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Report On The Initial Work Of The State Geological Survey Of Nebraska, Erwin Hinckley Barbour

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

IN a State such as Nebraska where there is no 'mineral'--a term which in the west has come to mean gold and silver-bearing--it is difficult to convince the masses that there is the least possible economic importance in a State geological survey.

If 'mineral' did occur, apathy could much more easily be overcome, and the appeals for a survey would find more willing and receptive ears. But something stronger than apathy is encountered in the prejudice which has been engendered against a State survey by men who have sought heretofore to establish such for the evident purpose of holding office, …

A Review Of Economic Ornithology In The United States, Theodore S. Palmer

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

The history of American ornithology may be traced back to.the middle of the sixteenth century, but the chief progress in the science has been made during the last hundred years. So assiduously have our birds been studied that the avifauna of few regions is better known than that of the Eastern United States. With the growth of ornithology, the economic relations of birds, and especially their relations to agriculture, have attracted more and more attention. During the last half century "economic ornithology" has become recognized as a special branch of the science and has undergone rapid development. The relation of …

The Phytogeography Of Nebraska, Roscoe Pound, Frederic E. Clements

Papers in Systematics and Biological Diversity

From the preface we learn that this work is the result of nearly five years of active study of the floral covering of Nebraska, carried on by the members of the Botanical Seminar in the Botanical Survey of the State of Nebraska. The systematic study of the vegetation of Nebraska was begun by Dr. Bessey in 1884, and has since been carried on by him and his students, all previous collecting having been more or less desultory and unreliable. The Botanical Survey was organized in 1892, and its work has been directed to the collecting of specimens and observations for …

Review Of The Phytogeography Of Nebraska. 1. General Survey, By Roscoe Pound, Elizabeth Britton

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

From the preface we learn that this work is the result of nearly five years of active study of the floral covering of Nebraska, carried on by the members of the Botanical Seminar in the Botanical Survey of the State. The systematic study of the vegetation of Nebraska was begun by Dr. Bessey in 1884, and has since been carried on by him and his students, all previous collecting having been more or less desultory and unreliable. The Botanical Survey was organized in 1892, and its work has been directed to the collecting of specimens and observations for a series …

The Danger Of Introducing Noxious Animals And Birds, Theodore S. Palmer

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

(1) Acclimatization of plants differs from that of animals since plants are introduced for cultivation and thus kept to a certain extent within control, while animals are liberated and controlled only by natural enemies or unfavorable conditions.

(2) Animals and birds are distributed from one continent to another, and to islands, either by accidental means or by the direct agency of man. Most animals are intentionally introduced into new regions, cases of accidental dispersion being comparatively rare except among rats and mice.

(3) Domesticated animals, like plants, may run wild and become injurious, especially in regions where food is abundant …

Zoology In The High School Curriculum, Henry B. Ward

Studies from the University of Nebraska Zoological Laboratory

A long time has elapsed since Bacon gave to the world the sound advice that “ we should accustom ourselves to things themselves.” Little by little this idea has gained ground, until now it is recognized as a general principle in every grade of educational work and in widely separated departments of study that contact with concrete objects is far more inspiring and thought-producing than the mere scanning of black marks on a white page. So far as natural science is concerned, the varied training which it affords has been abundantly discussed before this association and elsewhere. To be sure, …

Animal Parasites Of Nebraska, Henry B. Ward

Studies from the University of Nebraska Zoological Laboratory

The report submitted this year consists of two main portions: the first a short study on the numerical frequence of parasites among the dog, cat, and chickens of Nebraska, and the second of several brief accounts of new and important parasites discovered within the state since the publication of the last report.

A Biological Examination Of Lake Michigan In The Traverse Bay Region, Henry B. Ward

Studies from the University of Nebraska Zoological Laboratory

During the summer of 1893 the Michigan Fish Commission entered upon a biological study of the Great Lakes by maintaining a party on Lake St. Clair. In the report of that two months, written by the director of the laboratory, Professor J. E. Reighard, are given in full the reasons which led to the inception of the undertaking and the aims which its promoters held in view. A study of the life of the lake in all its manifold interrelations and especially of those factors which bore upon the welfare of the food fishes in general and the young whitefish …

Science And Culture, Charles E. Bessey

Papers in Systematics and Biological Diversity

It is with peculiar pleasure that I stand before this new department of Natural Science Instruction, and I deem it a great honor that you have asked me to preside over its deliberations. It is an important sign of the times that such a department as this should have been organized by the scientific men of the country. It is significant of a broader view of the work of scientific men that we find so many here to-day to take part in the first meeting of a department which has for its object the discussion of questions pertaining to the …

