and Pacific sides. In a recent letter to
Doctor Gregory, Mr. Nichols writes :
"One important and very interesting prob-
lem which will be opened by a better field
knowledge of the Arctic faima, has to do
^dth the method and extent to which Pacific
temperate forms have invaded the Atlantic,
or vice versa, through polar seas. It is
conceivable, for instance, that our Atlantic
sculpins and flounders were of Pacific origin,
became adapted to Arctic conditions, and so
crossed to the colder waters of the middle
Atlantic. A study of the line where the
Arctic fauna meets that of the temperate
Pacific, I think along the Aleutians, has a
particular bearing on this problem. Here
oceanographic conditions pertain which are
very different from the better known condi-
tions along the corresponding line in the
Atlantic.
"That the fresh-water fishes of North
America, particularly the carps and their
allies, are of Asiatic origin, I am pretty well
convinced. This is evidenced bj- similaritj- of
fishes in the lower Mississippi VaUey to those
of Asia,, for one thing. An hypothesis as to
the time and manner of their crossing, which
I have had on my table in the Museum for
some months, will be helped by a first-hand
knowledge of the present physiography of the
Bering Sea region. I shall cover sufficient
ground on this trip to see practically all types
NOTES
431
of land there lionlering on the sea, and slioiild
be able to deduce therefrom how different
physiography and climate must have been,
to have permitted invasion by any particular
form."
HISTORY OF THE 'EARTH
Dr. W. D. Matthew, acting curator of the
department of geology and invertebrate
pal:eontolog>-, arrived in Peking in April to
spend the summer months in the field with
the Museum's Central Asiatic Expedition
under the leadership of Dr. Roy Chapman
Andrews. Associate Curator Reeds is in
charge of the department during his absence.
Mr. E. J. Foyles, who has been assistant in
the department since 1916, left the ISIuseum
on June 30 to accept the position of director
of the Geological and Biological Museum in
the University of Rochester, Rochester,
New York. Mr. D. D. MacLellan, A.M.,
Columbia, :Mr. G. R. Megathlin, A.B.,
Amherst, and Miss Althea Lepper, A.B.,
Ohio, are assisting in the department during
the summer months. Mrs. Mary V. Forster,
A.B., Ohio, is voluntary assistant.
In June, Dr. C. A. Reeds assisted by Messrs.
P. B. Hill and F. D. Matlack, resumed field
work on the glacial claj^s of the Hackensack
valley, New Jersey. Samphng tools have been
devised in the department laboratory for
securing continuous specimens of these
seasonally stratified clays to depths of thirty-
five feet. Through the generosity of Mr.
Childs Frick, a one-half-ton Che^Tolet truck
has been provided for the transportation of
the field equipment of this expedition.
INSECTS
The American IMuseum's Station for the
Study of Insects has opened the 1926 season
with Dr. Frank E. Lutz in charge and Mr. F.
Martin Bro^Ti as part-time assistant in the
Nature Trail work. The Station has as guests
for the summer a number of boys and two
research students in entomology, Mr. Wm. S.
Creighton, of Princeton Universitj', and ]Mr.
Brandt Steele, of the Universitj" of Indiana.
As was the case last j'ear, the Nature TraUs
are open to the public. They are paths in
the woods ha\'ing labels that point out
interesting things along the way. The entrance
to the Trails is on the Bear ^Mountain —
Greenwood Lake road, near where this road
crosses on a bridge the main highway three
mUes north of Tuxedo, New York.
MAMMALS OF THE WORLD
Akeley Expedition. — Mr. George East-
man and Mr. Daniel E. Pomeroy have been
enjoying some interesting hunting and collect-
ing with Mr. Carl Akeley. Considerable
work has been done in the Lukenia Hills in
preparation for one of the habitat groups for
the African Hall. Early in May the remark-
able vegetation of this region was in superb
condition for studies to be made. The abun-
dance of flowers in bloom, the rich and varied
color of the rocks, and the splendid view of
Mt. Kenia to the north and of Mt. Kihman-
jaro to the south combine to make this an
ideal spot.
