-
Buddhist and Western painting,
liist paintings are not designed
to elicit an aesthetic response.
;oal of the artist-monk is to deal
a particular idea or question in
liist thought in the most perfect
permitted by his capabilities. In
cases, a painting may be set forth
t were a story answering a complex
;on ; the inspiration for this conven-
3 Buddha's own teaching methods,
an artist strives for a symbolic
sentation of a given moral or reli-
problem that will be compre-
d by others. Because the viewer
ook at the painting to attempt to
the problem, the painter must
If wrestle with the problem in order
rtray it properly in graphic form,
irtist's goal is to help the picture's
r achieve a fresh insight into his
sctual processes, beliefs, or experi-
. Thus, it becomes apparent that
nust know something about Bud-
thought to feel at home with the
:a paintings.
3 Ajanta paintings include scenes
the Buddha's life, from conception
attainment of nirvana. The Jataka
s— parables told by the Buddha in
nse to a question or problem posed
This stunning composition is worthy of John James Audubon. Arrow points to the nervous but
unafraid Water Turkey, hundreds of feet from a standard Questar. Above is image Questar
reached out and delivered to 35-mm. negative ready for enlargement. Tri-X, 1/250 second.
We included the sprocket holes of this 35-mm. negative for
clarity. Beautiful 11x14 enlargements are practically grain-
less. Questar telescopes are priced from S795. i hey make
possible sharp wildlife photographs like this without tents or
towers or stalking blinds. At left the versatile Standard Wide-
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8 of them in color, and has a long essay on what we have
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55
King Mahajanaka, in detail of Ajanta
mural, tells queen and concubines that he
is renouncing world. His hands are fixed
in symbolic expression of his spirituality.
by a monk— are represented in continu-
ous narrative. Within each story told by
the Buddha resides a clue to a solution
of the problem posed ; the monk had to
grasp the clue and the answer himself.
Within this context, the murals depict
a profusion of scenes of human love,
compassion, happiness, yearning, death,
suffering, and sacrifice.
The artists of Ajanta worked in the
tradition of the projection of a personal,
inner world. Emphasis on inner qualities
and lofty religious ideals is perhaps
symbolized by the placement of the
Ajanta caves, which are numbered one
to twenty-nine. There is a sharp con-
trast between the rocky desolation of the
caves' outer setting and the rich life
created inside by the paintings. Also,
the lush corporeality of the figures in the
murals merely represents the fascina-
tions of this world, which are to be
rejected. Words on the walls of Cave II
make this perfectly clear: "Virtues
brought to perfection are the proper
ornaments of living beings."
None of these religious considerations
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need prohibit the non-Buddhist from
appreciating the beauty of the paintings,
however. If the great Bodhisattva (a lu-
minous warrior on the way to enlight-
enment) of Cave I were still totally
preserved, it would be apparent that a
pinnacle in art had been achieved. The
women of Ajanta are rendered with spe-
cial sensitivity. Large eyes, seeming ex-
aggerated to the Western viewer, are
intense and forceful. In one case, the
compassionate eyes of a Buddha are all
that is left of the portrait.
Every detail is invested with import-
ance. There are no exclamation points
in the paintings: they are a blended
unity of detail. One sees an ant crawling
on a tree trunk in a Jataka scene painted
twelve hundred years ago and is tempted
to reach out and brush the ant away.
Renderings of hair are remarkably life-
like (hair was a symbol of health) and
the hands, so often a vehicle for expres-
sion in Buddhist thought, are unexcelled
in their precise execution.
The Buddhist conception of ariipa
dhatu, or "formless form," constituted
one theoretical framework of graphic
representation. For instance, in Cave I
the artist makes use of arupa dhatu in
an exquisite scene depicting a prince and
princess in conversation. Surrounded by
court attendants (including some of the
loveliest of the Ajanta women), the
prince has fixed his hands in a symbolic
position (mudra) , which in this case
communicates the necessity for prayerful
repetition of the moral doctrines of Bud-
dhist law. The lines and shadings of the
hands make them appear ethereal; this
contrasts sharply with the clear detail
of the rest of the figure. To see the hands
in such a setting is like watching the
blur of a hummingbird's wings.
At Ajanta, the artists have been as
faithful and accurate in their represen-
tations of flowers, plants, and animals
as they have been in portraying human
figures. Some brilliant colors appear on
the ceilings, which often are decorated
with fruit and lotus blossoms. The ani-
mals, some in pairs, are quite vivid.
Both at Ajanta and Ellora, the visitor
cannot help being aware of the twofold
significance of what he views— works of
art that, aesthetically, are outstanding
examples of creativity, and that, as reli-
gious teachings, set forth admirable prin-
ciples of moral and spiritual conduct.
Dr. McCully studied in Asia, and
is Director of Clinical Psychology
at the Payne Whitney Psychiatric
Clinic of The New York Hospital.
Mammals
of the World
by Ernest P. Walker and Associates
with over 1800 illustrations
J.HIS three-volume work provides all the
basic information about every recent
genera of mammalian life. No other
work has ever brought together so com-
pletely descriptions and photographs of
the orders, families, and 1044 genera of
mammals.
Uniform information on the genera
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measurements and weights, habits, struc-
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The pictorial completeness of Mam-
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Volume III is a comprehensive, classi-
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Volumes I and II boxed, $25.00
Volume III, $12.50
From bookstores, or from
THE JOHNS HOPKINS PRESS, Baltimore, Md. 21218
57
THE
CUNEIFORM
ARCHAEOLOGICAL TOUR OF THE NEAR EAST
Tliis exciting tour into Antiquity starts
on April 6 and returns to the United States on
May 3, 1965 , after having visited Lebanon,
Syria, Iran, Iraq and Jordan.
A study of the Suinero-A kkadian civilization and
its impact on the origins of Western cidture
will form part of the program. This unforgettable
journey through time to the wellsprings of our
civilization will certainly be meaningful not only
to the expert but also to the amateur archaeologist.
Our lecturer, Dr. Cyrus Gordon, has served
as an archaeologist on many expeditions in
the Near East. He participated in the unearthing
of the Royal Tombs at Ur, in discovering
the mines of King Solomon, and deciphering the
Tell al-Amarna tablets found in Egypt.
Dr. Gordon is the author of many books and
articles on the ancient countries we are
visiting. Among the books are ADVENTURES
IN THE NEAREST EAST: THE WORLD
OF THE TESTAMENT, and BEFORE
THE BIBLE: THE COMMON BACKGROUND
OF GREEK AND HEBREW CIVILIZA TION.
For many years he has taught the languages,
history, and archaeology of Egypt, Greece,
and the Near East.
Our tour to Greece and Egypt last
spring was a great success, but many had to
be left behind due to lack of space.
Please register early.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL TOUR-r.T.L.T. 3136
LINDBLAD TRAVEL, INC.
ONE EAST 53rd STREET
NEW YORK 22, N. Y.
Name (Mr. Mrs. Miss).
Address
City
EAST AFRICA
When one thinks of Africa it is
usually in terms of white hunters, lions,
elep/iants and Kilimanjaro. Few people
are aware that while looking at rhino they can
also watch the fascinating red-billed
oxpecker, without whom the rhino's life would
be a misery, or study the friendly relationship
between the elephant and the egret.
Nowhere in the world is there a greater, tiiore
accessible selection of
native species of birds than in Kenya.
In Kenya, there are 1033 full species ranging
from the West African forest birds in the Kakamega
Forest to the marine species on the shores
of the Indian Ocean. Lake Nakuru, whose several
millions of flamingos may be seen, has been
described by Roger Tory Peterson, American
Ornithologist, as the "most fabidous bird
spectacle in the world."
You are invited to join a special tour of
"Bird Watchers", leaving New York for
Kenya on February 17, 1965.
The internationally renowned ornithologist,
John G. Williams of the Coryndon Museum in
Nairobi, will act as advisor to the expedition.
Mr. Williams led the Queeny Expedition of
the American Museum of Natural History in 1950,
the Chicago Natural History Expedition in 1 954,
the British- American Expedition to Angola in
1957 , the Carnegie Expedition in 1958, and the
Los Angeles Museimi Expedition in 1963.
The tour will include visits to Lake Magadi,
Amboseli Game Reserve, the Treetops,
Lakes Naivasha, Nakuru, Baringo and Hannington,
Kakamega Forest, and Sirimon Track on
Mount Kenya — among other places.
This is an opporturiity for educational and
meaningful travel offered by Lindblad
Travel of New York.
ORNITHOLOGrCAL TOUR-I.T.L.T. 3131
LINDBLAD TRAVEL, INC.
ONE EAST 53rd STREET
NEW YORK 22, N. Y.
Name (Mr. Mrs. Miss).
Address
City
58
NCE I IN ACTION
The Biological Collector
By Jack J. Rudloe
ERE does an Ohio medical school
staff involved in cancer research
nomalous fishes with tumors, or a
ngton. D.C., zoologist, research-
e distribution and identification of
;les. get specimens from some far-
coast? Hove can a biochemist iso-
nzymes from a shark's live- to
the trigger mechanisms of nitro-
etabolisms? In situations such as
many researchers rely on the serv-
E a biological collector to provide
tens; even scientists working at
3 laboratories often have speci-
brought to them by professional
ors in order to save time,
earch programs require a routine
' of experimental animals over a
of months or even years. If the
ch is being done in a university,
rofessor conducting the experi-
usually has a team of graduate
Its and laboratory technicians,
ssigned a specific phase of the re-
1. Each team may require a large
;r of animals. Should the supply
mals fail to arrive, months of ex-
entation could be disrupted.
Locating Specimens
>ING specimens for research pre-
its varied problems. In the case of
ine collector, the only way to learn
'here the organisms can be found
jecoming thoroughly familiar with
ashore, and learning all the eco-
1 habitats, as well as the time of
lonth, or year when collecting con-
5 are favorable. The collector must
icerned not only with the general
iphic distributions of animals, but
locations where tlie animals are
;oncentrated. It is often on the iso-
rock pile that one will find clusters
ertain species of sea anemone or
te, or discover amphioxus on the
iand bar within a hundred miles,
ggregations of marine animals are
3m understood.
the seashore nothing is constant,
ent hurricane can alter ecological
its overnight causing some species
ninish or resettle elsewhere, and
;nt animals to move in. And with
icreased dredging of harbors, the
ng of rich coral reefs, and the
ng exploitation of the sea's re-
;s, the old collecting places are
ing drastically. Pesticides can wipe
1st numbers of fiddler crabs, and
!Stroy the amphipod beach-hoppers
ive in cast-up seaweed and are an
important food source for other animals.
A collector must constantly rediscover
the animals on his beaches.
The seasons dictate the availability of
the animals; in winter the bryozoan
Bugula cluster around wharf pilings
and disappear during the summer. Then
they are replaced by the waving, feath-
ery hydroids. Obelia. The collecting de-
pends on how long the animals stay in
the area. Many fishes, including sharks
and rays, move out into the warmer
waters, far too deep for gill nets.
Tide Changes Important
A collector carefully studies the tide
tables to learn when the lowest
tides occur. With strong favorable wind
and a good low tide the waters recede
far out from shore, and multitudes of
marine animals are exposed. Walking
along with buckets under these condi-
tions I pick up sea pansies. giant cockles,
sand dollars, blood clams, lugworms
and sipunculoids, starfish, conchs, scal-
lops, crabs, and sea cucumbers often
covered with parasitic snails. While dig-
ging about through the eelgrass for bra-
chiopods I find horse mussels, pen shells,
and burrowing tubed sea anemones.
During high tide Limulus polyphemus,
the "horseshoe crab," comes to the water's
edge. It is important in studies because
of the copper pigments in its blood, its
large heart, and eyes with accessible op-
tic nerves that lend themselves in the
laboratory to demonstrations of light re-
sponse. High tide will also cast up sea
hares, whose giant nerve cells are useful
in neurophysiological studies, as well as
Scyphomedusae. live sponges, clumps of
bryozoans. and tunicates that break off
from their holdfasts and are washed up
on the beach by the surging sea. On pick-
ing up a drab brown basket sponge, one
may find commensal anemones living in
its canals. The sponge is host to brittle
stars, snails, polynoid and polyclad
worms, snapping shrimps, amphipods,
copepods. isopods, and hairy little crabs
and peculiar sponge barnacles.
A flat that is most unproductive dur-
ing the day may become rich and re-
warding at night. Under the illumination
of the moon, sea cucumbers can be seen
thrusting out their floriated heads from
the mud to feed on plankton, sea anem-
ones emerge from the sand, green-eyed
squid dart through the waters, shrimp
leap and fall back with a splash, swim-
ming crabs paddle along the surface,
and schools of minnows are caught in
WOODEN
BUDDHAS . . .
(from I8th-I9th
Cent. Siam)
Secured from abandoned vegetation
overgrown, tinieworn temples deep
in the primeval forests of northern
Siam. Superbly crafted teakwood
statuettes, lacquered red &/or black
. . .several Buddhas richly finished in
Gold leaf, some with hand inscribed
prayers! Stalely display (7"-10")
complimenting home & office decor.
A distinctive all-occasion gift !
CHRISTIAN OIL LAMPS . . .
FROM ANCIENT PALESTINE!
GENUINE: Excavated terracotta oil lamps,
ancient Palestine, 4th-7th Cent. A.D. FROM:
early Christian necropolis. USED: ceremoni-
ally; tamps ancient glow rekindled with oil &
wick. Symbolizes knowledge, serves to stimu-
late the intellect. Superb display piece for
home & office, on hardwood base. ...$10. ppd.
FREE ANmunv CfiJfiLOG
. . . Illustrating: Crosses, Buddhas, Amulets
Weapons, Lamps, Scarabs, Jewelry, Figurines,
Masks, Roman glass. Pottery, Coins & more!
Collectors, Students, Gift Givers & the intel-
lectually curious, will enjoy this stimulating
reference book. Write for your free copy
todoyl
ALADDIN HOUSE, LTD.
Dept. N-11B • 520 5th Ave. • N.Y., N.Y. 10036
LIMITED RELEASE-U.S. GOVT. SURPLUS
SNIPERSCOPE
INFRARED SET,..,
for scientists, gun collectors, naturalists
Built in 1950 and 1951 by American Optical Co. In
excellent working condition. Used by our troops for
observing enemy in total darkness without being
detected. Suggested uses: medical research, study of
nocturnal animal life, mineralogy, industrial and med-
ical research, crime detection. Rare item for gun col-
lectors. Telescope is 163/4" long; clear aperture of lens
is 50.4mm. A 5"-diameter filter is attached. Knob
adjusts focus electrostatically; second knob adjusts
reticle intensity. Reticle also has vertical and hori-
zontal adjustments. Canvas carrying case and shoulder
strap included. Complete unit includes 11" x 14" x 16"
chest, telescope with RCA 6032 image tube, 20,000V
power pack with canvas carrying case and shoulder
straps, IR light source, steel carbine bracket, pistol-
grip handle with switch control. Formerly highly classi-
fied. Limited supply. Orig. Govt, cost, $800. Shipping
wt., approx. 30 lbs. Prjce $249.50
SNIPERSCOPE BATTERY
Rechargeable 6V power source
for sniperscope. Excellent for
many other 6V applications.
Approx. shipping wt., 15 lbs.
' 59.95. Two for $18.00
Prices F.O.B. Tucson, Ariz. No C.O.D.'s, please.
C & H SALES CO.
P.O. Box 1572, Tucson, Ariz.
59
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CRITERION MANUFACTURING CO.
331 Church St., Hartford, Conn.
ORDER TODAY! MAIL COUPON!
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n Under your money-back guarantee, please ship
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n RV-6 6-inch $194.95
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City
the beam of the collector's glaring gaso-
line lantern. Slowly and gracefully sea
hares, Aplysia, undulate their wings,
speckled nudibranchs creep out from
under rocks, and chitons emerge from
the crevices. Shrimp trawlers pulling
their nets at night get a great assort-
ment of continental shelf fauna. The
winches wind in an immense net packed
with shrimp, squid, huge sponges, crabs,
Mexican lobsters, and sometimes many
octopuses. Sharks, rays, batfish, scorpion
fish, and filefish are also caught with
flounders, butterfish. and catfish.
I am kept busy aboard the trawlers
saving animals or parts of animals that
are considered worthless by fishermen,
but that may be valuable in scientific
research. Shrimp eyes, for example, are
important because they contain hor-
mones that regulate light adaptation. To
preserve the eyes, one snips them oS and
immerses them in a subfreezing solution
of alcohol and dry ice. Octopus, living
batfish, and electric rays, studied for
nerve innervations, are hurriedly culled
and rushed into buckets of sea water.
Parasitologists do research on living
tapeworms and trematodes from sharks
and bony fish. To extract the parasites,
the hosts are instantly gutted and the
intestines put in a solution of diluted
sea water, which is isotonic to the para-
sites. Octopus kidney smears for meso-
zoans are made aboard the shrimp trawl-
ers, and random samples of shrimp in-
testines and rectums are carefully placed
in special fixatives to preserve gregarian
parasites. The identity of these parasites
is determined by their histological struc-
tures. Upon finding a bizarre, flame-
streaked box crab, the collector removes
the carapace and examines the gills for
parasitic barnacles. Occasionally, the
collector finds a new species and is re-
warded by the feeling of exultation when
a specialist informs him that he has con-
tributed something new.
I make a quick check through the piles
of fish for abnormalities: tumorous
growths or malformations, for example,
or wounded fish with regenerated tissues.
All uncommon and rare fish are saved;
some may be strays from the Bahamas
and West Indies to the northern Gulf of
Mexico, enthusiastically welcomed by
ichthyologists because the specimens
help document knowledge of fish migra-
tions and distributions.
Problems of Shipping
ONCE a biological collector has gath-
ered his specimens, there still re-
mains the problem of getting them to
their destination. A biologist may want
his specimens live, frozen, or preserved,
according to his research program. If he
wants live animals, the collector deter-
mines how well they will survive ship-
ment. Chances of survival vary when you
take an animal from its environment— the
COMPARE!
LEITZ TRINOVl
BINOCULARS
A TOTALLY NEW CONCEPT IN BINOCUI
The heart of these new glasses is a special
— a difficult prism to manufacture in quantit
to precise tolerances. Leitz has mastere
production.
NO OTHER BINOCULARS PERFORM :
THE TRINOVIDS All Trinovid models have
wide-field eyepieces, providing a panoramic
which must be experienced to be appret
fully. The superb correction of the Leitz (
gives unsurpassed brilliance and clarity of ii
All air-to-glass surfaces are, of course, anti-r
tion coated to increase light transmissior
contrast. As a final plus, each of the three '
vid models -6 x 24, 8 x 32, 10 x 40-is
enough to slip into a jacket pocket.
TRINOVIDS DON'T -~T 1 1 ^
LOOK LIKE CON-
VENTIONAL BIN-
OCULARS Compare
the slim silhouette of
the Trinovid with the
bulk and weight of
conventional binocu-
lars. Compare the
focusing, too; and the optics! The Leitz Trin
are truly new binoculars, both optically ai
housing design.
Which of the Trinovid models is best for yoi
depend largely upon your personal needs. The
way to make a choice is to visit a Leitz Bino
Dealer and examine all three models, or
directly for descriptive literature.
TRINOVID USUAL G
6o
and confine it in a plastic con-
; then rush it to a specialist. Some
nens will not survive shipment, so
est not to commit oneself and dis-
it the scientist. The constantly
g eagle ray, for example, will die
se confinement, as will squid, but
:opus will live for a short time.
;hemists often require frozen spec-
; the validity of their research and
gs may depend in some degree on
;areful and exacting the collector
)een. Researchers working with
■ unstable enzymes require that
;pecimens be frozen instantly. The
e provides an example of why this
essary; after the shock of being
ed from its holdfast, the sponge's
te chemical structures begin im-
te deterioration while the animal
1 alive. The process can only be
ed by instant freezing. The sponge
d-packed in dry ice for shipping,
there is a flight delay or the ship-
is mislaid en route, the specimens
out and are ruined,
hysiologist in New Jersey studying
escence in marine life wishes to
iment with ctenophores, delicate
Is resembling jellyfish; how does
lip live ctenophores for any dis-
' They are so fragile— made up of
• cent water— they are apt to break
'hat are the chances of their sur-
? There is no literature to guide
Hector, to tell him how or how not
p these animals. Careful experi-
tion is necessary to avoid failure,
icking the ctenophores in plastic
)f oxygenated sea water and sirau-
conditions of 18-hours flight time,
offer an educated guess as to what
condition will be on arrival. If the
nens die in the laboratory, another
d will be tried— perhaps using a
y-powered air pump, or packing
ecimens in ice.
er luminous animals are no prob-
) ship. The interesting parchment
that glows inside of its tube is
ately exposed to icy weather and
ense heat and dehydration on the
idal flats, so we know it will endure
ing. The midshipman, a tough little
1 fish with rows of luminous photo-
s, or light-producing organs, will
e in a bucket of sea water over-
and can be transported quite
. Animals' powers of endurance
considerably; dull, cumbersome
shoe crabs can survive weeks in
lent and are often sent to Europe,
le ghost crabs— Ocypoffe— must be
ed in individual containers, and
d air express even for short dis-
B. If six are requested, I usually
twelve to allow for a high percent-
f fatalities. Among other consider-
i, it is important that the collector
the airline schedules and the
est shipping routes; the time of
B&L Hastings Magnifier
, . . standard for scientific study
Out in the field or woAing inside, if you're interested
in natural liisfory the standard tool for wide-view, color
corrected magnification is tiie famous B&L Hastings.
Pocl<et-size, available in 7x to 20x, these magnifiers are
the ultimate in quality for all types of general scientific
examination. lOx Hastings, S12.50. Order direct or ask
your dealer. Send for free complete magnifier booklet.
Bausch&Lomb, 993 tomb Park, Rochester, N.Y,
BAUSCH & LOME W^
KONICA FP
focuses faster,
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sharper!
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KONICA CAMERA CORP.
'The only house... where a full-grown bobcat may
leap into your lap to have his belly rubbed."
—Joseph Wood Krutch
Besides the bobcat, the
Woodin's home in the desert
shelters such odd pets as
snakes, centipedes, scor-
pions, tarantulas, badgers,
wolves, and lizards! The hu-
man residents include Mrs.
Woodin's husband, who is
Director of the famous Ari-
zona-Sonora Desert Mu-
seimi, and four yoimg sons.
Itf^jf^ An uncommonly happy
book about an uncommonly
happy way of life, richly il-
lustrated with photographs,
Home in the Desert will be
a warmly welcomed gift.
Introduction by
Joseph Wood Krutch
$5.95 at your favorite book-
store or order from:
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
Dept.400-NH9
60 Fifth Avenue
New York 10011
6l
./^
PRE-COLUMBIAN HEADS
Authentic clay castings, each one 1,000
to 1,500 years old, from the Teotihuacan
culture of Central Mexico.
All handsomely mounted. An authentic
treasure from Central Mexican Antiquity.
No two alike. Quantity limited. Makes an
ideal gift. Place your order now to insure
Christmas delivery.
Sorry, no C.O.D's. Send check
or money order.
Send for Free List. only Q jp u s fl
OLDE CHELSEA, 150 9th Ave., N. Y. ioOll
■k^Ooil;^^
DELIGHT SOMEONE
WITH A TRULY
DISTINCTIVE GIFT . . .
Natural
History
Central Park West at 79th Street
New York, N. Y. 10024
)scription to NATURAL HISTORY
ling Associate ilcnihersliip in
-lean Museum of Natural History
Sign gift card from
I enclose my ctieck for:
,j So One Year D $10 Two Tears (includes
l>onus book "Back of History") N64
CATCH THEM ALIVE AND UNHURT!
Amazing HAVAHART trap captures raiding
rats, rabbits, squirrels, skunks, pigeons, spar-
rows, etc. Takes mink, coons without injury.
Straying pets, poultry released unhurt. Easy to
use-open ends give animal confidence. No jaws
or springs to break. Galvanized: many in use
20 years. Sizes for all needs. FREE illustrated
practical guide with trapping secrets.
'-page guide and
Mr. Rudloe, a biological collector
who took part in the International
Indian Ocean Expedition, is active
on both the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.
year has to be taken into account, since
precautions must be taken to keep the
animals from freezing or overheating.
The recipient must be notified of a ship-
ment well in advance so he can be at
the airport to pick it up.
Preserving Is Vital Step
PRESERVING museum specimens prop-
erly for identification is another
responsibility of the collector. Many
soft-bodied invertebrates are identified
by their internal structures, and care
must be taken to see that the specimens
are properly preserved. Unfortunately,
this often is not the case. Inexperienced
collectors frequently gather sea anem-
ones, sea cucumbers, and tunicates and
toss them indiscriminately into formalde-
hyde. Immediately the animals contract
violently, preventing the preserving fluid
from penetrating their internal cavities.
Consequently, when a scientist carefully
cuts through the preserved outer walls
of the animals, a macerated ooze runs
out and the specimens prove useless. In
order to preserve the viscera, an experi-
enced collector will inject formaldehyde
into the internal cavity. Knowing the
right preservative is essential. All too
often sea cucumbers and soft corals ar-
rive at museums packed in formalde-
hyde, the acid in which breaks down the
calcareous spicules that are a key to the
animal's identification. Sea anemones
macerate in alcohol, and gastropods
fixed in formaldehyde are impossible to
dissect because the tissues will soon
become too hardened.
Although the scientist is trained to
classify museum specimens even in a
contracted, poorly preserved state, he
prefers the specimens to be thoroughly
relaxed. Sea anemones suddenly whip in
their petals when even slightly irritated
and draw up into something that re-
sembles a boiled onion. The waving frills
and fronds of the nudibranchs— so im-
portant for identification— contract, and
flatworms and comb jellies disintegrate
into a slimy mass if carelessly preserved.
The collector must know how to deal
with such problems; certain marine in-
vertebrates are narcotized if epsom salts
or menthol crystals are slowly added to
their dish of sea water until the animals
are immobilized. Others, such as poly-
chaete worms, become slowly relaxed
when alcohol is added to the water until
they succumb.
The preparation of museum specimens
does not end with preservation. Unfor-
tunately, color pigments of most fish and
invertebrates cannot be maintained after
death. In a short while all the beautiful
colors fade. The collector takes cai
notes and draws the animals to dei
strate the color pattern. Equally in:
tant to a scientist is the collec
ecological field data, a great hel]
learning the zoogeography of the se
One of the biological collector's i
important contributions can be in
field of behavior. A preserved speci
floating in a jar of alcohol gives no c
to how it escaped predators, what dei
it used to capture food, how it re
duced. But among the rocky tidepoo
the Pacific and the coral reefs of
South Atlantic, as the collector ge
removes a cluster of delicate pink
droids from a rock, he observes how
animals behave, and he keeps recorc
that behavior. Perhaps the most rew
ing aspect of being a professional
logical collector is the awareness thai
is making a contribution to man's kn
edge of his environment and the b
ficial applications that eventually
result from this increased knowle
This list details the
or other source of i
COVER-Syd RacJinovsky
16-25-Syd RacJinovsky
26-31-Virgil N. Argo
32-33-top, Robert K.
Brigham, Fish and
Wildlife Service
33-bottom, 34-35-top,
Walter N. Hess
35-bottoni, Robert K.
Brigham, Fish and
photographer, ai
llustrations, by p
Wildlife Service
36-43-Per-Olle Stack
44-46-Mount Wilson
Palomar Observatorie
47-AMNH
48-51-Gcrdon S. Smi
53-John Drake; 54J
Bucher; 56-57-Geor^
Holton; all from Phott
Researchers, Inc.
Rail Safari
means Land Cruise escorted
by Bob Stevens. You're one of
just 30 guests aboard 2 superb-
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Next sailing: NOVEMBER
14 FROM CHICAGO 20
Days $855 All-inclusive VIS-
ITING THE SOUTHWEST
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jor particulars contact
RAIL SAFARIS
LEESBURG, VA.
Box 786
AREA CODE 703 SP 7-1248
62
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, queens kings, beautiful women. Extra!
Jargain Catalog, fully illustrated, and an
:tive selection of stamps on approval. Send
LOC. Double your money back if not delighted!
5townStampCo.Dept.C114NM,Jamestown,N.Y
Additional Reading
CANNIBAL OF THE POND
Aquatic Insects of California. Edited
by Robert L. Usinger. University of
California Press. Berkeley. 1956.
Fresh-Water Invertebrates of the
United States. Robert W. Pennak.
The Ronald Press Company, N.Y..
1953.
An Introduction to the Study of In-
sects. Donald J. Borror and Dwight
M. DeLong. Holt. Rinehart and Win-
ston, N.Y., 1964.
STRANGLER FIG,
NATIVE EPIPHYTE
The Native Trees of Florida. Erdman
West and Lillian E. Arnold. Univer-
sity of Florida Press, Gainesville. 1956.
Guide to Southern Trees. Ellwood S.
Harrar and J. George Harrar. Whit-
tlesey House, N.Y.. 1946.
Manual of Cultivated Plants. L. H.
Bailey. The Macmillan Co., N.Y., 1949.
LONG JOURNEY
OF THE DOGFISH
Fishes of the Western North Atlan-
tic: Part 1. Henry B. Bigelow. Sears
Foundation for Marine Research, Yale
University. New Haven. 1948.
Sharks and Survival. Edited by Perry
W. Gilbert. D. C. Heath & Co.. Boston,
1963.
Shadows in the Sea. Harold W. McCor-
mick and Tom Allen, with William E.
