278 



THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 



public health of the Museum from Dr. Wal- 

 ter B. James, a trustee of the institution, 

 and Mr. Marcel Knecht, a representative in 

 this country of the French National Com- 

 mittee. 



With characteristic impetuosity and en- 

 thusiasm all America has thrown itself heart 

 and soul into the movement of gardening 

 for the good of the country and for the sup- 

 port of the Allies. Men, women, and chil- 

 dren are arming with spade and hoe; golf 

 links, school grounds, vacant lots, and even 

 lawns and back yards are being plowed. In 

 order that energy may not be wasted, courses 

 in gardening are being given by various 

 agricultural schools, and pamphlets contain- 

 ing information on gardening are being 

 spread abroad for the instruction and guid- 

 ance of all who will undertake the work. 

 Extensive summer courses in agriculture 

 will be given at many institutions, including 

 Columbia University, the New York School 

 of Agriculture, Cornell University, Syracuse 

 University , and St. Lawrence University. 

 At the New York Botanical Garden simple 

 courses in home gardening are being given. 

 Federal, state, and city governments are 

 coming to the aid of the individual with 

 advice on proper methods of farming, as 

 well as with offers of seed at moderate cost 

 — or free as the case may demand. Real 

 estate men are placing land at the disposal 

 of gardeners or offering it to the Govern- 

 ment at a low figure. Seventy-five thousand 

 acres in New York City alone, it is esti- 

 mated, have thus been added to the acreage 

 available for vegetable gardens, much of 

 which will be planted to potatoes. The Na- 

 tional Emergency Food Garden Commission 

 of Washington, D. C, has issued a Food 

 Garden Primer, giving detailed information 

 in condensed form on "How to Have a Good 

 Garden," and Mayor Mitchel's Food Supply 

 Committee of this city has put forth a simi- 

 lar pamphlet. New York, as befits the first 

 city of the land, leads in organization and 

 methods of procedure. The Mayor's Com- 

 mittee on Food Gardens is tabulating all the 

 available vacant land, and supplying seeds 

 at reasonable prices to those who wish to 

 raise vegetables. The land is first examined 

 by soil experts to determine its suitability 

 for farming, and is then apportioned in plots 

 to applicants. Already twelve hundred such 

 plots have been assigned within the city 



limits and still the demand exceeds the sup- 

 ply. Ninety thousand bushels of seed pota- 

 toes recently received from Maine are being 

 distributed for planting. But the movement 

 is not confined to one city or locality. It 

 is nation wide. Congress plans to help the 

 regular farmer and thus stimulate further 

 the production of food in the present emer- 

 gency. Organization and cooperation will 

 assist both the individual and the community 

 by bringing better methods and better ma- 

 chinery within the reach of all. 



Professor Stewart A. Smith, of the 

 University of Sydney, Australia, read a pa- 

 per before the American Ethnological So- 

 ciety at the American Museum on April 30, 

 entitled "The Talgai Skull, a Fossil Human 

 Skull Found at Queensland, Australia." 

 This remarkable relic, which is destined to 

 become almost as famous as the Piltdown 

 skull, was found buried in a deposit of ap- 

 parently Pleistocene age. Although it was 

 discovered about thirty years ago, it re- 

 mained unknown to scientists until recently 

 it chanced to be brought to the notice of 

 Professor J. T. Wilson, a well-known zoolo- 

 gist. Fortunately the original discoverer is 

 still living, and was able to identify the 

 locality where the skull was found. The 

 specimen is thoroughly fossilized and has 

 been badly distorted by the pressure of the 

 surrounding matrix. It is of commanding 

 importance, since it is a proto-Australian 

 type with an almost apelike form of the 

 upper dental arch, and with very large 

 canines and premolars. Professor Smith 

 has presented a cast of the skull to the 

 Museum. 



On Sunday, April 29, Sir Ernest Shackle- 

 ton, the noted antarctic explorer, lately elected 

 an Honorary Fellow of the American Mu- 

 seum of Natural History, gave an address 

 before the Explorers' Club of this city at a 

 luncheon given in his honor at the Hotel Ma- 

 jestic. In the course of his short talk Sir 

 Ernest said that the United States had en- 

 tered the war at the psychological moment 

 and by "rising to the height of which she is 

 capable" could be a power in finishing the 

 conflict at an early day. He himself is sail- 

 ing immediately to rejoin the English navy. 

 Twelve of the men who accompanied him on 

 his trip to antarctic regions are already at 

 the front, and eleven more will be there soon. 

 One of fhe twelve was killed on his first day 



