American Museum Journal V51
Bạn đang xem bản rút gọn của tài liệu. Xem và tải ngay bản đầy đủ của tài liệu tại đây (29.21 MB, 260 trang )
NATURAL
HISTORY
THE MAGAZINE OF THE
AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
VOLUME
LI
January-lS/iay
1945
TEN
ISSUES
A YEAR
Published by
THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
NEW
YORK,
N. Y.
CONTENTS OF VOLUME
January, No.
Letters
.
.
LI
1
.
.
.
.'....'..'.'.,'....',
Staff
With the Norwegian Sealers
Hollow of God s Hand
The American Egret.
to Fingerprint a Snowstorm
wu"'
Where
Do Insects Go in Winter?
Birds
01
New
'.Huci'H. Schroeder
Vincent
Edwin
••••.•
t.skimo Girl Builds a Snowhouse
Test
Information
.''.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'
'
Ton n Eric Hill
.
'.'.'.'
Etii'""^!
Letters
57
East
64
La'ngdon Kihn
John Eric Hill
A. Loveridge
Josef Muench
72
75
76
78
Jitn
W,
'
gi
'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.".'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.!;'.'.'.
A. L.
This Greenland
the Sea
.','..'.'..'!.'.'.'
;
•••••
Ivan and Abdudla.
How Science Deciphers
Man
s
.La
Bostwick
JFl'ace
Albert
E.
Parr
Clifford H. Pope
Past
March Madness
Getting Close to Nature's Surfaces
What Good Are Dogfish
Our Desert Yuccas
A Troubled Family of Stilts
Birds of New Gumea
Information Test
;.';::
.'
Clark Wissler
John Eric Hill
iviWcENT J. Schaefer
Elon Jessup
Rockwood Muench
Karl and Edna Maslowski
Josef and Joyce
.
_
Your New Books
\
Letters
^
^
...............
'...'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'..'.
Editorial
Letters
Albert
From Rock
to
Canvas
John
Business
°*
^"
^"
'
g^j^
'.'.'.'.'.y.'.".]'.'.]]'.'.'.'.'.'.'.]'.'.'.'..'.'.'.
!
.
:.;.::::;'.: !'.V.V.'.V.V.V.V.'.'.'.V.'.'.'.'.V.V.V.'.V.','.V.'.'.
J.'
.
Environment and Locomotion
Shellfish Poison. ••.••.
in
Mammals
'....
.'.'.'.
.
Insect Gardeners
Your New Books
_
'.
.
,
E.
Frank
Parr
Dob'ie
ToM Hughes
William
L.
.
The Only American Stork. ...
The Greatest Explosion of All Time
East
John Eric Hill
Albert
Letters
.
Te Ata
'
Down
The Conquering Mesquite
The Morning People
One of the World's Smallest Baskets
Parr
Loveridge
.'..'..'.',..'.'.'.'.'.'....'..,".'..'.,'..'.'.....'..."....'.'.'..
^1'°"="'
.
E.
Germann
C.
A.
Birds of the Fiji Islands
w?jS''^'i:°^
^i"'"""
Wildlife of Tanganyika
Uncle Sam's Prize Fur Factory Closes
Bat Fishermen
Your New Books
Inde
Rand
Vilhjalmue Stefansson
Curtis Zahn
Freaks among Fresh-Water Pearls
Your New Books
Monkey
Albert E. Parr
5g
.'.','.'..,'.
Have Known
I
Rattlesnake of
Editorial
Way
]
.
Sea Bird Cities of the Aleutians
Aleut Faces
Rationing
Bush Babies— Wild and Tame.
Winter through the Camera s Eye
Land Birds Down Under
The Great Barrier^ Reef
Do You Know
Schaefer
Teale
J.
Frank DiiiE
The Venerable D. B. Marsh
.'...'..'.'....'...'...'.J.
Seeing Nature through the Camera's Eye
Winter Sports
Your New Books
Papuans
'
Per HflST
Xom Hughes
,\]
Caledonia
The Teepy Jackrabbit
An
....'.'.'.'..'..
[
Gregory
H. Fowler
K.'
Richard Rough
Hobart E. Stocking
John Eric Hill
82
84
95
100
102
IQ7
113
116
12(J
135
136
140
142
146
j50
J54
155
159
161
jg2
166
176
j7g
180
jgg
188
197
jgg
201
20t
208
218
220
222
228
230
236
24(7
241
245
INDEX TO VOLUME
TITLES, SUBJECTS,
Afr
'ildlife of.
1S5
Aleut Faces, W. Langdon Kihn,
illustrated, 72
American Egret, The, Hugo H. Schroder, photographic
Archaeology, methods
of,
series, 18
120
LI
AND AUTHORS
Structural Geology, 55
Systematics and tlie Origin of Species, 110
This Green World, 52
Victory Gardens of 1942 and 1943, The, 244
Ways of the Weather, 109
Wildlife Portfolio of the Western National Parks, 54
Wildlife Refuge, 155
Wolf-Children and Feral Man, 52
Freaks among Fresh-water Pearls,
Artist, scientific, at work, 166
Bostwick, LaPlace:
Auklets, three kinds in Alaska, 68
Bush Babies
Baskets, of Porno Indians, 220
Cercopithecus aethiops johnstoni,
Bat Fishermen, John Eric
Conquering Mesouite, The,
Hill, illustrated, 197
—Wild
and Tame, A. Loveridge,
176
Frank Dobie,
J.
Bats, fishing, 197
Creation of an Indian Jar, The, Te Ata,
Birds, Australian, 81
Dobie,
J.
102
illustrated, 76
208
illustrated,
illustrated, 180
Frank: The Conquering Mesquite, 208; The Jeepy Jack
Rabbit, 40
Birds, Australian coral reef, 82
Dogfish, use of,
New
Birds of
New
Birds of
Caledonia, a Whitney Hall Group, 38
140
Do You Know This Greenland,
Guinea, a Whitney Hall Group, 150
Vilhjalmur Stefansson,
illus-
95
trated,
Ben: Sea Birds of the Aleutians, 64; Uncle Sam's Prize Fur
Factory Closes Down, 188
East,
Birds of the Fiji Islands, a Whitney Hall Group, 178
Book Reviews:
icaii Garden Flo7i
Arrows Into the Sun, 157
Editorials: Albert E. Farr
243
Atoms, Stars and Nebulae, 243
Biological Symposia, Vol. IX, 55
Bird DisDlay. An Introduction
to
the
Study of Bird Psy-
chology, 108
Copper, 242
Carnivoroics Plants, 199-200
Cats and all About Them, 109
Chile, 241
Boom
The
The
The
The
Aim of Museum Teaching, 201
Museum Meets the Public, 161
Time and Place for Teaching. 113
Wartime Role of Beauty in the Museum, 57
Egret, American, 18
Environment and Locomotion
Edible Mushrooms, 158 and 160
Crazy Horse: The Strange Man of the Oglalas, 110
•
Darkness and the Deep, 243
Diaty of a Journey Through the CaroHnas, Georgia,
illustrated article
Commmi
.
in
Mammals, William K. Gregory
and chart, 222
Eskimo Girl Builds a Snowhouse, An, The Venerable D.
and
Marsh,
B.
46
illustrated,
Florida, 1765-1766, 200
Earth's Adventures: The Story of Geology for Young Peo-
Farming, Greenland, 96
53
ple,
Ecuador, 156
Ficldbook of Native
Illinois
Shrubs, 243
Forward With Science, 241
Garment of God, The, 200
Fiji Island Birds, 178
Fowler, L. H., Shellfish Poison, 228
General Entomology, 156
George Washington Carver, 243
Greatest Eye in the World, The, 160
Green Fire, 51
Freaks among Fresh-Water Pearls, LaPlace Bostwick,
Greenland, 52
From Rock
Headhunting
Here
in the
Solomon Islands, 108
Alaska, 155
is
Hiking, Camping, and Mountaineering, 242
Indian Experiences, 241
Indian Speaks, The, 198-199
Insect Invaders, 242
Key to the Nests of Pacific Coast Birds, 198
Latin America. Countrysides and United Regions, 108
Lightinn up Liberia, 155
Mans Poor Relations, 107-108
Mathematical Recrcatiojts, 107
My Adventures in Zuni, 51
Natural History with a Camera, 51
Nicholas Copernicus, 241
Now That We Have To Walk, 198
Oceans, The: Their Physics, Chemistry and General Biology,
no
Old Bay Paths, The, 198
Outlines of Entomology, 157
Pacific
Game
to Canvas, John C. Germann, illustrated, 166
Galago, 77
Germann, John C, From Rock
Getting
Nature's
to
Close
to
Canvas, 166
Surfaces,
Vincent
J.