The Plant-Geography Of Germany, Roscoe Pound

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

In a recently published address Dr. Coulter speaks of a new movement in botany which is sending botanists " to the great laboratory of nature," and replacing collecting trips by biological surveys. "The old-fashioned collection of plants," he says, "will hold no more relation to the new field work than the old geology, with its scattered collection of fossils, holds to the topographic geology of to-day." Geographical botany as it is now understood is comparatively a recent development. Collectors and cataloguers for a long time have been gathering a portion of the bare facts upon which geographical botany must proceed, …

The Food Supply Of The Great Lakes; And Some Experiments On Its Amount And Distribution, Henry B. Ward

Studies from the University of Nebraska Zoological Laboratory

The subject of agriculture has received for many years the closest attention of scientific workers. Not only the character of the different products, their food value for different uses and in connection with the raising of different kinds of stock ; but also the value of the soil, the use of each element in it, the exact relation of each individual particle in the entire chain of biological relations from the unorganized matter to the saleable beef or pork, has received from the experiment stations of the country the most careful study. Every one of the pests, of the enemies …

A New Method For The Quantitative Determination Of Plankton Hauls, Henry B. Ward

Studies from the University of Nebraska Zoological Laboratory

Only two methods of estimating the quantity of plankton obtained in a haul of the vertical net are known to me. These two may be called the volumetric and the gravimetric. Both have been used by observers in various parts of the world, but so far as I know have never been comparatively tested in order to ascertain the relative value of results obtained by the two. The experience of the past year has shown some disadvantages in the first method, while the second has certain evident objections which rendered its employment in this case out of the question. In …

The Asiatic Lung-Distome In The United States, Henry B. Ward

Studies from the University of Nebraska Zoological Laboratory

In 1893 I reported the occurrence of the Asiatic distome in the lungs of a cat examined in Ann Arbor, Mich. This was the first reported find of this species on this continent, and the possibility of its being a permanent guest in this country was so serious that I urged a careful examination of all cases of lung-parasites in the domestic animals, with a view to ascertaining whether this might be an isolated instance, or whether the parasite was actually established within our land, for it is true that the Chinese, among whom the parasite is very common, regard …

The Food Supply Of The Fish In The Great Lakes, Henry B. Ward

Studies from the University of Nebraska Zoological Laboratory

When the early settlers made their homes along the shores of the Great Lakes, the waters of these inland seas teemed with fish. A cheap and apparently inexhaustible supply of food lay within easy reach, and they drew from it unstinted, nor was it strange that, with the increasing population and ever-widening means of communication, delicacies so tempting as the whitefish and lake trout were eagerly sought after in the markets of the neighboring cities, and that the ingenuity of generations of fishing folk was taxed to invent means of securing the fish-until finally, in the face of a growing …

Some Notes On The Biological Relations Of The Fish Parasites Of The Great Lakes, Henry B. Ward

Studies from the University of Nebraska Zoological Laboratory

A pond or small lake furnishes few variations in depth, temperature, current, or food, and hence the life in it is comparatively uniform. Nowhere else in the world is there found such a continuous body of fresh water as in the Great Lakes. They afford, in themselves alone, an area of water one-fourth greater than that of the state of Nebraska; or, considering the streams and minor lakes within easy reach, no doubt the area is twice as great. Furthermore, there are found here conditions of temperature, depth, light and food more nearly like those prevailing in the ocean. As …

Evolution And Classification, Charles E. Bessey

Papers in Systematics and Biological Diversity

As we have gathered up the scattered masses of botanical knowledge, laboriously wrought out by many isolated workers, and attempted to fit them together into a consistent whole, which should outline the structure of the temple of botany, we have found that the workmen have not always followed the same architectural plan, and have often used different units of measurement. With the increasing specialization so noticeable year by year there is a corresponding lack of coordination of work. To this lack of coordination, this want of unity of measurement, this misunderstanding of plan, we can no longer close our eyes, …

On The Parasites Of The Lake Fish: Notes On The Structure And Life History Of Distoma Opacum, N. Sp., Henry B. Ward

