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FIELD MUSEUM NEWS 



February, 19SS 



RAYMOND FOUNDATION PRESENTS 

 PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN 



Two special programs of free motion 

 pictures for children, in celebration of the 

 birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and George 

 Washington, will be given at the Museum 

 during February by the James Nelson and 

 Anna Louise Raymond Foundation for 

 Public School and Children's Lectures. 

 Following these, the Raymond Foundation 

 will present the first of its regular spring 

 series of ten children's entertainments. 



The Lincoln program will be given on 

 Saturday morning, February 11, and will 

 consist of films dealing with outstanding 

 events in the life of the Civil War president. 

 The Washington program, made up of films 

 dealing similarly with the life of the nation's 

 first great hero, "will be presented on Wednes- 

 day morning, February 22. 



The regular spring series will begin on 

 Saturday morning, February 25, with a 

 program of three motion pictures, as follows: 

 "The Muskrat and the Fox," "The Forest 

 Ranger and His Work," and "Behind the 

 Weather Man." The second program in 

 this series, to be given Saturday, March 4, 

 includes the films, "A Beaver and His 

 Indian Friend," and "The Declaration 

 of Independence." 



The other eight programs in the spring 

 series will be announced in the March issue 

 of Field Musexbi News. 



In order to accommodate larger numbers 

 of children, all the programs of the Raymond 

 Foundation, both special and regular, are 

 presented twice, the first showing of the 

 films beginning at 10 A.M., and the second 

 at 11 A.M. They are given in the James 

 Simpson Theatre of the Museum. Children 

 from all parts of Chicago and suburbs are 

 invited to attend. 



ELECTION OF MUSEUM OFFICERS 



The Annual Meeting of the Board of 

 Trustees of Field Museum was held January 

 16. President Stanley Field was re-elected 

 for the twenty-fifth time. Mr. Field has 

 been President continuously since January, 

 1909. 



Second Vice-President Albert A. Sprague 

 was elected First Vice-President, filling the 

 vacancy in that office caused by the death 

 last Augiist of Martin A. Ryerson. Third 

 Vice-President James Simpson was elected 

 Second Vice-President, and Trustee Albert 

 W. Harris was elected Third Vice-President. 

 Stephen C. Simms, Director and Secretary, 

 and Solomon A. Smith, Treasurer and 

 Assistant Secretary, were re-elected to their 

 respective offices. 



THE BONEFISH 



By Aubed C. Weed 

 AssistaQt Curator of Fishes 



Among the fishes of the Florida coast, 

 three stand out as popular game species. 

 These are the tarpon, sailfish, and bonefish. 

 The first two have the advantage of large 

 size in their battles with fishermen. The 

 bonefish is smaller, seldom weighing more 

 than twenty pounds. Its claim to excellence 

 for the sport angler comes from strength, 

 speed and leaping ability. Shaped like a 

 long, slender spindle, stream-lined in every 

 part, and able to close most of its fins down 

 into grooves so that they offer no resistance, 

 this fish develops and maintains great speed 

 for a long rush. 



The bonefish does not depend on straight 

 rushes alone to escape from the hook. Much 

 of its fight consists of leaps above the surface. 



Dr. J. A. Henshall, noted authority on 

 game fishes, described it as a "silver shuttle," 

 flashing in and out of the water in a succes- 

 sion of swift jumps. 



Some excellent specimens of bonefish were 

 recently presented to Field Museum by 

 Colonel Lewis S. Thompson of Red Bank, 

 New Jersey. One of them, mounted by 

 Staff Taxidermist L. L. Pray, is on exhibi- 

 tion in Albert W. Harris Hall (Hall 18). 

 Mr. Pray has observed bonefish in their 

 natural siu-roundings near Nassau, Bahama 

 Islands. He says they appear as gray 

 shadows when resting or moving slowly 

 through the water. When startled, they 

 become gray streaks that disappear almost 

 instantly. When taken out of the water, 

 the gray appearance changes instantly to 

 a burnished silver color. 



There has long been a dispute about the 

 name of this fish. As early as 1888, Dr. 

 G. Brown Goode mentioned that this species 

 {Albula vulpes) was called ladyfish in 

 Bermuda but that American writers called 

 it bonefish. Since that time most scientists 

 have used the name ladyfish, and have used 

 the name bonefish for a small relative of 

 the tarpon, which is also sometimes called 

 big-eyed herring {Elops saurus). However, 

 most American anglers have used the name 

 bonefish for Albula and have called Elops 

 something else. In Australia, where Elops 

 grows to a length of four feet or more, it 

 is called "giant herring," while the name 

 big-eyed herring is given to the East Indian 

 tarpon, Megalops cyprinoides. In cases of 

 such a difference of opinion, it seems best 

 to use, as far as possible, the names used 

 by those who know the fish by handling it 

 and not by simply writing about it. 



EXHIBIT OF ORIENTAL WOOD 



A recent addition to the series of Aus- 

 tralian woods in Hall 27 is a group of four 

 panels of the so-called Oriental wood 

 (Endiandra Palmersioni) , a gift of Russell 

 Fortune, Inc., Indianapolis. 



This useful wood comes from a tree which 

 often attains a height of 140 feet or more. 

 It grows in northern Queensland. Although 

 it belongs to the laurel family it is known 

 in its native country as black walnut, 

 Medang walnut, walnut bean and black 

 mahogany. During recent years Oriental 

 wood has been introduced commercially 

 into the United States. 