Schaefer
illustrated, 136
Great Barrier Reef, The,
A
Whitney Hall Group, 82
Greatest Explosion of All Time, The, Hobart E. Stocking,
illustrated,
236
Greenland, 95
Gregory,
William
Environment
K..
and
Locomotion
in
Mam-
mals, 322
Fishing. 54-55
Physics and Philosophy, 155-156
Pirotcehnia of Vannoccio Biringuccio, The, 107
Polyncsians—E.rplorers of the Pacific, 156-157
Race, Reason and Rubbish, 54
Rediscovering South America, 198
Roseate Spoonbill, Tlw, 109-110
Santa Fc. New Mexico, 158
Science in Progress, 53-54
Science Remakes Our World. 51-52
Story of the Moon, The, 107
illus-
102
trated,
Guenon. 176
Hares, in JIarch. 135
Hi'l
John
Eric:
Bat
March Madness.
Hollow
197: Insect Gardeners. 240;
Rationing, 75; Winter Sports, 50
Fishermen.
135;
of God's Hand.
Tom
Hughes,
illustrated.
16
INDEX TO VOLUME
With
Host, Per,
Norwegian
the
LI
Prehistoric Animal, rock to canvas,
Sealers, 6
Puffin
166
67
Raccoons, albino, 116
How
TO Fingerprint a Snowstorm, Vincent
trated,
J.
Schaefer,
illus-
20
Rand, A.
Hughes, Tom: Hollow of God's Hand,
16:
The JMorning
People, 218
Indian Jar, creation of an, ISO
illustrated,
Hill,
240
San
Ivan and Abdulla, Clifford H. Pope,
Jack Rabbit, plague
of,
Hill, illustrated, 75
illustrated,
illustrated,
116
Ildefonso, pottery-making
in,
ISO
Schaefer, Vincent T.: Getting Close To Nature's
ilow To Fingerprint a Snowstorm, 20
Jeepy Jack Raebit, The,
J.
Hugo
Frank Dobie,
illustrated,
The American Egret,
H.,
Under, An Exhibit
Loveridge, A.: Bush
ness, 176
Kihn,
W.
illustrated,
64
Dogfish, 140
Norwegian;
Sealers,
Landbirds
136;
18
40
Sea Birds of the Aleutians, Ben East,
What Good Are
Down
Surfaces,
40
Schroder,
Jessup, Elon,
100
Salton Sea, 17
winter, 29
in
Have Known, 84
I
I^attlesnake of the Sea, Curtis Zahn,
Insect Gardeners, John Eric
Insects,
P'apuans
L.,
Rationing (animal), John Eric
Babies—Wild
of Australian
Birds,
the
in
.-Vrctic,
6
SI
Seals,
fur seals and their breeding,
Seals,
fur seals on the Pribilofs, 189
1S9
;
Langdon, Aleut Faces, 72
Seals, harp; breeding, 6
Kittiwake, 65
Seeing Nature Through the Camera's Eve, some winter scenes.
48
Komba, 77
Serranos,
218
Krakatoa, 236
Mammals, environment and locomotion
March Madness, John
in,
Shellfish Poison,
L.
SnowHake
20
H. Fowler,
228
illustrated,
222
replicas,
Eric Hill, illustrated, 135
Snowhouse, how
to build, 46
Maringayam, 218
Snowshoes, animals and, 50
Marsh, D. B. (The Venerable),
An
Eskimo
Girl
Builds a S
house, 46
Maslowski, Karl and Edna,
A
Troubled Family of
Stilts,
146
Mesquite, 208
Stilts,
Mission Indians, 218
Monkey
Do Yoi
Stefansson, Vilhjalmur,
habits
nesting
of,
This Greenland, 95
146
Sting Ray, 100
Business, A. Loveridge,
illustrated, 176
Morning People, The, Tom Hughes,
illustrated,
The
Stocking, Hobart E.,
218
Teale,
Greatest Explosion of All Time, 236
Edwin Way, Where Do
Insects
Go
in
Winter, 28
Muench, Josef and Joyce Rockwood, Our Desert Yuccas, 142
Te Ata, The
Mu
Troubled Family of Stilts, A, Karl and Edna Maslowski,
mch, Josef, Winter Through the Camera's Eye, 78; Our De
Yuccas, 142
graphic
Creation of
series,
an Indian Jar, 180
Uncle Sam's Prize Fur Factory Closes Down, Ben
Mu
photo-
146
East, illus-
trated, 188
Nature's surfaces, resin material
New
in
microscopic reproduction, 136
Guinea Birds, 150
What
Good Are Dogfish, Elon
Where Do
Insects Go
in
Jessup, illustrated,
Winter, Edwin
Way
140
Teale.
illus-
trated, 28
New
Guinea, people
One
of the World's Smallest Baskets, 220
of,
S4
Wildlife of Tanganyika, Scenes from Akcley African
Winter, animal scenes
Only American Stork, Richard Pough,
illustrated,
in,
Hall, 186
48
230
Winter, a photographic series,
78
Our Desert Yucc
trated,
Owl, as a
Winter Sports
142
pet,
(animals), John Eric Hill, illustrated, 50
Winter Through the Camera's Eye,
112
Josef
Muench, a photo-
graphic series, 78
Papuans
Pearls,
I
Have Known,
fresh-water freaks,
A. L. Kand, illustrated, 84
102
Poisoning, shellfish, 228
Wissler, Clark,
How
Science Deciphers Man's Past, 120
With the Norwegian
Wood
Ibis,
Sealers, Per Host, illustrated, 6
230
Pope, Clifford H., Ivan and Abdulla, 116
Yuccas, 143
Pough, Richard, Only American Stork, 230
Zahn, Curtis, Rattlesnake of the Sea, 100
MTURAL HISTORY
unu.r,
Seals
•
Snow
VOLUME
LI,
Birds of
Crystals
No.
1
•
New
Caledonia
Jackrabbit
•
•
Insects in JVinte\
Egrets
•
Snowhous.
FIFTY CENT
D
BOOKS
PICTURES
CARDS
A FIELD GUIDE TO THE BIRDS
A FIELD GUIDE TO WESTERN BIRDS
by Roger Tory Peterson
S2.75 each
Recognized standard guides; convenient
aids to identification, and
size, excellent
small but clear illustrations
books essential
make
these
$3.95
large and beautiful book, with 106 fine
color illustrations and
bird of
many
which describes
North America.
and
in black
virtually
every
by T.
text
S.
Roberts
shown
are
species
book
only
form on the subject
in
popular
of sea birds of the
world; notes on their habits, and guides
to their identification.
in
92
by Donald Culross Peatlie
Audubon's paintings; a book which all
Audubon's admirers and all interested
in American natural history will wish
to own.
SETS OF BIRD
PICTURES
60 cents a set
by Jacob Bates
Walter A. Weber
Each
Abbott
and
$3.50
beautiful
SETS OF BIRD
CARDS
HOME
BIRDS AT
by Margherite Henry
set contains
An
full-page color plates, for readers 6 to II.
TRAVELLING WITH THE BIRDS
$1.00 set
by
Rudyerd
Boulton
Winter Birds
known
Spring Birds
The whys and hows
Summer
simply told, and illustrated
etc.,
Such well
Fuertes, Brooks, Weber,
are represented.
Birds
color plates.
WHAT BIRD
IS
fine
book
markings
301
birds
American birds, reproduced
from paintings by well-known
tive
?1.5fl
for beginners; the color
of
Ages
7
of bird
to
$1.25
migrations
with
large
12.
100 cards in color of representa-
THAT
by Frank M. Chapman
A
$1.25
introduction to familiar birds, with
paintings reproduced in color.
artists as
$2.95
Audubon's own story of his life and monumental works, edited by the naturelover and author, Donald Culross Peattie.
Beautifully illustrated with reproductions
12 large pictures of familiar birds, in full
color. Excellent for classroom
use.
BIRD PORTRAITS IN COLOR
295
the
of
BIRDS OF AMERICA
white,
Practically
AUDUBON'S AMERICA
$3.50
to every bird lover.
T. Gilbert Pearson, editor in chief
A
BIRDS OF THE OCEAN
by W. B. Alexander
are
and
bird
artists.
Descriptive
AROUND NEW YORK CITY
by Allan D. Cruickshank
Distribution,
pictured.
winter and
Chiefly for birds east of the Rockies.
The
BIRDS
text
on back of each card.
description
summer
and
bird residents.
Book Shop
THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
77th
STREET AND CENTRAL PARK WEST,
NEW YORK
CITY
$1.75
habits
of
—
LETTERS
...
I
want
magazine
is
to
the
add that I think your
most interesting one of
was introduced
I
friend,
whites.
"Sailors
much
too
taste
of
to-
to
it
by a very dear
and several teachers
at school
are
very much interested in it. The covers
are always a great thrill to us, and some
day I plan to frame them.
Your articles on archaeology and natives of Africa, the Solomons, etc., hold
special interest for me.
Keep up the good work
Dorothy A. Hildreth.
I
."
ever ate had too salty a flavor.
One wishes every American voter could
become a reader of your magazine. It
would make our citizenry biologicallyminded. This eventually would be reflected in wiser legislation.
.
.
are available at
on any
total order
.
.
I
best
May
I take this opportunity to say
consider your magazine one of the
available today, both as regards
reader interest and in
be borrowed from the
information regarding the films avail-
Mathew
"P-
F.
McNerny.
.
My
name is John Ely Burchard. Jr. I
nearly eleven years of age and have
been a member of the American Museum
my
of Natural History for almost three years.