]Mr. Akeley reports that Messrs. Leigh and
Jansson, the artists, are getting excellent
results.
The RtJWEXZORi-Krvu Expeditiox. — Late
in April Doctor Chapin with his associates,
Mr. Sage and Mr. Mathews, made a successful
hunting trip into the Tanganjdka Territory,
with the veteran hmiter, Mr. A. J. Klein.
They secured three hons, two buffalo, and a
variety of antelopes.
During May, they cUmbed ]\It. Kenia in
order to select a locahty for an East African
habitat bird group. On Kenia they collected
two genera of birds new to the Museum's
collection. In all they have collected nearly
four hundred birds. On May 27, the date
of the most recent letter from Doctor Chapin,
they were just about to go to the Kidong
VaUey in order to gather materials for a bird
group.
The Chapin-Sage party has crossed the trail
of the Akeley Expedition, giving opportimity
for an exchange of greetings and courtesies.
pEEtr AND BoLH^iA. — Two expeditions sent
out from the department of mammals of the
American Museum have recently returned
from the field. Mr. G. H. H. Tate, who accom-
panied Mr. H. S. Ladew to Peru and Bolivia,
has concluded a successful field season in these
countries.
Most of the collecting was done in Bohvia,
where material was secured at 24 different
collecting stations, ranging from 1800 to
17,200 feet in elevation. The opportunity to
acquire museum collections from this district
is due to the generosity of Mr. Ladew, who
financed the expedition and -n-ished to have a
museum representative in his party. Mr.
Tate took more than 625 mammals, 200 birds,
432
NATURAL HISTORY
and 1500 plants, as well as small collections of
reptiles and insects. Since Mr. Ladew's
primary purpose was to gain as comprehensive
an idea of South America as possible, the
party was on the move a large part of the time
and covered more territory than is customarily
visited in five months. Mr. Ladew left
South America by way of Buenos Aires for
England, but Mr. Tate remained a few weeks
longer in order to round out the collections.
Because of a delay in the granting of permits
for the shipment, the boxes and trunks of the
expedition have not yet arrived at the Mu-
seum, hence a more detailed statement as to
any rarities secured cannot be given at this
time.
ViKGiN Islands and Porto Rico. — The
object of the second expedition was to collect
the mammals of the Virgin Islands and
small islands adjacent to Porto Rico. Mr.
Gilbert Ottley, volunteer assistant on the
trip, returned to New York on June 7, and
Mr. G. G. Goodwin, department assistant,
concluded the field work and returned on
July 5. The party, which left New York in
February under the direction of H. E.
Anthony, curator of the department of
mammals, visited eleven islands during the
course of the expedition, Porto Rico, Mona,
Caja de Muertos, Vieques, Culebra, St.
Thomas, St. Croix, St. John, Tortola, St.
Martin, and Anguilla.
Although the mammal life is very restricted
throughout the West Indies, great importance
may be attached to its distribution and origin,
and to the fact that formerly the mammals
were more abundant and are found today
only as fossils. Valuable collections were
secured both of the present-day mammals (the
bats) and of the fossil prehistoric forms.
Species new to science were taken on St.
Martin and, when the collection is properlj-
prepared for inspection, it is not unhkely that
additional discoveries will be made. Anguilla
and St. Martin, small islands at the northeast
corner of the West Indian group, were formerly
the home of a very large rodent, a veritable
giant compared to the rodents of today. This
animal was described under the name of
Amblyrhiza inundata and must have been as
large as a black bear, with a heavy body and
robust limbs. The expedition found many
teeth and bones of this great rodent, which is
very rare in museum collections. Besides a
considerable collection of the fossil remains of
mammals, birds, and reptiles, 304 recent
mammals and small collections of plants and
insects were secured. Photographs were
taken and data assembled for a detailed
report as a part of the natural history survey
of Porto Rico and the Virgin Lslands, which is
being carried on by the New York Academy
of Sciences and affiliated institutions.
The Morden-Clark Asiatic Expedition.