Young. Chilton Books. Phila., 1963.
BRONZE AGE SEEN IN GRANITE
Monumental Art of Nokihern
Europe from the Stone Age. Gustaf
Hallstriim. I. The Norwegian Lo-
calities, 1938. II. Northern Sweden.
Bokforiags Aktiebolaget Thule. Stock-
hohn, 1960.
Scandinavian Rock-Engravings. Gra-
hame Clark. Antiquity, Vol. XL No.
41. London, 1937.
LAKE ERIE NICHE FOR GULLS
Sea-Birds. James Fisher and R. M. Lock-
ley. Collins. London. 1954.
The Herring Gull's World. N. Tin-
bergen. Collins, London. 1953.
ART OF AJANTA AND ELLORA
AjANTA. Ghulam Yazdani. Oxford Uni-
versity Press, London. 4 vols. 1930-
1955.
India: Paintings from Ajanta Caves.
Madanjeet Singh. N.Y. Graphic So-
ciety. Greenwich, 1954.
Myths and Symbols in Indian Art.
Heinrich Zimmer. Pantheon Books,
N.Y., 1953.
The Ajanta Caves. Benjamin Rowland.
Mentor-Unesco Art Books, N.Y., 1963.
(Paperback.)
Calling all CHICKADEES!
Duncraft's new FLIGHT CONTROL feeder
is designed to lure birdland's favorites,
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Purple Finch and many others . . . straight
to your window. Instant attachment feature
permits selective choice of small or me-
dium-small birds. Special structural shape
of the transparent seed hopper and roof,
REPELS all large birds and guarantees a
safe feeding haven for tiny C i| QC
species. 6"xl9", attach to O^oa
windowsill, hang, or post. ppd.
dUnCr3Tt oCnn Bldg.,'Penacook, N. H.
University of California Extension
offers individual instruction in your
own home, at your own pace. You
may enroll at any time in corre-
spondence courses in
INTRODUCTORY GEOLOGY
HISTORICAL GEOLOGY
The Evolution of the Earth and Us Life
EVOLUTION OF LANDSCAPE
Write: Dept. NH-64G, Correspondence
Instruction, University of California Ex-
tension, Berkeley, California 94720.
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Remote Control Camera Shut-
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A handsome conversation piece and constai
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Large center dial shows sun position, daily sun rise and set, moon position, m
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«ii THE WORLD OF DINOSAURS
A^^'^X— 3*_ ONE HUNDRED MILLION
=^^^A£''B^y^^ YEARS AGO
In this set of monsters — the dinosaurs that ruled the earth
100.000.000 years ago— you get 43 realistic models molded
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nd others from
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the final eons ol
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erage size approxi.
ting booklet Prehistor
HOME WEATHER STATION
New "Weatlier Station" is highly
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mounted on handsome wood-grained wall panel loH" s
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IV2" wide X %" thick. Wt. approx. 2 ozs.
pocket carrying case, instructions inc
__ .$4.95 Po:
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embled, 12" x 3%" x
IS, 32-page instr
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AGES-OLD FOSSIL COLLECTIONS
: 3 full
nil 1 M 1 lit ^ ^FT Brachipod
11, u I ^11 three ■
Stock No 50 344 E
tubes, petrified
CAHUOOTFKIIOUS
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ITEM
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CUFF LINKS
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GOLD
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1827- E
I8I8-E
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1729-E
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ir CHRISTMAS GIFTS! C^i
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ed Mode
1
111- Lliiik aiMilav as jou set oft
"' ' ' 111
t boll of llKlitiung. SlurJijl-
"iV ,'■',' i",
lnop,K.riu. directions. Metal
iislies pick up llie static elcc-
1 II Icll-l'l
iilil JiscliarscJ li.v tlie juinpnis
hi u lU'il
ooklet iiicluiled-
70.070- E
$12.95 Postpaid
ck No
N BINOCULAR TO CAMERA HOLDER
„„, Te,e":,."p.r\ Jj_-
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70 223—
Just-Free' Transparent' Low Cost'
iLLECTORS DISPLAY CASE
BE READY FOR THE MOON SHOTS
Itaii-er Surveyor. Lunar Orbiter Ulliiuuiiifil space prijbi
"il siVeil evcitius new liglu ou the mystery of the muo
aiKl outer space. See the results close-up. Eilinund lo^v-c.l^
lop-iiuality equipuient an>l »<^f«iiOF'«,,l'"' >;°","C„ yo
— proviile valuable and cimiplete lufonuation to keep ju
See Ihe Stars, Moon. Plonets Close UbI
3" ASTRONOMICAL REFLECTING TELESCOPE
,1,1 le and bri.
for lal ing telepliotos inclu i
$11 50 Postp.
approx. 10',4'"s7". Mounted
ally for pernia-
IP M
0
*»- n^:; 1
^ i,;;''„;Mk
0. 70.342-E
Treasure Chest Di
iliilS addillulial i
ncluiliiis iTvslal ;
set. tirsl- surface 1
0. 70,343-E
SCIENCE TREASURE CHESTS
►alomarTypelAn Unusual Buy!
-Lt the UinBS of Saturn, the
cinating Planet Mars, huge
rater on the iloon. Phases ol
c nus Eauaiorial mount with
iLk on both axes. Alumtnized
,nd oter-coated 3" diaineter
.,gh speed f/10 mirror- Tele-
tope comes equipped with a
iiV eyepiece and a mounted
1 irlow Lens. Optical Finder
lele^cope included. Hardwood,
nrlable tripod. FREE with
.lOpe Valuable STAR CH-\KT
i,K or HE.AVENS- plus -Hon
( OFL DOOK-
S29-9J Po
Intriguing Low-Cost Moon Model
70.336-E
CRYSTAL GROWING KIT
110 a Crvstalloeraphr project illus-
I rated with large beautiful crystals
\ou "row yourself- Kit includes the
hook "Crystals and Crystal Growing
.ind a generous supply of the chemicals
vou need to grow large display crystals
■„f potassium aluminum sulfate (clear I .
purple), potassium sodium tartrate
e hesabydratc (blue grecnl or hepta-
issium ferricyanide (redl. and copper
S9.50 Postpaid
BIRDWATCHERS SEE WITHOUT
BEING SEEN
> "one-way" mirrors described above
spa
displa
Exact replica! 30.000 formations
—peaks, craters. Ocean of Storms, etc.—
all in relief. Scaled to size. Accurate disl-
ance relationships. Proper lighting snows
moon phase, "black light" produces start
ling effects. Tough, washable plastic. Tliree
colors. Far side blank— can he iised for
space data. Excellent gift item. 12 dia..
A SLIDE TRIP TO THE
MOON — MOON TOPOG-
RAPHY STUDY AID
r?i ill astronomy inc
'L'his luglily informative
iif 2!) black and white
features such topography
■ffii'i
Stock No.
i for the
useful. For example: you can buuu a
on the sunny side of your house next
a piece of this film to the window and
tch the birds from a few inches away.
sheet 21"
36"
S3.00 Postpaid
IDENTIFY 430 BIRDS WITH
FULL COLOR AUDUBON BIRD CHARTS
. " 430 small birds (over 200 spe-
of Eastern and Central X. America
ed by plumage for fast identification.
r coated stock especially suited for
mounting or framing. Includes 24-
lok containing color key and valuable
70.G75-E (The Pair)
..S3.50 Ppd.
BIG DETAILED 35" x 46" MOON MAP
llKack and white pliolo reproduction of ti
named lunar formations clearly marked,
■ other valuable informaf
TINY LAMP GIVES SUN-LIKE BRILLIANCE
FOR WORK, INSPECTION, EXAMINATION
\\\v lou-rost. miniature, high-intensity lamp
■•ivcs concciuraU',1 daylight. Tses low-cost 12-
u,u auto bulb IGE 1133) yet gives light equiva-
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Excellent all-purpose lamp for bench inspection
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arlKt""
1 denli.sls.
as work lamp by Jewelers. techni''ians,
ractive in any office or room, on desk.
Ic. V" lir,
clamps or stands needed. Durable black
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vitch. 5' c
rd. Reflector 2?i" dia. x 0V2" long.
amelcd inn
er surface.
Stock N
. 70,694-E
S7.98 Ppd.
Terrific Buy! American Made!
OPAQUE PROJECTOR
^y^^
Pill, eel* illuslratiuns up to 3" x 3-/2
aiU ci.iar-es them to 35" X 30" if
^
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1 .er oil lures it screen is further
iw'^av .So tilui or negatives needed.
C. current- 1
. 1 'lb'.. 2 07.
0. 70.199-E
iiiniii. ' Icucring in full color or
i.i ..l^.iiavviiile. Operates on Uo
ft cMeiiii"" '"■■>' •'"■' "'"" i™'"'!?''-
PHstic 'case with built-in handle.
S7.95 Postpaiil
j,i,^kaUddo.opcpa,terns. 3,„,„„,„,.
BUILD A SOLAR ENERGY f"RNACE
^ Furnace tor ,^;-;;l'":''"':''','"V-'se ""rapwond! \Ve
^tnck No 1544-E '"'y S74.80 pstpd
7 X 35 AMERICAN MADE BINOCULARS
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ltock°N^!^" '^■""""''""'"'sW 00 pstpd (Tax incl
WOODEN SOLID PUZZLES
12 Different P"",'", "'■" ."''i ^'""Vl '
vour abllltv to think and rea on 11
"is a fascinating assortment of woo 1 I '
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Twelve different pu/zles anniiil
forms to take ,[■ ,1
I ibink and feason while ham
Stock No 70 205 E
7 X 50 MONOCULAR
MAKES INEXPENSIVE,
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FOR ANY CAMERA
optical performa
Out
3T6
l-reid'of view at 1000 yards
li-hl efflciencT Is To. Exit Pupil measures
ike' to attach to photographic tripod. Pi
^ nvidc \nnrux lO-oz. Includes case, sti - .
made. Apprux. 10 ^^^ .^ Postpaid
,ecup, accepts series V
T Combination! Pocket-Size
50 POWER MICROSCOPE
and 10 POWER TELESCOPE
I seful Tel
nes .io Times, Sharp focus at any rar
TTandy for sports, looking at small obje
Tnlvr Slock Nc, 30-059-t S4 50 n
'FISH' WITH A WAR SURPLUS
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Bring Up Under-Waler Treasures
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SI 1.95 Postpaid
ddm^Jifiio CUi^m uwi
Four original works of art In the collections of The American
Museum of Natural History have been handsomely reproduced
to make these strikmg greeting cards, each with an identifying
notation. Whether you choose a gay blaze of color or the
sophisticated serenity of monochrome, these cards will convey
your Christmas wishes with dignity and distinction.
^KMade expressly for and available only at The Museum Shop.
A... Red Crossbills — From a water color by the renowned artist-
naturalist Louis Agassiz Fuertes, these cheery red birds
perched on green boughs are brightly festive in the traditional
holiday colors. Printed message inside "Merry Christmas."
Box of 25 . . . $4.00 ppd. — Box of 100 .. . $14.00 ppd.
B...Snow Bunting — The subtle delicacy of line and shad
suffuses this Louis Agassiz Fuertes drawing with a feeling
snow hushed softness masking the winter scene. Printed m
sage inside "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year." Box of
. $2.75 ppd. — Box of 100... $10. 00 ppd.
C... Butterfly Notes— Vibrant and exotic, this pair of paintii
from Maria Menan's rare 1719 Surinam Portfolio glows w
radiant tropical beauty. These cards are doubly useful-
Christmas with your own handwritten message or for y
round stationery. Order some extras too, for stocking stuff
and other "little gifts." Containing the two subjects illustra
above. Box of 12, ..$1.25 ppd. 5 boxes. .. $5,00 ppd.
Members of the Museum are
entitled to a 10% discount.
Please send your check or mon-
ey order to , , ,
uecemDer iyb4 • sui5
icorporating Nature Magazi
'om
Mere are beautifully made, technically ad-
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erately priced. In performance, in workman-
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Custom designed for nature study,
Swift's AUDUBON Mk II has the extra
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subject is in deep shadow. Wide field
(420 ft.) facilitates tracking of fast-
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to 12 ft. challenges the keen stalker.
Gift boxed. $130.00 plus tax.
The ultimate "night glass," The COM-
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dawn, dusk and moonlight conditions.
Prisms of Barium Crown glass give a
fantastic RLE of 84,9. Retractable eye-
cups for eyeglass wearers, tripod
adapter, magnesium body, are just a
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Compact lightweight. One of the finest
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DESKTOP WEATHER STATION
Swift's GLOUCESTER stands out among barometer-
thermometerhumidimeter combinations available at a
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—^t itofei ei/eriftvliei-e, or ienci
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SWIFT
INSTRUMENTS, Inc.
Dept. NH-12
BOSTON 25, MASS.
SAN JOSE 12, CAL.
Impressively complete, incredibly beautiful:
The most extraordinary
itural history of birds ever
published in one volume
i fisher
his big, color-filled book at any page
;e one of the 8,580 full species of
birds move before your eyes— flying,
;, courting, singing, mating, fighting
riking photographs and in stunning
lor paintings by the world's leading
ainter, Roger Tory Peterson.
before have bird-lovers and bird-
;rs been able to enjoy a volume like
HE World of Birds is an unprece-
I, international "publishing first"!
y^ Geographically, The World
OF Birds ranges over 196 mil-
te, lion square miles of land and
follows all 200 known families of
IS far as flight takes them.
rically, the world of
spans 140 million years
jlution — reviewing doz-
rare and bizarre birds,
ing many that are now extinct.
^Scientifically, the world
M OF Birds is impeccably, pain-
^a stakingly accurate— the crown-
H^ ing achievement of two of the
world's most distinguished or-
ogists. Roger Tory Peterson has con-
id more than 700 true-color paint-
each one correct down to the last
r. And the authors collaborate on
iprehensive text which has taken
20 years to write and research!
more intriguing than folklore
first examination of The World of
will take you into an almost un-
able, exotic world. You see the
can pygmy owl with "eyes" at the
of its head; the Australian bird
builds a bower during courtship; the
lied oxpecker which relieves African
of ticks; the baya weaver bird which
; taught to string beads on a thread;
ack grouse with its crouching dance
You see hundreds of birds in typical
ioral actnities. much as you would
see them in the field on a round- J^
the-world bird-watching tour. s.
And that's not all! This amazing text N
brings you: V
• natural history, \
biology, distribu- v,
tion • S
• the fossil past ^^
and evolutionary ^
present of birds %^
• techniques of J^
bird-watching t
• full details on .W
field guides; por- ./ i
table blinds; band-
ing; photographs,
etc.
• unique atlas of bird life,-
with 190 family and subfam-
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• "black list" of extinct spe-
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• easy-to-use, multi-purpose
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• dozens of maps, facts, sketches never before
published
Two-week FREE no-risk offer
As you can imagine. The World of Birds
is a huge book. It measures a giant 10" x
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weighs 4Vi pounds . . . contains over 800
illustrations (708 in full color ). . . dis-
plays over 200 maps in the text and in the
96-page map section. It is exquisitely fin-
ished, with a gold-stamped cloth binding,
protected by a heavy, laminated jacket
with full-color reproductions of Roger
Tory Peterson paintings. And, thanks to
international publishing cooperation, we
can offer The World of Birds to you now,
for a limited time only, at the special pre-
Christmas price of only $17.95. (After
December 31, The World of Birds will
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as well as one of this year's most impres-
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Natural History
Incorporating Nature Magazine
J
THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTO
Vol. LXXHI
DECEMBER 1964
No.
ARTICLES
FIRE ECOLOGY OF THE GIANT SEQUOIAS Richard J. Hartesveldt
ANATOMY OF DECAY AS PRESERVED IN SHALE Leij St0rmer
FULTON FISH MARKET Photographs by Lou Bernstein
POMPEII Wilhelmina Jashemski
INTRODUCED MENACE Monica Shorten
ANOMALIES IN AFRICA Photographs by L. D. Vesey-Fitzgerald
DEPARTMENTS
BOOKS IN REVIEW
SKY REPORTER
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
SCIENCE IN ACTION:
LISTENING UNDER WATER
WASHINGTON NEWSLETTER
SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL READING
Joseph A. Davis, Jr.
Thomas D. Nicholson
William A. Watkins
Paul Mason Tilden
COVER: When Mt. Vesuvius erupted and dropped ten to twenty feet of cind
pumice, and ashes on Pompeii, an estimated 10 per cent of the population of
city perished. But the same ashes preserved the remarkable art that existed w
the tragedy struck in a.d. 79. For example, the dolphin-driving cupid was
the wall of the Casa dei Vettii, and is strikingly modern in its use of v
colors. For further information about the flora and fauna of Pompeii and
neighbor, Herculaneum. please turn to page 30, where Dr. Wilhelmina Jashen
gives a detailed discussion of the many animal paintings found on ancient w;
The American Museum is open to the public without charge every da;
during the year. Your support, through membership and contributions
helps make this possible. The Museum is equally in need of suppor
for all of its work in the fields of research, education, and exhibition
,t, New
Publication OiTice: The A
merican Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Stre
N. Y. 1O024. Published m
anthly, October through May: bimonthly June to September. Subscri
year. In Canada, and all
other countries: 85.50 a year. Single copies: S.50. Second class po
New York, N. Y., and at
additional offices. Copyright, 1964, by The American Museum of Na
No part of this periodica
may be reproduced without the written consent of Natural Hist
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editorial office will be ha
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The opinions expressed by
authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect The American Mu
You will find Natukal Hi
TORY magazine indexed in Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature in
SILENCER
His business is quiet. He's a General Motors development engineer and his job is to
help see to it that every GM car operates as smoothly and quietly as advanced
technology and human skill can reasonably achieve. His work takes him into an
anechoic chamber at the Milford Proving Ground where walls made of glass-fiber-
wedges up to a yard deep absorb 99 percent of the sound made by a car in operation.
In this room GM cars are "road proved" on a chassis dynamometer under many
driving conditions and at varying speeds. Every significant noise, no matter how
slight, is studied, charted, evaluated. Object: quiet. This man and others like him
never stop striving to reach that goal.
Highly refined laboratory setups like the Milford anechoic rooms contribute vitally
to the constant improvement of General Motors cars. But they would be valueless
without the knowledge and experience of the men who use them. People, after all,
are the key to the continuing excellence of GM products. General Motors owes its
position in industry to the dedication and ability of a great many exceptional people.
GENERAL MOTORS IS PEOPLE ...
Making Better Things For You
A hook of
soaring beauty
-the life story of
a remarkable
bird of the sea
DURING long, lonelv vig-
ils on the clifftop gull-
cries and icv dunes of New-
foundland, Franklin Russell
gained an extraordinary
knowledge of that marvelous
amalgam of all seabirds — the
herring gull.
Now, with dramatic inten-
sity', he records the long and
violent saga of a magnificent
male of the species (lanis
argentatus).
Lean and aggressive, yet
generally peaceful among his
fellows, Argen was a dar-
ing, imaginative hunter with
a superior sensitivirs' to dan-
ger. And so he survived for
21 years — wheeling in splen-
did arcs across the Northern
sky, fighting and foraging,
mating and breeding.
This is his biography, from
the moment that "he blindly
gathered his resources to be
born and pushed with a tinv
egg-tooth against his shell",
until, 84 seasons later, his
fierce energv failed him, and
he pitched for\\ard through
swirling mist into the sea.
AKGEN
THE GULL
By FRANKLIN RUSSELL
author of
Watchers at the Pond
With 9 photographs
by the author. S4.95
Now at better bookstores
ALFRED 'A- KNOPF, Publisher
BOOKS I IN REVIEW
Wildlife under siege
'By Joseph A. Davis, Jr.
Africa's Wildlife, by Eric Robins. Tap-
linger Publishing, S5.95; 224 pp., illus.
Vanishing Wildlife, by Roy Pinney.
Dodd, Mead & Co., $5.00; 193 pp., illus.
I Walk With Lions, by Mervyn Cowie.
The Macmillan Co., S4.95: 245 pp., illus.
Between the Sunlight and the Thun-
der, by Noel Simon. Houghton Mifflin
Co., $6.00; 384 pp., illus.
A single species, in a geological twink-
ling, has wrested dominion over its
fellows. Although natural forces con-
tinue to act upon the fauna and flora of
the world and must inevitably doom
some species to extinction, the technol-
ogy and sheer number of humans, in-
creasing by a geometrical rate that needs
no longer be measured in millenniums
or centuries, but by the year, has in
many ways precluded nature's long-term
effects. Man (a wonderfully impersonal
word for avoiding the incriminating
"we"") has in the past extirpated species
in isolated instances— one here, another
there, in widely scattered places and
times throughout his history. Each loss
has been a tragedy in itself, but the over-
all number of species lost forever has
remained small enough to be listed con-
veniently. In the past few years, however,
it has become clear that the foreseeable
future holds the awful promise of certain
doom on a wholesale scale for the plants
and animals of entire regions. Worse,
region after region will be added to the
list, like pieces of a vast planet-wide jig-
saw puzzle, and when at last the picture
emerges it will be one of desolation, not
alone for the plants and animals of the
world, but for ourselves as well, for only
recently have we begun to suspect the
extent to which all living things are in-
terdependent.
Public awareness appears to be the
only hope today for averting the other-
wise irreversible process. A few species
of animals have been hauled from the
brink of man-made extinction in the last
century— it can be done. In large measure,
these species were saved by the process
of breeding captive animals, however,
and the preservation of wild-living popu-
lations is still a precarious undertaking
whose success only a future generation
can judge. The task that lies ahead is
staggering, and although scarcely any-
one who reads newspapers and maga-
zines today can be unaware that the
natural world is under siege by human-
ity, a true understanding of the crisis
that is upon us has yet to impress itself
upon more than the few ecologists i
are working in the field. Fortunately
past few years have seen an increas
amount of publicity given to the sub;
from various avenues of approach,
four books reviewed here are represe;
live of the growing number of popi
appeals for animal preservation.
Eric Robins' approach is a subtle c
In Africa's W'ildlije he uses a series
vignettes to recount visits with pec
involved in one way or another with
wildlife of a large area of southern
eastern Africa. Slowly he assemble
disquieting mosaic relieved by sr
patches of heroism and hope that st
out the more by contrast to the b;
ground. The occasional statistics in
narrative are unobtrusive, but telling
Vanishing Wildlife is another mat
We may grant that Roy Pinney's g
intentions are above question, but,
bluntly, he is not qualified to discoi
on the subject and has done a slove
job. Some passages are accurate .
forcefully written, but the instances
misstatement and carelessness are
too frequent to be forgiven. Pinney :
photographer, and he has illustrated
book liberally with photos, many ta
by himself. This makes even more i
prising the use of his pictures of
gemsbok and white rhino in hab
groups in the Akeley African Hall
The American Museum of Natural I
tory over captions describing Arai
oryx and Indian rhino.
Carelessness in the text, too, is r,
pant. For example, the following occ
on a single page in the discussion of
Javan rhino: the animal, he says is "
lieved to exist now only in Sumatra," ;
then below, "The only place where 1
species now survives is in Java." '
status of the whooping crane is lost i
series of confusing data that will fj
trate the attentive reader.
To dwell further on the shortcomi
of this book would serve no useful f
pose. Suffice it to say that it is to
recommended only to the zoologist ^
enjoys underlining other people's err
and has a serviceable pencil sharpe
close at hand.
In / Walk ivith Lions, Mervyn Co
has chosen to thread the story of
conservation problem in Kenya throi
an autobiography. His account cov
the diminishing of wildlife in the ye
since his childhood, but is devoted pi
cipally to his efforts in connection n
the establishment of Kenya's Royal 1
wims
"The most exciting of all the Audubon books.
With a refreshing ingenuity, it displays details of the birds and animals
in the full size of the elephant folios. If you feel, as I did, that popular books
of Audubon's work have been overdone, you had better take a
look at this new approach."— Roland c. clement, Audubon Magazine
by Edwin Way Teale
with his selection of John James Audubon's own best writings
on frontier life in the nineteenth century.
40 dramatic plates in full color and 96 large black-and-white illustrations, superbly
reproduced direct from the engravings; size 8%"x 11"; $15.00 (a Studio Book)
The VikinS: Press 625 Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10022
to
Archeological detective work in a
fascinating lost world . . .
IN SEARCH OF
ANCIENT ITALY
By Pierre Grimal. The author of The Civilization
oj Rome tells the remarkable story of ancient Italy —
m Rome, in the land of the Etruscans, in the Greek
colonies of the south. He explains how war, pilfering,
and construction have caused us to lose many traces
of the ancient Italian peoples, and shows how arche-
ologists have unearthed the past from fragments of
temples, monuments, arches, baths, aqueducts, and
scrolls. With more than 45 pages of photographs, $6.50
to
A completely revised, lavishly illustrated
^Second Edition of J. R. NORMAN'S
A HISTORY OF
r IoIiJcjO Revised by R H. Greenwood;
illustrate*] by W. R C. Tenison. Are fish good par-
ents? How and where do they migrate? How does
their perception compare with ours? How do fish
move, feed, breathe, and reproduce? These and hun-
dreds of other fascinating piscatorial questions are
answered in this updated edition of the most authori-
tative one-volume work in the field. Every aspect of
the life of fish is covered in twenty fact-packed chap-
ters and in a section (new in this edition) on the
classification of fish. With 150 illustrations, $6.95
to
Another remarkable word-and-picture "first" by the
author of Kalahari and The Last Cannibals . . .
SAVAGE
NEW GUINEA
By Jens Bjerre. Once again anthropologist-
photographer Jens Bjerre becomes the first "outsider"
to witness and record some of the tribal rites and
primitive peoples of Asia. This record of his recent,
dangerous ethnographic e.xpedition into the highlands
of New Guinea offers remarkable insight into several
very different tribes — from the war-loving Kukukukus
to the Kutubus with their strange sexual code — all
documented by 32 pages of the author's superb color
photographs, 15.00
I At your bookstore
iSD HILL & WANG
141 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010
tional Parks. The narrative is peppe]
with amusing anecdotes, but the he;
emphasis upon individual animals ter
at times to obscure the author's conc(
for the species, and Cowie's frequent i
of the expression "my animal frienc
becomes a bit cloying. Like Robi
book, / Walk with Lions is not ba
reading on the wildlife problem, but
interesting correlative material.
The reader who wants an excelli
presentation of the over-all picture
conservation as it is to be found in Ker
will find Noel Simon's Betiveen the Si
light and the Thunder just what he
looking for. To begin with a seeminj
trivial matter, he is the only one of I
African writers who does not overei
mate the reader's familiarity with Afri
He provides maps (Robins does too, 1
not such meaningful ones) and explai
tions that the non-Kenyan reader v
find invaluable if he is not to be bogg
down among the details necessary to
exposition of the problems there. Sim
has organized his presentation adrr
ably, covering the historical setting
some detail, providing an incisive
count of the present situation, and, p
haps more important, offering propos
for action. A glossary of the scienti
names of the species treated in the ti
is a happy addition, and the tables a
appendixes further enhance an alrea
fine, carefully executed book.
Mr. Davis is Curator of Mammals at t
New York Zoological Park (Bronx Zo-
One of his duties is the development
breeding herds of endangered mammc
DowNSTREAii, by John Bardach. Hari
& Row, $5.95; 278 pp., illus.
]N this well-written and enlighteni
volume. Dr. Bardach embraces wa
in its many forms— fog, clouds, rain, ht
snow, and ice— and discusses the vari
phenomena that affect water, such
topography and aquifers. Man and 1
effects on waters are also included.
Beginning with the premise that p
cipitation in some form gives rise to
streams and that their ultimate destii
tion is the ocean, the author discus;
brooks that originate from melting g
ciers, bogs, marshes, lakes, springs, ;
tesian wells, surface drainages, and
on. He follows the brooks as they becoi
streams, join one another to becoi
large rivers, finally form deltas, and e
ter either the sea or an estuary, whe
their waters become brackish.
Most fresh waters are in motion as a
waves in lakes and currents in strean
and the book includes much informati
concerning such water dynamics. Raf
erosive effects by high-gradient streai
are compared with the silting effects
static waters, and water as a modifi
s landscape is also interestingly
dequately treated.
Bardach gives us a huge and varied
It of excellent natural history.
are concise life histories of many
and animals, including such di-
aquatic and dry-land forms as
mosses, buttercups, dragonfiies,
beetles, mollusks, oysters, annelid
5, many fishes, amphibians, rep-
birds, and mammals. Even the mi-
n of musk ox along river courses is
sed. The author points out a num-
f instances of highly specialized
itions to extreme conditions, such
rential currents, which result in
e species with marked morphologi-
milarities inhabiting widely sepa-
waters of the world.
last three of the nine chapters
argely with man's use and misuse
aters. These thought-provoking
;rs are written in an objective
;r in which the increasing shortage
er in the face of a rapidly expand-
luman population is evaluated,
laws, detergents, insecticides, and
; energy wastes are discussed,
is a bibliography and index.
b the average reader and specialist
rofit by reading this book.
Milton B. Tr.\utman
The Ohio State Museum
^lEW OF Life, by George Gaylord
on. Harcourt, Brace & World,
308 pp.
iRGE GAYLORD SIMPSON is UOt Only
e of the most outstanding investi-
of organic evolution; he is also a
who has often gone before a wider
; to present the results of modern
ts into the historical phenomena
logy. In This View of Life, he has
bled a number of his previously
hed essays— edited to avoid repe-
and to embrace a larger concept—
as added a few new articles. The
is a volume that can be read as a
or from which isolated chapters
2 selected.
re are four principal divisions:
■oaches to Evolution"; "Evolution
g the Sciences"; "The Problem of
se"; and "Evolution in the Uni-
" Each part consists of three or
;hapters. The scope of the book
le outlined by mentioning a few of
chapters.