So
far,
my
and
principal interests have been
But once in a while
some other interesting animal comes our
reptiles.
w ay.
We
.
.
.
Kindly
let
me
take the opportunity
upon the very high
standard of printing maintained in Natural History Magazine. I have feU many
times that most readers express complimentary remarks upon the interesting features of the magazine, overlooking the
exceptionally fine printing which has always been maintained and which is difof congratulating you
ficult because of the varied demands occasioned by various types of photographs.
P- C.
Boston, Mass.
Holden.
write
All of Frederick Pough's Strategic
.
articles are
on exhibit here.
anybody has written,
It is
so far as
know.
A. C. Burrill,
Curator, Missouri Resources Museum.
Jefferson City,
Mo.
It has been
some time since I have
written you of my enthusiasm and loyal
support for Natural History Magazine
American Museum
of the
of Natural His-
tory.
New
Jersey, and
some weeks ago my father brought home
from the fields a mammal which he had
at first thought to be a mole and later
thought to be some strange form of field
live in Princeton,
mouse Thanks
Natural
was able to idenit
readily as a pigmy short-tailed
shrew. The article was in the issue for
May, 1942 and was by Mr. George
Goodwin.
JoHX Ely Burchard, Jr.
to the
History Magazine,
article in
I
tify
.
Princeton,
.
.
N.
J.
The
subjects treated
in
the
are
issues
becoming more varied and vitally interesting as the months pass. The illustrations are superb and the color ensemble
in the texts beautifully rendered, which
is no doubt to the credit of Art and Production under the guidance of Frederick
L. Hahn.
The articles which have particularly
appealed to me for some time are those
Strategic Metals by Frederick
and those describing our
natural wonders, such as "Rainbows of
Rock Our Natural Bridges'' in the Ocentitled
Pough
H.
—
and "Devil's Tower" in the
November number, by H. E. Yokes. I
tober issue,
Sirs:
... I have read a copy or two
magazine and like it very much.
Please start
my
subscription
of this
with the
January, 1943, issue, as I bind the magazines into a book at the end of the year
and wish to have a complete year's subscription.
Albert
C. Loomis.
have been very much interested in the
article, "Design for Swimming," in the
October issue and have used it effectively
I
biology classes.
in
I
the
wisli there
same
type,
might be other
especially
relation to birds.
.
Do you have sound
Sirs:
use outside of
Your current Solomon Islands
article
J.
Elizabeth Jacks.
Lower Merion Senior High
strumental in
Ardmore, Pa.
sionaries
the
then cannibalistic folk
furlough he recounted the
dietary idiosvncrasies of an old Solomons
to
.
or silent movies for
City?
ago our family was insending one of the first mis-
On one
.
New York
recalls that long
sincerely
hope
that
Yokes
will
here
at
home.
Our
people
should know more about them, for they
teach us to appreciate this great United
States the more.
Your Letters column and Bo
.
E. B.
School,
The American Museum
Doctor
continue this most valuable and entertaining series descriptive of our scenic
attractions
articles of
on aviation in
This magazine is one of the greatest
helps available to the biology teacher.
Md.
Silver Spring,
there.
charges,
am
insects
York, N. Y.
.
the best set
Sirs:
New
service
Sirs:
Mineral
Glancing through the June, 1940, issue
of N.ATURAL History, I have come across
the article on Chichen Itza. Please accept
belated congraulations for these superb photographs.
Rene D.^niels.
the
Film Division, The American Museum
Natural History, Central Park West
at 79th Street, New York, N. Y.
I
Sirs:
Museum
by schools and other organizations for
a nominal service charge. For further
general make-
its
Rochester, N. Y.
Ed.]
ten.
.
that
each, plus 5^ addi-
S^'
tional for postage
up to
Nat-
suitable for framing,
and related subjects. These films
may
of
Colorado Springs, Colo.
[Separate cover designs from
ence,
directly to:
Sacramento, Calif.
!
ural History,
mately 650 sound and 2CX) silent subon travel, natural history, sci-
able and
M. Goethe.
C.
lating library, consisting of appro.xi-
jects
bacco," he said. ''The only missionary
kind.
its
The latter declared he much
preferred the flesh of natives to that of
chieftain.
Sirs:
.
Pacific Beach, Calif.
of
Natural
Histor\- maintains a large film circu-
Sirs:
... I should prefer to have my magasent to my home as usual. I keep
every issue and I don't think any magazine will be worth keeping after an army
of fellows get through with it. I intend
to have all my Natural History Magazines bound, as they are certainly worth
zine
—
NOTICE Readers are encouraged to submit their own photographs of
natural history subjects. Those selected for publication on this page will
be paid for at $1.00 each, with full credit to the photographer. Return
postage must be included.
't-
•
Russell Wester.
•
Nutley, N.
LETTERS
.
Powers.
J.
THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
FOUNDED
IN
1869
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Trubee Davison,* President
F.
A. Perry Osborn, First Vice-President
Cleveland E. Dodge, Second Vice-President
E. Roland Harriman, Treasurer
Clarence L. Hay, Secretary
S.
Sloan Colt
Suydam Cutting
Lincoln Ellsworth
Childs Frick
Daniel E. Pomeroy
William Procter
A. Hamilton Rice
Malcolm p. Aldrich
James Rowland Angell
Andrey Avinoff
Robert Woods Bliss
Arthur H. Bunker
Douglas Burden
Chauncey J. Hamlin
Archer M. Huntington
Michael Lerner
Robert Earll McConnell
Frank R. McCoy
Richard K. Mellon
Junius Spencer Morgan
John D. Rockefeller, 3rd
Kermit Roosevelt
Dean Sage, Jr.
H. B. Clark
Beverley R. Robinson
Leonard
C.
Sanford
Arthur
S.
Vernay
Frederick M. Warburg
Cornelius Vanderbilt Wi
Frederick H. Osborn
FioRELLo H. LaGuardia, Mayor of the City of New York
Joseph D. McGoldrick, Comptroller of the City of New York
Robert Moses, Commissioner of Parks of the City of New York
Ellsworth B. Buck, President, Board of Education of the City of New York
ADMINISTRATIVE AND SCIENTIFIC STAFFS
OFFICERS OF ADMINISTRATION
Roy Chapman Andrews, Honorary
Director
Albert E. Parr, Director
Wayne M. Faunce,
Vice-Director and Executive Secretary
Wilson
Walter F. Meister, Assistant Treasurer
Edwin C. Meyeneehg, Bursar
Addie H. Summerson, Assistant Executive Secretary
Rex p. Johnson, General Superintendent
Victor William Ronfeldt, Mechanical Superintendent
L. Todd,
Power Plant Engineer
Louis W. Kinzer,* Custodian
Charles J. O'Connor, Membership Secretary
Hans Christian Adamson,* Assistant to the President
SCIENTIFIC STAFF
Albert E. Parr, Cand. Mag., Director
Wayne M. Faunce, Sc.B., Vice-Director and Executive Secretary
Harold E. Anthony, D.Sc, Dean of the Council of the Scientific Stait
Frank A. Beach, Ph.D., Secretary of the Council of the Scientific Staff
Mammals
Anthropology
Clark Wissler, Ph.D., LL.D., Curator Emeritus
and Curator
H. L. Shapiro, Ph.D., Cha
Harold E. An
of
N. C. Nelson, M.L., Curator of Prehistoric Archaeology
Margaret Mead, Ph.D., D.Sc, Associate Curator
Bella Weitzner, Associate Curator
Junius B. Bird, Assistant Curator
Gordon F. Ekholm, Ph.D., Assistant Curator
George C. Vaillant, Ph.D., Honorary Curator of Mexican
Archaeology
Clarence L. Hay, A.M., Research Associate
William W. Howells, Ph.D., Research Associate
MiLO Hellman, D.D.S., D.Sc, Research Associate
Frederick H. Osborn,* Research Associate
Robert von Heinf.-Geldern, Ph.D., Research Associate
Wendell C. Bennett, Ph.D., Research Associate
Ralph Linton, Ph.D., Research Associate
Antoinette K. Gordon, Associate
*0n
leave of absence
i
and Curator
of
Recent
Mammals
Physical
Anthropology
D.Sc. Chairm;
Childs Frick, D.Sc, Honorary Curator
of
Late Tertiary and
Quaternary Mammals
George Gaylord Simpson,* Ph.D., Curator
George
G.
of Fossil
G.
H. H. Tate,* D.Sc, Associate Curator
T.
Donald Carter,
Assistant
Horace Elmer Wood, 2nd, Ph.D., Research
Mammals
Richard Archbold, Research Associate
S.
nmals
Assistant Curator
John Eric Hill, Ph.D., Assistant Curator
Rachel Husband Nichols, A.M., Scientific
Arthur
Ma
Goodwin, Associate Curator
Vernay, Field Associate
Associate
i
Fossil
SCIENTIFIC STAFF (Continued)
Albert P. Blair, Ph.D., Assistant Curator
Birds
Frank M. Chapman,
Sc.D., Curator Emeritus
Robert Cushman Muhphv, Sc.D., Chairman
John T. Zimmer, M.A., Curator
James P. Chapin, Ph.D., Associate Curator
Ernst Mayr, Ph.D., Associate Curator of the Whitney-Rothschild
Collections
LES E. O'Br
lOAfAS GiLLI.