—Recent communications received from the
Morden-Clark Asiatic Expedition convey very
gratif3dng reports of splendid success in the
quest of Om- /JoZz. The expedition has secured
the finest series of this spectacular wild sheep
that has ever been brought together for any
museum. Although none of the specimens
taken is reported to have record horns, ex-
cellent group material has been obtained,
comprising adult males, females, and young.
Interesting side lights on the activities of the
expedition are given in letters received by Mrs.
Morden and Mrs. Clark. The following is
from a letter to Mrs. Clark, dated April 21,
from Misgar, India:
"Within the last few days we have
passed around the end of four big glaciers
and one we had to cross which was a mile
and a quarter wide. It was most interesting
going up and down, but we could see ice
only once in a while, as at best the
glaciers are very dirty with the sand and rocks
brought down by them. Just above us a
hundred yards or so, great pinnacles of ice
were standing straight up in the air. This
glacier is many miles long, in fact, they don't
know just where it starts. One man followed
it for 12 days and then didn't find the begin-
ning. Misgar is important as it is the end of
the telegraph line on the road to Kashgar.
It is only a little flat place in a valley where
there is enough water and soil to raise crops.
There are two buildings or huts — one the
telegraph station and the other a government
store house.
"Last night was the end of our comfortable
and most convenient rest houses, and tonight
we are out in the cold in our little six by seven
tents . . . "A" tents. We have no beds
and sleep on the ground "
"In camp in the Russian Pamirs, 14,000
feet. May 3, 1926. We left on the 30th April,
riding yaks, and with ponies carrying our
baggage we went over Peyik Pass, 15,450
feet, into Russia. Again we were fortunate in
having good weather and we did not have it a
bit hard on this trip as we rode the sturdy
yaks nearlj' all the way. The snow on the
NOTES
433
Chinese side was luil very liad exeepi Inr the
last 500 IVet , w liieli were sleep, and oiii' ponies
fioundored pitii'uUy, IniL linally made il. At
the top we all took a rest; it was not cold —
about freezing. We had a wonderful pano-
ramic picture from this height and took many
photos going over the Pass. As we descended
the other side, the snow was much heavier
and continued down into the valley for a
considerable distance. At times our descent
was verj^ steep and we had to zigzag down the
slippery slopes. We got to the valley bottom
and continued along this for several miles
with snow everywhere. ..."
"Everything is going well. It is a wonder-
fully interesting trip. We are the first whites
to be in here in twelve years, and, we think,
the first Americans. We are getting some very
interesting pictures too. I am still enjoying
good health and find no trouble in breathing
although we are higher up. We do not mind
the cold. In fact, the cold seems of a mild
kind and is not bitter as that we get at home.
Of course the outdoor life fortifies one for this
and we dress for it too."
From a letter to Mrs. Clark, dated May 9,
Russian Pamirs, Aktsoi:
"It is 11 A.M. and we are out on a httle
knoU watching some sheep and waiting for
them to move and get behind something so
we can go over some flats after them. Have
been here since 6:30.
"I think I told you of meeting the Russians
who have been very nice to us. After being
with them a day and giving them a chance to
size us up we returned to our camp just inside
the Russian border. We stayed here because
in one section of the mountains near by there
were some sheep. They seem to be only in
patches and when you know where to look
you can see a great many. In other places
that look the same you will not see a sheep.
"We have had lots of snow from time to
time, which has delayed us some. Have had
cold weather too — once zero and always down
to 10-15 every night. When the sun is out
in the day it gets very warm, hke a hot spring
day. We have had practically no wind night
or day, which saves us from the cold. We are
camping in yurts all the time, which are very
roomy and comfortable with the little fires.
These certainly take the raw edge off of
camping, as we go to bed and dress by- their
warmth.
