51C 



THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 



Mr. Louis R. Sullivan, assistant curator 

 in the department of anthropology at the 

 American Museum, has received the com- 

 mission of Second Lieutenant in the Sani- 

 tary Corps of the United States Army, with 

 headquarters at Washington. Mr. Sullivan 

 is attached to a newly organized division of 

 the Sanitary Corps, which includes on its 

 staff Messrs. C. B. Davenport, of Cold 

 Spring Harbor, New York; B. W. Hawkes, 

 of Milwaukee; and W. D. Wallace, of Cali- 

 fornia. The work so far as planned is the 

 oversight of the physical measurements made 

 by the war boards with a view to their 

 standardization. The lieutenants will visit 

 the various army camps and make anthropo- 

 metric studies of as many of the men in 

 training as possible. 



A NEW game bird law has been enacted 

 by Congress to make effective the treaty re- 

 cently entered into between the United 

 States and Canada governing the killing of 

 migratory birds. Under the rules based on 

 the new law, uniform bag limits are set for 

 the entire country, and the sale of wild 

 migratory birds is prohibited absolutely. 

 Permission to propagate migratory wild fowl 

 on game farms and preserves may be ob- 

 tained from the Dejiartment of Agriculture, 

 and birds so raised may be sold as an addi- 

 tion to the food supply. Experiments have 

 proved that many species of wild waterfowl 

 may be raised successfully in captivity, and 

 the sanction and protection of the Govern- 

 ment will do much toward promoting this 

 industry. There is now no spring open sea- 

 son for hunting wild fowl, and the fall open 

 season is the same throughout the country, 

 extending generally from September 1 to 

 January 31, with certain exceptions, as in 

 the case of the New England shore bird 

 season which is from August 16 to Novem- 

 ber 30. The open season for individual 

 species must not exceed three and one half 

 mouths. States may make and enforce their 

 own regulations, but only to afford greater 

 protection to the birds and not to extend 

 the open season or in any way to conflict 

 with the Federal law. Continuous protec- 

 tion is given to all insectivorous, birds, band- 

 tailed pigeons, cranes, wood ducks, eider 

 ducks, swans, curlew, and upland plover. 

 No night hunting is permitted, the killing 

 or capturing of migratory birds between sun- 

 set and a half hour before sunrise beiug 



prohibited. Provision is made for the col- 

 lection of birds for scientific purposes, and 

 under extraordinary conditions Federal per- 

 mits may be issued to kill migratory birds 

 which are injurious to agriculture. 



The large tusks of an elephant shot by 

 Mrs. Carl E. Akeley on the American Mu- 

 seum expedition to Africa some years ago 

 have lately been added to the collections of 

 the American Museum. They weigh 112 and 

 115 pounds respectively and are the record 

 tusks for the Mount Kenia region. 



War is proving a stimulus to research. 

 Incidentally, opportunity for the study of 

 fossil plants of great scientific interest has 

 been afforded by the opening of abandoned 

 mines to increase the supply of fuel. Botany 

 seems remote from things warlike, yet as a 

 result of the food situation and the educa- 

 tional campaign of the Food Administration 

 and the Department of Agriculture, for in- 

 stance, American botanists have organized 

 for a vigorous onslaught on plant diseases. 

 A war board of American pathologists has 

 been api^ointed. Humanity, it has been 

 shown, in the last analysis is directly de- 

 pendent on green jjlants for food, and of 

 this food large amounts of wheat, fruits, and 

 vegetables are lost annually through plant 

 diseases. Some of these are known to be 

 preventable— such as the stinking smut of 

 wheat — and botanists realize their respon- 

 sibility. 



Among important war services performed 

 by botanists are the study and cultivation of 

 kelp and other marine algae to augment the 

 supply of potash needed by the Government, 

 and the exploration of the country for cer- 

 tain species of sphagnum moss (especially 

 Sphagnum papillosum and S. palustre) which 

 are now recognized as valuable substitutes 

 for absorbent cotton in the making of sur- 

 gical dressings. 



Mr. H. G. Barber spent the month of 

 July at the American Museum in research 

 work on the institution's collection of Hemip- 

 tera. 



Dr. C.-E. a. Winslow has been appointed 

 consulting expert on industrial hygiene to 

 the United States Public Health Service in 

 charge of a squad of men studying conditions 

 affecting the efficiency of munition workers. 