Assistant Curator
Assistant Curator
Forestry and Conservation
Clarence L. Hay, A.M., Honorary Curator
Charles Russell, Ph.D., Executive Curator
Robert C. Marston,* Scientific Assistant
Advisory Board: Harold E. Anthony, D.Sc.
Robert Cushman Murphy, Sc.D.
Willard G. Van Name, Ph.D.
Dean Am.idon, B.S., Vssistant Curator
Elsie M. B. Naumburg, Research Associate
Charles K. Nichols, Research Associate
Amphibians and Reptiles
Barnum Brown, Sc.D.. Curator Emeritus of Fossil Reptiles
Edwin H. Colbert, Ph.D., Chairman and Curator of
Amphibians and Reptiles
Charles M. Bogert, M.A., Curator
Priscilla Rasquin, A.B., Scientific Assistant
William Etkin, Ph.D., Research Associate
Libbie H. Hyman, Ph.D., Sc.D., Research Associate
C. M. Breder, Jr., Sc.D., Research Associate
Douglas Burden, M.A., Honorary Associate
Barbara Boggs, Honorary Associate
Fossil
Micropalaeontology
of
Recent Amphibians and
Reptiles
James A. Oliver, Ph.D., Assistant Curator
of
Recent Amphibians
Brooks F. Ellis, Ph.D., Curator
Angelina Messina, M.A., Associate Curator
and Reptiles
Rachel Husband Nichols, A.M., Scientific Assistant
Charles C. Mook, Ph.D., Research Associate, Fossil Reptiles
Harvey Bassler,* Ph.D., Research Associate, Recent Amphibians
and Reptil
John A. Moo
Geology and Mineralogy
Whitlock, Curator Emeritus: Research
Associate in
Research Associate, Recent Amphibian
and Reptiles
h Associate, Fossil Reptile
Fishes
William K. Gregory, Ph.D., D.Sc, Chairman and Curator
of
Fossil Fishes
John
T. Nichols. A.B., Curator of Recent Fishes
Francesca R. LaMonte, B.A., Associate Curator
E. W. GuDGER, Ph.D., Honorary Associate
Louis Hussakof, Ph.D., Research Associate
William Beeee, Sc.D., Research Associate
Charles H. Townsend, Sc.D., Research Associate
M. Breder. Jr., Sc.D., Research Associate
Grace White, Ph.D., Research Associate
Christopher W. Coates. Research Associate
Bertram G. Smith, Ph.D., Research Associate
C.
E.
Field Associate
M.S., Field Representative
Van Campen Heilner,
Insects and Spiders
Lutz. Ph.D., Chairman and Curator
C. H. Curran, D.Sc, Associate Curator
W. J. Gertsch, Ph.D., Associate Curator
Mont a. Cazier, Ph.D., Assistant Curator
Charles D. Michener, Ph.D., Assistant Curator
Annette L. Bacon, B.A., Scientific Assistant
Herbert F. Schwarz, M.A., Research Associate
Ernest L. Bell, Research Associate
Cyril F. dos Passos, LL.B., Research Associate
T. D. A. CocKERELL, Sc.D., Research Associate
Alfred E. Emerson, Ph.D., Rese.-irch Associate
Frank
P.
Jade
Frederick H. Poucif, Ph.D., Chairman and Curator
D.,
Erich M. Sciilaikjer,* Ph.D., R
Michael Lerner,
Herbert
E.
Invertebrates
Roy Waldo Miner. Ph.D., Sc.D., Chairman and Curator
Willard G. Van Name. Ph.D., Associate Curator Emeritus
H. E. VoKES, Ph.D., Associate Curator of Fossil Invertebrates
John C. Armstrong,* A.B., Assistant Curator
George H. Childs, Ph.D., Assistant Curator
Frank J. Myers, Research Associate
Horace W. Stunkard, Ph.D., Research Associate
A. L. Treadwell, Ph.D., Sc.D.. Research Associate
Otto H. Haas, Ph.D., LL.D., Research Associate in Fossil
Invertebrates
Roswell Miller,
Jr., C.E.,
WvLLYS RossETER
Betts,
Field Associate
Associate
Jr., Field
Comparative Anatomy
William K. Gregory, Ph.D., D.Sc, Chairman and Curator
Henry C. Raven, Associate Curator
George Pinkley, Ph.D., Associate Curator
G. Miles Conrad, A.M., Assistant Curator
J. Howard McGregor, Ph.D., Research Associate
Dudley J. Morton, M.D., Research Associate
S. H. Chudb. Research Associate
Astronomy and the Hoyden Planetarium
Clyde Fisher, Ph.D., LL.D., Honorary Curator
William H. Barton, Jr., AI.S., Chairman and Curator
Marian Lockwood, Associate Curator
Robert R. Coles,* Assistant Curator
Fred Raiser, Scientific Assistant
John Ball.
Jr..
B.A., Lecturer
Jr., Lecturer
Charles O. Roth,
Central Asiatic Research and Publication
Roy Chapman .Andrews,
Sc.D., Honorary Curator
Berkev, Ph.D., Sc.D., Research Associate in Geology
Frederick K. iloRRis, Ph.D., Research Associate in Geology
Leslie E. Spock, Ph.D., Research Associate in Geology
Charles
P.
Education
Charles Russell. Ph.D.. Chairman
Grace Fisher Ramsey. Ph.D., Curator
of School Relations
John R. Saunders, B.A., Associate Curator
William H. Carr. Associate Curator: Director of the Bear Mountain Trailside Museums
John C. Orth,* Assistant Curator
William L. Smith, M.D., Senior Instructor Emeritus
Marguerite Newgarden, M.A., Senior Instructor
Farida a. Wiley, Senior Instructor
K. Addicott. M.A., Senior Instructor
A. Burns, M.A., Instructor
Etta Falkner, M.A.. Instructor
Almeda Johnson, Instructor
Lucy W. Clausen, B.S.. Instructor
Irene F. Cypher, Ph.D., Registrar
Super\
of Pr
Relations
Jean Wiedej
WiNI
G. Dc YLE, M.A..
Lipervi;
of Radio
Kenneth
William
•
i.A.,
Supervisor
of
Library and
Natural History Magazine
Edward Moffat Weyer, Jr.. Ph.D., Editor
Frederick L. Hahn, Production Manager
Charles J. O'Connor, Manager of Circulation and Advertising
The Junior Natural History Magazine
Dorothy Lee Edwards. Editor
Charles
J.
O'Connor, Circulation Manager
Library
Hazel Gav, Librarian
Helen M. Gunz, Assistant Librarian
Preparation and
Insiiillitiiiut
D.Sc, Director
Animal Behavior
Frank A. Beach, Ph.D., Chairman and Curator
Lester R. Aronson, M.A., Assistant Curator
Editorial
Georgine Mastin Guelpa, Supervisor of Information
Katharine Beneker, Supervisor of Temporary Exhibits
Associate Chief
SON, B.A., B.Ar., Staff Associate
,
AN URGENT CALL FOR YOU
"Please do not
make hong Distance
telephone calls to war-busy centers
unless
it is
really necessary."
That helps keep the hnes open
for
war
messages and war's on the wires these days.
When we
we'll give
Many
can get telephone materials again
you
all
the wires you desire.
thanks.
BELL TELEPHONE SYSTEM
fl
NATURAL HISTORY
**••*•
The Magazine
of the
American Museum
Natural History
of
Albert
Frederick Trubee Davison, President
VOLUME LI—No.
E. Parr, Director
JANUARY. 1943
1
White-mantled Colobus Monkeys
From a Kodachromc t/y
Cover Design
T. L. Biericnl taken
llif
til
Amrriian Museum
of Satural History
Letters
I
Staff
2
With
Norwegian
the
Per Host
Sealers
Ad-venturcs
Hollow
God's
of
i^/iile
Near
to
tlie
nest
and on the
Hugo H.
Schroder l8
ijL'ing
Vincent
Fingerprint a Snowstorm
How
Where Do
Hughes l6
natural dike protects America's "Little Holland"
The American Egret
How
Tom
Hand
A
Go
Insects
in
to
6
stndyiuff Arctic seals on the floatmcf ice
"fossilize" snowflakes in all their infinite variety
J.
Schaefer 20
and beauty
Edwin
Winter?
Way
Teale 28
Tlic insects' triumph over Cold
Birds of
New
38
Caledonia
Colorful birds at a depot on the Pacific supply route
The Jeepy
Jackrabliit
An Eskimo
Frank Dobie 40
J.
Fact Tind fancy concerning this son of desert
satje
The
Girl Builds a Snowhouse
For oi'crnight shelter on the
Venerable D. B. :\Iarsh 46
trail
Information Test
47
Seeing Nature through the Camera's Eye
48
John Eric Hill 50
Winter Sports
Animals, the
Your
New
first
possessors of snoivshoes
Books
Vou
«-iIl
51
find
Natural History Magazine indexed
in
Reader's Guide
to
Periodical Literature
in voiir librai\
Publication Office: American
Museum
Manuscripts
of Natural
New
pictures
York, N. Y.