'We are now up where we have no fuel or
water. Everything is frozen and no water
runs. Our fuel lias to lie Ijrouglit to us from
(lie Hals lielow, inan\- miles, and we melt
snow for water. At uur last camp No. 29
we saw many sheep and got two fine big ones
out of a herd of 20 rams. Bill shot one and I
got a good one at the same time. That was
the morning of zero weather and it was bitterly
cold riding along. We travel on yaks when
hunting, as they alone can get through the
deep snow and climb the hills over rocks or
snow at this high altitude. They are strong
and powerful and very good to ride, and carry
all you want to tie on them.
"I went out alone one afternoon and saw
33 sheep, rams, and females, but when they
are in such numbers they are very hard to
hunt, as they scatter out. There are always
some that see you and the minute they do off
they go over the mountain peaks and you
have to hunt them the next day in another
valley, hoping always to see them first so you
can stalk. This is difficult as the country is
all big, sweeping valleys and the sheep nearly
always see you before you see them. We
chased them so much and there were so many
storms that we decided to move to this place
that we heard of. We made the 30 miles in
two marches, passing Kizil Rabat again and
seeing the soldiers, and stopping at the hot
springs for another nice hot bath. ..."
"The skins of the Poli are extremely hard
to take care of. . . you usually get them a
long way from camp, but most of all, the hair
is extremely brittle and sensitive to blood
stains that won't come out. Then the weather
is almost always at freezing and the sheep are
hard to wash and skin. You will remember
the trouble I had with the caribou — well,
these are very much worse. They are still
in the fine winter coats of a sort of brown back
with cream white legs and underparts. We
have seen several foxes but could not shoot
them while hunting the sheep. Their fur is
not of good color, being sort of a dirty white.
Saw one wolf and some rabbits. The marmots
are just beginning to come out in the middle of
warm days. They are big fellows and the
color of a dark red fox. I want to get some if
I have a chance. We have to be very careful
about shooting in the sheep country, as it
scares them too much. ..."
"Have been through some glorious moun-
tain country and have hunted up to 15,500
and 16,000 feet. We are in camp 34 now,
so you we see are moving fast. Have al-
together 5 specimens of Ovis poli — all 5 are
434
NATURAL HISTORY
big males — horns measuring from 50 to 52
inches. Have a complete skeleton and 4
skins. The weather is cold at night, going
down to about 15 more or less every night.
The days when the sun is out are like balmy
spring days and at times hot. When clouds
come up it is quite cool, but not cold. The
Russians are still very kind to us and are
doing everything possible to help in every way.
As yet we have heard nothing further from
Roy and don't know whether we will go out
with him or not. We expected something
definite before this, but he promised to let us
know at Kashgar June first."
Later on other specunens of Ouis poli, in
addition to the five mentioned above, were
secured.
Because of the disturbed political condi-
tions in China, which have upset the plans of
the Third Asiatic Expedition, the Morden-
Clark Asiatic Expedition will not be able to
meet Doctor Andrews as originally planned.
SCIENCE OF MAN
Professor A. Radcliffe Brown recently
visited the department of anthropology, en
route to Sydney, AustraUa, where he has
been appointed to the new chair of anthro-
pology in the University of Sydney. Professor
Brown has long been distinguished for his
anthropological work, both in the field and as
a teacher. As a preUminary to his work in
Austraha he has made a tour of American
institutions interested in anthropology to
investigate their methods and examine mu-
seum collections.
Earl H. Morris, who up to the present
year, was in full charge of the Museum s
intensive exploration of the Aztec Ruin,
now the Aztec National Monument, New
Mexico, recently spent a few days at the
Museum. Mr. Morris has been appointed
by the Carnegie Institution of Washington
to take charge of the excavation of the famous
Maya ruin at Chichen Itza, Yucatan.
The Fifth Bernheimer Expedition. — A
report was received during the month from the
Fifth Bernheimer Expedition announcing some
interesting finds. This expedition spent twenty-
three days in the general region of Navaho
Mountain in New Mexico to secure anthropo-
logical, geographical, and geological data.
A new natural bridge was located, the
hemispherical arch of which was 170 feet high.
