October, 19SS 



FIELD MUSEUM NEWS 



Page S 



ESSENTIAL OILS 



By Llewelyn Williams 

 Assistant in Wood Technology 



Essential, ethereal, or volatile oils are 

 odoriferous substances of an oily character, 

 occurring normally in plant tissues or pro- 

 duced incident to the life processes of plants. 

 They give these plants their characteristic 

 aromas. The oils are present, as a rule, in 

 small amounts, and may be confined to 

 special cells, glands, or ducts of the plant. 

 In some instances they are limited to one 

 particular structural element, while in others 

 they are dispersed throughout the various 

 parts, such as the bark, roots, leaves, flowers, 

 or fruit. 



In scented flowers, such as the rose, the 

 oil is chiefly concentrated in the petals, 

 whereas in spice-producing plants the con- 

 centration may occur in the leaves and bark, 

 as in the case of cinnamon, or in the fruit, 

 as in nutmeg. In some species of conifers 

 the oil may be confined to the needles and 

 twigs. The function of the oil in the life 

 of the plant is uncertain. It may be merely 

 an excretory by-product or it may be a 

 secretion serving a specific purpose, such as 

 attracting insects to the flower. 



Most essential oils are insoluble in water, 

 but they are freely soluble in alcohol and 

 ether. They have an extensive range of 

 uses, and have been employed since ancient 

 times for cosmetic and ritual purposes, for 

 incense, and for embalming. The invention 

 of distillation, perhaps in ancient Egypt or 

 in India, made possible the extraction of 

 essential oils in the pure state. They are 

 now commonly employed in the manufac- 

 ture of perfumes, cosmetics, soaps, and 

 drugs, and as flavoring agents. 



Most of these essential oils may be liber- 

 ated from plants without undergoing decom- 

 position. The principal methods of extrac- 

 tion are by distillation; by extraction with 

 volatile solvents, such as alcohol; by expres- 

 sion, either by hand or by machine; and by 

 absorption in fat, known as the "enfleurage" 

 process. 



In Hall 28 of the Department of Botany 

 there has recently been installed an extensive 

 exhibit of essential oils, representing material 

 obtained from plants growing in the United 

 States, Central and South America, Europe, 

 India, Ceylon, and other countries. The 

 material for this collection was in large part 

 contributed by Fritzsche Brothers of New 

 York, American representatives of Schimmel 

 and Company of Miltitz, Germany. 



THE SARGASSUM-FISH 



By Alfred C. Weed 

 Assistant Curator of Fishes 



Many travelers have seen and wondered 

 at the masses of sargassum or gulf weed 

 floating in the ocean currents, but few of 

 them have any idea of the multitude of 

 small creatures that live in these masses 

 and drift with them to all parts of the sea. 

 Fish, crabs, snails, squids, and many 

 other creatures climb through the weed or 

 rest on the branches, while barnacles, sea 

 plumes, and various other forms of life are 

 attached to the stems or leaves and spend 

 their lives traveling at the will of the winds 

 and ocean currents. 



One of the strangest of the creatures 

 that live in these water plants is a small 

 fish that is called sargassum-fish, mouse- 

 fish or fishing frog. It belongs to the great 

 group of angler-fishes, which have the side 

 fins developed like and used as feet. Its 

 ventral (leg) fins are under its throat, 

 while its pectoral (arm) fins are back near 

 its tail. These fins look almost like the feet 

 of a frog and are as flexible and useful as 



the hands of a monkey. The "wrist" joint, 

 which is very short in an ordinary fish, is 

 long and slender like an arm, and the fins 

 wave around like the fans used by a dancer. 

 The gill openings, instead of being in the 

 usual place, are carried back under the skin 

 behind the "arm." 



The sargassum-fish swims only when 

 necessary to cross some open space where 

 it cannot go around. Most of the time it 

 climbs around through the weeds, using its 

 fins like hands. It grasps the stems and 

 leaves as firmly as a man would a rope. 

 It is constantly looking for something to 

 eat, and when it sees a suspicious move- 

 ment in the weeds it is ready to take the 

 crab or other animal into its great mouth. 

 All the creatures that live in the sargassum 

 are colored like the plant and cannot be 

 seen unless a false movement or the shine 



Sargassum-fish 



Reproduction of strange denizen of the sea, on 

 exhibition in Albert W. Harris Hall. 



of an eye betrays them. The sargassum- 

 fish has a very large mouth and can readily 

 swallow a crab or another fish as large as 

 itself. 



When the eggs of the sargassum-fish are 

 laid, they float on the surface of the water 

 for a few days until they hatch. Then 

 the tiny young fish swim around until they 

 reach a mass of the weed where they can 

 find food and shelter. In their bushy homes 

 they are great travelers. In the Atlantic 

 they have been seen on the shores of Norway, 

 central Africa, Massachusetts, and southern 

 Brazil. In the Pacific and Indian Oceans 

 they are found on the shores of Africa, 

 Australia, and Japan. The cold currents 

 seem to keep them away from the west 

 coast of America. 