Editor:
VVeyer,
Jr.,
Ph.D.
L.
sent
subscriptions,
Museum
of Natural History,
New
the Editor, The
History, N. V. All
to
lines.
Membership
3„j Advertising inquiries
Charles J, O'Connor.
Hahn.
Copyright, 1942, by the .\merican
be
of Natural
must carry credit
Magazine
Edward M.
Art and Production: Frederick
should
American Museum
History, Seventy-ninth Street at Central Park West,
should
applications,
he
sent
to
York, \. Y.
(except July aiiJ August) at New York. N. V., Ijy The American Museum of Natural History,
is published monthly
Subscriptions to Canada. NewSubscription price ?4 a year, single copies fifty cents.
Seventy-ninth Street and Central Park West.
foundland, and all foreign countries $4.5(t. Entered as second class matter March 9, 1936, at the Post Office at New York, under the Act
Natural History
of
August
24.
1912.
A
It
IS a
lucky season
when
are not destroyed by storm
crew.
Note
the barrel
on
several of these small ships
and
ice,
often with the entire
the foremast,
from which the
lookout scans the ice for seals or open water. With the
invasion of Norway, many of the ships turned to patrol
duty and mine sweeping for the United Nations
A Sealing ships meeting at the edge of the ice for an exchange of news and plans. The author's work with the fleet
for several seasons was part of a Norwegian survey to study
the life of seals in relation to conservation problems
All Photographs by the Author
Adventures while studying the ways of Arctic seals on the
floating ice, where myriads of them gather annually for
breeding: a personal account of
By Per Host
ONE
of the
is
with the
men who
most interesting ex-
periences
have
life
follow one of the sea's most perilous occupations
naturalist
a
new
to Visit a
can
region
where there are thousands of wild animals. This is especially true in the
Arctic, on the border of those realms
where the ice king reigns supreme and
where one does not expect to find
much life.
The surprise is almost overwhehning when the dreary and barren background gives way to great colonies of
mammals and birds. The northern
shores where hundreds of thousands
of birds congregate each
the
immense herds
summer and
of reindeer on the
tundra present a spectacle not easily
forgotten. But even these cannot compare with the fantastic adventure of
finding
one
of
the
you will
can reach,
see
a
seals
far
as
teeming
breeding
great
For there
places of the Arctic seals.
as
life in
the eye
the midst
of the Arctic vastness.
The harp seal, which is by far the
most numerous and valuable of the
i«
Arctic
seals,
migrates
thousands
of
miles each year to and from the breed-
ing places where it gives birth to its
young on the floating ice. These seals
have been of great economic importance for years, but comparatively
known about
which are among
been
has
little
dom.
of
Information
of
this
sort
laws governing hunting.
sensible
With modern methods,
seal hunting
can easily be overdone, endangering
the herds.
harp
three breeding places of the
ice
seals are
known: one
Norwegian
of
sealing.
Consequently
our observations were chiefly
in these
areas.
One
Unregulated and reckless
can
imagine a more com-
easil\'
fortable job for a naturalist than liv-
threatened the existence of important
animals. One sad chapter is Arctic
ing for months in the Arctic but hardly
whaling. Another example
We
the wal-
which
was exterminated over
large areas and is now found only in
rus,
sections difficult for hunters to reach.
Some
years ago in order to prevent
Norwegian seal inNorwegian Government
a
more
thrilling
and adventurous one.
usually started on these expedi-
tions
in
the
last
part
February.
of
Heavily loaded with several months'
provisions and fuel, the little sealing
vessel
that carried us north through
a decline of the
blizzards and polar fog had
dustry,
hard time on
the
undertook
a
the harp seal.
broad
investigation
of
The committee commis-
iMALL SEALER crushed by the
ice and abanby her crew. Several of the men take a last
ship before starting on a long jourver the pack ice
its
way.
It
not roomy on board the
sealers.
Few
of
them are
is
many
a
certainly
Norwegian
more than
loosens
ice
all
its
destructive
forces.
Among
in the drift
off
exploitation of the Arctic has already
is
are strongly built to
pack
Only
especially have figured in the history
the most in-
They
tons.
seasons from 1931 to 1938.
obviously necessary for the formation
migra-
200
withstand the pressure of the ice, but
even so they are like toys when the
is
their
teresting examples in the animal king-
at their
to lead expeditions for the
purpose of studying the ways of the
Arctic seals, which I did for several
Newfoundland, another between Greenland and Spitsbergen,
and a third at the mouth of the White
Sea north of Europe. The latter two
tions,
d
me
sioned
in the
ous of
all
is
possibly the
the
ship
goes
peril-
From
into
the
gambles with
life,
a matter of necessity for
him
ice the sealer
it is
most
occupations at sea.
moment
the
pack
and
peacetime activities sealing
Arctic
to take great risks
if
he wants to get
Hardly a season goes by without several of the ships disappearing
as victims of storm and ice, often with
a load.
loss of the entire
crew.
On
one of our trips aboard the
"Polarbjorn" we were far out in the
drift ice
crews
when we happened upon
two
of
shipwrecked
the
vessels.
had been walking over the pack
several da\s. So we had to
make room in our already crowded
I he_\'
ice
for
ship for
crew. In
more than double the normal
my
floor space
laboratory, with a
little
6 by 8
feet,
to sleep for several
three
men had
weeks.
A PusHiNc, through the drift ice. To get the ship through a jam, some of the
crew have had to scramble over the ice and push the "floes aside with long
poles. Sometimes dynamite has to be used to blast openings in the ice
< When the ice is too loose for the
men to go on foot, they row and push
-Tr;^^ v'^s??!^
the boats through in search of seals
which are white like the ice upon which
they are born. But from the sound we
knew that there were thousands of
them around the ship. The cry of a
single baby seal can be heard several
hundred feet, and where thousands of
them are gathered a powerful cry fills
the air. As the ship advanced through
openings in the
the
ice,
the
chorus
They were calling for their
mothers, who had run away. The
whole scene was fantastic, as if we
swelled.
were on a strange globe.
At dawn I was over the side and
out on the ice. There were seals everywhere. On a single floe about 1 500
feet in
When looking back on these trips,
however, most of the hardships have
left little impression on the memory.
Much of what I saw on the great
breeding places of the seals, however,
stands out
so,
get. Especially
that I shall never foris
this true of
my
first
meeting with the harp seals.
It was the beginning of March,
where the White Sea joins the Arctic
Ocean. For many days our little boat
had worked its way steadily through
the pack ice. The skipper had spent
all his
time in the crow's nest, scru-
tinizing
every inch of
ice
for
miles
around with his binoculars. The atmosphere aboard was nervously .exwhere were the seals? AH
pectant
we could see was ice, lifeless and vast.
It is impossible to tell beforehand
—
just
where the
time
may
herds,
seals will gather.
Much
be lost searching for
and you may be too
the
late for a
good catch. Even in the Arctic there
Every year ships reis competition.
turn without a single pelt, while their
rivals throw fuel overboard in order
to store the sealskins.
On board the "Polarbjorn" we
were optimists. The best part of the
season
was
yet ahead. Ice conditions
ship behaved
were favorable, and the
well in the
many openings
in the
heavy
ice.
> Old male harp seals
are some-
times found in herds by themselves.
They
are usually shy
with
rifles.
and are hunted
The man
ground wears white
in
the back-
be able to
approach the seals unseen
to
A moonlit, starr}' night
the polar
ice,
and the
reigned over
skies
were trem-
bling with a blue-white aurora borealis.
Every
detail could be seen in the fan-
diameter
I
estimated a herd of
more than a thousand young. The
mothers were difficult to approach and
took to the water. But the beautiful
snow white young stayed helplessly
on the ice, so that it was easy to mark
as many as I wanted in order to get
about
migrations.
tastic ice formations.
information
Suddenly one of the crew came running forward. He had heard the cry
listened, and before long
of a seal.
we heard new sounds from out there.
They were growing in strength and
This was done by
fixing metal
to their short tails.
The
We
sounded
bies.
like
the
The sound
frozen night
whimpering
carried
far
of
ba-
on the
moving swiftly over the ice. They were
the mother seals who had been up to
feed the young and were now leaving
them, frightened by the vessel. But
we were as yet unable to see the young.
see dark shapes
tags
were
that were
sealers
to spare the baby seals
marked, but unfortunately in the beginning many were killed before the
To
marking was noticed.
I
painted
backs.
air.
Soon we could
their
a
few
Of
prevent
big red
cross
course this
would
a
days, but
it
this,
on
their
last
only
served the purpose,
protecting the seals until they were
old enough to take to the water.
The mother
seals,
however, did not
like to find their babies decorated in
this
way.
When
they came up from
and noticed the strange ap-
the water
pearance of their young, they did not
even recognize them at
young
seal,
full
first.