; title of Chapter 2, "One Hundred
Without Darwin Are Enough," is
ived from H. J. Muller's angry ex-
tion on the centenary of the publi-
of Darwin's The Origin of Species.
son shows that there is justification
ling indignant about the treatment
jffered by the teaching of evolution
too-many high school curriculums.
textbooks omit evolution com-
y, and others discuss it late in the
This is the New Field Model Questar Telescope.
It weighs less than 3 pounds and costs only
S795. Included in the price are this 4-lb. case,
one eyepiece, and an improved basic camera
coupling set. There is room for cameras and
other accessories.
Twenty-one major changes in this barrel and
control-box assembly permit a much wider
photographic field of view, which now covers
all but the very corners of the 24x36 mm. film
frame at f/16 without extension tubes. Expo-
sures are two f-numbers faster.
The New Field Model is optically identical in
quality to all Questars. Since only an average of
one out of three perfect optical systems sur-
passes theory by enough to satisfy us, we can
continue to state that no amount of money,
time or human effort can noticeably improve
Qiicstar's power of resolution. For whereas
Lord Rayleigh's criteria sets 1.4 seconds of arc
as Questar's limit of resolution, a Questar has
resolved two stars but 0.6 second apart.
Because our function is to make the world's
finest small telescopes in limited number, in-
stead of many of ordinary quality, this New
Field Model offers a new experience to the
photographer. We oflTer him the world's sharp-
est lens, of 89-mm. aperture. We provide him
with a low-power wide-field finder view, lil<e
that of a field glass, to let him locate distant
objects rapidly. With fliclc of finger he can bring
to bear a high-power view of 40-80x or 80-1 60x
to study the object minutely through this super-
fine telescope. Another finger flick and slight
refocusing brings the object to the clear bright
center of his cameras' groundglass.
At this point he is challenged to capture on
the sensitive emulsion what this superb tele-
scope of 56 inches focal length is projecting to
his film. He has seen it in Questar's eyepiece
and in his reflex camera's groundglass. AH that
remains is to place the image in exact focus on
the film and expose correctly with no vibration
at all. And at long last we have the only camera
able to do this, the Questar-modifled Nikon F.
For the first time, then, Questar has a true
photographic model, and a camera without
mirror slap, shutter vibration, or too-dim focus-
ing. Moreover, from now on we can measure
the actual picture-taking light at the ground-
glass, and abandon inexact exposure calculations
entirely, using the new cadmium sulfide meters.
The New Field Model, in case as shown, with
basic couplings and 40-80x eyepiece, is priced
at $795. Extra eyepiece 80-lbOx, $35. Quesiar-
modified Nikon F bodies, $234.60. Complete
outfit above with Nikon camera body and Lin-
hof tripod, $1332, postpaid in U.S.
All Questar models are described in our latest
40-page booklet, with 8 pages in color, many
new photographs and a long essay on what we
have learned in 10 years about telescopic pho-
tography. $1.00 postpaid in U.S., Mexico and
Canada. By air to West Indies and Central
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S. America, $2.50. By air to Australia and else-
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QUESTAR
BO.X 60 NEW HOPE, PENNSYLVANIA
You need
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because it's
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...or too
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the newNikonos
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See this amphibious, all-weather 35mm
camera at your photo dealer. $169.50
with Nikkor f2.5 lens. Write Dept. NH-12
Nikon Inc. Ill Fifth Ave., N .Y. 3, N.Y.
Subsidiary of Ehrenreich Photo-Optical Industries. Inc.
text where it may never be used as a
term hastens to its close. Some teachers
who do refer to evolution do not include
human origins. Other books and teachers
circumvent the term evolution by using
"development'" instead. And there are
still other ways to avoid trouble from
often ill-informed but powerful com-
munity opinion. Simpson minces no
words in referring to "the higher super-
stitions celebrated weekly in every ham-
let of the United States." This phrase is
not applied to religious attitudes as such.
On the contrary, the author is well aware
of the separateness of the religious
sphere, which lies beyond the rational
considerations of the scientist. But be-
cause he recognizes and respects the
borderline between science and religion,
he justly demands that the same respect
be shown by those on the other side. It
seems strange that one of the central
facts of nature and one that has the
greatest impact on man"s evaluation of
his status in the material universe still
divides our society into two cultures— one
rational and one deliberately ignorant.
"The Historical Factor in Science" is
the theme of another chapter. Here the
distinction is made between the non-
historical, immanent, unchanging prop-
erties of matter and the historical,
constantly changing specific situations
in the world, which represent a configu-
rational conditioning of future changes.
Evolution, while necessarily based on
immanent processes, is unique because
of its configurational dependence. Im-
manent properties imply what is
possible; configurational limitations de-
termine what actually happens. The his-
torical factor excludes the possibility of
evolution reversing itself, because his-
tory is inherently irreversible. Configura-
tional limitations are responsible for the
fact, stressed often in the book, that
evolutionary lines usually do not lead to
a continuous future. Most species die out
without evolving into new ones.
A searching section of Simpson's book
concerns the problem of purpose. There
is no denial that adaptation is an all-
pervading phenomenon in organisms-
how could it be otherwise? There is,
however, a great difference between the
fact of adaptation and such supposedly
causal concepts as teleology, finalism.
and elan vital. The origin of adaptation
is seen in natural selection in a refined
sense that not only eliminates the less fit
but also leads creatively to the occur-
rence as a usual phenomenon of what, a
priori, is extremely improbable. Here
one may have wished for a more exten-
sive treatment of the genetic basis of
evolution than Simpson, the paleontolo-
gist and taxonomist, offers the reader.
Instead, there is a special chapter. "Evo-
lutionary Theology." that critically ana-
lyzes the views of Lecomte du Noiiy,
E. W. Sinnot, and Teilhard de Chardin
An unusual volume /'a^
for the collector \^|gj
THE
Oxford
Book of
Birds
By BRUCE CAMPBELL
Illustrated by
DONALD WATSON
THIS beautiful book is dis-
tinguished by a charming
text complemented with
ninety-six pages of outstand-
ing illustrations in full color.
Birds are shown in their nat-
ural settings, with varieties of
plumage differentiated by age,
sex, and season. The author
covers many points of special
interest — such as flight, court-
ship, nesting habits — and sup-
plies supplementary aids to
identification. Though the
frame of reference is the Brit-
ish Isles, many of the birds
are common on this side of
the Atlantic.
At all bookstores • $8.00
Oxford University Press
417 Fifth Ave., New York, N. Y. 10016
^ Birds „
Oolombia
OJ
>?A%
BYR MEYER DE SCHAUENSE
The Academy of Natun
Sciences of Philadelphi
The only reference book
EnUish for the fabuloi
birdltfeof Centr
America ar
northern Sou
Americ
448 pages
SCIENCE BOOK SERVICE N
Box 366. Narberth, Pa.
Please send me .... copies of THE BIRD
OF COLOMBIA by R. M. de Schauensee ;
SIO.OO a copy.
D Check enclosed D Charge my accour
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Feimsylvania residenls add 5% sales lax
the heading "The New Mysticism."
;he chapter "The Nonprevalence of
moids." Simpson applies some of
olutionary thinking to the question
ether it is likely that we can obtain
edge concerning the existence out-
ur own planet of organisms with an
gence comparable to man's. The
r's answer is a nearly absolute
His reasoning is plausible, but its
ssion is colored, unfortunately, by
Imitted bias as an organismal. in
ist to a molecular, biologist. As is
ent, This View of Life gives its
rs a many-faceted insight into
aspects of life.
Curt Stern
University of California
J^ILE, by Eliot Elisofon. The Viking
$17.50; 292 pp., illus.
: photographs are the raison d'etre
this volume. There are 290 of
-many magnificent— taken by Mr.
on on five separate visits to Africa,
trace the course of the Nile from
uatorial sources until it flows into
[editerranean, 4,160 miles away.
;e the glaciers, plants and jungles,
and swamps, birds, animals, and
3 of its headwaters and of the far
. Continuing downstream— the
scenery constantly changing— we are
shown more settled village life; we meet
our first antiquities at Meroe, reminders
of the Nubian dynasty that governed
Egypt for a hundred years. Next we see
Abu Simbel and Philae (the latter
scarcely visible above the waters of the
inundation). Elephantine and Aswan,
and enter the Egypt of the dynastic
period. From here on, as is to be ex-
pected, there are many views of ancient
buildings, wall reliefs, paintings, statues,
and scenes of modern life.
The plates are arranged in groups of
fifteen, separated from each other by
about three pages of text and a page of
detailed captions written by Mr. Eliso-
fon; at the head of each of these chap-
ters is the appropriate section of the
useful map with which the volume starts.
There are some other publications with
more detailed accounts— both literary
and pictorial— of, for instance, the Ru-
wenzories, the customs of the tribes of
the Congo, or the history of the Sudan.
The Egyptian antiquities pictured are
all well known to the archeologist; and
for his resume of ancient Egyptian his-
tory and chronology Mr. Elisofon has un-
fortunately taken as his authority a book
written sixty years ago. The beauty of
the photographs is often obscured by
the confusion caused by binding to-
gether two unrelated scenes with no mar-
gins to separate them; the color plates
are poor; and one suspects that some
shadow detail was lost in reproduction.
Nevertheless, this would be a very
pleasant book to give or to receive: it
falls into the category of "gift" or "art"
books. With the photographs themselves
Mr. Elisofon has achieved his aim— to
capture for us. arrestingly, the Nile and
the lands through which it flows.
Nora Scott
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Senses of Animals, by L. Harrison
Matthews and Maxwell Knight. Philo-
sophical Library, $7.50; 240 pp., illus.
THIS volume is actually two books
in one. The first half, by Maxwell
Knight, is entitled "Animals in the
Field." and the second half, by L. Harri-
son Matthews, is "How Senses Work."
The section by Knight begins with
some general remarks on sensory equip-
ment. Unfortunately, no general defini-
tions or classification of the senses is
given, other than the classic concept of
the five senses. The writing is simple
and, for the most part, on an elementary
level. Each "sense" has its separate
chapters on general aspects and on
"field work and experiments." The treat-
Tsukiko's guest on your
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The tour cost with deluxe accommodations throughout is $4,000 and is limited in
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LEITZ TRINOVID
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A TOTALLY NEW CONCEPT IN BINOCULARS
The heart of these new glasses is a special prism
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to precise tolerances. Leitz has mastered its
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NO OTHER BINOCULARS PERFORM LIKE
THE TRINOVIDSAII Trinovid models have ultra-
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fully. The superb correction of the Leitz optics
gives unsurpassed brilliance and clarity of image.
All air-to-glass surfaces are, of course, anti-reflec-
tion coated to increase light transmission and
contrast. As a final plus, each of the three Trino-
vid models-6 x 24, 8 x 32, 10 x 40-is small
enough to slip Into a jacket pocket.
TRINOVIDS DON'T
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housing design.
Which of the Trinovid models is best for you will
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Dealer and examine all three models, or write
directly for descriptive literature.
TRINOVID USUAL GLAS'.S
inovids
and In
ment of the latter consists in the main of
anecdotes— often related in the first per-
son—and shows little understanding of
experimental techniques.
Matthews begins his section by describ-
ing the sensory apparatus and function
of some of the most primitive animals,
such as flatworms and sea anemones. He
states that the difference between these
primitive types and the higher animals
is one of degree, not of kind. Such a
statement ignores the qualitative mor-
phological, physiological, and psycho-
logical evolutionary advances that have
taken place at the various phyletic levels.
The difference between a simple flat-
worm eye and the eye of an insect is not
simply the latter's additional sensory
units and more complex organization. At
each phyletic level there is the addition
of new structures that operate on differ-
ent physiological principles. The concept
of levels is of fundamental importance
in animal behavior, as well as in other
biological fields, and this could have
been clearly demonstrated in the study
of sensory modalities.
It is difficult for me to recommend this
book to any particular circle of readers,
as it is not evident for whom the book
was intended. Since experimental evi-
dence and documentation are given little
attention, it is not a good general refer-
ence on animal senses, nor would it be
useful to the serious student. The style
and coverage vary from juvenile to pe-
dantic, so it is neither a children's nor a
college level book. It is too technical and
yet too narrow in its approach to be valu-
able to the person outside the ken of
natural history. Perhaps its main value
might be to stimulate some thought about
the sensory aspects of animal behavior.
William N. Tavolga
The American Museum
Familiar Reptiles and Amphibians of
America, by Will Barker. Harper &
Row, $5.95; 220 pp., illus.
THE illustrations by John C. Yrizarry
make up the best part of this book.
Showing some appreciation of typical
positions and attitudes as well as meticu-
lous attention to morphology, Mr. Yri-
zarry provides some excellent renditions
of native amphibians and reptiles.
The text, mainly compiled from pre-
vious compilers, is made up of a repeti-
tious and naively conceived series of
accounts that is unrelieved by either
knowledge or clarity. While easily
checkable items such as scientific names
and geographic ranges are relatively
accurate, a lack of basic understanding
of the subject is visible throughout.
Neither field guide nor handbook, and
without any unifying conceptual design
to tie it together, the book rambles over
body sizes, geographic ranges, and indi-
vidual life histories without illuminating
SIGNS
AND
WONDERS
UPON
PHARAOH
by JOHN A.
WILSON
One of the great
Egyptologists of our
day describes Ameri-
ca's substantial share
in the exploration of an-
cient Egypt — from
Thomas Jefferson's
hopes to the outstand-
ing contributions of
Reisner, Breasted, and
Winlock. 32 pages of il-
lustrations. $5.95
ANCIENT
MESOPOTAMIA
by A. Leo Oppenheim
A deft portrait and wise ap-
praisal of a dead civilization.
Illustrated. $8.50
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of them. Both herptiles (explained
16 glossary) and herpetologists de-
3 a better reporter.
H. G. Bowling
New York Zoological Park
IN THE Sea, by Gosta Jagersten and
lart Nilsson. Basic Books, Inc.,
W; 184 pp., illus.
.THOUGH many popular books pic-
turing the creatures of the sea have
;ared in recent years. Life in the Sea
book with particular appeal for
ers of Natural History magazine,
ke most books on the subject, this
has devoted much of its space to
iring the diversity of the marine
oworld. With skillful use of the
e microscope, Lennart Nilsson has
ured the beauty of many unusual
unfamiliar organisms. The book is
ogenetically organized into chap-
The authors have made no pretenses
It the accompanying text. It is dis-
:ed and discusses each of the photo-
ihs in simple terms. Occasionally
ring the text, for the trained scien-
are misstatements or oversimpliflca-
i. This, however, does not diminish
wide appeal of the pictures.
John J. Lee
The American Museum
le following books are listed for
ial interest readers.
MON Trees of Puerto Rico, by
bert L. Little, Jr., and Frank H.
adsworth. U. S. Department of Agri-
hure Handbook 249, §4.25; 548 pp.,
us.
)LIfe Management and Conserva-
3N, by James B. Trefethen. D.C.
3ath and Co., $1.32; 120 pp., illus.
Salt-Water Aquarium in the
3ME (revised), by Robert P. L.
raughan. A.S. Barnes & Co., $8.50;
4 pp., illus.
' To Knovt the Cacti, by E. Yale
iwson. Wm. C. Brown Co., $2.25;
8 pp., illus.
ERS OF Australia, by Barbara York
ain. The Jacaranda Press (Bris-
ne) ; 124 pp., illus.
:VE FRESHVfATER FiSHES OF AuSTRA-
i, by Gilbert P. Whitley. The Jac-
anda Press; 127 pp.. illus.
s. Minerals, Crystals, and Ores,
Richard M. Pearl. The Odyssey
■ess, $6.95; 320 pp., illus.
Secret Life of the Flowers, by
ine Ophelia Dowden; Butterflies
ru Moths, by Walter Robert Corti;
IE Coral Reef, by Alfred Butter-
Id; The Sun, by Walter Robert
)rti. All from The Odyssey Press,
4; 45 pp., iUus.
Southern Fern Guide, by Edgar
Wherry. Doubleday & Co., $4.95;
(9 pp., illus.
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takes is a 35mm camera with the responsiveness of a Nikon F,
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II
Fire Ecology of the
Giant Sequoias
Controlled fires may be one solution to survival of the species
Richard J. Hartesveldt
FIVE-YEAR STUDY of the effects of
heavy human impact upon the
■ra Nevada's giant sequoias has
;aled a fascinating story of this
;ies' virtual dependence upon re-
rent fire for survival. The siory is
no means singular, nor is it new.
:re are many plant species through-
the world for which fire plays an
lortant role in preparing suitable
Ibed conditions and in eliminating
more shade-tolerant plants that
ipete with them and impair their
Thick bark of sequoia trunk usually
protects it from serious fire damage.
early growth. Parts of the story of
Sequoia gigantea have already been
told by John Muir, George Sudworth,
Willis Jepson, Woody Metcalf, Harold
Biswell, and others. It is being supple-
mented annually through a research
program encouraged and financed by
the National Park Service.
The story concerns a process known
as plant succession, the continual
change of the plant communities. As
groups of plants change the soil's
nature by the addition of their re-
mains, other species respond to the
new conditions, invade the area, and
gradually crowd out the earlier plants.
Each invading species of plant is
usually better adapted for growth in
reduced sunlight and soil moisture
than were the plants of each previous
group. In turn, as these plants change
the environment, still others invade
and crowd them out. Changes continue
until a long-enduring community of
shade-tolerant plant species is estab-
lished that can reseed successfully in
full competition with itself. This stage,
in which the soil depth becomes static,
is known as the climax stage of plant
succession. Soil depth increases very
little at this point because additions
of organic material at the surface are
balanced by decay at the bottom. The
climax is reached only through the ab-
sence of disturbance factors, such as
fire, blowdowns, insect and fungus
epidemics, logging, or other interfer-
ence by man. The presence of any one
of these factors arrests normal pro-
gression and usually returns plant
communities to an earlier stage. Then
plant invasion begins again and pro-
ceeds once more toward the climax.
In temperate climates, where soil mois-
ture is adequate throughout the grow-
ing season, later stages of succession
are generally typified by trees. The
sequoia story is one of repeated dis-
turbances that have set back the suc-
cession of other plants and have fav-
ored the reproduction of the sequoia,
a tree of intermediate position in plant
succession. Fire is the most important
disturbance factor in this story.
In light of our long-ingrained ab-
horrence of fire in the forest, it may
seem incongruous that our highly
successful and costly programs of fire
prevention and suppression have pro-
duced, however inadvertently, condi-
tions that have led to the decline of
populations of certain desirable plants.
To offset such trends, man has em-
ployed prescription burning rather
widely in the United States on both
range and forest lands. If it seems
contrary to current feelings that fire
should be used as a management tool
in our renowned sequoia groves, let
the reader first consider that the giant
sequoia is well equipped for fire sur-
vival, and that wildfire has been a
natural environmental factor through-
out the evolution of the species. In fact,
it could not have evolved or survived
as it has without frequent fires.
FOSSIL sequoias from Nevada date
back to the Miocene and Pliocene
Epochs (from about 12 to 25 million
years ago). These remains are of
Sequoia chaneyi, a predecessor similar
to S. gigantea. One theory is that the
earlier form migrated over the Sierra
Nevada before that range rose to its
present height of 12,000 to 14,000 feet.
Abundant evidence reveals that fires
were frequent in the sequoia groves
before the advent of Western civiliza-
tion. Sequoias five feet or more in
diameter without large fire scars on
the trunks are scarce, if not non-
existent, so it is inferred that the
species indeed developed with fire as
an accomplice. This inference is valid,
I believe, because the wood chars so
slowly that many fires are required to
produce a large scar. Many of the trees
bear multiple fire scars, probably the
result of repeated fires against the
bases of the trees. Some are cavernous
or extend high up the trunk. When
total scars represent severance of as
little as 15 per cent of effective con-
nections between the roots and the
crown, the crown's topmost part often
dies for lack of moisture and produces
the familiar snagtop sequoia. Yet, 85
to 95 per cent of the tree can be burned
without resulting in the tree's death.
When one does die through total de-
struction of the crown, the wood rots
very slowly. One burned remnant of
a stump, tested by radiocarbon dating
methods, was found to be 2.100 years
old on its outer edge, and it had only
begun to decay ! It is also significant
that while fire scars are universal,
there is scant evidence that there were
many intense crown fires.
To gain some knowledge of prehis-
toric fire frequency, I made growth
patterns from increment borings of
approximately 100 sequoias in Yosem-
13
Snagtop results when fire severs the
connection between roots and crown.
ite's Mariposa Grove and analyzed
them for growth variations. A few
sequoias have grown consistently
within 15 to 25 per cent of their aver-
age growth rates during the past two
centuries, while the growth of others
has fluctuated, showing sudden in-
creases of as much as 200 to 400 per
cent. Climatic changes were quickly
dismissed as the cause of the increases
because the years were not consistent
for all the sequoias cored {graph,
below ) . And then there were trees
that showed few, if any, striking de-
partures from the average growth rate
for as much as two centuries. It may be
that the topographic location of these
trees was not favorable to fires.
RECORDS show that the last major
forest fire in the Mariposa Grove
occurred in 1862, and that another
fire burned into the perimeter of the
grove in 1889. More than one-half of
the cored trees showed a marked
growth increase in the middle lo60"s,
and several showed an increase im-
mediately after the fire of 1889. In
addition, the ages of some of the
younger sequoias indicate that they
germinated shortly after these fires.
The stimulus to growth is explained
simply— fires provided a release from
competition. The fire-resistant se-
quoia, with its thick, fibrous bark, may
only have been injured, while its less
resistant associates were either killed
or greatly impaired. This left more soil
moisture for the remaining sequoias.
The slowing of the sequoias' annual
growth rates after their increases
probably represents the re-establish-
Seqloias killed by crown fire are
rarely found in groups of more than
H
or three. Scarcity of clusters
icates few fires of any intensity.
ment of competing plants. The only
striking departures of growth after
1889 are generally correlated with ac-
tivities of man, such as vista clearing
and the removal of shrubs.
CLIFFORD Presnall, a National
Park Service naturalist in the
1930's, made a study of forest fires
based on fire scars and ring counts,
and in conjunction with his studies it
has been found that between 1760 and
1900 there were at least 18 fairly ex-
tensive fires within the 250 acres of the
Mariposa Grove. This is an average of
one fire every seven or eight years. In
an area of similar elevation in Stanis-
laus County, Harold Biswell of the
L'niversity of California found an even
greater fire frequency. It is likely that
more fires burned during this 140-
year period, but were of such small
areal extent as to be recorded on only
one or two trees. This number is too
small for any assurance that fire was
truly the cause for the release of
growth. There is evidence that light-
ning ignited the tops of some sequoia
trees early in the spring when debris
on the ground was too wet for burning.
Firebrands from the treetops dropped
to the ground, burning the area im-
mediately around the trees, but not
spreading farther.
The period since 1889 represents,
in all likelihood, the most prolonged
fire-free period in the history of the
Mariposa Grove, or perhaps in any
sequoia community. Although since
1864 and 1889 both lightning and man
have ignited many fires in the Mari-
posa Grove, fire-suppression activities
LiCHTNiNC-STRLCK sequoia lost its
top, and lateral limb became crown.
Embryo is in center of sequoia seed.
Winglike outer part aids in dispersal.
have held each to minimal areas. The
absence of fire has permitted uninter-
rupted plant succession and has altered
the species composition of the groves
in favor of sugar pine and white fir.
Of the two, fir is more tolerant of shade
and root competition and becomes
the dominant vegetation under climax
conditions at these elevations. In some
places, stands of fir are so dense that
their deep shade renders conditions
intolerable for young sequoia seed-
lings, which thrive best in sunlight and
eventually die in shade. These dense
growths and the unprecedented ac-
cumulations of dead, combustible de-
bris in the absence of fires occasion
the highest degree of fire hazard ever
observed in sequoia communities.
The conditions under which these
successional changes have occurred
are not uncommon to those plants
whose ecological position is intermedi-
ate, like that of the sequoia. Sequoias
respond well to disturbed conditions
and do not reproduce significantly as
the climax stage approaches. This is
contrary to earlier published works in
which the giant sequoia was, by virtue
of its great size and longevity, re-
garded by some as a climax species.
The tiny seeds of the giant sequoia
(91,000 per pound) can bridge the
i6 '
gap of life only where there exists a
rather exacting set of conditions. In
seeds so small, the amount of stored
food material is also small and permits
but a short growth of the seed roots.
As a result, the chance of germination
is slight in places where even a mini-
mum of leaf litter accumulations have
built up. Dr. Nellie Stark recently
showed that even though moisture
conditions may appear adequate in
the spring or early summer, the se-
quoia litter layer is especially resistant
to wetting, and that sequoia seeds
rarely germinate there. Even if they
could germinate, it is doubtful whether
the short, emerging seed roots could
reach down into mineral soil. Litter
removal, then, is requisite to success-
ful regeneration.
THE means of litter disturbance for
this purpose appears immaterial.
Sequoias have seeded in burned areas,
on flood plains or stream banks from
which water has carried away the lit-
ter, in avalanche chutes, in root pits
and skid trails of fallen sequoias, and
in areas disturbed by man— logging
sites, road and trail sides, and building
sites. Although the scouring and
transporting action of flowing water
has been important locally, wildfire
probably has been the major infli
encing factor. John Muir was irr
pressed with the potentialities o
species survival on the basis of seec
lings growing in the root pits of falle:
trees. Recent examination of twenty
five groves of sequoias has shown thi
means of regeneration to be meagei
at best, and avalanche chutes are nc
common in the groves.
Once germination has occurred, th
young sequoia requires much sunligh
and continuous soil moisture through
out the growing season. In the uppe
section of the Mariposa Grove, th
mortality of young sequoias during ;
twenty-five-year period was 86 pe
cent because of competition for ligh
and moisture. Numbers of dead se
quoia seedlings beneath the densi
canopies of white fir attest to this in
tolerance. Dr. Stark's recent field in
vestigations also show that seedlin;
sequoias grow best in full sunlight i
the stems are protected against sun
scald, such as by low shrubs. Of th(
natural disturbance factors, fire anc
snow avalanches are the only commoi
ones capable of producing both requi
sites for sequoia regeneration. 0;
these two, avalanches are of minoi
importance at most altitudes amen
able to sequoia growth.
Soil compaction by visitors is shown
at left by top tape, the 1862 soil level.
Increased tourism to sequoia groves
led to study of human impact on trees.
rHOUGH older sequoias are rela-
tively resistant to fire because of
thick, fibrous bark of low flam-
lity, young trees lack this pro-
•n. Of those few surviving over
enturies, many have undergone
ted burnings. In areas of re-
d fires, there has been little op-
nity for great accumulations of
, so that most fires were probably
atively low intensity. As a result,
succession was more or less
ted, and sequoia communities
ined relatively free of the dense
! fir growths that are so common-
now. Other species of trees, such
e incense cedar, ponderosa pine,
black oak, were also more pre-
it then, for the recurrent fires
aced favorable conditions for
early-to-intermediate-stage spe-
Occasional fires of high intensity
inly destroyed many or most of
ounger sequoias in given areas,
b may well explain the noticeable
;roup gaps in many sequoia
3s today. A new gap is now de-
)ing because of the reduced re-
rative success of sequoias in the
of advancing plant succession,
le upper Mariposa Grove, for in-
;e, not more than thirty sequoias
survived germination since 1934.
Each of these is in an area disturbed
by man, and most of them are so
densely packed in small groups that
only a few will survive to become ma-
ture giants. Recent National Park
Service-financed examinations of
thirty-one groves in Sequoia and Kings
Canyon National Parks show that
seedling and sapling sequoias are
scarce in all but a few groves. White
fir, on the other hand, is abundant.
The unintentional results of suc-
cessful fire prevention and suppres-
sion have thus brought about problems
that must be solved if the sequoia
is to replace itself. Because plant suc-
cession creates excessive fire hazards,
the situation requires immediate at-
tention. On the other hand, the estab-
lishment of conditions for sequoia
regeneration must be approached
with careful deliberation. Assuming
that protection from uncontrolled
wildfire will continue as an absolute
necessity, it must further be assumed
that the problems of thick litter and
heavy shade will become more severe
unless a program of sequoia manage-
ment is implemented. The National
Park Service, committed by law to
maintain sequoia groves in a natural
condition for all generations, is faced
with a precedent-breaking decision in
order to attain this goal. The act that
created the National Park Service in
1916 implies a continuum of the se-
quoia community in national park
groves. Yet the present sequoia situa-
tion suggests a trend toward the elimi-
nation of certain sequoia popula-
tions. As older sequoias die and are
replaced by other species, the percent-
age of sequoias in the community is
reduced. While this is a long-term
malignancy, it must be faced sooner
or later by a management program.
A big problem that must be solved
by interpretations of the legal
mandate is how to achieve desired
goals without impairing other park
values. The National Park Service
has held its active forest management
to a minimum in the past, so that
either prescription burning or physi-
cal removal of plants and litter will
very likely be repugnant to some citi-
zens. Yet, without employing either
method or a combination, the situa-
tion will become more serious.
