THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION' 



34^ 





AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION" 



Established 1875 Incorporated, MaesacliUHetts, ls»J iucurpL.ra,tB(i, LonuecLicuL, l»lu 



Our Maryland Avenue Chapter. 



During the past year, the Maryland 

 Avenue Agassiz Association Chapter, 

 Baltimore, Maryland, selected an inter- 

 esting work — the study of moths. For 

 our textbook we used Gene Stratton 

 Porter's "Aloths of the Limberlost." The 

 book is entertaining, not too scientific — 

 J\Irs. Porter calling herself "not a natur- 

 alist but a nature lover" — and the colored 

 illustrations are beautiful. These photo- 

 graphs were taken by the author herself, 

 in the natural habitats of the moths, and 

 carefully colored to correspond with the 

 living insects. The shades of even the 

 tiniest markings are faithfully repro- 

 duced, so that each picture is not only a 

 study of nature but a work of art. 



Perhaps our practical work has been 

 the best of all our work. Some of the 

 members kept the caterpillars under a wire 

 screen, feeding and studying them until 

 they spun their cocoons. These will open 

 in the spring. 



We went on field trips in search of the 

 moths, sometimes returning home trium- 

 phant with a particularly lovely specimen, 

 and later for the cocoons,. These we 

 keep, as Airs. Porter instructs us to do. 

 in as nearly their natural environment as 

 possible, giving them some sun, and occa- 

 sionally a sprinkling that is supposed to 

 be rain. Think of the treat awaiting us 

 in the spring ! 



All our specimens are brought to the 

 meetings to be admired and studied, and 

 we have found some beautiful ones. A 

 field trip gave us a perfect "Pride of the 

 Lilacs." Attacus promethea, if you wish 

 to be scientific. A giant Polyphemus we 

 found under an arc light in a busy street, 

 and early in June, a Luna moth, the 

 "Aloth of the Moon." perhaps the loveli- 

 est of all, was captured on a neighbor's 

 window pane. 



Though our chief interest has been in 

 the studying of moths, we have not 

 neglected other things. Our field trips 

 bring us to many interesting phases of 



outdoor life. We keep a sharp lookout 

 for oddities in nature. We have found 

 a slender, corkscrew shaped tree that 

 grew witli a thick vine twisted around it. 

 the vine is gone, but has left its mark 

 Loth in tne bark and the shape of tne tree. 

 In the early part of last year we were 

 particularly interested in mineralogy, and 

 collected a number of rocks containing 

 ore. While we were working along this 

 line we came upon rocks bearing the 

 fossil imprints of ferns, some of them 

 delicate and beautiful. 



One of our most interesting, incidental 

 studies was that of mosses. We were 

 astonished to find so many varieties. We 

 showed numerous specimens mounted, 

 some on cardboard and some on bark, 

 some of them very odd in appearance. 

 The branching, satiny kind look lovely 

 against the brown wood. They kept their 

 color splendidly. 



Another good program was prepared 

 with glowworms as its subject. Our 

 ideas of them were vague, so we took the 

 opportunity for enlightenment. We even 

 made a field trip at night to look for 

 them ! 



We have added some new members to 

 our Chapter, and are looking forward to 

 a busy and happy year of study, 



Mamie J. ItzEL, Secretary. 



"For God appears the greater to every 

 man in proportion as he has grasped a 

 larger survey of the creatures : and when 

 his heart is uplifted by that larger survey, 

 he gains withal a greater conception of 

 God." — St. Cyril of Jerusalem. 



It is a joy to me to unfold beautv 

 hidden away in its own modest mask of 

 commonality. We are "queer mortals." 

 We tread the carpet and pluck the fruit 

 in the Garden of the Gods all uncon- 

 sciously, at times, and then call our- 

 selves wits, philosophers, and what 

 not!— Will Webb Tuttle, Muncie, In- 

 diana. 