When
a
came
mother, it was
of confidence,
crawling towards
its
But at intervals the
mother would come up again, look
the young over, and sniff at it. Finally
she seemed to understand, and the
normal relation was reestablished.
Later I sometimes found the young
away.
pushed
quite icy on their backs, obviously be-
cause the mother had tried to remove
the paint by licking.
Once I
more than an hour
wriggle between
of
carry
for
piece that could hardly
my weight, drifting
my
with
my
solid ice.
In a couple of hours most of the
first
direction
attention to the drift of the
ice.
When
my
stomach told me it must be
dinner time, I found that the current
had carried me several miles away
from the ship and from the men on
the ice. Those on board seemed aware
of my situation and were heading the
ship in my direction. But it did not
finally
make much
bad ice jam
progress, as there
in the
accept the fact that
—
way. So
it
was
had to
would be a long
I
walk back, and unexperienced as
was it held plenty of surprises
—
a
I
in
store for me.
In the morning, solid
ice
had cov-
Now
great
openings had come, caused by the current. It
to
was
a
get across.
problem to find places
Often 1 had to jump
from one small Hoe
to another, everv
fur
movement of the ice.
Through the darkness now came
by the
the sound of the ship's siren. Repeated
at intervals, this
have been easier except that the short
Arctic day was almost ended. I toiled
my
I
could toward the ship, against
wading knee-
like that for se\eral
SE.ALERS
to
keep
when
hours
sud-
denly through the silence
ing across huge barriers of
sound of a human voice. I was only a
few hundred yards from the side of
ice
blocks
that had been piled up by the pressure
and frozen together. When it was almost dark a violent movement started.
Everywhere around me the ice was
striving and cracking, giving all sorts
of queer sounds. I was in the middle
when it suddenly started
under the pressure of the ice
packed against it on all sides. With
I
heard the
the ship.
After
this
I
knew
it
was
a
good
policy to keep reasonably close to the
crew.
We
usually kept in groups of
three or four as a guarantee against
of a big floe
serious accidents in crossing difficult
to give
E\ery da\' there
through the ice.
And I remember one day when not a
single man of the ice-crew had been
able to avoid an involuntary bath. I
went in with my motion picture
camera and had to sit up all night taking it apart and cleaning sea water
from every little piece of metal. Howe\er, one rarely catches cold in the
drift
ice,
and our unpremeditated
swimming trips had no serious con-
a loud roar
while
the
sides
Then
it
many
cracked in several places,
tons of ice fell in from
with
a
thundering noise.
was necessary
presence of mind and
it
to keep one's
a steady foot
while getting across to another
a quick run.
How
floes
the
seals,
many
floe
on
clums}- and helpless
lying about on the open
or in crevices in the piled-up
ice,
openings
were
in
the
ice.
cases of falling
could avoid being caught in the grind-
sequences.
and killed, was a riddle to me.
Every now and then I would stumble
across one in the darkness, and what
I thought to be a heap of snow would
Our expeditions started
Norway early enough for
'ing
out from
us to see
big schools of seals far out at sea, all
swimming
in
^ A HALF MILE of Steel wire connects these heaps of seal skins with the ship,
on which a steam winch hauls the pelts across the intervening ice and snow
WITH THE NORWEGI.AN
me
enabled
which was fortunate, for
it
had started snowing and I could
only fumble ahead. I had been walking
direction,
deep through snowdrifts and climb-
baby
ered the whole expanse.
soft
openings had closed and things would
as best
morning I walked in the
from where the
crew was working to study the seals
undisturbed. I became so absorbed in
marking the young that I did not pay
This
paddle
course towards a promising area
more
of
a lake in
to
freezing hands to influence
the gathering darkness,
opposite
slowly across
what appeared almost like
the moving pack, trying
—
my legs a bundle
and terror-stricken life.
Its wailing cry would start a dozen or
more invisible companions to calling
from out of the darkness. On later occasions I found plenty of evidence
that numerous young seals are killed
time risking a cold plunge.
was stranded
on a floating
the
same
direction
—
toward the
They could easil}made 8 or 9
drift ice.
overtake our ship, which
The
miles.
go far into the pack
seals
before settling down, because they
ice
want
where the young will
solid ice,
the seal does not freeze when the temperature reaches 20° or more below
But
long-haired fur and thick
which increases daily during the first two weeks after birth,
zero.
its
layer of fat,
The
not be washed oft by storms or drifted
protect
into the open ocean.
practically the
The
female seals arrive
young have been born. The
the
ex-
pectant seals place themselves about 20
to
30
When
the
and
feet apart
them easy
give
the water
freezing between
is
make
they
floes,
which
in positions
access to the water.
holes in the ice
they can readily get in and out,
so
both before the \oung are born and as
They
start
still
thin
long as they are suckling.
when
these holes
the ice
is
and keep them open while it thickens.
I have found such bobbing holes in
ice that is five feet thick. These holes
are very
where the
common in the White Sea,
floes may be a mile or more
But
diameter.
in
I
have never found
them between Spitsbergen and Greenland, probably because the ice there
is
more cut
The
blood temperature
same
The growth
the
first,
males appearing in force only after
it.
when
it
tunately for the seals, the fat
seal reproduces at a
slow
rate,
and
shed
is
young
the
a
seal
During
the
milk, which
is
40%
more than
contains
4%
comparison with
in
among
imaginable.
the cutest
The
has
pelt
The mother
seal
think that so skillful a
as the seal
water from
The
case.
would be
at
Such
birth.
is
chances are that the
j'oung harp seal
would drown
if
it
were to stay in the water for half an
hour or more. Consequently, one never
sees a young seal going voluntarily
into the water.
It
accident
in,
it
falls
age well during the
keeps afloat
if
by
times
I
she
its
position
seal
would
floe
found her own.
down with it
settle
quietly.
Courting
The
young seals leave the breeding
and the ice is once more quiet
males arrive
and
lifeless.
Once again
this
in the season the older
migrate into the
seals
time
it is
pack, and
ice
a greater gathering than
on the breeding
By
places.
the end of
May
April and the beginning of
their skin
winter
their
lose
seals
sore, so that they avoid
is
going into the water as
The
sible.
males arrive
coming
females
the
the
and
pelts,
much
as pos-
time,
first this
together
later,
at
the breeding
new
gotten their
of seals
is
have
nest
I
seal
in
The number
From the crow's
pelts.
fantastic.
seen
seal
lying
beside
a herd of several thousands,
then half a mile or so beyond was the
next herd, and so on as far as one
could see through the
the
White
aerial
field glasses.
In
upon
Sea, countings based
photographic methods revealed
that 700,000 seals had congregated in
one area, at a density of up to 30,000
to a square mile.
Large
hunting was formerly
scale
carried on in these seal encampments.
However, in the last seasons before
war this was almost discontinued,
because it was not profitable. The
the
seal does not
produce much fat
time of year, and the skin
duced value
is
at this
of re-
as well.
In their westernmost breeding place,
the harp seals gather off the coast of
have seen the mother
many
mothers, making a sort of courtship
Quite often a fight breaks out
between them and blood is lost in
honor of the ladies of the ice. When
the females have nursed their 5foung
play.
for a couple of weeks, they obviously
become
tired
for a little
the
young
of
flirt
it
in
and are longing
the water.
people that
her
Then
will have to shift for them-
selves as best they can
perish during stormsa surprise to
a mys-
The mother
until she finally
Then
food for the
and can be seen swimming in large
herds within view of the brooding
to the rescue,
is
which the
faraway and changed
floes.
and these are its main
first weeks. After that
abundance,
places several days after the females
and it is pathetic
to see the care with which she handles
her young as she swims under the
baby and helps it up onto the ice
again. Despite this, great numbers
It
is
own young
swimming trips, durfloe may have drifted
other
it
three to four
drifted out into the open ocean. Sev-
come
It
she can find her
always finds the right
Here
surface.
remain there for about three weeks
without eating, and they do not enter
the water voluntarily until they have
but remains for
after these long
among
the
to
but cannot manfirst
weeks of its life.
During storms the young are sometimes washed off the ice and are
eral
how
more
first it is
her young
visits
daily,
confusedly about for half an hour or
snout and the large, dark eyes.
At
with the one-and-two-year-old seals.
The herds settle down on the ice and
not
contrast to the white pelt are the dark
the
in
home
few days bleaches to snowy white,
making it blend perfectly with the
snow and ice around it. In striking
in a
in the
fat,
and never
fails to single out her own young from
the hundreds of snow white babies
that have been crawling about in the
meantime. If I moved one of the
young far from its original place in
marking it, I could observe the mother
through my field glasses searching
yellow-white hair, which
four
ordinary cow's
ing
swimmer
the
known.
the fattest milk
studied.