Quarter-sawed panels of this wood have 

 a figure consisting of more or less parallel 

 stripes of varying width, often interrupted 

 by cross-figures of different types. Individual 

 specimens show a variety of colors ranging 

 between salmon red and a walnut tint, or 

 from gray to brown. Its decorative qualities 

 make the wood suitable for the manufacture 

 of furniture, cabinets, fixtures and fittings. 

 In Australia it is used in making pianos. 



Laterite Added to Soil Exhibit 



A specimen of laterite was recently added 

 to the soil collections in Hall 36, to call 

 attention to this curious infertile substance 

 which sometimes takes the place of soil in 

 tropical and subtropical regions. It is 

 occasionally found as far north as the 

 southern borders of this country. Laterite, 

 like soil, is a product of the disintegration 

 of solid rock, but under special conditions 

 of temperature and moisture the decom- 

 position is of a different character and little 

 of the original rock remains except oxides 

 of iron and aluminum. These form stony, 

 porous or granular masses free from the 

 clay upon which the fertility of ordinary 

 soil largely depends. 



FEBRUARY GUIDE-LECTURE TOURS 



Conducted tours of exhibits, under the 

 guidance of staff lecturers, are made every 

 afternoon at 3 p.m., except Saturdays, 

 Sundays, and certain holidays. Following 

 is the schedule of subjects and dates for 

 February: 



Wednesday, February 1 — Reptiles, Past and Present; 

 Thursday — General Tour; Friday — Roman Hall. 



Week beginning February 6: Monday — Marine 

 Life: Tuesday — Eskimo Customs; Wednesday — Animal 

 Life in the Chicago Area; Thursday — General Tour; 

 Friday — Weaving in Many Lands. 



Week beginning February 13: Monday — Egyptian 

 Exhibits; Tuesday — Mexico; Wednesday — Woodland 

 Indians: Thursday — General Tour; Friday — Pewter, 

 Jade and Gems. 



Week beginning February 20: Monday — Plants of 

 Unusual Interest; Tuesday — Chinese Halls; Wednes- 

 day — Prehistoric Plants and Animals; Thursday — 

 General Tour; Friday — Moon and Meteorites. 



Monday, February 27 — Baskets and Mats; Tuesday 

 — ^Man Through the Ages. 



Persons wishing to participate should 

 apply at North Entrance. Tours are free 

 and no gratuities are to be proffered. A new 

 schedule will appear each month in Field 

 Museum News. Guide-lecturers' services 

 for special tours by parties of ten or more 

 are available free of charge by arrangement 

 with the Director a week in advance. 



Gifts to the Museum 



Following is a list of some of the principal 

 gifts received during the last month: 



From University of Texas — 160 herbarium speci- 

 mens, Texas and New Mexico; from Museo Nacional 

 (Costa Rica)— 68 herbarium specimens, Costa Rica; 

 from Companhia Ford Industrial do Brasil— 42 

 herbarium specimens and accompanying wood speci- 

 mens, Brazil; from Rev, Brother Elias— 85 herbarium 

 specimens, Colombia; from C. C. Deam— 87 her- 

 Imrium specimens, Indiana; from School of Forestry, 

 Yale University — 97 herbarium specimens, Colombia; 

 from Arturo Burkart— 36 herbarium specimens, 

 Argentina: from United States National Museum — 

 cast of the Santa Fe meteorite; from Le Roy P. Guion 

 — etched section of Seneca Falls iron meteorite; from 

 Mrs. J. T. Stewart — 11 clay concretions, Colorado; 

 from Bryan Patterson, Frank Letl, and Thomas J. 

 Newbill, Jr. — 48 specimens of invertebrate fossils, 

 Illinois; from Sharat K. Roy and Bryan Patterson — 

 20 specimens of fossil brachiopods, 2 of fossil cepbalo- 

 pods, and one of a fossil bryozoan, Wisconsin; from 

 Mr. and Mrs. J. R. Below. Miss Nan Mason, and 

 Bryan Patterson — 24 specimens of invertebrate fossils. 

 Illinois; from Oriental Library (Toyo Bunko;, Tokyo 

 — photostat reproduction of painting by Shizuya 

 Fujikake, depicting the Mongol invasions of .lapan 

 in 1274 and 1281. 



NEW MEMBERS 



The following persons were elected to 

 membership in Field Museum during the 

 period from December 16 to January 16: 



Associate Members 



Joseph A. Duner, Edwin S. Fetcher, Professor 

 James Payne, Louis C. Seaverns, Mrs. Robert E. 

 Wilson. 



Non-Resldent Associate Meinf>ers 



Mrs. Winfield S. Day 



Annual Members 

 Mrs. W. Gray Brown, Mrs. Howard J. Burridge, 

 Mrs. John Porter Denison, Graham B. Jacobus, Mrs. 

 Alexander M. Kerr. Mrs. John J. Louis, James E. 

 McShane, Mrs. Philip Raymond O'Brien, Conway 

 H. Olmsted, Mrs. L. B. Patterson, Miss Luella Raithel, 

 Mrs. A. W. Shaw, J. C. Slaney, Harry Snyder, Mrs. 

 L. S. Tark, James Webster, Leon Witkowsky. 



A Historic Plant Collection 



A most unusual collection of 280 sheets 

 of plants of the Rubiaceae or coffee family 

 was received recently for determination at 

 Field Museum from the United States 

 National Museum. It was part of a large 

 series of specimens obtained at the Botanic 

 Garden of Madrid, which possesses probably 

 the first collections of plants ever made 

 in tropical America by pioneer Spanish 

 botanists. This collection was made between 

 1760 and 1808. 



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