Fire by prescription is widely used
in the United States today in vegeta-
tion control, and its effects are
generally far more desirable than
detrimental. Because of differences
in fuel concentrations, there is a great
17
Seed from which this lone tree grew
may have been transported by floods.
difference in the heat intensity of
prescribed fires under control and
wildfires. Prescription burning more
nearly duplicates the effects of re-
peated wildfires of the past, even
though it does not generate as in-
tensely hot flames. Further, man pre-
scribes the conditions under which
burning is done and chooses the
weather conditions best suited to his
needs. He thus reduces the danger of
fire escaping and damaging the plants
he is attempting to manage. In the
parks where non-commercial aesthetic
and scientific values are primary, ex-
treme care will have to be e.xercised
to minimize charred remains by re-
ducing fuel concentrations— primarily
tangles of fallen dead limbs and thick
growths of young trees, such as white
firs, which have a high content of
pitch. Of course, growth and leaf fall
obliterate lightly charred areas in a
comparatively short time.
THE physical removal of competing
trees and shrubs and the raking
and removal of thick layers of leaf
litter would possibly prove as success-
ful as fire in aiding sequoia regenera-
tion. Although many persons have
expressed a strong preference for this
method of management, the implied
frequency of natural wildfires before
the advent of man suggests that fire
creates conditions more natural than
cutting. Perhaps cost is the most seri-
ous objection to raking and removal.
To prevent exposing unsightly stumps,
all woody vegetation would have to be
cut at or below the soil surface and the
remains hauled away, or they would
create an even more serious fire haz-
ard. The magnitude of raking and
disposing of hundreds of acres of leaf
litter is nearly beyond comprehension.
Each acre of litter two inches thick,
if packed firmly, would fill a 28-foot
cube-shaped box. In many areas of
advanced plant succession, the litter
exceeds three inches in depth. Trans-
portation of the raked material from
areas not adjacent to roads would be
grossly impractical, and it could not
be piled and left without being burned.
One additional possibility is the
scarification of the soil surface by
power machinery. Great care would
have to be exercised in the use of
this method because of the shallow
roots of the sequoias— both the small
feeder roots and the main laterals,
which occasionally extend 150 to 200
feet from the trunks base. Also, re-
mote parts of the park, where roads
would detract from aesthetic values,
are virtually inaccessible to machinery.
In the face of extreme fire hazards
that exist in many of the groves, it
is evident that widespread burning
alone would prove as impractical as
physical removal of materials, de-
spite the beneficial long-term value to
the sequoias. Small local fires, which
I hope will succeed in establishing
sequoia regeneration, will be of little
benefit in the reduction of grove-wide
fire hazards. All in all, under present
conditions, there does not appear to
be a simple solution.
There is understandable apprehen-
sion at this time about the use of
fire as a silvicultural tool in our na-
tional parks. However, the precedent
has been set. In Everglades National
Park. Florida, burning has been used
for several years under the direction
of Park Biologist William Robertson
to prevent the further disappearance
of the pine forests and prairie marsh
communities resulting from advanced
plant succession. Just recently the Na-
tional Park Service granted its ap-
proval to the burning of four small
plots and physical removal of plants
and litter from other plots to determine
the feasibility of securing sequoia
regeneration. Although details of the
experiment are not yet complete, the
area tentatively selected is the Red
wood Mountain Grove in Kings Can
yon National Park. It presents i
variety of soil moisture and plan
density conditions, and is accessible b-
a park fire road.
THE areas to be burned, seldor
visited by the public, will be plot
of approximately two acres each am
will be mapped and studied intensive!
before and after burning. Actual burn
ing will be under the direction of fir
control personnel of Sequoia an
Kings Canyon National Parks. Othe
plots nearby will be treated by physi
cal removal of the litter, dead fuel
and competing trees, and by mechar
ical scarification of the soil. A corr
parison of the results may well suppi
some much-needed answers.
The preceding story was the unar
ticipated result of a study designe
to identify and measure the effect
of heavy human impact upon the giar
sequoias. Curiously, the problem
described here emerged as mor
serious than the expected ones of so:
compaction and foot erosion abou
the bases of certain large trees. Al
though both have occurred, there i
nothing apparent in the growth pal
terns of these sequoias to indicate tha
intensely compacted or eroded soil
have impaired them. Shrubs and herb
aceous vegetation have been literal!
trampled out of existence in a fe^
areas, but fears of workers in 1926-2
that such traffic spelled doom to the se
quoias now seem exaggerated. Man'
tenure in the sequoia groves, howevei
has been comparatively short, and it i
possible that cumulative effects no
now evident may occur in the future
This eventuality is recognized and wil
be watched for. Moreover, mucl
physical damage to the environmen
can be prevented by rather simpl
techniques and an increasing compre
hension of the physiology and ecolog;
of the giant sequoia. The species is no
now seriously threatened with extinc
tion, nor is it apt to be, especially witl
the implementation of sequoia man
agement. And there is little doubt tha
careful use of fire and cutting consti
tute a much more realistic approacl
than does a policy of "hands off." Ai
someone once said, "Conservation i:
intelligent co-operation with Nature.'
Density of white fir under sequoii
indicates advanced plant succession
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Anatomy of Decay
as Preserved in Shale
Fossil, SCORPION remains,
incomplete and distorted,
were found in shale in
Scotland. The numerals
refer to six appendages.
Reconstruction shoi
two views : dorsal ( black
ventral (white). Rest
probable form of the bo(
is seen in the dotted lint
Analysis shows biochemical degradation in fossilized scorpioi
THE PRINCIPAL TASK of paleontolo-
gists is to discover and describe
fossil forms and to find out where they
belong in the natural system of plants
and animals. The relations between the
fossil form and the environment in
which it existed also must be deter-
mined to find out how the organism
lived and in what medium it could sur-
vive. Such studies have been based
chiefly only on the hard parts that were
fossilized— those portions that were left
after the soft parts had rotted away.
Little has been known of what hap-
pened to a now-fossilized animal im-
mediately after it died and became
buried in sediment of one kind or an-
other. A single find of one fossil scor-
pion from the Lower Carboniferous of
Scotland— about 300 to 350 million
years ago— has, in a unique way, been
able to shed light on this problem.
In the rich fossil collection of the
British Museum (Natural History)
are two pieces of a large arthropod.
These fossil remains were found in a
dark shale, the so-called oil shales, in
southern Scotland. In 1959 the fossil
20
By Leif St^rmer
was examined by Dr. L. J. Wills, Pro-
fessor Emeritus of the University of
Birmingham, England. He concluded
that the remains were those of a true
scorpion of an unusual size. In the
same year, the fossil specimen was sent
to me for further study— a study that
extended to about three years instead
of the few weeks I had expected.
AT first sight, the two pieces did not
look very promising. The crushed
body was distorted and flattened to
such a degree that the skins, or exo-
cuticles, of the upper and lower sur-
faces were pressed tightly against each
other, leaving no space that could have
defined the internal organs that once
were present. However, after minute
preparation and study of the remains,
it eventually became possible to disen-
tangle the broken bits and to make a
reconstruction of the main part of the
body. The tail and hind part of the pre-
abdomen ("thorax") are missing, but
were probably similar to those of other
Carboniferous and Recent forms. The
scorpion has proved to belong to a new
genus, and I have called it Gigant
scorpiiis willsi because of its extrac
dinary size. The scorpion measun
about 30-35 cm. in length, and th
was considerably larger than ai
known fossil or Recent species (tl
largest one known is 18-20 cm. long
Of particular interest is the uniqi
preservation of the exocuticle, whi(
has remained virtually unaltered sini
Lower Carboniferous time. This sk
consists of dark amber-colored chiti
and it is so well preserved that even tl
minute tactile setae, or hairs, are pre
ent. The chitin is still so tough that tl
thin setae did not break off when tl
surface of the skin was cleaned of tl
embedding matrix.
For microscopic study, pieces of tl
exocuticle were peeled off and embei
ded in Canada balsam. In transmitte
light, the basal portion of a tactile se
was seen to be pushed into its sock
in the exocuticle. A string, preserve
in the internal cavity of the seta, ev
dently represents the nerve (or ce
lular extension of a trichogen cell (
group of cells) . Such a preservation
21
Tactile seta, above, magnifieil X660,
is partly pushed into its socket in the
exocuticle. In lumen at center there
is apparently a nerve or extension of
trichogen cell. Reconstruction of the
cuticle is below. Original layers are
at top; bottom sketch shows how the
two surfaces became pressed together.
EXOCUTICLE
(•EPICUTICLE?)
probably unique in Paleozoic arthro-
pods. Other ornamental structures,
such as scales, tubercles, and pustules,
also are present in all details.
However, some of the sculptural fea-
tures are evidently secondary, and
were formed after the carcass was
buried in the sediment. Typical of such
secondarv structures are the semi-
spheric "bubbles" on the surface of the
exocuticle. The drawing below left pre-
sents a reconstruction of the cuticle
compared with its fossil condition.
A peculiar, striated ornamentation
occurs on the femur and tibia of
the last pair of legs. It consists of small,
narrow ridges not unlike the charac-
teristic striae, or terrace lines, on the
shells of trilobites. However, mounted
pieces showed that the ridges actually
are caused by enclosed, rodlike bodies.
Microtome sections were prepared
from the exocuticle to detennine
whether the rods originally occurred
as canals within the exocuticles that
are now pressed against each other.
In transmitted light the pale, rod-
shaped bodies were seen to be beauti-
fully preserved between the two amber-
colored exocuticles. In several cases,
these bodies showed a distinct parallel
orientation (photograph, bottom riffht),
and it was apparent that they were not
part of the scorpion's structure. Under
stronger magnification, it could be
seen that they were actually wormlike,
and thev revealed morphological struc-
tures that are characteristic of certain
worms of the phylum Nemathelminthes
( := Aschelminthes I . For instance, the
cvlindrical bodies, about 250 microns
long, terminate in a blunt head ending
in a slight constriction, or neck. The
rest of the body is nearly straight and
has a blunt distal end, which, however,
is not well preserved in most cases. The
head has a frontal opening— apparently
a mouth— from which a dark-colored
tube, some three microns wide, leads
backward into the body. The tube
probably represents a chitinized buccal
capsule between the mouth and phar-
vnx. A verv similar structure is found
among the Gastrotricha and Nematoda
of the Nemathelminthes. The Nema-
toda have cylindrical bodies without
lateral lines of setae, so it is probable
that the fossil worms are nematodes.
Dr. H. E. Welch, of the Research
Institute. Belleville, Ontario, Canada,
agrees that the observed structures
(with the exception of the septa-like
structures) suggest nematode-like ani-
mals. He also suggests that if the
mals are nematodes, their simil;
in size indicates they might be in
tures belonging to the same broc
have given the new Carbonife
nematodes the name Scorpioph.
baculijormis. to indicate that
were scavengers that fed on the
body of the scorpion.
In Recent faunas, nematodes
very abundant. They occur in salt
fresh water and in soil, and ar(
pable of enduring considerable v
tion in the acidity and alkalinity o
environment ( the pH ) . Micros(
nematodes take part in the decay ]
esses of all plants and animals, in
ing insects. But until now. fossil n
todes have been known only from r
younger Tertiary and Quaternar;
posits— up to 60 million years ok
The nematodes of Gigantosco
willsi are plastically preserved bet
the two exocuticles. This is puzz
one would expect the presumably
woi"ms to have been squeezed flj
tween the chitinous and normally
exocuticles. The explanation mu
that the two exocuticles were sof
flexible when the worms were enc
between them, and soft chitin sus
an alkaline, rather than an acic
vironment. This agrees with the
ion of Professor L. R. Moore, Ui
sity of Sheffield, England, accordi
whom the sediments were accumi:
under anaerobic ( without ox)
conditions. When the nematodes
trapped and died between the e
tides they were, so to speak, wrt
up between softened chitinous
kets. Afterward, the worms be
more or less hermetically sealed
the exocuticles again hardened it
nection with the change to a n(
pH. The preservation is not dissi
to that of insects in amber or ol
embedded by man in plastics.
BUT the nematode bodies are r
tact in their chitinous ench
The photomicrographs on pas
show how the worms are themi
penetrated and partly destroye
smaller microorganisms. The :
branching rods, sometimes be
probably are hyphae of fungi. Be
the fungal remains occur coccoii
bacilliform bodies with a dianie
about one micron. Some of these
ute bodies closely resemble Recen
teria. However, at least some c
bacteria-like forms appear to
from the disintegration of larger
22
BUCCAL
CAPSULE "^-iL"
Buccal capsules of fossil and Recent
nematodes, above, show chitinization.
Below is a photomicrograph (X310 I of
fossil nematodes trapped in scorpion.
In the microtome sections, left, what
appear to be holes are cross sections
of nematodes that have been enclosed
between the two skins of the animal.
23
a feature that has led Professor Moore
to the assumption that these microor-
ganisms belong to the actinomycetes.
The new form has been named Poly-
morphyces major Moore (photographs
E and F bottom right).
Obviously, one must be sure that the
supposed fossil forms are not Recent
bacteria introduced at a much later
date than that of the scorpion's fossili-
zation. However, Dr. Moore has found
forms identical to those in the scorpion
in many thin sections of rocks from
contemporaneous beds of the same
area, and is convinced that at least most
of the scorpion's microorganisms were
indigenous and took part in the actual
degradation of the scorpion in Carbon-
iferous times. Another factor support-
ing the thesis of the indigenous origin
of the organisms is that they occur
within the cavity of the setae and on the
nerve at the base of one seta. To be sure
that the microorganisms are not of Re-
cent contamination, a piece of the exo-
cuticle was cultured. Recent bacteria
are present, among them the common
soil bacteria Bacillus subtilis, which is
able to form long-living spores: it devi-
ates, however, bv being considerably
smaller than those present in the fossil.
In several places the inside of the
exocuticle is corroded, probably by the
activity of bacteria or bacteria-like or-
ganisms. The inner surface may occa-
sionally bear impressions of small (25
microns wide) tetrahedric (orpseudo-
tetrahedric ) crystals. Tetrahedric crys-
tals are not common; the impressions
might possibly belong to the organic
compound barium calcium propionate,
which has tetrahedric and octahedric
crystals. X-ray analysis of the matrix
between the exocuticles has shown
traces of barium. The possible pres-
ence of barium calcium propionate is
interesting, because propionic acid is
an end product in bacterial activity.
The biochemical activity in connec-
tion with the degradation of the scor-
pion evidently resulted in the release
of various gases ( NHo, COo, and CH4 ) .
The bubbles (globules) and pustules
visible on the surface of the cuticles
now filled with calcite were probably
formed by such gases. A secondary
character of the bubbles is evident for
the following reason: a semicircular
pustule on the upper exocuticle is ac-
companied by a similar one covering
the same area on the lower exocuticle.
This would not have been the case if
the two exocuticles had not first been
pressed together. In two cases, im-
prints of nematodes were found on the
inside of the exocuticles of the bubbles.
As mentioned above, however, such
imprints were formed when the two
cuticles were pressed together. When
they occur on the inside of the inflated
bubbles, it is evident that the bubbles
were formed at a later stage.
THE observed structures permit us
to draw certain conclusions as to
what happened to the scorpion after it
died. Its body, subject to waves and
currents and the attacks of scavengers,
became distorted and was gradually
covered by muddy sediment. Putrefac-
tion began and the soft parts inside
the exoskeleton disintegrated. Various
scavengers took part in that degrada-
tion and in the removal of the products
of decay. The weight of the accumulat-
ing sediment above and the removal of
the soft part inside the body caused the
scorpion to become more and more
flattened. At last the chitinous exoci
tide of the upper side of the body me
and was pressed against the exocuticl
of the lower surface, as suggested i
the diagram below.
At this stage of the degradatio
some of the scavenging nematode
were trapped and enclosed betwee
the two now soft and flexible exoci
tides. In one case, perforations of
thin part of the exocuticle, corresponc
ing in width to the diameter of th
nematodes, suggest that some of th
worms may have succeeded in escapin
before being trapped.
The dead nematodes, in turn, wei
attacked by microscopic fungi, actinc
mycetes, and various bacteria. Grac
ually the scorpion's body was fille
with minute hyphae and bacteria-lik
organisms. To some extent, the latte
also attacked the chitinous skin. Prol
ably various organic compounds pre
duced by bacterial activity crystallize
on the inside of the exocuticles.
At a late stage in the degradatioi
putrefying gases caused the formt
tion of bubbles between the cuticle:
The skin, or exocuticle, of the sem
spheric pustules formed by the bubble
is often ruptured, suggesting that <
this stage it was not so soft and flexibl
as when the nematodes were enclose
—a feature that suggests a change t(
ward a more normal pH.
The unusually well-preserved Cai
boniferous scorpion has thus throw
some light on the little-known firi
phase whereby a dead animal is trans
formed into a fossil. Observations suj
gest that the incidents and processes c
millions of years ago were more or le«
the same as those that take place toda
in an environment that is similaj
COMPRESSION
IN SEDIMENT
FINAL COMPRESSION OF SCLERITE
ENDOCUTICLE
EPICUTICLE
EXOCUTICLE -^ WORM
ENDOCUTICLE (FRAGM.)
WORM IN SOFT CHITIN
Block diagrams illustrate the preservation of nematodes
between' exocuticles. The soft parts gradually decomposed,
and eventually the weight of overlying sediments caused th
two skins to compress, trapping the nematodes between them
24
ADUAL DEGRADATION of nematodes is seen altove (\r)25).
left, very few hyphae are present. Large portions of the
CNIFICATION of 1100 shows: A, nematodes with hyphae of
Lgi; B, beaded filaments of the same fungi; C, base of seta
bodies are decomposed, center, by hyphae and bacteria-like
microorganisms. Only shadows of nematodes remain at right.
with bacteria-like forms; D, organisms of exocuticle; E and
F, colony of microorganism Polymorphyces major Moore.
^"^
^O'-
'a» ^
w
25
EHSV RUniinBIIITV OF FOOD
DRnUIS GUIIS TO THE f u||g„ f jgh |lIpr|;EJ
phDtngraphs by lOU BERnSTEl
I
' ' ' -^^t r
"• ~^t
THE WELL-KNOWN Fulton Fish Market,
at Fulton Street and the East River in
lower Manhattan, is the Atlantic coast's
argest wholesale commercial fish ex-
change and a favorite visiting place for
the gulls of New York Harbor. The pic-
tures on this and following pages were
made after the hurried early morning ac-
tivity of the market place had subsided
and the gulls were doing battle among
themselves for the scraps that lay about
on wharves, barrels, streets, and in the
water. In the course of any one day, some
120 different varieties of sea food are re-
ceived and sent from the Fulton Fish
Market, so the gulls can find in the waste
a diversified fare that no natural feeding
ground offers. Today, boats still dock at
the piers, but the majority of the fish ar-
rive in refrigerated trucks with catches
from ports up and down the eastern coast.
27
SEA GULLS seem at least as commo
in lower Manhattan as pigeons, an
they are the aggressive conquerors, s
far as the avian world is concerned, c
the Fulton Fish Market area. Moi
business is ended by 9:00 or 9:3
A.M., and as the men and trucks dii
appear from the streets, and the boat
slip out from quays, sea gulls arriv
in increasing numbers. On these tw
pages, the squabbling contest for wast
and leavings is in progress. At lef
beak-to-beak combat is under wai
while at the right a struggle in th
East River involves five gulls. Below
victor makes off with the spoils.
-T
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Prosperous or humble, a ma
I
testing bear is aetaii on garaen wai
in the House of Lucretius Fronto.
Painting in House of Romulus and Remus
survived World War H bombings.
<,% ' -"^
,• f ,■«,>,., Mv;m
_V ••»>•>'}> -j*!?
uld enjoy his own paradeisos
J. ompeii, because of its sud-
den and tragic destruction by Vesuvius, is a
unique archeological site; only at Pompeii can
the visitor wallc up and down miles of streets
and see the homes, temples, and places of busi-
ness of thousands of former inhabitants. For this
reason Pompeii is still an unexhausted source of
information for students who would know more
about how people lived, worked, worshiped,
and played in the Roman Empire. Household
shrines reveal the owner's religion. Shops at-
tached to his home indicate his business inter-
ests. Election notices painted on the outside of
his house record his participation in politics and
the candidates he endorsed. The pictures on his
walls tell something of his taste. Among these
pictures are almost life-size paintings of wild
animals, startling if come upon unaware.
But wild animals were not unfamiliar to the
ancient Pompeians, for animal hunts, or vena-
tiones, as they were called, were often a part of
the entertainment of the amphitheater. The
huge signs painted on the walls at Pompeii,
which announce the shows (munera), fre-
quently mention a venatio as one of the attrac-
tions. Paintings found on the amphitheater
furnish evidence regarding the nature of those
entertainments. At the time of excavation, a
six-and-one-half-foot wall enclosing the arena
was discovered. It was decorated with pictures
by WILHELMINA JASHEMSKI
of animal hunts, as well as of gladiators. It is
not surprising that the oldest Roman amphi-
theater yet found is in Pompeii, for the Cam-
panians had been fond of gladiatorial combats
long before Pompeii was besieged by the Roman
general Sulla in 89 B.C. and made a Roman
colony in 80 B.C. The amphitheater at Pompeii
had a seating capacity of about 20.000— enough
to seat ever>' man. woman, and child in Pompeii
itself, with room left for visitors from the neigh-
boring towns of Nuceria, Nola, Abella, Stabiae,
Surrentum, Herculaneum, and Neapolis who
thronged into the city for entertainments.
J_he question naturally arises
as to what animals were used in the venationes
at Pompeii, but there is little written evidence.
Specific animals are mentioned in a graffito
found on the interior wall of a house near the
Forum. Here some unknown Pompeian had
scribbled the reminder: "there will be a venatio
on August 28, and Felix will fight the bears."
Animals are also mentioned on the tombstone
of A. Clodius Flaccus, duovir (or magistrate)
for the third time in a.d. 3. His epitaph records
the various spectacles that he gave during his
three magistracies. Among these was a venatio,
with bulls, bullfighters, wild boars, and bears.
We know from the ancient writers that these
animals were all available in Italy.
Pictorial evidence should be considered
alongside the epigraphical evidence. Detailed
representations of both venationes and gladia-
torial combats were depicted in the stucco re-
liefs that decorated the tomb of A. Umbricius
Scaurus, son of A. Umbricius Scaurus. This
family had made a fortune manufacturing the
fish sauce for which Pompeii was famous. The
tomb was excavated in the days before photog-
raphy, and today the reliefs are mostly gone, but
fortunately drawings were published by the
French scholar M. Mazois between 1824 and
1838. In some cases the animals are difficult to
identify from these drawings, so we have only
Mazois' description. In the largest panel dogs
pursue a wild boar; a bestiariiis—a. man trained
to fight with wild animals— runs a lance through
a bear: another bestiariiis boasts of the bull that
he has transfixed with a lance; in the back-
ground are rabbits, dogs, and a deer. In the
other panels the animals identified by Mazois
include a lion, a tiger, and a leopard. If the
tombstone of Umbricius Scaurus pictures a
venatio at Pompeii it would indicate that expen-
sive imported animals were sometimes exhibited
at Pompeii alongside the wild animals available
in Italy. A wealthy manufacturer with an im-
portant export business might well have im-
ported, for a venatio in his home town, a few
animals such as those he had seen in the great
shows in Rome. Paintings of lions and tigers
found on the podium of the amphitheater like-
wise indicate that at times the more exotic ani-
mals were seen at Pompeii.
The word venatio occurs at least thirty times
in inscriptions and graffiti found at Pompeii, but
in spite of the popularity of the animal hunts,
they provided only a secondary attraction; the
gladiators were the chief feature in the munera.
It is the gladiators who are featured in the signs
announcing the shows. The venatio is men-
tioned briefly at the end, along with other extras
such as athletae, the prizefighters or wrestlers
who performed between more spectaculai
events; vela, the awnings stretched to protect
the spectators from the sun; and sparsiones, the
sprinklings of perfume, which may have helped
to dissipate the stench caused by sweat and
carnage. (Pliny, in his Natural History, says
that the fragrance of powdered saffron mixed
with sweet wine is most efficacious for such a
purpose.) The amphitheater at Pompeii had
no provisions for elaborate animal hunts, and
it had no underground chambers from which
wild beasts could be lifted up to the arena to
replace those that had been killed.
P
JLor
.ompeians witnessed noth-
ing comparable to the spectacle put on by Titus
in A.D. 80, when the Emperor celebrated the
opening of the great Flavian Amphitheatei
(later known as the Colosseum) with games
lasting one hundred days, and on a single daj
delighted the populace with five thousand wild
animals. The historian Ludwig Friediandei
comments that "the animals consumed at Rome
for one great festival, would amply stock all the
Zoological Gardens of modern Europe." A
Pompeian visiting in the capital might have
seen hippopotamuses and crocodiles from the
Nile, lions from Thessaly or Mesopotamia,
tigers from Hyrcania or India, elephants from
North Africa or India, rhinoceroses from Egypt,
ostriches from the African deserts, or even
camels and giraffes. The insistent letters from
M. Caelius, aedile in 5 1 B.C., begging Cicero to
send him leopards from Cilicia. are indicative of
the kind of pressure that was put on provincial
governors to supply animals for the hunts at
Rome. During the empire, exotic animals were
welcome gifts from heads of foreign states. The
feverish activity of rounding up quantities of
wild animals for the venationes at home was not
whhout some peripherally positive aspects.
32
Strabo, a contemporary of the Emperor Augus-
tus, remarked that great areas of Nubia had
been rendered suitable for agriculture because
the wild animals had been trapped and shipped
to Rome for the spectacles.
A careful examination of the large animal
paintings at Pompeii shows that most of them
are unlike those of animal hunts found in the
amphitheater, or the stucco reliefs of a venatio
on the tomb of Umbricius Scaurus. They are
found on the walls of private homes, and usu-
ally on an outdoor garden wall. The ancient
Porapeians frequently decorated the walls of
their enclosed gardens with paintings designed
to make the area appear larger. In these paint-
ings, behind a low fence, trees and taller flower-
ing shrubs appeared to grow in profusion.
Statuary and fountains, frequently too large to
be used in the actual garden, could be enjoyed
in the painted version. One might ask what
Best preserved of Ponipeian animal paintings
is on garden nail in House of L. Ceiiis Secundiis.
33
< SPi",
<•>
:A
Courtyard "garden" in Herculaneum displays mosaics of garlands,
peacocks, and hunt scenes (left), and Neptune and Amphitrite (right).
.^'
-/-"■■"-
prompted some owners to include huge animal
pictures in their gardens. To answer this ques-
tion we shall examine some of these paintings
and study the way in which they are used.
The best-preserved animal painting in Pom-
peii is on the back wall of the garden in the
house of L. Ceius Secundus. On either side of
the picture is a painted fountain. At the bottom
of the wall a realistic, painted border of plants,
amid which birds fly, continues the actual plant-
ings of the true garden. Above the plant border
is a grandiose mountain scene filled with wild
animals. In the lower foreground on the rocky
edge of a lake, a lion pursues a bull. On the
opposite shore, in the middle of the picture, are
wolves and wild boars. To the right a leopard
is gaining on two mountain rams; to the left
are a graceful stag and a gazelle. The mountain-
ous terrain, with its trees and other vegetation,
and the body of water in the foreground shows
that the artist was not picturing a venatio, even
though such hunts were sometimes made more
realistic by the addition of greenery. On the
west wall of a little storeroom is a garden scene
in which a nymph holds a fountain surrounded
by plants, flowers, and birds. Everything sug-
gests that the ancient owner felt that his animal
painting was a perfectly appropriate decoration.
The House of Romulus and Remus, near the
Porta Marina, contained a beautiful painting
on the garden's west wall. Beyond a low wall is
a scene of trees and shrubs. An umbrella pine
dominates the garden and shades a reclining
silenus. Ivy and other plants grow in front of
the wall. In the center a bird sits on the rim of a
crater fountain, on each side of the crater a
nymph holds a fountain, and a peacock struts
in the foreground. The adjoining peristyle wall
is decorated with an animal picture. A snake is
coiled around a tree, and an elephant, bull,
mule, chamois, lion, fox, and bear appear to
live peacefully together.
0.
ther interesting animal pic-
tures are found in the modest but elegant home
of Lucretius Pronto. The garden opens off a
peristyle on the south. The animal paintings
cover part of the west wall, all of the long north
wall, and the east wall of the garden. On the
west wall a tiger pursues a deer. On the adjacent
north wall is a peaceful scene in which a resting
lion appears to be watching a graceful deer as
it quenches its thirst in a rocky stream or lake.
ted fountain and low fence with birds are
of Herculaneum. "garden" in preceding picture.
Garden sculpture of hounds attacking deer
was also discovered in the ruins of Herculaneum.
In the foreground a bear calmly rests in the
shade of a tree and devours fallen fruit. In the
next picture a lion pursues a bull, which is con-
fronted by a tiger. A stag and a fleeing deer can
be seen between the huge trees in the back-
ground. There is again water in the foreground.
In the third scene a huge deer looks back as a
tiger hurls itself at a horse, which nips the tiger's
hind paws. A lion runs from the background
toward the unfortunate horse. At the right a
wild boar prowls through a thicket of plants.
Again the rocky shore of a lake (or mountain
stream) appears in the foreground. Painted
statues of nymphs holding fountains separate
these pictures, and underneath, the border is
decorated with exotic plants.
