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Picks from the Past
The New York Academy of Sciences celebrates the one hundredth anniversary of the birth of Charles Robert Darwin and the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of “The Origin of Species” at the American Museum of Natural History.
The American Museum furnishes an instructor for classes of blind children who are allowed to “see” with their hands. By Agnes Laidlaw Vaughan
Together with mention of the geographical work of the Roosevelt-Rondon South American expedition in exploring the “River of Doubt.” By Theodore Roosevelt
With suggestions that Americans turn to economic account some of the smaller species of the Atlantic Coast. By Hugh M. Smith
From such research we learn to appreciate human individuality, and to realize that any future conscious control of human life must come through a study of the conditions under which varied types of temperament will develop the highest character and the greatest genius. By Robert M. Yerkes and Ada W. Yerkes
With a presentation of various first-hand data on the life histories and habits of the big game animals of Africa. By Theodore Roosevelt
His effort sent out the Lewis and Clark exploring party into the unknown West. Recognition and honor are given today to the expedition’s leader, Meriwether Lewis. By John S. Patton
The disappearance of the American bison to the verge of extermination constitutes one of the greatest and most striking catastrophes to our wild life that have occurred in the experience of modern man. By C. Gordon Hewitt
By Frederic A. Lucas
How they have augmented the food supply of mankind in early and recent times. By John S. Patton
By H. P. Whitlock
Do fishes fall in rain from the sky? By E. W. Gudger
As the elephant walks beside its keeper, it lowers its pillar-like legs deliberately as though conscious of the crushing force of their descending weight. By W. Henry Sheak By Chester A. Reeds
Instances of a Practice Extending from Remote Times to the Present. By E. W. Gudger
A Glimpse behind the Scenes at the American Museum. By A. Katherine Berger
Observations on the honey guides of Africa. By James P. Chapin
With some theories of its origin. By Karl Patterson Schmidt
Troubles of an Indian treading the white man’s path. By Gilbert L. Wilson
With a supplement in color of the three solar eclipses seen in the United States in 1918, 1923, and 1925. By S. A. Mitchell
Navigating the Northwest Passage by airship in 1926. By Lincoln Ellsworth In August, 1902, a sudden epidemic occurred among the black-spotted trout fry in the hatchery of the United States Fish Commission at Leadville, Colorado. By E. W. Gudger A presentation of new evidence of man’s antiquity in America. By J. D. Figgins
The strange story of nine english mutineers who, more than a hundred years ago, took up their abode with their native Tahitian wives, on a desert island in the South Seas. By H. L. Shapiro
Collecting brilliantly colored birds among the mountains of New Guinea—The problems and difficulties of an ornithologist in the savage interior of one of the greatest of islands. By Rollo H. Beck
Caudal appendages adapted by nature to the needs of Her creatures. By Charles E. Burt
How ethnological work is carried on by representatives of the American Museum among primitive people of the South Seas. By Margaret Mead
A prehistoric death trap yields its spoils—persistent exploration by the Central Asiatic Expeditions in eastern Mongolia at last reveals the most favorable conditions under which remains of ancient man might be found. By Roy Chapman Andrews
Reminiscences of an expedition for birds in the primeval forests of the Arfak Mountains By Ernst Mayr
A creature of the African jungle emigrates to America. By H. C. Raven
Collecting remains of prehistoric animals in southernmost South America. By George Gaylord Simpson
By Robert Cushman Murphy
Trends and influences now at work in changing or modifying the physical characteristics of civilized man. By H. L. Shapiro A chimpanzee that has lived most of her life in a New York suburban home. By H. C. Raven
Even amid the wind-swept desolation of southern Argentine a haven may occasionally be found. By George Gaylord Simpson
The life of a Barro Colorado coati (in three parts). By Frank M. Chapman
The story of the Bowdoin-MacMillan Arctic Expedition of 1934 to Cape Mugford, Labrador, and the Button Islands of the Northwest Territories. By Alfred O. Gross
Amusing errors in astronomy to be found in literature. By Frank C. Jordan
Making "talkies" with an all star cast of native American birds. By Albert R. Brand
Radio listeners were recently astounded by the announcement, broadcast from a Chicago station, that they were about to hear a singing mouse. By D. R. Barton
Characteristic facial expressions, postures, and movements are the key to an understanding of animal psychology and the soul of animal art. By Charles R. Knight
One of the most important zoological discoveries of the present century gives us a glimpse at the closest living relative of our fish-like ancestors. By Edwin H. Colbert The ghost of the most gigantic animal that ever walked the earth is conjured to life when a lone fossil hunter tracks down the first true footprints left by this stupendous creature, and thrills to the romance of a great discovery. By Roland T. Bird
The giant clam yielded its treasure only after slaying a native diver trapped when its great jaws snapped shut. Worshipped as the gift of Allah, the 14-pound pearl was finally presented to the author by a Mohammedan chief whose son he saved from death. By Wilburn Dowell Cobb
How many commonly accepted superstitions about animals could you confidently deny? By W. Ley
Heroic symbols have everywhere marked Man's more adventurous activities since the dawn of time, and though coats of arms declined with Knighthood, the modern airplane may possibly bring about a new Heraldry to symbolize achievement in a new age.
