Kerguelen's 

 Cabbage— 



(Continued from page 5) 



all other crucifers in being much smaller 

 and perfectly spherical. No insects have 

 ever been observed to visit flowers of the 

 cabbage. 



The generic name of Kerguelen cab- 

 bage, Pringlea, was given by Dr. Hooker 

 in honor of Sir John Pringle (1707- 

 1782), the founder of modern military 



medicine. The connection between Sir 

 John and the cabbage may seem indeed 

 obscure at first glance, but it becomes 

 clearer when we realize that Sir John 

 was the author of a work on scurvy and 

 that the cabbage was at one time highly 

 esteemed for its antiscorbutic properties. 

 Early sailing-ships many months out 

 would veer far from their normal course 

 to put in at Kerguelen for a supply of 

 "greens." 



In closing this account of Kerguelen 

 and its cabbage, a quotation from Flora 

 Antarctica is appropriate. Of the cab- 



bage, Dr. Hooker says: "... its luxuri- 

 ance amidst surrounding desolation, its 

 singular form and appearance, striking 

 even the casual observer, and the feel- 

 ings of loneliness and utter isolation from 

 the rest of the world, that must more or 

 less oppress every voyager at first land- 

 ing on its dreary and inhospitable local- 

 ity, are circumstances likely to render 

 the Kerguelen's Land cabbage, cabbage 

 though it be, a cherished object in the 

 recollection of the mariner: one never 

 to be effaced by the brighter or luscious 

 products of a tropical vegetation." 



THIS MONTH'S COVER 



April's 



FEATURED 

 EXHIBIT 



DUKE OF YORK : 



"... bear you well in this new spring of time 

 Lest you be cropped before you come 



to prime." king Richard ii, v, 2. 



On April 1, daylight is about 3 hours 

 40 minutes longer than it is at the time 

 of the winter solstice. The average tem- 

 perature has increased from 26 degrees 

 in December to 53.4 degrees in March. 

 Precipitation can be expected to be about 

 3 inches during the month. These three 

 conditions of greater amounts of light, 

 heat, and moisture trigger the annual re- 

 birth of life in woodlands of the Chicago 

 area and other temperate climates. 



The Museum's featured exhibit for 

 April — a habitat group portraying a 

 mixed hardwood forest along a small 

 stream in spring — represents a scene such 

 as may be found in Cook County forest 

 preserves and a number of spots in the 

 vicinity of Chicago. In the group, above 

 a carpet of colorful wild flowers, shrubs 

 and forest trees are beginning to expand 

 their leaves. Sugar maple, white oak, 

 basswood, elm, ash, and black cherry send 

 trunks high and spread their branches 

 wide so that when fully clothed with 

 leaves a canopy of foliage will subdue 

 the light falling on living things below. 



"Lest you be cropped before you come 

 to prime" poses a major problem for all 

 living things. The precocious behavior 

 of early spring flowers is their partial so- 

 lution to the problem. By getting an 



Page S 



early start, low-growing plants on the 

 forest floor can develop leaves, flowers, 

 and mature seeds before their tall neigh- 

 bors, the trees with their leafy crowns, 

 reduce the amount of available light be- 

 low the optimum for vigorous growth of 

 plants at the lower level. Thus spring 

 wild flowers accomplish in a few months 

 a full life cycle that assures continuation 

 of the species. 



The woodland is a complex commun- 

 ity of a wide variety of living things. The 

 inhabitants run the gamut of organisms 

 from viruses and bacteria to orchids, and 

 from protozoans to mammals and birds. 

 From deep in the soil to the tops of the 

 trees and beyond, a myriad of living 

 forms with differing degrees of independ- 

 ence seek a means of livelihood. What 

 each does in this pursuit affects the lives 

 of others. The primary source of food for 

 all life is the green plants and, of course, 

 the primary source of energy for plants is 

 the sun. The capture of this energy and 

 its distribution by food chains through- 

 out the intricate web of life in a woodland 

 or any other association of plants and 

 animals anywhere is a marvel of com- 

 plexity. To discern, understand, and ex- 

 plain it is the difficult task of the biolo- 

 gist. To appreciate its harmonies and 

 rhythms is the privilege of all. 



The study of living things in a partic- 

 ular habitat has been likened to a kind 



of biological economy which, like polit- 

 ical economy, seeks to make intelligible 

 the relations of producer, dealer, and 

 consumer. In every community, self- 

 sufficiency, mutual dependence, and 

 predation result in a kind of wavering 

 balance, the external manifestations of 

 which are sometimes a delight to the 

 human observer. It is against this back- 

 drop that we see spring wild flowers not 

 distributed at random over the forest 

 floor but each kind in a spot best satisfy- 

 ing its preference for moisture or soil or 

 simply living room. Bluebells, blue-eyed 

 Marys, and buttercups grow close to the 

 stream and in low portions of the wood 

 where there is more moisture. By con- 

 trast, Mayapples, wild geranium, and 

 wild blue phlox occupy drier elevations. 

 More ubiquitous are the trilliums, dog- 

 tooth violets, and anemones. 



Lovely as they are, their beauty is 

 augmented in the eyes of man by the 

 very forces that stir plant life each year 

 from winter's imprisonment in seed, bulb, 

 tuber, and trunk. 



During April, prints of spring flowers 

 from Thornton's famed "Temple of 

 Flora" series will be displayed in Stanley 

 Field Hall to direct attention to the 

 month's featured exhibit — the Illinois 

 Woodland in Spring habitat group — 

 which is permanently located in Hall 29. 



JOHN R. MILLAR 



PRINTED BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS 