The paintings in houses that were excavated
many years ago have almost completely disap-
peared, but a few should be mentioned. The
House of the Hunt takes its name from the im-
pressive animal picture on the south wall of the
garden. Although this house was excavated in
1834, before the days of photography, a draw-
ing made at the time gives a good idea of the
painting. Small pictures of cupids hunting wild
animals also decorate one room. It is not un-
usual at Pompeii to find such charming scenes,
in which cupids are pictured engaged in the oc-
cupations and pastimes of men.
Another large animal painting, now com-
pletely disappeared, was found in 1875 when
37
Painting of birds and flowers is in
garden of a recently excavated house at Pompeii.
the luxurious home of the banker, L. Caecilius
Jucundus, was uncovered. This wealthy busi-
nessman, whose father apparently had been a
freedman, had amassed a fortune that enabled
him to own a home as elegant as those of the
local aristocrats. The preservation of his busi-
ness documents on 153 wax tablets found in his
home, and his realistic bronze portrait bust,
dedicated to him by one of his devoted freed-
men, make Jucundus today one of the best-
known citizens of Pompeii. According to the
excavation reports there were a lion, a stag, and
a tiger in his garden painting. On each side of
that painting was a garden scene that featured
a nymph fountain.
Animal paintings have also been found at
nearby Herculaneum, which was also destroyed
by Vesuvius. At this site the volcanic debris
poured down, swept along by heavy rains that
made it into a torrent of mud that penetrated
into every crevice of the ancient town. Through
the centuries this material has hardened into a
rocklike substance that is exceedingly difficult
to excavate. For this reason, only a small part
of Herculaneum has been uncovered, but the
buildings are better preserved than are those at
Pompeii. The house of one prosperous mer-
chant is especially interesting. It has a food and
wine shop— the most complete shop of any kind
yet found in the ancient world— and the beauti-
fully decorated home shows an owner of un-
usual taste. The house was too small to have a
garden, but the walls of the little courtyard in
the back were painted to suggest one. The best-
preserved portion, on the right of the back wall,
shows a delightful garden scene. Oleanders and
trees grow behind a low fence. Birds fly through
the trees, two perch on the edge of the fountain,
and two are on top of the fence itself. Traces of
similar paintings are preserved elsewhere on
the walls. In the center of the back wall, visible
from the entrance of his house, this prosperous
merchant had placed an elegant mosaic of
Neptune and Amphitrite.
It is quite possible that his considerable
wealth was derived from trade by sea, and that
he had good reason to worship Neptune, the sea
god. The nymphaeum on the end wall is richly
decorated with two exquisite mosaic garlands,
on which peacocks are resting. Gardens, homes,
altars, and temples were frequently decorated
with actual garlands; wealthy owners took pride
in the peacocks that strutted in their gardens.
Here in this tiny courtyard there was no space
for large birds, but the owner could enjoy mo-
saic birds and flowers that did not fade. Beneath
the peacocks are scenes in which dogs pursue
fleeing deer. One of the merchant's neighbors
had placed in his garden two beautiful sculp-
tures of dogs attacking a deer.
T
JLhe dignified dwelling of a
middle-class family in Herculaneum is illumi-
nating. There was no room for a garden, but at
the rear was a small courtyard that served as a
lightwell and also carried rain water to the cis-
tern. There was, in addition, room for a few
plants. The plaster on the back wall is for the
most part missing, but above and to the right of
the temple-shaped household shrine I found
fragments of a wall painting of graceful wild
animals in flight; adjacent are remnants of a
garden painting. As the owner looked out from
his large window, the trees and shrubs in his
courtyard might become a great landscaped
garden, and the wild animals in the background
might remind him of those that roamed on great
estates, such as the one which the Emperor
Nero had built within the walls of Rome.
The Swedish scholar Axel Boethius has
pointed out that the remarkable thing about
Nero's famous Golden House in Rome was not
the luxury of the palace and the other buildings,
but the way in which the Emperor had built a
huge villa, with landscaped gardens, groves,
pastures, even wild animals, within the city— a
rus in urbe. Great estates with large enclosures
filled with wild animals were owned by many
wealthy Romans both in Italy and in the prov-
inces at the time of the eruption of Vesuvius.
Such estates were first introduced to the West-
ern world by the Greek writer Xenophon, who
described the great parks of the Persian kings
and nobles that he had seen on his march. Xeno-
phon uses the Greek word of Persian origin,
paradeisos, to describe these royal gardens,
which were vast enclosures that included fruit
and ornamental trees, flowers, birds, and mam-
mals. In much the same way the Latin para-
disiis is the word used in the Vulgate (Genesis
2:8) to describe the Garden of Eden, and the
word "paradise" has come to mean a place of
bliss or happiness— even the heavenly paradise
of the New Testament.
The hunting ground was an essential part of
the oriental paradeisos. Xenophon, in his
Cupid hunts a lion on wall of House of the Hunt.
Cupids were often shown in human pastimes.
description of the education of Cyrus, describes
the animals that the young prince was taught
to hunt: bears, boars, lions, leopards, deer,
gazelles, wild sheep, and wild asses. According
to Quintus Curtius, writing in his life of Alex-
ander, "There are no greater indications of the
wealth of the barbarians in those regions than
their herds of noble wild beasts, confined in
great woods and parks." When Alexander the
Great conquered the Persians, he took posses-
sion of their paradeisoi. His successors also
acquired such parks. When the Romans con-
quered the Hellenistic world they, in turn, ac-
quired a taste for paradeisoi.
In Varro's handbook. On Agriculture, writ-
ten during the last years of the Republic, he
describes the large hunting preserves found on
great estates in Italy. He says that "nowadays
people enclose many acres within walls, so as to
keep numbers of wild boars and roes" for hunt-
ing. He also describes the hare warren, and the
39
\ 'r-^
aviaries, where thrushes and peacocks are
raised, and, of course, the fishpond. Varro re-
ports a conversation, in which his friend Appius
describes how wild boars frequently become
tame. On one of Varro's country estates "wild
boars and roes gathered for food at the blowing
of a horn at a regular time. . . . 'Why.' said
Appius, 'I saw it carried out more in the Thra-
cian fashion at Quintus Hortensius' place near
Laurentum when I was there. . . . We were din-
ing at a table spread out in the game preserve,
to which he bade Orpheus be called. When
Orpheus appeared with his robe and harp, and
was bidden to sing, he blew a horn; whereupon
there poured around us such a crowd of stags,
boars, and other animals that it seemed to me to
be no less attractive a sight than when the hunts
of the aediles take place in the Circus Maximus
without the African beasts (panthers).' "
This description calls to mind an unusual
animal painting in the house of the well-to-do
aristocrat M. Vesonius Primus, who owned a
large fuUery (a shop to treat cloth) at Pompeii.
The painting takes as its theme the Thracian
Orpheus, who is described by both the Greek
and Latin poets as being able to charm the wild
beasts with his music. A huge painting of Or-
pheus playing his cithara to the wild animals
dominates the back wall of the garden, and is
visible even from the street. On either side of the
huge, T-shaped Orpheus painting is a typical
garden painting. The garden of Vesonius
Primus was too small to re-enact the Orpheus
tableau that took place in the garden of Varro's
friend, but the picture of Orpheus in a garden
setting could suggest a great hunting preserve.
What the resources of empire permitted an
emperor to create in reality in Rome, or vast
personal wealth made possible for a citizen in
Imported and local animals both are
seen in this detail from House of Lucretius Fronto.
the Italian countryside or in the provinces, the
modest inhabitant of a town such as Pompeii or
Herculaneum could suggest through the illusion
of the painter's brush. It seems very natural and
charming to see the apparent size of a modest
garden extended through a garden painting. But
if the owner had greater aspirations, he might
suggest that the painter include in his garden
decorations not only fountains, trees, birds, and
flowers, but lakes or streams, set in a mountain-
ous landscape, through which wild animals
roamed in profusion. An examination of the
animal paintings at Pompeii shows that some of
the fauna are in almost identical poses. For ex-
ample, the picture of a leopard attacking a bull
in the House of the Hunt is almost a mirror
image of a similar leopard and bull in the animal
painting in the House of T. D. Panthera at
Pompeii. The stag in the latter painting is the
same as the stag in the House of Lucretius
Fronto. Other duplicates could be pointed out.
Painters at Pompeii apparently had samples,
and painted pictures to order. A modest inhabi-
tant of a small town could order as elaborate a
painting as he desired. He might include all the
animals of a king's preserve, such as the young
Prince Cyrus was taught to hunt. He might even
include an elephant, which no man save the
emperor could own. The noiivean riche banker,
L. Caecilius Jucundus, the prosperous aristo-
crat-fuller, M. Vesonius Primus, or a humble
freedman could recline in his garden adorned
with paintings and enjoy his own paradeisos.
Impressive animal painting, no longer in existen
is said to be from House of T. D. Panthera.
40
41
%^
Gray squirrel, after introduction to the British Isles,
moved rapidly along timbered network formed of hedge-
rows and woods of oak, ash, and hazel. Typical of such
routes is that provided by Herefordshire country, below.
■:%6^fei*
ntroduced Menace
nerican gray squirrel poses threat to British woodlands
loNiCA Shorten
RAY SQUIRRELS are popular small
game animals in the eastern
;s of North America. Management
tices aimed at conservation of the
ies include deliberate sparing of
rees in which squirrels have dens,
iding artificial den boxes, and at-
)ting to increase supplies of foods
inter. The squirrels are protected
nst overhunting by restricted open
ms and by limits on the number
a hunter may kill: in 1949 a
ler in Virginia was fined twenty-
dollars for shooting two gray
;rels during the closed season,
ich protective legislation can be
id to the late nineteenth century in
Jnited States. Before that, in the
of the early settlements, squirrels
Jed the farming pioneers. We read
bite settlers in Ohio required to
;nt a hundred squirrel scalps a
or to pav a three-dollar fine. The
s of Massachusetts and Pennsyl-
1 offered bounties for squirrel
uction in 1740 and in 1749, hop-
to reduce damage to crops. It is
urprising that some protests were
raised when the squirrel became a pro-
tected game animal, or that fears were
expressed that the crops would be rav-
aged, birds destroyed, and forest trees
damaged. The main reason protests
\vent unheeded was that clearing of the
old hardwood forests had sent squirrel
populations tumbling to a point where
hunting pressures might have begun to
have a real effect on numbers.
Perhaps it was anxiety about the
future of the gray squirrel in some east-
ern states that led enthusiasts to seek
a new refuge for it in Britain between
1876 and 1910. At that time, it was
apparently still possible to look upon
the countryside as a painted backdrop
to be enlivened by the gambols of ex-
otic actors placed before it. Few man-
agements knew that it might prove im-
possible to clear the stage or to repair
the scenery when the performance had
lost its charm. From the mammalian
troupe. Europe was dispatching hares,
rabbits, and wild boar to plav their
roles in North America: red and fallow
deer were contributed to the South
American scene: the relatively bare
stage in New Zealand was fast filling
up with foreign acts — the English
weasel, stoat, and ferret joining in
about this time to play alongside an
earlier star performer, the rabbit. Per-
haps there the scenery w"as just begin-
ning to show signs of wear! Having
received most of their immigrant
squirrels by 1910, the British contin-
ued for another twenty years to trans-
plant the newcomers from one district
to another within their country. Of
thirtv-three known introductions, onlv
three failed. After a time, t\\entieth-
century Britain was viewing the gray
squirrel with the same dismay that had
been exhibited by eighteenth-century
America: bounty payments were made,
free cartridges were offered to hunters,
squirrel destruction was urged at all
seasons, and another lesson had been
learned about the folly of introducing
foreign species. Since 1937 the impor-
tation of gray squirrels has been pro-
hibited, as has also the keeping of one
as a pet, a zoological exhibit, or an ob-
ject of scientific study, unless a spe-
cial license has been secured.
In his book. The Ecolos^y of Inva-
sions by Animals and Plants, Charles
Elton writes about ecological explo-
sions—the enormous increase in num-
bers of some kinds of living organisms
that burst out of control when freed
from a previous restraint. He consid-
ers that of all Nearctic mammals in-
troduced to other countries, the gray
squirrel and the muskrat have been,
perhaps, the most explosive. The early
stages of the squirrel invasion have
been well mapped and documented in
the published work of A. D. Middle-
ton, and its progress between 19-37 and
1957 was surveyed at intervals and re-
ported on by the present author. The
latest account by H. G. Lloyd describes
the distribution in 1959, and shows it
to be still increasing. From these ac-
counts we can examine the speed and
extent of the "explosion." We can now
recognize some factors that encour-
aged the gray squirrel's spread in Brit-
ain, and some of the difficulties it met
and overcame. During adaptation to
new conditions. Sciurus carolinensis
earned itself the status of forest pest.
THE whole lamentable exercise
could not have been timed and
planned better had the intention really
been to insure a permanent, thriving
addition to the fauna of England,
Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. A glance
at the map on page 44 will show the
scatter of introduction points, at each
of which two or more gray squirrels
\vere liberated. However, it does not
show the wooded country estates with
their mature oaks, sweet chestnuts, and
beech trees, which were often the ac-
tual sites chosen, nor does it show
the pheasant-feeders so conveniently
placed in the winter woods. On such a
map there is no indication that certain
woods are closed to public hunting, of
the scarcity of winged or arboreal
predators capable of harassing the
gray squirrel, nor of the fat and vacant
living waiting for it once the only na-
tive squirrel had been struck low by
43
INTRODUCTION OF
GRAY SQUIRREL
B FROM ONTARIO
O FROM UNITED STATES
9 FROM WOBURN 0CENTER
• SOURCE UNKNOWN
American gray squirrels were introduced to Britain from
1876 on. Later, they were transplanted inside the country.
Expansion was rapid despite bounties and free cartric
offered to encourage year-round control of the squirrel
disease. In this land there was no in-
terest in squirrels as game or as food.
The most important of the immi-
grants appear to have been squirrels
brought to Britain by a Mr. G. S. Page
of New Jersey. In 1890 the Duke of
Bedford accepted ten for his estate at
Woburn. This colony later provided
animals for at least eight new centers,
quite apart from those overflowing
into neighboring counties and popu-
lating some 1,350 square miles around
Woburn within thirty years. This was
a more rapid spread than that from the
three Scottish centers: three squirrels
were released in 1892 near Loch Long,
and gave rise to a population that in
forty years had spread over 300 square
miles. Mountain and moorland in Scot-
land enclosed the squirrels, confining
their spread along the hardwood areas
on lower ground. In such northern
English counties as Yorkshire, gray
squirrels also first advanced along
river valleys and lower wooded levels,
and in parts of southern England they
at first bypassed the hill country, even
where it was wooded with beeches.
It now became clear that individual
squirrels or small groups were advanc-
ing briskly from established centers in
which numbers were still low. The ini-
tial spread would often leave pock-
ets of promising habitat uncolonized,
44
while five to ten miles farther on the
pioneers were settling in. The appear-
ance of the first squirrel, perhaps miles
beyond the known distribution fron-
tier, would be a warning that some fa-
vorable route existed and would be
used again, even though the first com-
ers had been killed. There were places
where a different pattern developed;
colonies remained largely confined to
one area and built up densities of about
three squirrels per acre.
WRITING of this in 1930, Middle-
ton commented: '"Extensive mi-
grations of grey squirrels in vast
hordes have frequently been witnessed
in America, but no mass migrations
have so far been recorded in this coun-
try. There does, however, appear to be
a strong migratory instinct among in-
dividuals rather than masses, as evi-
denced by the rapid extension of range
carried out in thinly populated areas
such as Wharfedale. It is possible that
in this country the migratory instinct
may be stronger in some individuals or
families than in others, in which case
the ones less inclined for migration
would, by breeding, establish concen-
trated colonies, while the migratory
ones were engaged in extending the
range of the species. In the circum-
stances under which the spread of the
grey squirrel has occurred in this coui
try, where the population of large are;
must in many cases have resulted froi
the progeny of isolated pairs, tl
genetical character of the ancestral ii
dividuals must have a pronounced ii
fluence on the character of the desceni
ants, so that there is a much great(
chance of certain variant characte:
becoming established in these circur
stances than in the normal conditioi
of a constant popuFation." This wi
be returned to in another context.
By 1930, populations arising froi
many centers were already overlaj
ping. The total range in Englam
Wales, and Scotland was then judge
to cover some 13,000 square miles. I
five years this increased to 19,00
square miles, and in the following tw
years to 21.000. At this late stage, th
Grey Squirrels, Prohibition of Impoi
tation and Keeping Order. 1937. W£
published: but soon the war yeai
brought a neglect of gamekeeping, an
the squirrels' range was over 29.00
square miles at the next survey mad
in 1945. Ten vears later distributio
had spread to almost 39.000— roughl
44 per cent of the total land surface c
England, Scotland, and Wales. Gra
squirrels had also been introduced t
Ireland at one place in County Lonj
ford, from whence they are reported 1
: spread to five counties in Eire and
our in Northern Ireland; but no
iled survey has been made there,
be Ordnance Survey maps of Brit-
ire overprinted with National Grid
ires, the smallest being those that
sure one kilometer across; these
:ar on maps scaled at one inch to
nile. Localities can be defined by
National Grid map reference, and
of this system allows transfer of
ibution records to maps of smaller
; with speed and precision.
HE most recent survey results, pub-
lished by H. G. Lloyd in 1962,
r only England and Wales. They
! that in 1959 gray squirrels could
)und in 1,072 of the 1,638 10-kilo-
r grid squares of this area. There
been little dramatic advance since
i, but rather a number of small ex-
ons and some filling-in of small
les of unoccupied territory. If the
of spread shown over the past ten
5 were to be maintained, the squir-
[ight celebrate the centenary of its
al by colonizing the entire land
ice of England and Wales,
is scarcely necessary to caution
:he total ranges calculated by such
;ys give an inflated area. Records
rst mapped on a parish basis, and
hen transferred to the small-scale
using a grid system. In Britain, a
ish" in this sense is an adminis-
'e subdivision of a county, often
:rritory served by a church. There
L2,780 parishes in England and
s. Until 1945, the grid squares
covered 64 square miles: if one
h in such a square had gray squir-
the whole square was counted as
ive. From 1945 onward, the 10-
leter National Grid was used, and
ange comparisons, all earlier rec-
were also replotted on this sys-
One wood containing squirrels
t still add 100 square kilometers
; total range, however. A transient
rel might have the same effect,
rally, squirrels can only be resi-
wheie there is suitable habitat for
, which means food and cover at
asons of the year,
•art from more obvious obstacles
read, such as treeless moors, fen-
heavily industrialized areas, and
I rivers with few bridges (squir-
wim well, but tend to follow the
e of a river rather than to strike
s), a rather mysterious barrier
i to inhibit the eastward expan-
jf range in England. The eastern
Bark stripping by the American gray
squirrel is abundantly evident on the
sycamore tree, above. This particular
tree once grew at Betchworth, Surrey.
Cambium at base of this beech tree
has been gnawed by the gray squirrel.
Such hardwood damage is particularly
noticeable from late April until July.
45
British red squirrels have been twice agricultural expansion, and in the
threatened— in the 18th century from 20th century from virulent disease.
DISEASE OUTBREAKS
AMONG RED SQUIRRELS
WITH DATE OF FIRST RECOR
[-1 RED SQUIRRELS DISEASED
'-' BEFORE 1920
(-] RED SQUIRRELS DECREASING
^ BEFORE 1920
Epidemic disease among red squirrels occurred throughout British Isles,
was suspected in 1862. Then outbreaks and animal was nearly exterminated.
frontier has moved very slowly, an
sometimes the ground gained one yea
has been lost subsequently. Fenian
blocks part of the front, but no appai
ent obstacle prevents the gray squii
rel from skirting this and reaching th
wooded country beyond. In man
cases, the records show that movemer
from the original centers was more t
the west than to the east.
COMPARED with the eastern states c
America. Britain is relatively tin
berless; the total extent of woodlanc
larger than five acres accounts fc
about 7 per cent of the total land su
face— about four million acres. Th
includes very young and coniferot
woodland ( newly planted areas i
which trees are under 25 years old) i
addition to any suitable for gray squi
rels to live in. Oak is the most impo
tant tree for gray squirrels, and thei
are only two species (both of which b
long to the white oak group) cor
monly found in Britain, in contrast
the 36 species of white oaks and bla(
oaks that grow in the squirrel's nati
range. Although the acorns from whi
oak are preferred by squirrels becau
they contain more sugar and mo
water, the trees are not reliable cro
pers, and may fail to produce abo
once in five years. It is hard to imagii
that such a limitation in the variety
acorn-producing trees in Britain is n
a disadvantage for squirrels, partic
larly as there are no hickory tre(
either, and the remainder of the woo
land nut crops— beech, sweet chestni
and hazel— crop irregularly and, mo
often than not, poorly. A saving fact'
for the squirrel may be the pattern
land-use in Britain— the presence
smaller, scattered woods and plenty
"edge" habitat, which places a varie
of food within cruising range. High*
densities of squirrels have been foui
in 40- to 80-acre woods with a mixtu
of coniferous and hardwood specii
including well-grown oaks. Here up
five squirrels per acre can be found
favorable years.
Today, as in their early years, t
introduced squirrels wander; isolat
woods in which all squirrels are kill
soon become reinvaded. The timber
hedgerows, which link wood to thick
and the tree-lined watercourses encoi
age mobility, and mobility makes sen
if food supplies are unstable. By tl
means, when bumper mast crops le
to crowded populations the squirri
disperse to explore fresh woods a
46
escape the stress syndrome. When
is scarce because the acorn crop
ailed, widespread foraging may
rer alternative supplies. It is no-
)le that in Britain gray squirrels
af nests rather than dens for shel-
id for rearing their young: this,
lust aid mobility. The prevalence
f nests may be a reflection of the
il absence of airborne and arbo-
)redators that attack squirrels in
nests. On the ground, man is the
predator, but for a number of
ns he is less effective than he
: be. The highest estimate of the
d kill of squirrels in England and
i was less than 400,000 at a time
fourteen cents was offered for
gray squirrel's tail handed in.
tate of North Carolina, which is
square miles smaller, claims up
)00,000 squirrels a year. There
)e more woodland in North Caro-
but there are ten times fewer
2 to hunt squirrels. In other
i, presumably a much greater
rtion of North Carolinians hunt,
ley kill a greater number of squir-
er gun. However, the American
probably less damaging to the
el population, thousand for thou-
than is the British kill. American
rs take squirrels when numbers
the annual peak and breeding is
or the year, while the British aim
lucing the population, and con-
centrate most shooting, trapping, and
nest destruction to coincide with the
spring breeding season. The gray
squirrel is classified as vermin; there
is no tradition of squirrel hunting for
sport or for the pot. Before a licensed
hunter can fire a shot outside land he
owns or occupies, he must secure ver-
bal or written authorization from the
owner or authorized tenant, and if
there is game in the area, a stranger
may find such permission refused. Dif-
ferences in customs like these have
helped the squirrel to prosper.
The success of an introduced species
will depend upon the competition it
encounters in its chosen ecological
niche. There is only one squirrel of any
kind native to Britain. Sciurus vulgaris
leucourus Kerr is also a diurnal tree
squirrel, a subspecies of the Eurasian
red squirrel developed from ancestors
adapted for life in dense coniferous
forest. In the British Isles, largely
deciduous forests covered the country
before the onslaughts of agriculture
and industry destroyed them and re-
duced the wildlife they sheltered. The
red squirrel suffered the expected fate
of a species whose habitat was reduced
in extent and altered in nature long be-
fore the first gray squirrel appeared.
It came to the verge of extinction in
Scotland at the end of the eighteenth
century, when replanting and the in-
troduction of conifer species from
overseas were only beginning to have
an effect. A series of reintroductions
between 1772 and 1872 were success-
ful, however. It is probable that all red
squirrels in Eire and Northern Ireland
are descended from introductions there
between 181.5 and 1880. Newly formed
plantations of conifers and the growth
of hardwood areas allowed a rapid in-
crease in red squirrel populations,
until at the end of the nineteenth cen-
tury they were abundant. Epidemic
disease was first suspected in Scotland
in 1862 ; then scattered outbreaks in all
parts of the British Isles caused a vio-
lent reduction in numbers, amounting
to disaster for the red squirrel in some
areas. Gray squirrels, however, con-
tinued to spread, themselves unaffected
by the disease— which, indeed, must
have made their conquest easier.
AT first sight, the arrivals of im-
ported gray squirrels between
1876 and 1929 and the main outbreaks
of disease among red squirrels from
1900 to 1925 suggest a direct connec-
tion. It is tempting to conclude that the
American squirrels were immune car-
riers of some agent that proved lethal
when transmitted to the British red
squirrels. The detailed pattern and
timing of the gray squirrel invasion
does not, however, fit the pattern and
timing of the epidemic outbreaks. Even
if highly mobile carriers, such as birds,
RAY SQUIRREL 1930
3RAY SQUIRREL 1945
^ED SQUIRREL 1945
ES of native and introduced squirrels in England and
3 are seen above. In 1945, red squirrels were absent
from 66 per cent of areas occupied by grays since 1930; in
1959 they were absent from 81 per cent of the gray's area.
47
are imagined and full allowance is
made for temporary, unrecorded intro-
ductions of gray squirrels, there is no
positive evidence to prove that the dis-
ease agent came in with them. Had it
done so, one would expect to find that
sickness among the red population
radiated first from some of the major
centers where grays had been intro-
duced. No such picture emerges from
the data collected by Middleton. to
whom we owe virtually all our knowl-
edge of this period.
THE squirrel that might have been
a competitor of the gray in the
deciduous and mixed woodlands of
Britain was thus struggling for sur-
vival on another count during vital
years. When the distribution of each
species was compared in 1945, the red
squirrel was found to be absent from
66 per cent of those grid squares in
which gray squirrels had been pres-
ent for at least 15 years. This looked
like replacement, but no previous sur-
vey had been made of red squirrel dis-
tribution in the area, and it might al-
ways have been thinly populated by
them. Of the total area positive for
gray squirrels, only 43 per cent of the
squares were without red squirrels in
1945. There were more reports of red
squirrels where grays had only recently
appeared. Fourteen years later, 81 per
cent of the same area was without red
squirrels. While grays had spread from
708 to 1,072 squares, reds had re-
treated from 1.011 to 571 squares out
of a total of 1.6.38 squares available.
This replacement of the native by
the introduced squirrel cannot be ex-
plained by the popular idea that there
was mass slaughter of one by the other.
It is easy to see how the idea arose, for
the European red squirrel, unlike the
American red squirrel, would be no
match for the gray in direct combat.
It is smaller, half as heavy as the gray,
and very unlike the American red
squirrel in character. It lacks the chick-
aree's noisy, pugnacious nature, and
is not a close relative. Red squirrel pop-
ulations, struggling to recover from the
disastrous decline of 1900 to 1925,
have done best in districts where gray
squirrels have never penetrated and
where coniferous habitat is plentiful.
Since grays largely avoid purely conif-
erous forest, this may prove a final
refuge for the red. We do not know
which factors are proving decisive in
affecting the change-over— "superior
adaptability" is a useful blanket term
48
— but,however unjustly, the gray squir-
rel is commonly blamed for the scar-
city of the British red squirrel.
The main outcry against Sciurus
carolinensis is for another reason. It
has developed into a pest of broad-
leaved forests, stripping bark and
gnawing cambium from living stems of
young hardwood trees. The habit was
noticed soon after the squirrel's ar-
rival, but became serious as young
stands of the slow-growing, valuable
trees developed in acreage. It was the
chief reason for the five-year bounty
scheme to encourage gray squirrel de-
struction. The damage is confined to
a definite season from late April to
early July, and the trees most usually
attacked are the European sycamore
(which is a maple, Acer pseudoplata-
nus) , and a beech, Fagus sylvatica. At
least a dozen other species are less fre-
quently damaged, but very rarely do
gray squirrels strip conifer stems.
Beech trees may be attacked on ex-
posed roots, the main stem, or the
branches, but the most typical damage
is stripping at the base of the main
stem or where a branch leaves it. Butts
are often completely girdled, killing
the tree. In sycamores, damage often
occurs in the crown of the tree, but the
lower main stem is also attacked.
Outer bark is torn upward in strips,
and the cambium layer is damaged.
Attacks can be distinguished from
those of rabbits when near ground
level, as the outer bark is uneaten.
The two trees most often damaged
are not native to North America, but
it is interesting that fox squirrels in
Michigan have been known to girdle
and kill maples and beech in June and
July. Winter damage to hard maples,
involving the stripping of living bark
from stems and branches in January
and February, is also recorded for
both fox and gray squirrels. In 1958
Longley reported that gray squirrels
near Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota
had been stripping bark from sugar
maples during summer months, al-
though winter damage was more usual.
J. M. Allen recorded damage to soft
maple by squirrels in June. It can be
seen that this habit was not learned by
the gray squirrel for the first time after
its arrival in Britain, but three new fac-
tors have arisen : new species of trees
have been encountered, damage is
more regular and extensive, and more
attention is paid to such damage in a
country where home-grown timber is
scarce (90 per cent of the nation's
timber requirements are imported
Some foresters believe that ba:
stripping is more frequent in dry sui
mers. and that thirsty squirrels li(
sap, but damage is often found i
trees that border streams and laki
Others believe that the cambium laye
with its sugary sap, is a valuable foi
for squirrels in the lean period betwe
April and July, when one mast crop
exhausted and the next is not }
formed. There is a possibility that su
behavior is confined to young of t
spring litters, their family ties brok
by the imminent arrival of summer 1
ters, or that it is a release for soi
sociological stress. Not enough dire
observations have been made of squ
rels actually stripping bark, and we
not know the sex or age of animi
responsible, but not all individuals c
indulge in this activity, or mattf
would be much worse. The British r
squirrel behaves in the same way at t
same time of year, but restricts its
tack to young Piniis sylvestris (t
Scotch pine) and a few other conife
There have been similar attacks
conifers by other races of red squ
rels in central Europe, and forest(
in Finland have described recent 0
breaks of damage to pine that nea
parallel the British experience. Th(
is some evidence that red squirrels
Alaska damage conifers, and the Abi
squirrel may also do so. Probably,
we knew enough, we should find tl
all tree squirrels have this habit, 1
when even-age stands of young tr(
are grown as a crop, the habit becon
more obvious and more annoying.