Its spread from base to base was about the
same, and its thickness at the top was in the
neighborhood of 25 feet. Mr. Bernheimer
reported that a remarkable feature about this
bridge was its removal about thirty feet
from its matrix, which, immediately back of
it and almost concentric with the fully
developed natural bridge, was in process of
forming another natural bridge, while within
the center of the latter there was still another
round cavity developing. This suggested the
eye of a hawk, hence the name, Hawkseye
Bridge, was given to the formation.
Shortly afterward the party located a ridge
of shck rock about a mile square. This ridge
was literally covered with pot holes of all
sizes, several of them very deep. Some con-
tained water, and others sand. Vegetation
grew luxuriantly in the sand, while some of
the sand-filled holes were deep enough to
house cedars from two to four hundred years
old. A number of holes were from thirty to
forty feet deep, and varied in diameter, from
ten feet at the base to twenty to forty feet
at the mouth. Inasmuch as the watershed
was insignificant, it was decided that the
action of the wind was mainly responsible for
them, perhaps assisted by the rotting of the
stone under the influence of water.
PUTNAM ARCTIC EXPEDITION
Friends of the Expedition, which has Mr.
Putnam, Mr. H. C. Raven, and Mr. Van
Campen Heilner aboard, had an anxious time
when they learned that the Schooner Mor-
rissey had run on the rocks, and they were
correspondingly relieved at the message that
the schooner had been safely floated and was
proceeding on its way undamaged. Among
the trophies of the expedition are five
Greenland sleeper sharks, one of which is ten
feet long, as announced by wireless to the New
York Times July 21.
J. L. WORTMAN
A brief letter from Mrs. Eugenie Wortman
of Brownsville, Texas, announces the death
of Dr. J. L. Wortman, June 26. Doctor
Wortman was one of the prominent palae-
ontologists in America for several years. He
collected fossils for the American Museum in
1890, and in 1891, when the department of
vertebrate palaeontology was organized, he was
appointed assistant curator, an office which
he filled until he resigned from the Museum
staff in 1898. A fitting tribute to this noted
scholar, with a record of his achievements,
will be printed in the next issue of Natural
History. — B. B.
NOTES
435
NEW MEMBERS
Since the last issue of Natural History,
the following persons have been elected
members of the American Museum, making
the total ni(^nil)ersliii) 9025.
Patrons
Doctor George F. Kunz
Messrs: Dunlev^' Milbank, Jeremiah Mil-
bank, G. P. Putnam, William A. Rocke-
feller.
Honorary Felloio
Doctor George F. Kunz.
Felloio
Mr. Thomas Merrill Ring.
Honorary Life Member
Doctor R. W. Shufeldt.
Life Members
Mesdames: Harriet H. Eckstein, Arthur
B.^Emmons, Erasmus Lindley
Mr. Lucius R. Eastman.
Sustaining Member
Mr. a. Ware Merriam.
Annual Members
Mesdames: Ernest C. Brower, Fulton
Cutting, Marion Jones Farquhar, G.
Lisle Forman, Mary V. Forster, R. L.
Gerry, John H. Gibbons, J. H. Hall, Jr.,
Peyton Randolph Harris, Abram S.
Hewitt, Edwin H. Mairs, J. Cornelius
Rathborne, Horace H. Tinker, Charles
Elliott Warren.
Misses: Amey D. Denny, Emily A. Fowler,
E. V. Knipe, Katharine de B. Parsons,
Myra R. Tutt.
Doctors: E. J. Kempf, G. M. Phelps.
Messrs: Julius H. Barnes, Joseph Boyer,
Herbert L. Burgess, Richard A. Cooke,
Craig F. Cullinan, C. W. Dall, Herman L.
R. Edgar, Richard Milton Fulle, Howard
J. Hamershlag, Theodore D. Helprin,
Herman L. Hoops, Robert P. Huntington,
Frank L. Jones, Charles W. Kellogg,
Achilles Laevens, Edward J. Lewis,
H. Morton Merriman, Bradford Norman,
Jr., Leonard Outhwaite, William F.