“Information, please” is the request which comes 25,000-strong each year to one of the world's unique clearinghouses of information. An inside view of the amazing curiosity of the American public. By Roy Chapman Andrews
Scientific detective work sheds new light on the habits and appearance of the most gigantic animals that ever roamed the earth, when the biggest footprints ever found are placed on display. By Roland T. Bird Strange things are bound to happen when an ancient Roman Fertility Rite is inducted into European society. By D. R. Barton
Charybdis may have been a whirlpool, but modern science now recognizes the other half of Homer’s legendary partnership in maritime disaster as possibly the first mention in literature of the giant squid. By W. Ley Without benefit of base camps and elaborate supply lines, Harry Raven has ventured alone into some of the world's least known jungles. By D. R. Barton
Labeled public enemies number one by exterminating racketeers, these “white ants” (which aren’t ants at all) are seldom destructive in civilized communities and definitely constructive in nature. Incidentally, some species can’t digest wood any better than we can. By Frank E. Lutz
How the African peoples were able to send out their messages of joy or sorrow over jungle and valley long before Europeans invented the radio By A. I. Good
Few of us realize what a fascinating hodgepodge of inappropriate names many of our well-known plants and animals carry, or how often when we call them by their right names other people will not know what we are talking about. By Roy L. Abbott
A novel program to teach our South Sea fighters how to fare for themselves in time of need by use of ingenious native methods. By Kenneth P. Emory
The story of one of North America’s greatest natural disasters, with a popular explanation of how and why hurricanes roar up out of the breathless doldrums one to twenty times each year to destroy what lies in their path. By Hobart E. Stocking
Ever since the days of the Greeks, people have tried to prove that thriving civilizations once existed on huge islands that have since sunk beneath the sea. Here is a scientific view of the question. By L. Sprague de Camp
A Paleontologist’s Rendezvous with History and Prehistory in St. Louis. By George Gaylord Simpson
All along the rough road from savagery to civilization, man has found it an increasingly complex problem to carry the things needed for life. By Clark Wissler
Correspondence to Natural History from September 1946 and several follow-up letters from the subsequent two issues.
To many it is only a “circus treat,” but to the scientist, popcorn is a key to important questions concerning early man in America. By Edgar Anderson
One of the strangest tales of the desert happens to be true—sands that roar so loud one has to shout to be heard. A yet unsolved riddle of Nature! By E. R. Yarham
A report about monkey business. By Frank A. Beach
The little-known story from the life of the Great Emancipator, which takes the reader to the far-away isles of the Pacific and to the plight of an American seaman who was about to be killed and eaten. By Wilmon Menard
A candid view of the man who answers your scientific questions and who travels to all corners of the world to get information and specimens for public exhibition By C. L. Hay
Quaint court scenes of yesteryear show that ignorance of the law was once no excuse even for an animal. By Frank A. Beach
Today the safety of all civilization may hinge upon our ability to develop ways through which the behavior of the members of any large modern society can be made intelligible to the members of other societies. By Margaret Mead
The surprising story of Old Bet, the first elephant ever to be brought to America. By George G. Goodwin
Even as a pet, his single interest was in ants, and he never quite got used to a tame chimpanzee. By Lilo Hess
Those who suffer either from insomnia or cold feet may view with envy the many creatures who are now dreaming away the snowy months. By Will Barker
Why should hundreds of perfectly shaped spheres, ranging in diameter from a few inches to eight feet, be scattered through the jungles southwestern Costa Rica? By Eleanor Lothrop
Harpoons fly and an oldtime Indian recalls the dangerous days of yore as a band of hunters on the Northwest coast put out for a final go at the fur seal. By Karl W. Kenyon