A celluloid model of the sargassum-fish 

 has been prepared by Staff Taxidermist 

 A. G. Rueckert from a specimen collected 

 at Key West, Florida, by the John G. 

 Shedd Aquarium and presented to Field 

 Museum. It is now on exhibition in Albert 

 W. Harris Hall (Hall 18). 



New Books in Library 



The Library of Field Museum calls atten- 

 tion to the following publications, recently 

 added to its collections, which contain 

 material of interest to general readers: 

 Bolton, Anza's California Expeditions (five 

 volumes); Bailey, Phases in the Religion 

 of Ancient Rome; Russell, Plant Nutrition 

 and Crop Production; and Nilsson, Myce- 

 naean Origin of Greek Mythology. These, and 

 other scientific works in the Library's 

 collection of some 95,000 volumes, may 

 be consulted by Members of the Museum 

 and by the general public. The reading 

 room is open from 9 A.M. to 4:30 p.m. from 

 Monday to Friday, and from 9 A.M. to 

 noon Saturday. It is closed on Sunday. 



PRINCE M. U. M. SALIE PRESENTS 

 GEMS FROM CEYLON 



A valuable collection of precious stones 

 of many varieties, brought from the island 

 of Ceylon, which is known as the home of 

 fine gems, has been presented to Field 

 Museum by Prince M. U. M. Salie, well- 

 known Ceylonese gem merchant. There 

 are fifty-five stones in the collection, includ- 

 ing a number of rare specimens. They will 

 be distributed according to their classifica- 

 tions among the exhibits in H. N. Higin- 

 botham Hall (Hall 31) at an early date. 



Outstanding in beauty and interest in the 

 collection are sapphires, star sapphires, 

 rubies, a star ruby, aquamarines of remark- 

 able fire and color, moonstones, and an 

 Oriental amethyst sapphire. The collection 

 covers the range of all the more important 

 stones found in Ceylon, and embraces every 

 hue from colorless through the whole 

 spectrum from red to violet. In a number 

 of cases there are several stones of one 

 basic kind but differing in color, showing 

 the variety of tints possible in high class 

 gems of a single species. 



Most fascinating and most sought after, 

 in the experience of Prince Salie, are the 

 star sapphires, for which Ceylon is partic- 

 ularly noted. These occur in various colors 

 from light gray to deep blue and lavender. 

 When found in deep red, which is rare, 

 they are called star rubies and are of higher 

 value. The star sapphire or ruby, when 

 placed in the light, shows a luminous six- 

 pointed star at every angle of vision. Among 

 the star sapphires Prince Salie has presented 

 to the Museum are a large one of sixty 

 carats, and one of the rare star rubies. 



Another unusual ruby included in the 

 gift is one which combines the perfection 

 of color of the Burmese type with the 

 sparkling fire of the Ceylonese. The moon- 

 stones in the collection are remarkable for 

 possessing a more pronounced moonlight 

 sheen than is usually seen, and in the case 

 of some upon which faces have been carved 

 this produces a particularly striking effect. 



Besides the gems mentioned above. Prince 

 Salie's gift includes a "cat's-eye" (treasured 

 by Indian rulers as a legendary jewel and 

 often mounted in the crowns of princes and 

 rajahs), pink star sapphires, brown, white, 

 and blue zircons, spinel ruby, carved sap- 

 phire, carved ruby, cinnamon stones, water 

 sapphires, fancy sapphire, parparagum, 

 jargoon, peridot, pink topaz, golden sap- 

 phires, and other stones. 



Prince Salie's family for generations has 

 been engaged in the mining, cutting, and 

 merchandising of precious stones. He began 

 his work in this field some forty years ago 

 at the age of fourteen. He has a large and 

 unusual exhibition of gems on view at A 

 Century of Progress, in the General Exhibits 

 Building, Pavilion 4, Second Floor. Many 

 of the stones he has on display there have 

 been awarded highest honors at other 

 international fairs, including those of Christ 

 Church, New Zealand, in 1906, Panama 

 Pacific International Exposition in San 

 Francisco in 1915, Panama California Inter- 

 national Exposition in San Diego in 1916, 

 and the Sesquicentennial Exposition in 

 Philadelphia in 1926. Prince Salie's home 

 is at Galle, Ceylon. He maintains per- 

 manent American headquarters at Miami 

 Beach, Florida. In recognition of his gift. 

 Prince Salie has been elected to the class 

 of Museum membership designated as 

 Contributors. 



A group of Alaska water birds from the 

 Pribilof Islands forms an attractive exhibit 

 in the Department of Zoology. 