Parish, Samuel E. Peabody, J. Stuart
Sneddon, Roberts Walker, Rudolph L.
Walton.
Associate Members
Mesdames: E. F. Clark, Oscar Dreher,
Charles F. Holden, F. Q. Kerr, Edward
KiN(i, Harrison Lobdell, Bessie C. Pickle-
siMER, William R. Sanborn, Mark L.
Simpson, John N. Tidd.
Misses: Esther M. Campbell, L. Eliza-
beth Clark, Marion Clow, Grace Wyatt.
Professors: George I. Hopkins, Nathan-
iel E. Wheeler.
Doctors: David Cerna, Howard P.
CoLLiNGS, D. A. Dery, Robert W. Gaston,
Thomas H. Grosvenor, Milton L. Hersey,
A. M. Neff, Daniel W. Rogers, Ross Hall
Skillern, F. p. Thompson.
Capt. Wm. E. Menzel.
Messrs: S. A. B. Abbott, F. Gaylord
Baldwin, Jr., F. H. Barclay, Carl G.
Barth, Jr., Robert H. Becker, Geo. E.
Benson, P. C. Bibbee, Mars P. Bishop,
H. G. Blankman, Henri C. Bodenheimer,
Robert C. Boger, Don C. Brock, C. W.
Broyles, J. Warren Burket, Allen V.
BusKiRK, C. W. Chase, Jr., C. W. Colby, H.
M. Crosswell, James L. Crump, James H.
CuRTiN, Gudmundur Davidsson, Wilborn
J. Deason, C. Van Deventer, Rudolf
Dolge, Ralph S. Doud, Walker P. East-
man, H. Feigin, Robert Owen Gavin, J. B.
Gilfillan, Edward S. Goodwin, Henry
Jewett Greene, G. Willard Hales,
George A. Hellman, John G. Houston,
James P. Hudson, J. Inouye, Alexander
McLeod Jackson, Irving C. Johnson,
Albert J. Kemper, Gilbert C. Klingel,
Rudolf L. Korsmeier, Wilton Marion
Krogman, John Kuhn, Charles E. Laib,
T. Huxley Langlois, Mr. Lewis, A. J.
LiCHTSTERN, Harry H. Lobdell, James G.
Longfellow, Jr., J. A. Manington, Philip
S. Marden, J. Alden Mason, P. B. May-
field, J. W. McCuLLOCH, Wm. McPherson,
Wm. R. Meadows, Joseph E. Montague, J.
Victor Neuhaus, L. H. Nickels, Walter
P. Nichols, Deric Nusbaum, Wm. A. Paine,
Jerald B. Paul, Laurence B. Potter,
Leon L. Pray', Walter S. Primley,
James A. Richardson, Lawrence Rickey,
Merton a. Robinson, Bernard F. Rogers,
Jr., Will A. Rubsam, Edward L. Ryerson,
Jr., J. A. ScHMiTZ, Acheson Smith, Harry
Snyder, Gorham P. Stevens, Richard J.
Stiles, Horace E. Thompson, John Tred-
WELL, Samuel Ungerleider, Harry Visser-
iNG, J. M. Welch, Burns Will, Edmund S.
Wolfe.
THE ROMANCE OF FOSSIL HUNTING
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER
The September-October issue of Natural History will deal with the fascinating experiences
of collectors in searching the rocks of different ages for specimens of former Ufe.
Geologic time is very long — perhaps one and a half to two bilHon years — no one knows the
exact length. The fossil record of plants and animals, that once lived in the sea and upon the land,
is far from complete and probably never will be fully known, for of the thousands of individuals
that lived only the hard parts of a few are preserved in the sedimentary rocks. Oftentimes
only a bone, a scale, or a bit of broken shell is the collector's reward for the day's search. Again,
he may be overwhelmed with the great abundance of material. Complete specimens are
rarel}' found. It is the duty of a fossil collector to know his science so well that if only a part of
a specimen is unearthed he can immediately interpret its relation to the former individual and
its significance in geologic time.
The surface of the land and the depths of the sea have not always been the same as they