Though people joke about it as a toy, the kite has carried men aloft physically as well as spiritually and helped pave the way to mastery of the air. By Joseph J. Cornish III
In this barren part of Peru, people still use the Inca system of keeping records, the quipu. By John Cohen
In his last years, the great man studied annelid “intelligence”: the questions he raised have engaged a generation of biologists. By Georg Zappler
Electron microscopy has shown the biologist a complex, new world. By Huntington Sheldon
This animal’s behavior has given it a reputation for cleverness. By Anthony Barnett
Flood, drought, freezing, and predation are the risks for a marsh muskrat population. By Paul L. Errington
An American anthropologist set out to study the Tiv of West Africa and was taught the true meaning of Hamlet. By Laura Bohannan
With a postscript, the people of /Xai/xai thirty years on. By Richard Borshay Lee
After a decade of sleuthing, it can be safely said that the gigantic mass of tissue that washed up on the beach at St. Augustine in 1896 was the remains of an octopus that must have measured, from the tip of one tentacle to the tip of the opposite tentacle, 200 feet. Yes, Victoria, 200 feet. By F.G. Wood and Joseph F. Gennaro Jr.
The immutiable laws of design set limits on all organisms. By Stephen Jay Gould (his first “This View of Life” column)
Humans may taste good, but most societies are a long way from cannibalism. By Raymond Sokolov
His origins are confused, his intelligence questionable, but this not-so-all-American bird's welcome at the dinner table is undisputed. By Raymond Sokolov
By Joseph L. Sax
Survival of chicks is a reward for meshing breeding activity; good fishing is a reward for nesting in colonies. By Fritz L. Knopf
New York City’s bicycle messengers prefer the independence and excitement of dodging traffic to the routine of a nine-to-five job. By Jack M. Kugelmass ~ Photographs by Yoav Levy
A butterfly larva’s fate depends on who finds it first—its ant friends or ant foes. By Gary N. Ross
The big bird practices communal child care and even kills lions in defense of newly hatched chicks. By Lewis M. Hurxthal
A gull researcher learns the barefaced truth about western gulls. By Larry Spear
This gazelle jumps not for joy but to communicate. By Tim Caro
Or why the Cardiff Giants are an unbeatable and appropriately named team. By Stephen Jay Gould
A Caribbean chief resists the first Spanish invaders. By Samuel M. Wilson In courting, a big male often wins—and then he gets bigger. By Amanda Vincent
By Jeanette A. Thomas
Divers explore the legacy of Pearl Harbor. By Daniel J. Lenihan
Leatherback turtles can pursue their prey half a mile straight down. By Scott A. Eckert
Some trees succeed in life by offering giraffes a meal of flowers. By Johan T. du Toit
For hunting walrus among the ice floes of the Bering Strait, the Inuit's spacious and resilient skin-covered boats have no equal. By Fred Bruemme
For a few frightening moments, there was only myself standing between life and extinction. By Edwin Philip Pister
Borrow unto others before they borrow unto you. By Roger L. Welsch
Or, the Limits of Professional Ecology. By Whit Gibbons
Like the modern prairie dogs, the extinct beaver Palaeocastor may have had extensive networks of colonies. By Larry D. Martin
For the Mayoruna and Matsés of the Amazonian forest, preparing for the hunt can be an ordeal. By Katharine Milton
A true story of a lonely plant ecologist and his mischievous neighbors. By Truman P. Young
Long adapted to natural challenges, the jackass penguins of southern Africa fall victim to human activities on land and sea. By Yolanda von Heezik and Philip Seddon
Discoveries of more complete remains of cartilagenous fishes have shed new light on the prehistory of sharks and their relatives. By John G. Maisey and Ray Troll
To an array of creatures on the ocean floor, the death of a whale is a gift of life. By Cheryl Lyn Dybas
“Living jewels adorned with polished scales of gold, encrusting lapis lazuli, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and amethysts.” By Joe Levine
A scientist eavesdrops on the surprisingly sophisticated conversations of insects. By Rex Cocroft For more recent articles, please see Featured Stories. |
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