EARLIER, a suggestion by Middlet
was quoted that referred to gei
tic differences developing in gr
squirrel populations arising fr(
progeny of isolated pairs. The Finn:
authors Pulliainen and Salonen si
gest that bark stripping is behav:
governed by a recessive gene, whi
becomes obvious when isolated po]
lations inbreed to produce individu
homozygous in this character. Diffic
as this may be to prove or disprove
does raise a disquieting thought— we
those gray squirrels shipped to Briti
nuisance squirrels, trapped and
moved from areas where the map
and the beeches had been stripped
Photogenic qualities notwithstandii
Sciurus carolinensis poses real hazE
to deciduous trees in the British Is]
".^p^
Crab Nebula photographed from Mount Wilson Observator
SKY REPORTER
The remarkable Crab Nebula evolved from an exploding sta
By Thomas D. Nicholson
IN LAST month's "Sky Reporter," we saw that the constel-
lation Orion is a region from which much has been
learned about the birth of stars. This month we describe
the Fourth Wonder of the Universe, the Crab Nebula,
which has resulted from the death of a star.
The Crab Nebula is a compact, bright region, roughly
oval in shape, which measures about six minutes of arc by
four minutes of arc on the sky. It is located in the constella-
tion Taurus, the Bull, and is prominent in December skies.
It is about one degree to the north and slightly west of
the third-magnitude star Zeta Tauri, often represented as
the tip of the Bull's left horn. Although too faint to be
visible with the unaided eye, the nebula can be seen easily
in a small telescope and looks pearly-white in color. The
striking appearance of the Crab Nebula is most apparent,
however, in photographs taken with large telescopes. There
is no object similar to it in the entire heavens. The photo-
graphs reveal a complex system of bright filaments sur-
rounding a diffuse, almost featureless central brightness.
In 1844 the Irish astronomer Lord Rosse discovered
these tentacle-like streamers of brightness woven through
the nebula, and it was he who contributed its name. The
earliest records of the appearance of the nebula are the
50
sketches left by Lord Rosse. Interest in the Crab Nebula ;
something other than a curiously shaped cloud of glowii
gas arose during the 1920's. The astronomer K. Lundmar
of the Mount Wilson Observatory, noted that it was locati
in the approximate position of a star that had first be(
reported by Chinese and Japanese astronomers in A.
1054. According to their account, this new "guest stai
appeared suddenly near the star Zeta Tauri, becan
brighter than the planet Jupiter, and remained visible fi
approximately two years.
Such a star is recognized today as an exploding sta
either a nova or a supernova, depending on the magnituc
and characteristics of the explosion. Ordinary novae ar
supernovae may be distinguished by, among other thing
the maximum brightness they achieve during their ou
burst. A nova may attain an absolute magnitude of aboi
— 7 or — 8, some 50,000 times the luminosity of the su:
A supernova may attain an absolute magnitude of — 1
or — 16, about 350 million times more luminous than tl
sun. Novae and supernovae represent very different event
although both may be described as stellar explosions,
nova is a relatively minor outburst, involving only supe
flcial changes in the characteristics of the star that remain
supernova probably involves the basic structure of
ar. The outburst of a supernova results in the loss
ire than one-tenth of the star's material, a inass loss
1 some stars may equal or exceed the mass of the sun.
vae and supernovae also differ a great deal in the
3ncy with which they are observed. Novae are rela-
common; probably 25 to 30 occur annually, although
remain undetected. Supernovae, on the other hand,
ire in our stellar system; only three are definitely
1 to have occurred in the Milky Way in the past
ind years. Perhaps a dozen other supernovae are ob-
1 annually in other galaxies, all at great distances
earth, of course. Supernovae probably occur at a rate
mt one each three hundred years per galaxy,
lay, astronomers are of the opinion that nova-type
rsts represent a stage in the evolution of certain types
rs toward what is known as the white dwarf or de-
ate state. The few white dwarf stars that are known
r to be of low mass, and it may be that many stars
somehow lose a good deal of their mass in order to
this last stage in their evolution. Nova-type bursts
je one way in which the loss occurs. The outburst
probably results from an instability that develops in
ir as it approaches white dwarf stage. Little is known
the causes or eifects of a supernova, since so few are
/ed. None has been observed in our Galaxy since the
:ion of the telescope. The great amount of energy
ed and the mass lost to the star are so great, however,
t must be quite a different kind of event from that
is observed in an ordinary nova.
That the new star witnessed in a.d. 1054 was a supernova
is clear from what we now know of its apparent brightness
and the distance from earth of the cloud it produced. The
absolute magnitude of the star at the peak of the outburst
has been estimated at about — 16.5, indicating that it was
one of the most brilliant supernovae known in relation to
ones observed in other galaxies. The agreement of its posi-
tion with that of the guest star and the observed expan-
sion of its gaseous clouds leave little doubt that the Crab
Nebula is the visible remains of the supernova of 1054.
Two faint white stars near the center of the cloud have
been investigated from time to time on the possibility that
one or the other may have produced the outburst, but this
is unlikely. They are probably background stars, moving—
but not in the same direction — as the nebula.
THE source of the light coming from the Crab Nebula
was not established until about ten years ago. The
spectrum of the cloud showed strong, bright emission lines
superimposed over a very bright continuum. The bright
lines suggested that it was an emission nebula— that its
light was produced by emission of its tenuous gases, stimu-
lated by radiation from a nearby hot star. But there was
no type of star in or near the cloud that could supply the
required radiation. The bright continuum in the back-
ground of the spectrum suggested that it was a reflection
nebula— that is, its light was starlight scattered and re-
flected by dust particles in the cloud. But the strength of
the continuum was far greater than could be produced
by reflected light from any of the nearby stars.
ENTARY STRUCTURE appears relatively weak in the top
, taken in the blue area of nebula's spectrum. In lower
e, taken in infrared area, filaments cannot be seen.
Photographs of nebula's polarized light, above, were taken
through 200-inch telescope at Mount Palomar. Polarization
plane is turned ninety degrees from top to bottom picture.
51
%^''2^BKBHKKKtK^Kl
•
•
" ■ . •
Distant galaxy in Coma Berenices is viewed during the
occurrence of a supernova, arroiv lower right. The brighter
region in center of the galaxy is the large stellar nucleus.
Galaxy after the supernova has faded. Each year about
dozen are observed in galaxies other than our own, and th
probably occur at a rate of one each 300 years per galax
A remarkable series of photographs, published in 1942
by W. Baade of the Mount Wilson Observatory, showed
that the Crab Nebula actually consists of two distinct parts,
and that each part is responsible for a different feature
of the nebula's spectrum. Baade used a combination of
filters and photographic plates to take pictures of the
nebula in selected regions of the spectrum. Photographs in
the area of the spectrum that included bright emission
lines showed a considerable enhancement of the fila-
mentary structure of the nebula. Other photographs, taken
in wavelengths that were free from strong emission lines-
such as the infrared— showed no filamentary structure, but
only a bright S-shaped cloud (photographs, page 51).
These photographs by Baade showed that the strong
continuous spectrum, accounting for about 80 per cent of
the total brightness of the nebula, was produced by the
nebula's relatively featureless inner region. The striking
bright filaments, on the other hand, were responsible for
the emission features. There was still no satisfactory ex-
planation, however, as to what might be the source of the
strong, continuous radiation.
IN 1948 and 1949, several Australian radio astronomers
discovered and investigated a strong source of cosmic
radio waves in the constellation Taurus. The source was
quickly identified with the position of the Crab Nebula,
which then gained the distinction of being the first optical
object definitely identified with a cosmic radio source.
The radio radiation coming from the nebula was peculiar
in many ways; it strongly covered a broad range of radio
frequencies, and was also strong in relation to the optical
radiation produced by the nebula.
The Russian astronomer I. S. Shklovsky suggested in
1953 that radio waves from the Crab Nebula were pro-
duced by electrons moving at near the speed of light in a
strong magnetic field. This is known as synchrotron radia-
tion. Shklovsky further theorized that the optical radiation
52 '
from the inner mass of the nebula could also be explaim
in the same way. This suggestion, connecting radiation
a peculiar nature in two widely separated regions of t
spectrum, was bold and imaginative.
Two other Russian astronomers, V. L. Ginsburg ai
I. M. Gordon, pointed out that if the theory were correi
the light from the Crab Nebula should be strongly pok
ized. Evidence of the polarization was found by Russi;
astronomers in 1954 and was clearly confirmed by a seri
of pictures taken in polarized light by Baade with the 20
inch telescope at Mount Palomar in 1956 [see photograp
page 51, right). In that same year, 1956, J. H. Oort ai
Th. Walraven, of the Observatory at Leiden, The Netht
lands, published a paper that confirmed Shklovsky's the;
that the nature and strength of the radiation from tl
Crab Nebula is attributable to synchrotron radiation. Thi
also suggested that the strong and complex magnetic fie
present in the nebula is probably connected with the e
panding shell of bright filaments. They suggested furth
that the conditions within the Crab Nebula could make il
source of cosmic rays— mysterious, high-energy particl
emanating from space— and that supernovae might be i
important source of these particles.
Thus the Fourth Wonder— the Crab Nebula— has prov
to be a remarkable object in many ways. It shows us the i
suit, after nine centuries, of the death of a star, and m;
yet help to explain the processes that produce or resi
from supernova events. More than that, the investigatii
of this peculiar object has led to a new understanding
the sources of the optical and radio radiation we obser'
in the universe, an understanding that should have an app
cation in the interpretation of other celestial phenomen
Dr. Nicholson, the regular author of this column, is also
Chairman of The American Museum-Hayden Planetarium
MAGNITUDE SCALE
■^—0.1 and brighter
* 0.0 to +0.9
* +2.0 to +2.9
-f +3.0 to +3.9
• +4.0 and fainter
ion December 3, 8:18 P.M., EST
jarter December 12, 1:01 a.m., EST
on December 18, 9:41 p.m., EST
larter December 25, 2:27 p.m., EST
TIMETABLE
December 1 11:00 P.M.
December 15 10:00 p.m.
December 31 9:00 p.m.
(Local IWean Time)
jmber 3: A partial eclipse of the sun occurs over the
■n Pacific Ocean. It will be visible from Hawaii and
astern Alaska just before sunset,
jmber 5: Mercury may be seen close to the two-day-
scent moon just after sunset in the southwestern sky.
y (magnitude -fO.l) is slightly south (below and to the
the moon.
jmber 5: Mars and Uranus are in conjunction at 3:00
3T. Mars is a reddish object (magnitude +1.0) in Leo,
1 between Regulus and Denebola, toward the southeast
midnight. Uranus is a 6th-magnitude object located
11/^ degrees south of Mars.
;mber 10: Saturn and the nearly first-quarter moon are
unction at 7:00 a.m., EST. Saturn is to the east (left)
moon in the evening sky of the 9th; to the west (right)
moon on the evening of the 10th.
;mber 11-15: Meteors from the Geminid shower radiate
he proximity of Castor, in Gemini. The moon will not
'e with observations after midnight. Expected hourly
sar maximum on the 13th, Is about 50.
December 16: Jupiter is in conjunction with the moon at
4:00 A.M., EST. On the evening of the 15th, Jupiter Is east
(left) of the nearly full moon.
December 18: A total lunar eclipse is visible throughout
North America. The moon enters the umbra (dark shadow of
earth) at 7:59 p.m., EST; total eclipse begins at 9:07 p.m., EST;
total eclipse ends at 10:07 p.m., EST; and the moon leaves the
umbra at 11:15 p.m., EST. For times in other parts of the
United States, subtract one hour for each time zone west of
Eastern Standard Time.
December 21: The sun arrives at the winter solstice at 2:50
p.m., EST. Winter then commences in the Northern Hemi-
sphere; summer in the Southern Hemisphere.
December 31: Venus, rapidly disappearing from the morn-
ing sky, may be seen very close to the thin crescent moon, low
in the southeastern sky about dawn.
Venus, Mercury, and Mars are morning stars this month,
but only Mars is well placed for observing. It rises before
midnight and is in the southwest about dawn. Jupiter and
Saturn are both easily seen as evening stars all month long.
Anomalies
in Africa
Photographs by L. D. Vesey-Fitzgerald
The Rukwa Valley, in southwestern Tanganyika, is one of the
world's greatest natural animal reserves, although it is not officially
designated as a national park. Some four hundred species of birds
have been identified, in addition to the thousands of mammals that
roam the area. But among them all, the most extraordinary animals
may be the tv\'o seen in these aerial photographs, taken from a plane
flown by an International Red Locust Control pilot. There have been
reports of albino giraffe over the years, but this record of a spotted
zebra may be a first. Since these pictures were taken, a game officer
reported the zebra had foaled, and the colt, too, was spotted.
5 .\' .
,^
*# ^ #T
», t-
2£ .. ^hi*^? ♦'^i^^ ,:ai.
SpiiUciJ /.cljia run.- vvilli the
normally marked members
of the herd. Color variation
in single animals is not too
unusual; recurrence in the
offspring is rather striking.
Sightings of albino giraffes
have taken place in many-
parts of East Africa, but so
far this Rukwa specimen,
like spotted zebra, has been
viewed solely from a plane.
55
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56
ALLIED IMPEX CORPORATION
About the Authors
Dr. RicH.-^RD J. Hartesveldt, author
of "Fire Ecology of the Giant Se-
quoias," is Associate Professor of Con-
servation at San Jose State College in
San Jose. California. He attended Grand
Rapids Junior College and received his
bachelor's degree, master's degree, and
doctorate in conservation from the Uni-
versity of Michigan. Dr. Hartesveldt has
worked for the National Park Service
as a ranger in Hawaii National Park, as
a naturalist in Yosemite National Park,
Death Valley National Monument, and
Devils Postpile National Monument, and
as a research scientist in Sequoia and
Kings Canyon National Parks. He began
teaching at San Jose State in 1953.
"Anatomy of Decay as Preserved in
Shale," the article on fossil nematodes,
was written by Dr. Leif St0rmer of the
Department of Paleontology-Stratigra-
phy at the Institute of Geology, Univer-
sity of Oslo, Norway. Dr. St0rmer
received his doctorate from that Uni-
versity, and since 1945 he has been
Curator of the University's Paleontologi-
cal Museum and Professor of Historical
Geology. His special fields of research
are fossil trilobites, mesotomes, arach-
nids, and Ordovician stratigraphy. He is
president of the International Commis-
sion on Stratigraphy.
Dr. Wilhelmina Jashemski, author
of the article on Pompeii, is Asso-
ciate Professor of Ancient History at
the University of Maryland. She is
author of The Origins and History of the
Proconsular and the Propraetorian Im-
periuni to 27 B.C., and is currently en-
gaged in research for a book on the
gardens of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Her studies have been supported by
grants from the General Research Board
of the University of Maryland and the
American Philosophical Society, and
were carried on in Pompeii with the
help of Professor Alfonso De Franciscis,
Superintendent of the Antiquities of
Campania. Dr. Jashemski received her
Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.
"Introduced Menace," concerning the
gray squirrel, was written by Monica
Shorten, who lives and works in Eng-
land. She was an Oxford honors graduate
in zoology, did five years of postgradu-
ate research at the Bureau of Animal
Population there, and then made further
studies on the gray squirrel for the
Ministry of Agriculture. Two visits to
the eastern United States have enabled
her to see the gray squirrel in its native
environment. Miss Shorten is currently
interested in virus diseases of squirrels,
and acts as field assistant to her hus-
band, Dr. A. D. Vizoso, who is with the
Research Council's Virus Research Unit
located at Carshalton, Surrey, England.
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CE I IN ACTION
'Listening under water
By William A. Watkins
CNOWLEDGE that there are myriad
mds under water came with the
of wartime listening for subma-
iiologists have learned that most
3 sounds are made by creatures
e in the water: porpoises, fishes,
nd even shrimps. All of the sea
was discovered, do not make
but those that do appear to have
ly different "voices." The sound
rimp can readily be recognized
at of a toadfish; whales "say" dif-
things than do seals. In fact,
made by one species of porpoise
fish differ slightly from those of
lecies. Thus it often becomes pos-
distinguish one from another sim-
istening to their underwater calls,
itists have been excitedly and con-
ly discovering new animals or
hat use underwater sounds, and
iteresting experiments have been
ed to try to discover what use the
makes of these sounds. The dick-
ies of some porpoises, it has been
are used for echolocation, and
i their squeals are for communi-
Ihe "boat-whistle" of the toadfish
I to be related to the establish-
nd defense of its territory. The
1 quality of some fish sounds ap-
f coincides with mating behavior.
seem to snap noisily no matter
ey are doing!
est in underwater sounds— by sci-
and amateurs— has been increas-
d with this interest has come a
in the development of underwater
g gear. For the most part, how-
ich gear has been too expensive
complicated for the general use
ents and amateurs. In addition,
few authors have discussed the
ues of listening to underwater
in a way that can prove to be
to the interested amateur.
minimum listening system (for
ater sound) is composed of a
hone, an amplifier, and a set of
earphones or a loud-speaker. The hydro-
phone picks up the water-borne sounds
and translates them into electrical im-
pulses. These are fed to an amplifier. The
amplifier raises the level of these minute
signals so that they may be converted to
audible sounds by the earphones or by a
loud-speaker. The hydrophone is the only
distinctive component of a simple listen-
ing system. The type most generally used
by scientists today is the piezoelectric
hydrophone, utilizing crystals and ceram-
ics as their active elements. They re-
spond well to high frequencies and
below their resonant frequency they give
good uniform response. Hydrophones for
amateur use have also been designed.
The crystal unit from a microphone may
be adapted to underwater listening by
first immersing it in vegetable oil held in
a suitable container (such as a plastic
bag) so that good coupling to the water
is achieved. For low-frequency listening
a crystal hydrophone may be a disap-
pointment, however, because with de-
creasing frequency its impedance rises,
and consequently very high-impedance
input circuits must be used in accom-
panying amplifiers.
The variable reluctance hydrophone
fits most of the requirements of an ideal
hydrophone for use by amateurs. The
principle is that of inducing a changing
electrical current-flow in a coil of wire
by varying the reluctance of the magnetic
circuit that intersects this coil. It utilizes
a fixed magnet and a fixed coil with a
separate moving ferrous diaphragm or
plate within the magnetic field, and it has
been used in many types of vibration
pickups (magnetic phonograph cart-
ridges, velocity-ribbon microphones, gui-
tar pickups, etc.). Five factors make this
a particularly good piece of amateur
equipment:
1. Sensitivity— easily available ampli-
fiers may be used for listening, i.e.,
ordinary phonograph or tape re-
corder amplifiers.
) for assembling hydrophone shows,
it: fish paper flange, flange with
magnet added, coiling of wire, iron plates
attached, and the whole incased in balloon.
CHRISTMAS
PROBLEM SOLVER
for indoorsmen
and outdoorsmen
HIGH-PERFORMANCE $095
10-POWER TELESCOPE 7J
Whether you give it or get it, this
high-quality ten-power telescope satis-
fies all sorts of Christmas needs. Ideal
for use in country or city, Balscope
Ten focuses by a turn of the eyepiece,
weighs no more than the average flash-
hght, fits into a glove compartment.
Use it for trips, sports events, nature
study. There's a handy belt holster
for only 98(J extra. Made to American
standards of quality by America's
most respected optical craftsmen,
here's an ideal gift for anyone you
know . . . including yourself ! At sports,
optical and photo stores. Bausch &
Lomb Incorporated, Rochester, New
York 14602.
BAUSCH & LOMB^
S7
109.50 less lens!
Now you're
set for the
finest optics
in 35mm
photography
The Nikkorex F accepts 25 Nikkor lenses — the same used
with the famous Nikon F. It also accepts Nikon F acces-
sories for macro, micro, astro and copy photography. With
the f2 Auto-Nikkor 50mm lens, for example, the Nikkorex
F costs you less than $200. For complete details, see your
Nikon dealer or write:
Nikon Incorporated, 111 Fifth Ave., N. Y. 3, N. Y.
Subsidiary of Ehrenreich Photo-Optical Industries, Inc.
2. Good low-frequency response— most
amateurs are interested in marine
life sounds and these are nearly all
relatively low in frequency, that is,
below 500 c.p.s.
3. Easy construction— there is no need
for special tools or close tolerances.
4. Simple parts— the bits and pieces
are those than can easily be ob-
tained, perhaps even from hobby or
junk boxes.
5. Cost— the total cost of parts is less
than one dollar.
Principle of Low Impedance
A permanent magnet with a coil of in-
sulated wire wound on it is placed
between two iron plates (diaphragms).
Magnetic attraction holds these in place
and the entire unit is slipped into a rub-
ber balloon. A two-conductor cable leads
out of the neck of the balloon, and plastic
tape provides a watertight seal.
Sound waves traveling through the
water strike the iron plates and move
them a tiny amount. This motion, al-
though very small, is sufficient to change
the position of the plates relative to the
magnet, and therefore to change the re-
luctance of the magnetic circuit. This
varies the flux lines that cut the turns in
the coil. A potential that changes with the
sound variations is thus generated across
the coil and may be fed to any appropri-
ate amplifier.
This is a low-impedance hydrophone
and requires a low-impedance input to
the amplifier— a 50-ohms microphone in-
put is best. A 50-ohms to 100,000-ohms
transformer will adequately match the
hydrophone to most of the high-imped-
ance amplifiers.
A low-impedance hydrophone has ad-
vantages in underwater listening in that
S8
the cable does not pick up electrical in-
terference and power line hum; also,
minor motion of either the cable or the
hydrophone is not transmitted as noise.
This means that long hydrophone cables
become practical, and it is unnecessary
to use elaborate suspension systems to
avoid the effects of shock and motion on
the hydrophone and its cable.
The sensitivity of the hydrophone, us-
ing a given magnet, depends both on the
size of the plates and the number of turns
in the coil. The amplification necessary
(which depends on the unit's sensitivity)
will probably range from 40 to 65 deci-
bels. The amplifiers of most tape record-
ers and phonographs should be adequate.
The output from this hydrophone will
be greatest at 10 to 20 c.p.s.. and will fall
off increasingly until at 500 c.p.s. its re-
sponse is down 10 to 12 decibels. By using
thin plates and by separating the magnet
from the plates with a small air space,
the high-frequency response may be in-
creased to a maximum of about 5.000
c.p.s. (but only with the loss of over-all
sensitivity) .
Materials Needed
Magnet— short, round bar-type is prefer-
able for more ease in winding and po-
sitioning;
Fish paper— or other durable, stiff sheet-
ing that can be cut and folded to make
coil flanges;
Cement— rubber is recommended, quick
drying and contact setting;
Magnet wire— either No. 36 or No. 38,
enameled;
Cable— two-wire, round insulation;
Iron plates— covers for electrical junction
boxes used in house wiring, or tops
from tin cans ;
Balloon— natural rubber, large enough to
hold plates up to 4 inches in diamete:
and tough enough so that the nee
opening can be stretched by thi
amount (and to keep water out wit
normal use). The thick "Jumbo"-typ
available at most 10-cent stores for
dime will serve the purpose;
Plastic tape— Scotch No. 88 works bes
but any good, waterproof, pressui
sensitive tape will do.
Hydrophone Construction
FLANGES of heavy paper should be cf
mented onto the magnet flush wit
the pole faces. (The permanent magne
usually found in a castoff loud-speake
is the right type, and ranges in size fror
%" by %" in a small speaker to %" b
1" in a larger one. Usually they are onl
cemented in place, and can be remove
easily with a sharp rap of a hammer.
These flanges serve to hold the coil c
wire in place around the magnet. The
should be disks cut about one inch large
in diameter than the diameter of th
magnet. If the center of these disks i
then cut with 4 or 5 crisscrossing inc
sions, the tabs formed can be folded bac
and the magnet pushed through the re
sultant hole. The tabs may then be ce
mented onto the sides of the magnet. On
flange should be cemented in place a
each end of the magnet (see photograp
on page 57 ).
The coil, of enameled magnet wir(
may now be wound directly onto th
magnet. No. 36 or No. 38 wire will b
fine enough to put many turns in a sma.
space, yet is strong enough to be handle
without breakage. The number of turn
will vary according to the sensitivit
needed, and may be anywhere froi
1,000 to 5.000 turns. A coil %" by 1/2" i
cross section made of No. 36 wire wi.
about 3,000 turns. So many turns
be wound more conveniently by a
binder or lathe or drill. If this
od is used, a spindle may tempor-
be cemented (with rubber cement)
e magnet face so that it can be held
:urned by one of these machines,
e cable from the hydrophone serves
as signal conductor and handle. It
Id be soldered to coil ends and then
1 and tied around the coil so that
^feight of the unit is supported by
able and not by the coil wires. The
I should have two (No. 16 or No.
wires between 15 and 25 feet long
ed with round insulation. A water-
seal can be made more easily with
on a round cable. This cable need
e shielded, since it is a low-imped-
device; most noise pickup will oc-
t the hydrophone, not in the cable,
e diaphragm plates 2 to 4 inches in
eter can be made of any ferrous
rial such as 3-inch electrical junc-
)ox covers or even tin can tops. The
; must either be rounded off or
ed with tape to avoid cutting the
an. They should be allowed to be
in (or nearly in) contact with the
of the magnet. The magnetic at-
on will normally be strong enough
ep the plates firmly in place. For
:ivity, these plates should be as
as the balloon will hold. A rigid.
Mr. Watkins, Research Associate at
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution,
is currently in Antarctica, where he
is studying calls of the Weddell seal.
thick plate is more sensitive, but a thin
diaphragm will respond better to higher
frequencies. The high-frequency re-
sponse may also be helped (at the ex-
pense of sensitivity) by keeping a small
(1/64 inch or less) air gap between the
faces of the magnet and the plates. (In
air the device will appear to be much
more sensitive with a thin diaphragm
held a little away from the end of the
magnet, but for underwater sound recep-
tion a rigid diaphragm in contact with
the magnet is most sensitive. )
A good grade of natural rubber bal-
loon makes an easy waterproof housing
for the hydrophone. It is thin enough to
allow close contact between the water
and the surface of the plates, which re-
sults in good acoustic coupling. It also
permits a certain amount of pressure
equalization— maintenance of a pressure
inside the unit that is equal to the out-
side pressure. This prevents physical dis-
tortion of the hydrophone components
as its depth is varied. The balloon pushes
up between the plates and confines the
bubble of air to a smaller and smaller
space with depth.
Insertion of the unit into the balloon
can most easily be accomplished by first
stretching the neck of the balloon with a
finger of each hand. The two plates
may then be slipped in first and the
coil assembly can be put between the
plates. The coil and magnet should be
placed toward the bottom of the plates
(as it is held by the cable) so that the
pressure differential, as the hydrophone
is introduced into the water, will not
squeeze the plates together and partially
pull them away from the magnet faces.
Exhaust enough air from the balloon
to prevent it from floating and seal the
neck to the cable with plastic tape.
Starting at the base of the balloon neck.
wrap the tape tightly around the neck
and then up three or four inches beyond
the end of the balloon (to keep water
from seeping between tape and cable).
Unless the listening system is entirely
battery-powered, careful grounding of
the amplifier to the water will be neces-
sary to reduce power line noise. A bare
wire fastened to the amplifier case and
trailing a few inches under the water
will probably be adequate.
The variable-reluctance hydrophone
is a departure from the traditional types.
but because of its simplicity, frequency
range, and ease of construction it lends
itself to a variety of projects in record-
ing, listening, and learning about a great
many water-borne biological sounds.
mE AND EGYPT
IRNEY INTO ANTIQUITY.
ally planned for those with a serious (professional or amateur)
ist in the great archaeological sites of the Mediterranean
itlons.
week tours featuring a seven day cruise on the Nile River for
nter travel season.
In addition to Athens and Cairo itinerary includes:
SOS LUXOR and DENDERA
JA THEBES and KARNAK
= IA ESNA and EDFU
II KOM OMBO and ASWAN
lose who wish, an optional trip by Hydrafoii to Abu Simbel is also
;d.
/ departures October 12, 1964 through IVlay 3, 1965.
;roup is limited to 10 persons and will be accompanied by top
who are trained archaeologists.
insportation by fine iet aircraft of Lufthansa German Airlines,
ruise aboard the Isis or Osiris, modern air-conditioned vessels
ed for comfort. Accommodation in deluxe hotels.
our cost from $1,454.70 per person.
RUSS/AN ART TREASURES
^^% DC ^CCIil ^ comprehensive tour for those with
f ^^ Ar»r iJLLMW ^ serious interest in Russia's diverse
and beautiful masterpieces.
A special group, conducted by an outstanding expert in Russian art, will
depart from New York on May 16, 1955 via Lufthansa German Airlines.
Itinerary includes:
IVIOSCOW
LENINGRAD
TASHKENT
BUKHARA
SAIVIARKAND
26 days, total tour cost $1,965.00 per person.