One might
of
only on the mother's
tery
soft,
couple
two weeks,
first
seal subsists
long periods in the water.
creatures
mother
weeks before it is quite able to shift
for itself, and during this period it
has to rely on its fat alone.
year. Twin births are very
have found no sure case in
any of the breeding grounds I have
long,
most
protection
as a food reservoir, because the
leaves
keeps
fore
the
rare
seals are
stiff,
or
three
in search of food.
places,
pup each
Newborn
white pelt
begins to venture into the
it
thick-
several times
I
weeks
water
its
of shorter,
At about
hair.
warm
each female producing only a single
;
gray
is
milk.
up.
growing a coat
is
about the time- when the
needed. This layer of fat also serves
It
and
finds small shrimplike crustaceans in
est just
baby
has started to lose
floe,
has a two-inch layer of fat and
it
weighs between 60 and 80 pounds
an increase of 400 or 500%. For-
pelt
which has been lying quietly on the
not very adept at diving and there-
birth
15 pounds, but
it
almost
is
the water with
in
her mate. In the meantime, the young,
weighs about
is two weeks
unbelievable.
old
as ours.
of the baby
At
is
mostly to be seen
freedom.
;
Mother wants
From now on
she
is
Newfoundland
March. They
in
the
first
days
of
two separate
the Gulf of St.
form
groups here, one in
Lawrence and the other, the larger
one, on the drift ice off the eastern
coast.
During summer the
seals that
breed here are spread over the great
regions between
land,
Baffin
mostlv
in
Canada and Greenthe western part of
Bay.'
In September or October they start
their migration south.
NATURAL
About
HISTORY, JANUARY,
Christ-
1
943
> Harp
seals, overlooking an expanse of pancake ice. The characteristic pans of ice have their edges
thickened by knocking against one
another. Along the edge of the pack
the ocean is sometimes covered with
pancake
^
An
ice
for hundreds of miles
old harp seal, which has
doubtless spent
many
seasons migrat-
ing thousands of miles back and forth
between the open sea and the pack
ice, where the young are born
mas they reach the coast of Newfoundland, but they continue farther
south, clear out to the Great Banks.
This migration
food
is
correlated with the
When
supply.
the
leave
seals
Bay in the fall, they are very
lean. But after their stay on the Great
Banks from January to February,
Baffin
they have gained a heavy layer of fat.
February
In
they
moving
start
north again to meet the drift ice beginning to form oif the coast of New-
They
foundland.
here in the
The
pelts of
able as fur,
the
bear their young
two weeks of March.
the young are very valuand it is important for
first
sealers
to
get
before
there
the
and soft hairs are shed.
Consequently the sealing off Newfoundland starts about the
uh of
March.
first
long
I
I)i)iiniis/iiii(/
Seal hunting off
not
as
profitable
lirrds
Newfoundland
as
it
used
to
is
be.
Reckless hunting in former days has
decreased
the
number
of
seals
con-
Commercial sealing started
here as early as iSoo and bad its most
prosperous period from 1825 to 1850.
The average catch for these years was
siderably.
about half a million seals annually.
The methods employed
.««»***'*^
rapid decline of
WITH
TIIK X()K\VlX;i.\X Sl.ALl.KS
in
these
were \ery destructive, because
more seals were killed than the figures
indicate. Great multitudes of seals escaped mortally wounded, or were shot
in the water and sank before the sealer
could get to them. Sometimes more
were probably lost than were caught.
This tremendous slaughtering of seals
was doubtless the main cause of tlie
years
Newfoundland
sealing
baby seal is nursed several times a day by its
who comes up out of the water through this
"bobbing hole." She keeps the hole from freezing over
by frequently clearing away the ice
mother,
f The author
suggests
why
pean languages
seal, whose face
dog" in some Euro-
with a newborn harp
the seal
is
called a "sea
f
< Snow-white and three days old. Baby seals
are among the cutest creatures in the animal
kingdom. After the
first
two weeks, the young
harp seal begins to lose
N^
silky white fur
Four days old and growing
two weeks the
first
its
its
weight.
10%
milk
fat.
—
Its
in
fast.
In
its
more than quadruples
mother's milk has more than
seal
comparison with
4%
in cow's
a fortunate provision for the
when the baby seal will shed
L;row a new one, and venture into
tiays
w ater to fare for
coming
its
coat,
the cold
itself
y
'
'*'
The mother,
ingly identify her
returning after a cruise in the sea, can unerr-
own baby among hundreds
^
of others on the
ice. When the author tagged seals to study their migrahe sometimes painted a big red crosj on the backs of the
babies. The mothers did not approve. They would sniff at their
young dubiously without recognition before accepting them as
their own. Baby seals were later found whose mothers had
apparently tried to lick the crosses off
floating
tions,
.^wpS^f^
A At two weeks, young
baby
fur.
The new
harp
seals start to
left-hand seal). Until the seal
is
ing the last ten years before the
been
around
war
170,000 seals an-
may drown
mother,
if
if
present,
dred sealskins while in the drift
ice
The
other great breeding place
is
between Green-
in the drift ice
From
land and Spitsbergen.
different
places in this expanse of ice, the seals
gather every year on an
usually forms near the
jam which
islands of Jan
ice
with ships equipped exclusively
for this purpose. In 1760 ships from
Hamburg brought in 45,000 sealskins.
Around 1850 British, Danish, Ger-
bers. Originally only
man, and Norwegian sealers were operating in this area on a large scale,
but in the last 50 years the sealers
who have hunted
confirmed the
seals breeding
here form an independent population
obvious that here also there has been
and do not interbreed with the seals
off Newfoundland and in the White
a
location of this breed-
ing place varies some from year to
year, because the distribution of the
according to temperature,
differs
ice
wind, and current.
Our
that
belief
Sea.
investigations
the
harp
At Jan Mayen
riod
than
off
weeks
later
The
the breeding pe-
two weeks later
Newfoundland and three
comes
about
seals
to be caught
from
first
ships.
1700 the whalers secured
14
of the seal herd.
In the third great breeding place,
at the
seals
mouth
of the
congregate
in
White
great
Sea,
masses
the
in
Arctic seals
As
Land which
between Greenland and
Spitsbergen were the
marked decrease
February and the beThey hail from the
Barents Sea and the areas between
Spitsbergen and Fridtjof Nansen's
than in the White Sea.
a
early as
few hun-
long as the others, and
as
seal in the Jan
Aiayen area have been exclusively
Norwegian. In later years the total
catch of harp seal around Jan Mayen
has been 20,000 to 40,000 a year.
This is not much compared with what
were caught in the old days, and it is
Mayen. The
has not been hunted on a large scale
along the southeastern coast of Greenland, and they soon started seal hunting
nually.
found
it
three or four weeks old
around 1850. The average catch durhas
washed into the sea by storm. Then the
shows pathetic anxiety, swimming
under the baby and helping it onto the ice again
shed their
coat begins just behind the head (see
the latter part of
ginning of March.
towards the east in
the Arctic Sea. This sealing ground
lies
known whether
it
it is
not yet
num-
has suffered in
Norwegian
seal-
ing vessels operated in this area. But
in the past
20 years the Russians have
increased their seal hunting, and in
the
years
last
war
the
before
they
were dominating this sealing ground.
During the same period the Norwegian sealing in the White Sea,
which in 1925 brought 343,000 seals
to port, was gradually discontinued.
What
value do these Arctic seals
and what
represent,
is
it
that
makes
thousands of persons go north to the
drift ice and expose themselves to all
The young
kinds of dangers?
seals,
those just born or a
especially
few
days old, are valuable primarily for
their pelts.
These
pelts are
made
into
and highly prized
ladies' coats, though they are not to
be confused with the fur seal. The
very
attractive
hides of the adult seal are not used
for fur,
coarse.
industry.
NATURAL
as the
They
A
hair
is
too
stiff
and
are used in the leather
special
treatment makes
HISTORY, JANUARY,
1
943
them
and lustrous, and they find
use for gloves, handbags,
soft
extensive
pocketbooks,
The
etc.
fat of the seal
produces a very
lotions,
and
it
the
Arctic
has
like all trades
of the seas.
first
of
in peacetime still represents
one of the chief livelihoods of a large
seal
course
decreased,
fleet
ships of the
went out
Nor-
as usual
winter of the war, and
February,
1940,
a
number
of
in
them
even crossed the Atlantic to the
mote sealing
re-
Newfoundland.
As these ships were far away from
Norway when the invasion came, most
of them did not return to their country.
This, however, presented several
place.
in
fields off
Instead they brought their loads
part of the population in
coast of
Norway.
greatest
importance
the
unload a cargo of skins
New York, in 1941.
of
first
vessel to
in the
A
harbor
number
of
the
Eskimos.
them the annual migrations
the
different
their
coast
species
are
of
seals
matter of
a
death. Decrease of the seals
ous problem
to
the seal stayed
away
ment organized
—was
to
To
peaceful days
—
an im-
It also plays
portant part in the economy of the
Arctic regions of Russia. But it is of
dustry.
British
Newfound-
land and along the north and west
and American ports and
joined the rest of the Norwegian merchant fleet, under the free Norwegian
Government. Thus, the Norwegian
sealer "Polarbjorn"
the ship I had
followed on many expeditions in
to
the
of
or
a seri-
is
Eskimo, and
for good,
it
if
would
be a catastrophe.
has
been
often
carried
out
without concern for the future, and
this has been the case in the seal in-
When
Norwegian Govern-
the
the Arctic seal,
the
it
investigation
was meant
of
to be a
link in a plan to place seal hunting on
^
It
is
to such picturesque scenes as this,
showing the
of a sealing captain on the west coast of Norway,
that the ships return after their struggles in storm
WITH THE NORWEGIAN SEALERS
and fog
A
really
only
possible
do not stay
diffi-
in
effective
through
control
is
international
rules and regulations, by cooperation
between the interested nations. The
future of the Arctic seal
is
therefore
dependent upon the development of
international understanding.
Fortunately,
harp
hooded seal and
hunted to
the
never be
will
seal
complete extinction,
number
siderable
sary
a
Exploitation of the resources of the
Arctic
seals
far out in the drift ice, in international
waters.
along
life
The
game management.
one
Also the sealeries of the harp
and the hooded seal are situated
culties.
if
low
basis.
because
a
con-
of seals are neces-
an expedition
paying
is
to operate
If the catch
a certain point,
on
falls be-
hunting will auto-
However,
and regulaaccordance with
matically be discontinued.
administration
sensible
tion
of
hunting
biological
in
principles
determining the
population should enable Arctic
seal
sealing to continue as a lasting source
of
income
And
home
The aim was
put into effect certain principles of
of earlier days are no longer possible,
sealing
rational basis.
conservation and
to
also serves
depending on freedom
Most
wegian sealing
the
started,
more
waters.
sealing
war
the
a
Despite the fact that the rich catches
as a lubricant.
Since
and sturdy sealing ships have
and for
fine oil for the soap industry
creams and
the small
been used in patrol duty and as mine
sweepers in British and
Iceland
to
the interested
nations.
Eskimos will not have to
change their mode of life, which
would be a most unfortunate consequence of seal depletion.
the
14
^
MAJOR
COMMUNITIES'
'•k.,.
IMPERIAL
VALLEY
:
.ORADO/
?IVER
The lowest
point in the two Americas
is
covered
by Salton Sea, in southeastern California. Fifty-foot
contour lines show the configuration of this remarkable depression. So low is the gentle slope of
protecting this great valley from the sea that a
fisherman standing in the bow of his boat in the
Gulf of California at high tide might almost see
over it. The surrounding mountains, some of them
silt
more than a mile above sea
omitted for the sake of simplicity
rising
level,
have been
THE HOLLOW OF GOD'S HAND
A
million acres and 50,000 busy people are protected from the sea
by a natural "dike" only 14
high in America's "Little Holland"
feet
High tide
THE
Indians called it "The Hollow of God's Hand." Possibly
they had some dim realization
slender
the
of
name
providential
thread
from disaster. And the
even more appropriate than
which held
is
it
Then
the river started to spill
its
Hood into the sunken salt desert. Now
northward into the sink, now southward into the open Gulf, the wayward river poured from its high bed
along the crest of the delta dike.
And
new
with trainloads of rock, a lake
safe
some 300 square miles in area and 90
feet deep had formed at what was
the lowest spot in the two Americas.
With
drainage
irrigation
flowing
Salton Sea persists at a
steadily in,
a pole vaulter could clear the vertical
lake, which we call Cahuilla,
and fell with the river's changing
moods. The river's last prehistoric
foray northward was so recent as to
be caught up in legends of living des-
around 240 feet
below sea. Boulder Dam, however,
with its desilting effect, has tamed the
shrewish Colorado of her flood tantrums, and no more escapades are
distance.
ert tribes.
with
for. Not within the next few
hundred years, at least.
But again we think of little Holland and of the greater water, the
sea
and we recall how the Nether-
pil-
landers have not dared to pause in
little
Harold Bell Wright realized when
it. For the natural dike
he publicized
that
separates
million
this
California from the sea
A
the
is
so
of
acres
low that
a
rose
To
large lake appears overnight in
middle of the desert!
where such
A
place
happen is
surely touched with enchantment. Yet
that is what happened in Salton Sink,
and if you gaze upon the turquoise
shimmer of this inland sea from any
of the peaks that rim the vast bowl of
the old Colorado Desert, that enchantment will grip you.
Will there come a day when anthing
a
can
of
feet
hills
eastward
and
south?
swer
his
Chocolate foot-
to the
the horizons north and
to
Time
—time
from
itself
and
withholds the an-
and the implac-
tide
able elements.
Here
the
in
southeast
corner
of
California, sea and river and sun have
toiled in a
weird sort of harmony. In
Gulf
the beginning, the
of California
reached like a stubby finger far north
of
where
it
now
ends, so that
it
ap-
the cities and farms on the bot-
tom
of
Imperial and Coachella
broad, with a long, comforting slope
the
valleys
Grand Canyon,
piled
its
muck
in the
is
not merely 20 feet below
lie
sea like
Holland's polder
deep as 200
large as
the
but
fields,
While not
feet.
nearly
region protected by
the dikes of Holland, the
Hollow
of
not high,
rise
and
32 feet. Their spring
valley-ward until they
as
crests
surge
reach
within some fourteen vertical
ing at high tide might almost see over.
roared up into the Gulf
than once the weapon has been turned
against them. The fickle Colorado,
since building
its
wealth of
dike and spreading
its
fertile soil,
times sought to undo
it
has several
all.
Once,
in
spite of the frantic efforts of skillful
it
came near succeeding.
In June of 1891 the river broke
From
its
its
raised channel
a reddish stream tore through the silt
and down into the hollow. At once
wild rumors flew that the desert was
filling with sea water. Fourteen years
later the river
;
other
—
six
times
in
all.
Before
low place
feet of the
Perhaps no
bow
our dike.
in
A
of his boat rid-
real hurricane has ever
day one should,
let
;
but
us hope
it
some
if
will not
choose the precise time of high tide.
For
if
such a hurricane were to sweep
would surely pour
inland, the sea
into
the fertile valley.
Men
of the Imperial and Coachella
valleys have always been resourceful.
ri\er's
HAND
is
They
Their fathers conquered the desert
with the weapon of water, yet more
waters.
S
much
fall as
it
tides are.
people.
went on the rampage
again, carrying death and destruction
and yet another time, and still an-
THE HOLLOW OF GOD
and the Gulf
fisherman on the
form of a broad dike, which slowly
pushed itself out across this finger of
water. In time the Gulf was completely banked off and the ardent sun
had its way with the imprisoned
;
But
against the Gulf.
God's Hand embraces fourteen major
communities and shelters 50,000 busy
north bank.
orado River, at work carving out the
;
And
and the Santa Rosas and San
a sea 30 miles
wide and 1 000 feet deep. The Col-
—
buttressed
their labor of pushing back the tides.
Twenty-five miles south of the Mexican border rises our own dike. It is
engineers,
Jacintos on the west,
are
and granite and wooden
proached the Chocolate Range on the
east
reminded
Holland. But, whereas
were thrown up by the
our desert's sea wall
ings,
so
sea that spreads
to be
firmer than the loess hills of China.
Travertine Point, looks out across
new
is
flat
that
Netherlanders
as
a brand
tiny,
basalt
other traveler, standing on the heights
at
looked
speak of dikes
those
level that fluctuates
the
sodden banks had been made
That
is
why
make
they were able to
the Colorado desert blossom like the
rose.
After 40 years of the most dra-
matic reclamation struggle
ica,
have
they
forced
through
afraid.
all
it
Toward
daily bares
the
do
to
it
low
its
hill
disarmed
their
they
in
Amer-
the
river,
bidding.
And
have been
un-
enemy
that
the balked
white teeth just be\ond
they hold a magnificent
disdain.
17
THE
American
EGRET
Near the Nest and on the Wing
B\ Hugo H. Schroder
breeding through
wide range of
THOUGH
both north and south of the equator,
a
latitude
the beautifully
feathered American Egret was almost exterminated in
the millinery trade made tremendous demands on
plumage. Fortunately, the condition has improved since
then because the United States Government forbade the
shooting of the bird. It nests in large colonies in the heavy
swamps along the Gulf and Mississippi River states, in the
West Indies, and in Middle and South America to Patagonia
1913
when
A About to make
its
'^
With
landing while flying
One of the
a
over a South Florida rookery.
legs
is
dropping from its normal
which is straight back
flight
position,
legs and toes extended
it
hurriedly
takes flight at the sight of the photographer
^ Shortly after take off from the
The neck has been drawn back, but the
are not pulled
up
to the
normal
tree.
legs
flight position
^While turning,
completely
plumage. When
wings measure from 50 to 59
the
unfolds the beauty of
spread,
inches
its
its
bird
A Fear of
the photographer
made
ber of the heron family spread
this
its
mem-
plumes
impressively
^ With neck
rests
on the
in a graceful S-curve this egret
tree top
ican Egret's length
above
is
its nest.
from 35
The Amer-
to 42 inches
^ The American Egret flies north to
Oregon, Wisconsin, and New Jersey during its post-breeding wandering, even as
far as Manitoba and Nova Scotia. Note
the feather pattern of the wings on the
down
stroke
A This Egret
a
frog in
are
w
fish,
returns satisfied to the rookery, bearing
mouth. Chief foods of the American Egret
crawfish, lizards, frogs, and insects
its
19