EREVAN
TBILISI
KIEV
PRAGUE
VIENNA
LUFTHANSA
GERMAN AIRLINES
LUFTHANSA GERMAN AIRLINES, Dept. UX522
410 Park Avenue, New York, N. Y. 10022
Please send me details on the following tour, or tours.
D Greece And Egypt Tour Into Antiquity
□ Russian Art Treasures Tour
NAME-
ADDRESS-
CITY
My Lufthansa Travel Agent is_
59
ooKjor tJiirtstmas...
AN EXCITING AND USTING GIFT
"1
k^"!*!^^.
PEOPLE OF EIGHT SEASONS, by Ernst Manker
Europe's last nomads, the Lapps, who still follow their mi-
gratory herds, are vividly portrayed in this account of Lapp
history and culture as the reader accompanies a present
day herdsman and his family on their seasonal cycle of
journeys. Spectacular drawings, engravings, photographs,
and maps complement the distinguished text. $20.35
ANIMAL WORLDS, by Marston Bates
How animals meet and, adapt to different conditions of
life in all the major habitats of the world is described and
analyzed in this beautiful, thought-provoking book. Its
clear, interesting and authoritative treatment of the inter-
relationship between animals (including man) and their
..environments is supplemented by 245 excellent photo-
graphs. $15.35
GEMSTONES OF NORTH AMERICA, by John Sinkankas
This handsome and authoritative volume combines com-
prehensive geological and mineralogical information with
detailed descriptions for the field collector. Abundantly
illustrated in color and black and white, here is a unique
, reference work that will be prized by both amateur and
professional "rockhounds." $15.35 *'
iNIMALS IN AFRICA, by Peter and Philippa Scott
The story in words and pictures of a journey through the
thousands-of-square-miles-large national parks in Kenya,
where the wild animals of Africa Jive unmolested by man.
More than 200 photographs with interesting commentary
make this book the best substitute for a safari you are
likely to find anywhere. $12.75
AUDUBON'S WILDLIFE, by Edwin Way Teale
In one of the most original art and nature books to appear
in years, a noted contemporary naturalist takes a fresh
Bikiat th^jivork of a great wildlife artist. Magnificent de-
Ms of ^Aui^ibon pictures are shown in the exact size as
me original's. Birds and other animals are included; text
and illustrations are organized according to the different
types of habitat $15.35
prices include postage and insurance. Members of The Museum are entitled
s 10% discount. Pleasa send check or money order to...
JM> U'li
THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10024
SOURCES! AND LEGISLATION
Washington newsletter
I By Paul Mason Tilden
'HE 88th Congress, widely heralded
in some circles as the "conservation
igress." passed into American history
•ing the early days of October. Slo-
is, of course, seldom tell whole truths ;
s the sobriquet allows a minimum of
dit to previous Congresses that had
ested weeks and months of arduous
committee and full-committee spade-
-k in the foundations of the conserva-
1 legislation eventually passed by the
h. The above is not written in deroga-
1 of the accomplishments of the 88th
igress, which did. in truth, pass a
nber of measures of intense interest
he conservation world. It would seem
iropriate at this time to canvass sev-
l of the most important. In doing this,
attempt will be made to link prece-
ce with importance.
The Wilderness Act
ROBABLY there are few readers of
Natural History who are not aware
he passage, late in the second session
;he 88th Congress, of a Wilderness
, which, with the signature of the
sident in early September, became
Wilderness Act of 1964. Formally
wn as Public Law 88-577, the act sets
a National Wilderness Preservation
;em under which statutory protection
fforded qualified lands of the Forest
/ice. Park Service, and Fish and
dlife Service; that is, lands in the
onal forests, national parks and mon-
:nts, and national wildlife refuges
game ranges. The act itself defines
lerness in rather graceful language:
wilderness, in contrast to those areas
re man and his own works dominate
landscape, is hereby recognized as an
, where the earth and its community
ife are untrammeled by man, and
re man himself is a visitor who does
remain."
requirement that a wilderness area,
the purposes of the act, contain at
t 5.000 acres of land unimpaired by
nanent roads or other of man's works
qualified at the last moment before
age by addition of the words "or is
ufficient size as to make practical
reservation. . . ." This language was
rted so that worthy areas— roadless
ids of less than 5.000 acres, for ex-
le— might qualify for inclusion in the
erness system.
le mechanisms for establishing wil-
esses on lands administered by the
artment of Agriculture (Forest Serv-
ands) and those under jurisdiction
of the Interior Department (parks,
monuments, wildlife refuges, and game
ranges) differed somewhat. All national
forest tracts presently classified as wil-
derness, wild, or canoe (the Boundary
Waters Canoe Area in northern Minne-
sota's Superior National Forest is pres-
ently the only unit in the third category)
were incorporated into the wilderness
system on passage of the act. All Forest
Service areas presently classified as
"primitive" will be reviewed by the Sec-
retary of Agriculture within ten years
for their suitability as a wilderness area;
it is safe to assume that these reviews
actually will be the responsibility of the
Chief of the Forest Service, rather than
of the Secretary. It might be added here
that the Forest Service has, over the past
few years, been making boundary ad-
justments and reclassifjang primitive
areas under a program of its own. The
somewhat nebulous category of "primi-
tive area" had been marked for elimina-
tion and reclassification as either "wil-
derness" or "wild." After review of the
primitive areas— an operation that must
be fully accomplished by 1974— the Sec-
retary of Agriculture must make his
recommendations to the President for or
against wilderness classification. The
President will then advise ivith Congress,
and the Congress will pass or reject
acts for each proposed wilderness.
With respect to lands administered by
the Department of the Interior, the Wil-
derness Act calls for the Interior Secre-
tary to review park and monument lands,
wildlife refuges, and game ranges within
ten years; in practice, this will mean that
the Directors of the National Park and
the Fish and Wildlife Services will do
the basic studies. Each roadless area of
more than 5,000 acres in the parks and
monuments, and each similar area (plus
roadless islands of any size) in the
refuges and game ranges will be scruti-
nized for wilderness criteria; as with
Forest Service lands, final classification
will depend on acts of Congress.
Conservationists were well pleased
with the Wilderness Act insofar as it
touched on Forest Service lands; it af-
forded statutory protection to wilderness
areas already existing, the size of which
hitherto could be adjusted by mere de-
partmental decision. Indeed, prior to
passage of the act, wilderness areas of
national forests theoretically could be
wholly declassified to ordinary, multiple-
use national forestland by executive de-
cision. In regard to the effect of the act
We concentrate on
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When you're a serious photographer, lens quality
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Minolta SR cameras combine superior Rokkor op-
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retractable eyecups, full field with or without eyeglasses.
$59.50. >)c Custom 7 X 35, also has full field with or
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In Canada; 1310 W. 6tti Ave., Vancouver 9, B.C.
on lands in the national parks and mon-
uments, however, there were those in the
preservation facet of conservation who
were not unreservedly enthusiastic.
The great national parks and monu-
ments, as all units of the park sy.*tem.
are administered under the National
Parks Act of 1916, which provides, as
far as possible, for the continuance of
existing wilderness qualities. If the parks
and monuments were "zoned." so to
speak, on the basis of wilderness tracts
of 5.000 acres or more, would they not
be opened to pressures for development
of sections that were not legally wil-
derness? Preservationist apprehensions
were not lessened by the Park Service's
immediately announced plans for just
such zoning in two of the great national
parks— Yellowstone, in Wyoming, and
Great Smoky Mountains, in North Caro-
lina and Tennessee. Further, some pres-
ervationists felt that mandatory new
legislation for each of the great parks
and monuments might bring to life the
many predatory interests that are ever
on the alert for cracks in the protective
armor of the wilderness parks.
A New Conservation Fund
ONE of the recommendations sub-
mitted to the President by the Out-
door Recreation Resources Review Com-
mission in January, 1962, called for
prompt establishment of a federal pro-
gram of grants-in-aid to the states, on a
matching basis, "to stimulate recreation
planning and to assist in acquiring lands
and developing facilities for public out-
door recreation." Less than three years
later the suggestion had been translated
by the Congress into one of the basic
purposes of the significant Land and
Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965.
The other purposes of the act are to
provide money for federal acquisition of
inholdings. or parcels, of private land
lying within the boundaries of national
park and forest system lands, and to
acquire land and water refuges for
threatened species of native animals.
The fund, which most conservationists
believe will lead to greatly expanded
state and federal outdoor recreation and
preservation programs, will be financed
by money from three sources. First, the
act provides for a system of admission
and user fees in the national parks,
forests, wildlife refuges, land manage-
ment areas, and other federal property
administered primarily for outdoor rec-
reational, historical, or scientific pur-
poses. Then, the fund will receive pro-
ceeds from sale of the surplus federal
real and personal property. Finally,
money will be derived from the existing
tax on motorboat— and other special-
fuels. Since the fund will commence
operations in a relatively fundless con-
dition, the statute provides for advances
from the U.S. Treasury of not more than
/f RECOJ^D/2^GS :
SONGS OF THE FORES
. , SUNG BY THE HERMIT THRUSH THE
WCDD THRUSH, AND OTHER. WODDLAND BIR.
■ THE BROOK. Seven inch hi-fi. Hovi
water is a soothing sound anywher
On this record, the soft rushing
a woodland brook is the sound thre
we foLLow. As we record the stre
from its source to the slow-movi
swamp where we are caught by darknes
we hear, among others, the Phoebe, t
Fox & the Great Horned OwL. Common
on Side A wiLL make you feet at ho
on the downstream trip. Same trip
your own on Side B. $ 1,25 postpai
■ SONGS OF THE FOREST. 12" mono L
To the human ear, certainty the mo
musical Ly talented of North Americ
birds are the Thrushes. On th
recording, you will hear the endle
variations on the individual them
available to the Wood Thrush and t
Hermit Thrush. Interspersed is t
etherial flute-scale of the Vee
plusother forest bird calls and woo
land sounds. One side has commen
and Just enough identification,
the other side are the uninterrupt
sounds of a cool Spring woodla
transported into your home. $ 5.i
■ THE SEA AT CASTLE HILL. 12" mono
is for those who are perfectly sati
fied to hear the surf with no commei
other than the Gull's cry, and t
lighthouse bell. On Side B is a tr
up the Hudson on the Side -Vlheeli
ALEXANDER HAMILTON. Beautiful ste<
whistles wail and sigh. $ 5,t
Prices, including postage: r
I I THE BROOK, 7 inch hi-fi, $ 1..
I I SONGS OF THE FOREST, 12" $ 5.(
r~l THE SEA AT CASTLE HILL $ 5.(
I I All three of the above $ 10.1
DROLL ^?:z\NKEES INC
PROVIDENCE, R,I. 0290I
Please send to:
Home
address.
Please send the records as my gift ii
Name
,. addrea
62
)00.000 yearly for eight years, the
nces to be repaid to the Treasury
out interest after the fund has been
)eration ten years. As recommended
•62, 60 per cent of the fund's annual
opriations will be available to the
s as grants-in-aid, to be matched
equal amounts by the states. Forty
:ent will go to federal agencies for
and water purchases.
New Preservations
EN before passage, the land and
water fund bill had an effect on
r pending conservation legislation,
oon as passage seemed reasonably
in. Congress took a more generous
ide toward addition of two new
; to the national park system— the
k National Scenic Riverways and
ce Age National Scientific Reserve
ce acquisition costs could be de-
;d from future state shares of con-
ition fund revenues.
le Ozark National Scenic Riverways,
,000-acre preserve stretching some
miles along both banks of the Cur-
and Jacks Fork rivers in south-
al Missouri, was authorized by Con-
i in late August. Through agreement
Missouri, the riverways could also
de four state parks: Montauk,
id Spring, and Big Spring on the
ent, and Alley Spring on the Jacks
; were all four parks added by state
tion. the area would be increased by
22,000 acres. Before passage of
nabling act, some congressmen ex-
ied doubts about committing the
mal Park Service to the protection
administration of a strip of land
niles long and in many places little
than a mile wide. This was an issue
iome conservationists had pondered.
Congress also wondered about the
:ant proliferation of park system
jories. In any event, a brand-new
;ory of preservation had been cre-
to save portions of the two rivers in
free-flowing condition, and most
srvationists felt that the beautiful
s and their valleys, which support
nusually rich assortment of plants
animals and exhibit many interest
;eological features, were worth sav
or public enjoyment and education
It long after Congress had ques
d the wisdom of adding more cate
IS of lands to the park system, i
prized yet another— an Ice Age Na^
1 Scientific Reserve in Wisconsin—
jlp preserve and interpret for the
ic some of the best of that state's
anding relics of continental glacia-
Scattered over the northern third
le nation there are many superb
iples of glacial sculpture and ice-
ed topographic features, but prob-
nowhere are so many of these
ped together in such a relatively
1 and accessible area as in the au-
IF you live in New York City or a nearby suburb you are in an enviable
position. You can take personal advantage of the special benefits
that are yours if you become one of the higher category members of
The American Museum of Natural History— and at the same time you
can help support one of the world's great cultural and research institu-
tions. For instance . . .
As an ANNUAL MEMBER, you receive:
10 Exclusive Thursday evening lectures for yourself
• Monthly Calendar of Events
and a guest
• Museum's Annual Report
10 Exclusive Saturday morning children's lectures
• Use of the newly refurbished Me
mbers' Room
for yourself and a guest
• Membership Card
Complimentary admission to 7 of The American
Muscum-Hayden Planetarium Sky Shows
• 10% discount on all purchase
Museum Shop and Planetarium
over SI at the
look Corner
10 parking lot tickets
A subscription to NATURAL HISTORY magazine
• Special discount rates and prefer
for the numerous courses and p
the Museum's Division of Adult
ograms offered by
Education
As a FAMILY MEMBER, all of the above privileges are yours, plus tickets for 3 guests
at the evening adult lectures.
As a LIFE MEMBER, you also have unlimited attendance at the Planetarium.
ANNUAL S 15 per year
FAMILY % 25 per year
LIFE S500 single payment
In any category you receive the satisfaction of knowing that your membership is helping
scientists add to the knowledge of mankind. Will you join us?
Write today, enclosing dues for the category you prefer. Address the Membership
Secretary, The American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street,
New York, N. Y. 10024.
BESET BY GIFT Y/ORRIES?
BANISH TROUBLESOME GUESSING BY GIVING
MUSEUM SHOP GIFT CERTIFICATES
They come in convenient denominations, $5, $10, $15, $25 (and up— in mul-
tiples of 5), witii your name inscribed as donor. Accompanying each Gift Certifi-
cate is our illustrated catalog describing a notable array of gifts from which the
recipient will enjoy making a truly personal selection. ^-^
THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY tke AUiSeiJ*^kcp
NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10024 ,-^_J^i^ ({ti
63
THE
CUNEIFORM
WORLD
ARCHAEOLOGICAL TOUR
OF THE NEAR EAST
This exciting tour into Antiquity starts
on April 6 and returns to the
United States on May 3, 1965, after
having visited Lebanon, Syria,
Iran, Iraq and Jordan.
A study of the Siimero-Akkadian
civilization and its impact on the
origins of Western culture will form
part of the program. This unfor-
gettable journey through time to the
wellsprings of our civilization
will certainly be meaningful not
only to the expert but also to
the amateur archaeologist.
Our lecturer, Dr. Cyrus Gordon,
has served as an archaeologist on
many expeditions in the Near East.
He participated in the unearthing
of the Royal Tombs at Ur,
in discovering the mines of King
Solomon, and deciphering the
Tell al-Armarna tablets found
in Egypt.
Dr. Gordon is the author of many
books and articles on the ancient
countries we are visiting. Among the
books are ADVENTURES
IN THE NEAREST EAST: THE
WORLD OF THE TESTAMENT.
and BEFORE THE BIBLE: THE
COMMON BACKGROUND
OF GREEK AND HEBREW
CIVILIZ.4TION. For many years he
has taught the languages,
history, and archaeology of Egypt,
Greece, and the Near East.
Our tour to Greece and Egypt last
spring was a great success,
but many had to be left behind
due to lack of space. Please
register early.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL TOUR-I.T.L.T. 3136
LINDBLAD TRAVEL, INC.
ONE EAST 53rd STREET
NEW YORK 22, N. Y.
Name (Mr. Mrs. Miss)
ORNITHOLOGICAL
SAFARI
THROUGH
EAST AFRICA
When one thinks of Africa it is
usually in terms of white hunters, lions,
elephants and Kilimanjaro. Few people
are aware that while looking at rhino
they can also watch the fascinating
red-billed oxpecker, without whom
the rhino's life would be a misery,
or study the friendly relationship
between the elephant and the egret.
Nowhere in the world is there a
greater, more accessible selection of
native species of birds than in Kenya.
In Kenya, there are 1033 full species
ranging from the West African forest
birds in the Kakamega Forest to the
marine species on the shores of
the Indian Ocean. Lake Nakuru, whose
several millions of flamingos may be
seen, has been described by Roger Tory
Peterson, American Ornithologist,
as the "most fabulous bird spectacle
in the world."
You are invited to join a special tour
of "Bird Watchers", leaving New York
for Kenya on February 17, 1965.
The internationally renowned
ornithologist, John G. Williams of the
Coryndon Museum in Nairobi, will
act as advisor to the expedition. Mr.
Williams led the Queeny Expedition of
the American Museum of Natural
History in 1950, the Chicago Natural
History Expedition in 1954, the
British-American Expedition to Angola
in 1957, the Carnegie Expedition in
1958, and the Los Angeles Museum
Expedition in 1963.
The tour will include visits to Lake
Magadi, Amboseli Game Reserve,
the Treetops, Lakes Naivashi, Nakuru,
Baringo and Hanninglon, Kakamega
Forest, and Sirimon Track on
Mount Kenya— among other places.
This is an opportunity for educational
and meaningful travel offered by
Lindblad Travel of New York.
ORNITHOLOGICAL TOUR-I.T.L.T. 3131
LINDBLAD TRAVEL, INC.
ONE EAST 53rd STREET
NEW YORK 22, N. Y.
Name (Mr. Mrs. Miss)_
HANDCARVED IVORY PAINTED BIRDS
Complete with stand — money back guarantee
$6.95 P.P.D. ea.:
Canvasback, Wood Duck. Golden Eagle. Bald Eai
"' "'-'-^"■-' Sparrow Hawk, Mallard " '
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Mockingbii
Red. Green. Blue), Robin. Goldfinch, Tanagei
Oriole, Bluebird. Indigo Bunting, Titmoi
Wlng.Canarj. Sparrow. Blue Jay, Nig
Ced,
ale. Cardii
Fl.
•3" Ion
Unpalnted Ivory Animals— 2Vi" long
$7.95 P.P.D. ea. :
Camel. Walrus, Seal, Kangaroo with baby. Bear, Po
" Fox, Lion, Rhinoceros, Hippopotamus, Bis
Ox, Boar.
Ivory Flowers and Chess
FAYE HAUER
2414 Larchwood Rd. Wilmington 3, D(
LIMITED RELEASE-U.S. GOVT. SURPLUS
SNIPERSCOPE
INFRARED SET..,
for scientists, gun collectors, naturalists
Built in 1950 and 1951 by America^i Optical Co.
excellent working condition. Used by our troops f
observing enemy in total darkness without beii
detected. Suggested uses: medical research, study
nocturnal animal life, mineralogy, industrial and me
ical research, crime detection. Rare item for gun c(
lectors. Telescope is 163/4" long; clear aperture of le
is 50.4mm A 5"-diameter filter is attached. Km
adjusts focus electrostatically; second knob adjus
reticle intensity. Reticle also has vertical and ho
zontal adiustments. Canvas carrying case and should
strap included. Complete unit includes 11" x 14" x 1
chest, telescope with RCA 5032 image tube, 20,001
power pack with canvas carrying case and should
straps, IR light source, steel carbine bracket, pisti
grip handle with switch control. Formerly highly das;
fled. Limited supply. Ong. Govt, cost, $800. Shippi
wt., approx. 30 lbs. Prjce $249.!
SNIPERSCOPE BATTER
Rechargeable 6V power sourt
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Prices F.O.B. Tucson, Ariz. No C.O.D.'s, please.
C & H SALES CO.
P.O. Box 1572, Tucson, Ariz.
rized Wisconsin preserve. Within
r or perhaps five nucleus areas al-
ly partly in state ownership, the
lie will be able to see and study such
nomena as drumlins. kames, kettle
aines, eskers, glacial bogs and ponds,
Ider trains, and the high-and-dry
ids of former Glacial Lake Wiscon-
Most of these features are scattered
ig the terminal moraine and the
en Bay-Lake Michigan interlobate
aine of the most recent, or Wiscon-
ice sheet. The act creating the re-
e authorizes additions to the state
sts and parks that contain the relics,
rell as acquisition of several other
s now in private ownership. The leg-
ion also provides a 150.000 federal
ropriation for a comprehensive plan
the reserve, but land acquisition
ey (some $750,000) will be deducted
I Wisconsin's future share of land
water conservation fund revenues.
Pacific Botanical Garden
)TH scientists and conservationists
were pleased by passage during the
mer of 1964 of an act providing con-
sional charter for a Pacific Tropical
nical Garden— perhaps more than
eventually. Business of the garden
be conducted by a corporation ini-
f consisting of five prominent con-
itionists: Henry F. duPont, Deane
lo Malott, Horace M. Albright,
;rt Allerton, and Paul B. Sears,
le the enabling act mentioned no
ific site for the botanical garden or
ens, it is known that the first will
icated on the island of Oahu in the
of Hawaii. Prime purposes of the
en, which, it is believed, will be
;ly if not wholly financed by private
tion, are: basic research into
cal botany; dissemination of the
ired knowledge; preservation of
itened species of tropical plant life;
more generally, the education, in-
tion, and recreation of Americans.
Fire Island
ME ten years ago the National Park
Service identified and studied those
ining strips of shoreline on the na-
; East and Gulf coasts which, from
tandpoint of scenic, scientific, and
ational values, might qualify as
nal seashores. From this study came
lort: of the 3,700-odd miles of gen-
shoreline stretching from Maine to
s, there appeared to be but 54 such
ents. (Two of these have become
nal seashores since the survey-
Cod, in Massachusetts, and Padre
d, in Texas.) Fire Island, off the
, coast of New York's Long Island,
ne of the remaining 52. The prosaic,
;raphed pages of the report noted
"ire Island, relatively unspoiled and
ly roadless, was "of extreme im-
nce because of its natural features
ola^din house, ltd.
520 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y. IOC
kP
THE CLEOPATRA LOOK I
Genuine Egyptian Scarabs served three purposes;
as charms, seals, and for adornment. A small col-
lection of ancient faience Scarabs has been set in
modern Jewelry . . . combining the artistry of
^000 years ago ivith Jewelry fashions of today!
Superb all-occasion gift in Streling silver of 14K
GOLD . . . (displayed in rich Jewelry case) f.t.i.
Charm Pendant Earrings
Silver $17.89 $19.89 $27.79
Gold $19.89 S24.89 $37.79
CLEOPATRA AGE JEWELRY
Ancient Egyptian faience beads {3rd Cent. B.C.—
4th Cent. A.D., CLEOPATRA AGE), from ex-
cavated caches. Entombed for centuries, these
exotic, colorful beads in concert form a necklace
treasure; a tasteful complement lo casual or
formal attire.
24 inch Necklace of ancient beads . S15.50 f
Sterling Silver drop bead earrings S 5.75 f
Complete Set: Necklace & Earrings . $19.75 f,
FREE: Elegant display cases with Necklaces &
Earrings.
BRONZE AGE
ARROWHEADS ... *
Excavated from famous archaeological
sites in "AMLASH" (near the mts. of
LURISTAN!) Bronze Arrows date from
15th-8th Cent. B. C. & exhibit rich
malachite green patina! Each arrow a
magnificent display piece ... unique
SELECT Arrowhead 3"-5" S6.50
Average Arrowhead 2"-3" §4.50
FREE: Plastic display stand for arrow
=^^=SEE-'-The Illustrated London News",
May 5, 1962, P. 699-701
POSSESS THESE GENUINE RELICS...
YOURS AT NO EXTRA COST?
No additional sales & Federal tax charges.
No additional charge for insured postage.
Authenticity Certificate with your order!
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FREE: Handsome display case for Jewelry !
PLUS: Ask about "FREE Lay Away Servi(
. . . useful, long range payment plans !
Aladdin House, Ltd.
520 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y., 10036
□ Please send FREE Gift Catalog only !
a Please ship me the following:
Namp
Check enclosed S_
AHdrP<«
City
SratP
_Zip
ANTIQUITY GIFTS
TEMPLE BUDDHAS...
(irom lSlh-19lh Cent. Siam)
Secured from abandoned vegeta-
tion overgrown, timeworn temples
deep in the primeval forests of
northern Siam. Superbly crafted
teakwood statuettes, lacquered red
&/or black . . . several Buddhas
richly finished in Gold leaf, some
with hand inscribed prayers.' State-
ly display (7"-10") complimenting
home & office decor. A distinc-
tive all-occasion gift! CHOICE
Buddha, rich Gold leaf finish &
inscribed prayers $35.
Select Buddhas, rich Gold leaf $25.
Miniature OPIUM WEIGHTS
The sale of opium in 17th-19lh Cent. Siam &
Burma was state controlled. Used to weigh
opium, these stylized bronze lions, handsomely
mounted on walnut bases, are approx. l/2"-3/4"
high, weighing 2/5-1/2 02. Useful & unique as
paperweights, they make an exotic addition to all
collections . . . a most intriguing gift from the
Orient! $4.80
COIN OF INDIA
The heavy silver coins of the
Shah Jahan Empire (1632-1653)
have been transformed into mag-
nificent handcrafted jewelry. This
famed Indian ruler built the Taj
Mahal, the worlds most sump-
tuous memorial to a beloved
wife. Coins of Shah Jahan,
historically symbolizing his
"^ immortal love for the Em-
press Mahal, are now avail-
able as regal charms, pend-
ants & cufllinks. A gift truly
expressing eternal love!
Silver coin pendant ,.-$23. 50
Silver coin charm $19.50
Silver coin cufflinks ....$28.50
ANCIENT OIL LAMPS
over 1364 Years Old..,
liable for display
Now av2
Actually
from 4th-7th C'
ancient glow v
symbolizes knowledge
A.D.
ick
t'oking i
our home or office !
Palestine, they date
can rekindle lamp's
'egetable oil. Lamp
Will stimulate thought-
sation. A superb all-i
to be admired forever/ Lamp oi
with parchment certificate of au
hardwood base
thenticity $10
FREE Gift Catalog
. . . Illustrating: Crosses, Buddhas, Amulets,
Bronze Weapons, Lamps, $carab5, Jewelry,
Figurines, Masks, Roman Glass, Pottery, Coins,
$hawabtis, Coptic Textile & morel Co/lectors,
Students, Gift Givers & the intellecluallY curious
will enjoy this stimulating reference book.
Write for your free copy today!
ALADDIN HOUSE, LTD.
Dept. N-12B • 520 Sth Ave. • N.Y., N.Y. 10036
65
OLDS
20 pounds
you ore a Bird Watcher and have been
oking for a handsome, lifetime-type feeder
ith real capacity, you will want this one,
ade from aluminum castings; with redwood
)Of and footboard. Food hopper has double
rength glass. Easiest filling feeder made; roof
cks up for filling. A striking yard ornament.
Iting Squirrel Guard 1 5 'A in. in diameter.
ses only eight bolts for assembly. Requires
in. pipe for mounting [not supplied).
SATISFACTION GUARANTEED
EDER, (Without Post and Suet Holders), Post-
lid, (odd $1.00 west of Rockies) S39.95
lET HOLDERS, assembled, (for Feeder or Trees),
stpaid each S5.00
Indiona residents odd 2% soles tax.
DWER MANUFACTURING CO., Inc.
21 South 10-A Goshen, Indiana
^^
Share ttie Thrills
01 Exploring f
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FASCINATING GUIDE
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Read these valuable facts be-
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complimentary copy of this
helpful guide.
Criterion Manufacturing Co.
33t Church St., Hartford 1, Conn.
® TM Registered U.S. Pat. Office
CRITERION MANUFACTURING CO.
Dept. NH-50, 331 Church St., Hartford 1, Conn.
Please send your free Telescope Guide.
Address-
City
66
Mr. Tilden, a writer and editor in
the nation's capital, often contributes
columns pertaining to government
activities and the natural sciences.
and its close proximity to large centers
of population." However, said the report.
Fire Island "would be very difficult and
expensive to acquire." But as it has
turned out, Fire Island was acquired by
the Park Service during the second ses-
sion of the 88th Congress, and its ac-
quisition will long stand as a monument
to the persistence of the island's inhabi-
tants and to the numerous scientists and
conservationists who stood shoulder-to-
shoulder with them. Ironically, Fire Is-
land's salvation as a seashore came about
largely through a threat that would have
meant total obliteration.
For a number of years after the Park
Service's study report had been in print,
the Fire Island Seashore idea generally
had lain dormant. Then, in 1962, it was
proposed that a four-lane "ocean boule-
vard" be run the length of the island,
with a right-of-way of some 300 feet.
(Over long stretches the barrier beach
that constitutes the island is no more
than 500 to 700 feet wide.) According
to its proponents, the superhighway
would have made the island more acces-
sible. That threat was enough to stir up
the island's inhabitants and many con-
servationists and scientists. The scenic
shore environment and the rather ex-
traordinary flora and fauna of Fire Island
were too precious to be immersed in
concrete. Largely through the efforts of
this group. Congress authorized the
4.300-acre Fire Island National Sea-
shore, to be set up under the provisions
of Public Law 88-587. The authorization
came on September 11, 1964— a little
more than two years after the highway
proposal. Two of the stipulations of the
new law are that the seashore should be
administered by the National Park Serv-
ice "with the primary aim of conserving
the natural resources located there," and
that it should remain roadless. Despite
the Service's gloomy prediction of earlier
days. Congress appropriated 316.000,000
for acquisition of seashore lands.
This list details the photographer, artist,
or other source of illustrations, by page.
COVER-Art Reference
Bureau
12-19-Richard J. Hartes-
veldt except 14-15-
bottom, AMNH after
Hartesveldt, 16-left,
Shirley Fischer
20-25-Leif Stormer except
25-bottom (A.B.E.F.) L. R.
Moore
26-29-Lou Bernstein,
Aesthetic Realism
Photographers
30-41— S.Jashemski except
30-31-bottom, Art
Reference Bureau
42-top, Hubert C.
Birnbaum
42-43-bottom, C.S.Elton
44-47- Monica Shorten
except maps, AMNH
after Shorten
49-Hubert C. Birnbaum
50-52-Mount Wilson and
Palomar Observatories
53-AMNH
54-55-L. D. Vesey-
Fitzgerald, Birnback
Publishing Service
57-William A. Watkins
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B. SHACKMAN & CO. ^wTs'^. St., n"?! looJ
Dept. NI
Flight Deck — Family Giff
Recommended by National Audubon S(
ciety as far back as 1953. Feeder excels i
Action Packed Bird Activity . . . just inchi
away. Count up to a dozen birds and se'
era! species ON DECK at one time. Ide:
for shut-ins and youngsters. Clips on or o
windowsill. 17"xl5", green, white trin
Hardwood perch rails, feeding stick, foi
seed wells, drinking and bird bath poo
Christmas GIFTS mailed as instructei
Money-hack guarantee. $6,95 ppd.
Duncraft. Dept. 12-N. Penacook. N. i
Wildwood Nature Camp
Operated by
Massachusetts
Audubon Society
Boys and Girls
9-7 4 yeors
A program of NATURAL SCIENCE designee)
fo stimulate interest and develop skills for
enjoying ond understanding our environ-
ment. Individual guidance, research proj-
ects. Wholesome foods and outdoor living
emphasized. Write to:
DAVID R. MINER, Director
623 South Street Barre, Mass. 01005
4
Overseas Nature Tours— 1965
Three tours following Spring nortli across Europe.
THE COXTINE.NT. 4 wks. . starting May 1:
BRITAIN, 3 wks., June 7 ($375 all expense from
5IEXIC0. 2 wks.. Apr. 19: SOUTH AMERICA. 4
wks.. July 4. BIRDS OF AFRICA. 4 wks. round the
continent. Aug 1: E.^ST AFRICA. 4 wks., Aug 22.
SOUTH ASIA, 5 wks.. Sep. 12: AUSTRALIA, 4
wks., Oct. 17; NEW ZEALAND. 3 wks., Nov. 14.
with optional 2 week extension in South Sea Islands.
DOMESTIC TOURS
TEXAS, 2 wks. from Corpus Ctaisti. Mar. 28;
ARIZONA, 2 wks. from Tucson. May 15.
Emphasis on birds, but strong secondarj- atten-
tion to wildflowers and other life forms. Small
cooperative parlies, expert group and local lead-
ership, moderate cost. We seek out back-country
routes, trv for an experience-in-depth of the
natural scene and the people. . . . Come along!
TTERFLY TRAY ENSEMBLE
this
hand crafted in Taiwan
thentic example of Oriental lacquer-w
I import discovery is sure to delight the
" " * ' " jasters is hand lacquered
genuine, colorful butter-
1 under glass for a lifetime of beauty.
is 12" in diameter and IVi" deep. The
ire 3^" in diameter and %" deep,
pieces will be sent to you postpaid for
Your satisfaction is guaranteed.
JULCA TRADING COMPANY
"World Wide Imports"
Dept. NH-3. P.O. Box 53
New Britain, Connecticut 06030
$9.50
If Dome — for Wild Birds
, you can have your own Nature Win-
Attractive, new feeder is designed to
;t all wild birds. Features a trans-
it Roll-top roof over a partitioned
tray and landing platform, 8"xl9'/2".
sletely pigeon-proof. Instantly at-
s to window sill for indoor servicing,
also be hung or fit it atop standard
(I,D.) water pipe. Gift boxed with
Money back guarantee. $7.95 ppd.
raft, Dept. 12-ND, Penacook, N, H.
HALE TEETH
MO, GREENLANDIC, LAPP CRAFTS
:TIC books • SCRIMSHAW • SOAPSTONE
Whale Teeth: Sm. $2.50; Med. S3. 95; Lg. $6.50;
$8.95. Sealskin Kayak Model $39. Lapp Reindeer
ne Knitting Needle Case (8") $8.00. Lapp Gift
$9,50. FREE BROCHURE
PETER B. DIRLAM, IMPORTER
D -19 Lebanon Hill Southbridge, Mass.
;h them alive and unhurt!
iding
nff HAVAHAET trap captures
rabbits, squirrels, skunks, pigeons
etc. Takes mink, coons without injury,
ng pets, poultry released unhurt. Easy to
pen ends give animal confidence. No jaws
■ings to break. Galvanized: manv in use
irs. Sizes for all needs. FREE illustrated
cal guide with trapping secrets.
HART, 158 D Water Street
ing. New York
Suggested
Additional Reading
FIRE ECOLOGY
OF THE GIANT SEQUOIAS
The Redwoods of Co.4st and Sierra.
J. C. Shirley. University of California
Press, Berkeley, 1937.
The GiAiNTS of Sequoia and Kings
Canyon. H. R. Stagner. The Sequoia
Natural History Association, Three
Rivers. Calif., 1952.
Big Trees and Fire. H. H. Bis well. Na-
tional Parks Magazine, Vol. 35, pages
11-14, 1961.
A Guide to the Giant Sequoias of
YosEMiTE National Park. J. W. Mc-
Farland, Yosemite Nature Notes, Vol,
28, No. 6, pages 43-91, 1949.
ANATOMY OF DECAY
AS PRESERVED IN SHALE
GiGANTOSCORPIO WiLLSI, A NeW ScOR-
PION FROM THE LoWER CARBONIFER-
OUS OF Scotland, and Its Associated
Preying Microorganisms. Leif
St0rmer. Skrifter Utgitt av Det
Nor she Videnskaps Akudemi i Oslo,
Ny Serie, No. 8, University of Oslo,
Oslo, 1963.
On Some Microorganisms Associated
WITH the Scorpion Gigantoscorpio
WlLLSi St0rmer. L. R. Moore. Skrif-
ter Utgitt av Det Norske Videnskaps
Akademi i Oslo, Ny Serie, No. 9, Uni-
versity of Oslo, Oslo, 1963.
POMPEII
Pompeii. Its Life and Art. August Mau,
The Macmillan Co,. N.Y., 1899,
ESSAI SUR LES CHASSES ROMAINES DES
origines a la fin du siecle DES Anto-
nins. Jacques Aymard. E. De Boccard,
Paris, 1951.
Animals for Shovf and Pleasure in
Ancient Rome. George Jennison.
Manchester University Press, Man-
chester, 1937,
INTRODUCED MENACE
Squirrels. Monica Shorten, Collins,
London. 1954,
The Ecology of Invasions by Animals
AND Plants. C. S. Elton, Methuen &
Co.. Ltd., London, 1958.
The Ecology of the American Grey
Squirrel in the British Isles. A. D.
Middleton. Proceedings of the Zoolo-
gical Society of London, pages 809-
843. 1930.
The Distribution of Squirrels in Eng-
land AND Wales. 1959. H. G. Lloyd.
Journal of Animal Ecology, Vol. 31,
No. 1, pages 157-165, 1962,
Introduced Mammals and Their In-
fluence on Native Biota. A. deVos,
R. H. Manville, and R. G. Van Gelder,
Zoologica, Scientific Contributions of
the New York Zoological Society, Vol,
41, Part 4, 1956.
PRE-COLUMBIAN HEADS
Authentic clay castings, each one 1,000
to 1,500 years old, from the Teotihuacan
culture of Central Mexico.
AH handsomely mounted. An authentic
treasure from Central Mexican Antiquity.
No two alike. Quantity limited. Makes an
ideal gift. Place your order now to insure
Christmas delivery.
Sorry, no C.O.D's. Send check
or tnoney order.
Se„d for Free List. only 6'° f^u.S.A.
OLDE CHELSEA, 150 9th Ave., N. Y. 10011
U^IIcL £AjOjth£A.
plete life story of a black bear raised like a child
in a human family. V/ritten for adults, this delight-
ful story will enthrall all ages. 47 photographs
$2.50 per copy fMaine residents add 10<f sales lax,
TO: SEBAGO PUBLICATIONS, Gorham, Maine
Please send copies of WILD BROTHER
$ enclosed in check or money order.
Name
Street
City State
FLYING SQUIRRELS
AND CHIPMUNKS
QUALITY-INSPECTED
BINOCULARS
Completely Coated Optics; Clamped Prisms;
Full Size Center Focus; Field Focus Color
Corrected.
7 power x 35mm $19,95
7 power x 50mm $23.95
10 power X 50mm $29.95
With pigskin carrying cases
Each plus $2 postage & handling.
ADAMS MAIL ORDER CORP.
824 South Street, Dept. N, Peekskili, N. Y.
67
IMUSUAL SCIENCE BARGAINS
4V4" ASTRONOMICAL TELESCOPE
UP TO 255 POWER
New Vibration-Free Metal Pedestal Mount
Mil
the I
eua
duubie
give
Back-
1 linii
lU-pinion focusins. removable mirror
ount, counterweight. Real equatoriul
mountine- Aluminum tube, 6x finder
telescope. Two standard-size eye-
pieces and our mounted Barlow lens
gives you powers of 45x. 90x, 135x,
ISOx and 255x. f/11 mirror corrected to
better than Vi wavelength. Free with
scope: Star Chart plus 272 -page
"Handbook of the Heavens" plus "How
Telescope." Shipping wt. 25 lbs.
' ~ S79.5Q f.o.b. Harrington, N. J.
described above but equipped with
SI09.00 f-o.b. Barrington. N. J.
stock ;785.08G-E $195.00 f.o.b. Barrington. N. J.
LOW COST 6X TO 18X ZOOM SCOPE
Tremendous bargain! Unusually high
quality, compact spotting scope for dis-
tances to 75 yards. Spots .22 holes at 100
'■^ ft. ; excellent for terrestrial use. Zooms
from 6X to ISX with twist of dial.
Chrome slide tube for smooth focusing
. from infinity down to 8'. Coated optics,
* • 30 mm. diam. objective. 2-toned gray fin-
ish aluminum body IW diam. x lOVs"
extends to 12%"). Easy to carry, fits in pocket, weighs
[ily :ii^>" oz. Incl. lens cap (not tripod). Imported.
Jtock No. 60,437-E S7.95 ppd.
[•RIPOD rOR. ABOVE For stead> image Lightweight
iluminum with steel cl^^lp rubber feet Allows movement
n all directions ^■\ t 7 oz
>tock No 50 014 E .,.,$4.00 ppd.
NEW ZOOM TELESCOPE
ZOOMS FROM 25X TO SOX
chro
nark
Clll
Excellent
Includes
for both
snnglass
for
Hi
safe
(ling and
1 1 degree
u\ Magn
h resolution
al and celes
solar obseri
focus
30
lical
tial
ing ad-
iiinutes;
on scale
r entire
obsena-
. 22>4"
tMk
No. 711. ('.
'3-E
S3
.00
Postpaid
Now . . . TAKE
PHOTOGRAPHS by
REMOTE CONTROL
iclude yourself in group
Ictures or taUe photos from
Ijoining rooms and floors.
emote Control Camera Shut-
oin for 32 ft. lengili. Easy to use — attach proper end
0 shutter, then press bulb for shutter action.
Stock No. 50.227-E _ S7.0D Postpaid
NEW! ELEMENT COLLECTOR'S KIT
FUN! EDUCATIONAL!
of fun. helps you quickly learn all basic
icientific facts. Most elements easily obtained in pure or
lompound form. Contains all materials needed for attrac-
ive. instructive display: rugged simulated black leather
i-ring binder with slide-away plastic handles: 5 heavy
riear vinyl insert sheets, each with 20 (2" x 2") specimen
jockets; 5 insert identification cards for 100 elements; 63-
lage book, "Atoms, Crystals. Molecules," by A. H. Drum-
nond. Jr., gives periodic table of elements, classroom
.ntro to atomic structure and chemical bonding.
Stock No. 70.720-E. Complete kit S7.50 Ppd.
Stock No. 70.72 1 -E. Binder with handles, only ..S2. 50 Ppd.
Stock No. 70.722- E, Three 20-pocket
inserts, only SI. 00 Ppd.
MAIL COUPON for FREE CATALOG "E"
Completely New 1965 Editlon-148 Pages-
Nearly 40G0 Bargains ~ —
EDMUND SCIENTIFIC CO.,
Barrington, New Jersey
Please rush Free Giant Catalog E
Address..
City
..Zone State
AUTOMATICALLY SHOWS TIME, TIDES,
POSITION OF SUN,
MOON AND STARS
NEW SPILHAUS
SPACE CLOCK
19 READINGS AT A GLANCE
3 DIALS-COMPLETELY ILLUMINATED
FOR HOME, OFFICE, ClUB, CLASSROOM, MUSEUM
Startling scientific achievement, yet completely
practical and functional. Designed for the space
age by world renowned scientist, Dr. Athelstan
Spilhaus, Dean of Technology, University of
Minnesota.
A handsome conversation piece and constantly
up-to-date encyclopedia of the sky. The Spilhaus
Space Clock has a beautiful fruitwood case and three illuminated sky-blue dials.
Blends with the decor of any home, office, club room, classroom, museum, display
window, hotel, etc.
Large center dial shows sun position, daily sun rise and set, moon position, moon
rise and set, phase of moon, low and high tide time, current stage of tide, day and
month of year, current position of stars in sky, time of star rise and star set,
relationships of sun, moon and stars, and sidereal or star time.
Small dial at lower left shows local time. Small dial at lower right shows world
time including major U.S. cities and Universal (Greenwich) time.
Operates on house current — requires only one simple setting in any geographic
location. Measures 16" high x Ifi/i" wide x 4%" deep. Presentation plaques
available. Complete satisfaction guaranteed or money refunded.
Stock No. 1202-E — Shp. Wt. 12 lbs $195 F.O.B. (-f $5 F E T )
SPECIAL 220-V., 50-cycle motor— illuminated dials
Stock No. 1203-E — (Foreign orders deduct tax) S21.5 F.O.B. (-1- S5 F.E.T.)
THE WORLD OF DINOSAURS
ONE HUNDRED MILLION
YEARS AGO
In this set of monsters — the dinosaurs that ruled the earth
100.000.000 years ago — you get 45 realistic models molded
from unbreakable plastic. Collection includes the bronlho-
saurus, dimetrodon. and others from the earlier species;
the tyrannosaurus and many more from the final eons of
the dinosaur rule. Fascinating study for young and old;
also novel as ofT-beat decorations. Average size approxi-
mately 4" high. Kit includes ferns, trees, caves and other
■ E booklet Prehistoric Animals.
S4.95 Postpaid
_ iof t
Stock No. 70.473-E
HOME WEATHER STATION
Xeiv ■■Weather Station^' is highly ]
sensitive to weather changes. Con-
sistently accurate thermometer to
zh 2% ; barometer accurate to ±
.25" and hygrometer to ± 5%. Fon-'r
from 12 to 24 hours in advance. H\f;rii
percent relative humidity. Excellent lu
phenomena and meterological hobby
mounted on handsome wood-grained wall pane! 15H" 3;
b%". Meter cases heavily metalized — combines beauty and
protection. Dials, in etched aluminum, of high precision.
Full instrurli.ms.
Stock No. 70.607-E $9.95 Postpaid
NEW ZOOM
TELESCOPE EYEPIECE
citing new eyepiece provides greater speed and versatil-
for your telescope. Does work of many and stays sharp
all powers. Magnification depends on your telescope —
dcally 50x to 120x. Precis'
orthosco..^-,
of Barlow
times with dramatic results.
Stock #60.362- E S26.50 ppd.
AGES-OLD FOSSIL COLLECTIONS
of years oldl 3 full
CREr^t rot S SET Brachipod. oyster, sea urchii
fled wood eir All three sets for one low price"
Stock No. 50.344-E S3.75 Postpa
KNOW WIND SPEED ANYWHERE,
ANYTIME WITH POCKET WIND METER
Wind Meter
nd high velocity. One
1^" wide X %" thick. Wt. approx. 2 ozs. Plas-
rjying case, instructions included,
S4.95 Postpaii)
Stock No. 60.349-E
SOLVE PROBLEMS! TELL FORTUNES! PLAY GAMESi
NEW WORKING MODEL
DIGITAL COMPUTER
ACTUAL MINIATURE VERSION OF
GIANT ELECTRONIC BRAINS
Fascinating lu-w see-through model
roniputer actually solves problems,
teaches computer fundamentals. Adds.
subtracts, multiplies, shifts, complements, carries, mem-
orizes, counts, compares, sequences. AttractiveLv colored,
rigid plastic parts easily assembled, 12" s 3^" s 4%".
Incl step-bv-siep assembly diagrams, 32-page instruction
book covering operation, computer language (binary sys-
ttini pro,:rjriinung, problems and 15 experiments-
Stock No 70.683-E $5.00 Ppd.
SHIMMERING RAINBOWS OF
GEM-LIKE COLOR
DAZZLING DIFFRACTION
JEWELRY FOR MEN AND WOMEN
NOW AVAILABLE IN GOLD
break up light into
andest phenomenon,
beautiful jewelry, these exquisite new
ITEM
EARRINGS
CUFF LINKS
PENDANT
%" Tie Clasp
& CufT Link Set
ORDCR Br STOCK NUMBtK .SIND CHtCK 08 MONIY OKDIK . SATIS/ ACTION GUAKANTUD!
EDMUND SCIENTIFIC CO-^barrington, new jersey
or CHRISTMAS GIFTS!
SCIENCE TREASURE CHESTS
Science Treasure Chest — extra powerful mag-
nets, polarizing lilters. compass, one- way
mirror film, prisms, diffraction sralins. and
^ ,^ lots of other items for huiidre.is of thrilUns
,~S^ experiments, plus a Ten Lens Kit for malv-
^W ing telescopes, microscopes, etc. Full in-
. 70,342-E " S5.00 Pstpd.
rKiMid' Ch.-.t Deluxe— Everything in Chest above
,[ items for more advanced experi-
■ .il-;,'rowing kit. electric motor, mo-
, 7i),i4J-E SIO.OO Postpaid
NEW! STATIC
ELECTRICITY GENERATOR
Slunly. Improved Model
S. .■ 1 [],[ I .III- -yiiivk display as you set off
a ii:iin.iiuri- indi of lightning. Sturdily
niiul^;— auiid:, 14" high. Two 0" plastic
discs rotate in opposite directions. [Metal
collector brushes pick up the static elec-
tricity, store it in the Leyden jar type
condenser until discharged by tlie jumping
21 pasc illustrated booklet included.
Stock No. 70,070-E SI2.95 Postpaid
NEW BINOCULAR-TO-CAMERA HOLDER
Will Fit Anv Camera
Ixciting Telephoto Pic-
Dust-Free! Transparent! Low Cost!
COLLECTORS DISPLAY CASE
fitting, (r>-i.il ' Ir.ir, ci-r- 1,-,-
knicU-knacks, gems,
overs securely hinged,
■wis! of ftn-ors. Large
appru:
lly
itcd
■<-d for future referci
flocked Hi I [I i'li f iirely hold 24 individual
bottomed )iM,\t= (L-aLii i".\l"x%" deep).
No. 60.459* E— Display bos with compartments inserts
; 24 specimen boxes $2.75 Ppd.
456-E— Pkg. of 12 specimen boxes SI.OO Ppd.
S0.75 Pod.
No. 60,457- E— Display box (wltiiout
rts)
ific Buy! American Made
OPAQUE PROJECTOR
on 111
inclulel
Pioje
and e
ts illustrati
darges then
is 6'/. f
larger
away.
Troic
pictures it
No film or
ts charts.
plioto
blacU
0 ft. ex
, lettering
aikl-white.
W. 1 jh., 2 oz. Plastic case with built-in handle.
No. 70. 199- E S7.95 Postpa
INATING NEW KALEIDOSCOPE INSERT. Sau
al>ove. hut provides endless additional projects wi
leid.oscope patterns.
No. 70.714-E
BUILD A SOLAR ENERGY FURNACE
.-V fasclnatins new field. Build your own Solar
Furnace for expeiimcntation— many practical
uses. Easy! Inexpensive! Use scrapwood! We
furnisli instructions. This sun powered furnace
will generate terrific heat— 2000° to 3000°.
Fuses enamel to metal. Sets paper aflame in
Use our Fresncl Lens— 11" Sq. F.L. 11!".
. 70,533-E $6,00 Postpaid
7 X 50 MONOCULAR
MAKES INEXPENSIVE,
LIGHTWEIGHT TELEPHOTO SYSTEM
FOR ANY CAMERA
Field of
1000 yards
dl
I I I I .iltach to pliotographie tripod. Pre-
i:- I ■ . : Approx. 16-oz. Includes case, straps.
. 7ni,:'i.E $17.50 Postpaid
HO 10 ADAPTER
■ ■\i[>, ;iir(iii^ Scries V adapter ring
1. 40.680-E SI. 50 Postpaid
BE READY FOR THE MOON SHOTS
Banger, Surveyor, Lunar Orbiter unmanned space probes
will shed exciting new light on the mystery of the moon
and outer space. See the results close-up. Edmund low-cost,
top-quality equipment and accessories put you right there
See the Stars, Moon, Planets Close Up!
3" ASTRONOMICAL REFLECTING TELESCOPE
Photo
.4dapt
vour camera to this Scope for ex- 1
ccllent
Telcpho
0 shot
s and fascinating photos of moonl |
Pw.r-
Mt Painmar Type' An Unusual Buy!
ine Kings of Saturn, ihe
^%
1 aiing planet Mars, huge
1 r 111! ilie Moon Pha.'ies of
. 1 CouaLonal mouni with
1 nn both a\es AluminizecJ
[ 1 o\er coateil 3 diameter
1 ii peed I/IO mirror. Tele-
I t tomes equipped with a
^^
' f\
ip\ ejepiece and a mounted
I irlM« lens Optical Finder
1 li (.ipe included Hardwood,
r il)ie tripod TREE with
-1 M A aluibleSr^R CHART
plus ."
Pi„i 1
AMI
Ulllv or IICAA CNS plus "HOW
10 1 SI
\01 It
11 1 1
sCOl L EOOk
stock N
85 050
E
S29 95 Postpaid
stock No 70 5
Intriguing Low-Cost Moon Model
E\citing outer space display and conversa-
tion piece E\act replica. 30.000 formations
— peaks craters. Ocean of Storms, etc. —
Til in rtlHf Scaled to size. Accurate dist-
il unships. Proper lighting shows
black light" produces start-
1 Tough, washable plastic. Three
1 11 side blank — can be used for
la Excellent gift item. 12" dia.,
Ih
SI2.50 Postpaid
A SLIDE TRIP TO THE
MOON-MOON TOPOG-
RAPHY STUDY AID
This highly informative scrir
of 29 black and white sli ^
features such topography a^ Ui
southwestern limb and M;ir
Imbrium — the "pearl" of thi
moon. Also, full moon taken with Mount Wilson 100-inch
reflector and the ci-ater Clavius through the 200-inch.
Stock No. 60.348-E S5.00 ppd.
BIG DETAILED 35" x 46" MOON MAP
Black and white photo reproduction of full moon with all
named lunar formations clearly marked. Complete index
to locations ami other valuable information.
Stock No. 9207-E 95«Ppd.
V AR SURPIUS! Amencan-Madel
7x50 BINOCULARS
avius: Brand new; Crystal
Stock No. 1544-E only S74.80 pstpd.
7 X 35 AMERICAN MADE BINOCULARS
Stock No 904 E $00 50 pstpd (Tax mcl )
Slock No 963 E
S33 00 pstpd (Tax incl )
Stock No 70 205 E
53 00 Postpaid
New! 2 in J Combination,' Pocltet-Size
50 POWER MICROSCOPE
and 10 POWER TELESCOPE
^
poned' No la
CRYSTAL GROWING KIT
Do a Crj stallography project illus-
trated v.ith large beautiful crystals
^ou grow >ourself. Kit includes the
hook "Crjstals and Crystal Growing"
111 I a generous supply of the eherai-
il \ou need to grow large display
• :\ lals of potassium aluminum sul-
iiii ^ulfate (purple), potassium sodium
:el sulfate hcxahydrate (blue green) or
I, potassium fenicyanide (red), and
green).
S9.50 Postpaid
BIRDWATCHERS SEE WITHOUT
BEING SEEN
ilways bci
rinating, but their t
,• Eu
Id Sci
ated in a sturdy plastic film
a fraction of their cost. Actually, as thi
tllins cut down light transmission 70%
compared to 50% or less for the mirrors,
they are much more useful. For example you can build a
bird feeding station on the sunny side of vour house next
to a window. Fasten a piece of this film to the window and
you'll be able to watch the birds from a few inches away.
Stock No. 70.326-E a sheet 21" x 36" S3. 00 Postpaid
IDENTIFY 430 BIRDS WITH
FULL COLOR AUDUBON BIRD CHARTS
Two 25" X 38" beautifully printed charts
containing 48 separate color plates by nat-
uralist-artist Don Eckelberry. Excerpted
from the famous "Audubon Land Bird
Guide." 430 small birds (over 200 spe-
cies) of Eastern and Central N. America
grouped by plumage for fast identification.
Heavy coated stock especially suited for
wall mounting or framing. Includes 24-
pg. book containing color key and valuable
Stock No 70 675 E (The Pair) S3.50 Ppd.
TINY LAMP GIVES SUN-LIKE BRILLIANCE ^P9
FOR WORK, INSPECTION, EXAMINATION ^^j
I'l" li-lji I I,, I \.iMiination lamp by pbysi-
''•111- ,11.1 iiiid :. .1 Mi,ik lamp by jewelers, technicians,
II I i I-, . h A! '1.1 II -.c in any ottice or room, on desk.
Hi ImM-1 [-■ l_"' hr;i.. iiiii.-lied gooseneck bends and holds
to any position. .No clamps or stands needed. Durable black
white. Base 4" dia. x 2Vi" high, has
a. X 5^,^" long.
off-on switch, 5' cord. Reflector
white enameled inner surface.
Stock No. 70.694-E
$7.98 Ppd.
WAR SURPLUS ELECTRIC GENERATOR
pedance relays. Charge
and bring up night
tor bait or study. 2
1 price. Wt. 2 lbs.
Stock No 50 225 E S6.95 Postpaid
sime iMie ^gcniraior mounted, with light, as electricity
Stock No. 50.365-E SII.95 PostpaiiJ
'FISH' WITH A WAR SURPLUS
GIANT MAGNET
Bring Up UncJer-Woter Treasures •^
all thi
rful
lb. Ma
ulhoi
etal
fishi
of
littlns
power— 2000 Gauss rating— lifts over 150 lbs,
more under water. Many Indus
and parts from inaccessible sp.
shop hiinrs of nu-lal IragiiK-iits. pins, etc.
Stock No. 70.571 -E 5-lb. Magnet SI2.50 Pstpd.
Stock No. 70,570-E S'.i-lb. Lifts 40 lb S 8.75 Pstpd.
Stock No. 70.572-E 7ii-lh. Lilts 175 lb SI8.75 Pstpd.
Stock No. 85.152-E I5ij-lb. Magnet
Lifts 350 lbs S33.60 FOB
BLACK LIGHT MAGIC-GLOW KIT
**^F| •«« "nie secret message. 'lea'rn'"invis?bi;
5 ' union methods, even make a fluor-
■^ - . mt Christmas tree! Kit uses long-
u I e lilarkliglit. which is comiiletely
I 1 iiikss to eyes, hut causes fluores-
3,1100
-r*
. Ml
visibli
Glow Lamp,
water paints
pen. 3 hrusiies.
England willenute from USA Plus book of 40 experl-
Stnck°No. 70.256-E SII.95 Postpaid
ORDfR BY STOCK NUMitR .UNO CHICK OR MONIY OKDIK . SAriSfACllON GUAKANTltD!
EDMUND SCIENTIFIC CO..BARRINGTON, new jersey
Naturally,
you can't
beat the
system...
Problem: howto get close up to a man-shy lion in its natural habitat
without putting your life on the line. For the Hasselblad photogra-
pher, no problem; he merelyslips an f/8 500mm ZeissTele-Tessar
on his 500C and gets full-frame, razor-sharp shots from a safe,
comfortable distance. No matter what in the world you need to
photograph, you're better able to do it when you're loaded for
bear, with the incomparable Hasselblad system. Your dealer is
ready to show you the king of cameras and its dozens and doz-
ens of matched, precision accessories. If you need his name and
address, write: Paillard Incorporated, 1900 LowerRd,, Linden, N.J.
Photo by
Jon Abbot with
Hasselblad 5000
500mm lens.
HASS£LBLAD