Studies from the University of Nebraska Zoological Laboratory

This work was done while a member of the scientific corps sent out by the Michigan Fish Commission to begin an investigation of the biological conditions in the Great Lakes. The work in 1893 was carried on at New Baltimore, on Lake St. Clair. My thanks are due to the Michigan Board of Fish Commissioners for the many conveniences placed at my disposal in carrying out the investigations on fish parasites, of which this is one result. To Professor J. E. Reighard, director of the party, I owe much for his interest and hearty cooperation in all matters pertaining to …

A Preliminary Report On The Worms (Mostly Parasitic) Collected In Lakes St. Clair, In The Summer Of 1893, Henry B. Ward

Studies from the University of Nebraska Zoological Laboratory

In the work done on the fauna and flora of Lake St. Clair during the summer of 1893, the group of Vermes was entrusted to the writer. The following is submitted as a preliminary report on the ground covered, the material obtained, and the results of this branch of the work so far as they can be seen at this stage.

Excluding the Rotifera, which were studied by another member of the party, the Vermes are represented in fresh water by three great classes: the Plathelminthes (Flatworms), Nemathelminthes (Round or Threadworms), and the Annelida (Segmented-worms).

Notice Of The Occurrence Of Nyctale Richardsoni, Richardson's Owl, In Nebraska, Erwin Hinckley Barbour

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

THE occurrence in this region of Richardson's owl, Nyctale Richardsoni, seems to be entirely established by the recent capture of one in Lincoln. This is a long distance below its southern limit, and its appearance is something of a surprise.

A New Habitat Of The Black-Throated Rock Swift, Micropus Melanoleucus, Erwin Hinckley Barbour

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

As curator of the museum, I have just procured for the State University of Nebraska a set of bird-skins prepared during the past summer, among which are five skins that must be of interest to ornithologists. They verify the discovery made by Professor Lawrence Bruner of the University of Nebraska, that the White-throated Rock Swift builds and breeds in the precipitous bluffs around Squaw Canon, Sioux Co., Nebraska, and, what is more likely, throughout the Pine Ridge regions, as Professor Bruner has observed them also at Crow Butte, near Crawford, Nebraska.

A Second Report Upon The Native Trees And Shrubs Of Nebraska, Charles E. Bessey, Robert Bolin , Depositor

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Dr. Bessey was then Nebraska State Botanist and “Professor of Botany, State University, Lincoln Nebraska.” The State University is now called that University of Nebraska–Lincoln. This document was published as a contribution to the knowledge of the native woody plants of the state. Several reports had been published previously each containing additions and corrections. This report contains a “Special Request” that asked readers around the state to send samples of native trees and shrubs to the author.

The report contains a classification list of the various trees and shrubs along with information about where they can be found. A table …

The Corn-Stalk Disease In Cattle, Frank S. Billings

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

MORPHO-BIOLOGICAL CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN TWO OR MORE MICRO- ETIOLOGICAL ORGANISMS NOT SUFFICIENT GROUNDS FOR PRONOUNCING THE DISEASES WITH WHICH THEY ARE CONNECTED IDENTICAL. The details of this discussion will be found in my report on the swine-plague. It is necessary, however, to touch upon the essential points here also. As was there shown, Hueppe asserts that the European diseases previously mentioned as being caused by a member of this group of belted, ovoid germs, viz., the “ Huhne Cholera, Kaninchen Septikasmie, und Wild Seuche ’ ’ are all one and the same disease, because their micro-etiological organisms have the same form, …

Keratitis Contagiosa In Cattle, Frank S. Billings

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

This is not a new disease by any means, so far as the United States are concerned, nevertheless I have been unable to find any description of it in the literature at my command. While new to myself until the past Summer, there have been quite a number of reports of its existence, and complaints about it, from farmers and breeders of cattle in some of the live-stock journals of our western States. Under these circumstances, it would seem that a description of its clinical phenomena and gross pathological lesions may not be without scientific interest to the opthalmologist, and …

Inoculation—Vaccination, Frank S. Billings

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

When one comes to discuss this question with the members of the profession as he casually meets them, he is often surprised to find how uncertain and clouded the prevailing ideas are upon the subject. In fact, the majority of physicians do not seem to have any clear conception of the act connected with the words “ inoculation ” and “ vaccination.”

The Place Of History In Modern Education, G. E. Howard

Nebraska State Historical Society: Transactions and Reports

The following is• an abstract of an address delivered by. Prof. Howard at the opening of the winter term of the Nebraska University, at the time the Nebraska State Historical Society was in session, and by agreement before a joint session of the two organizations, to serve also as the annual address of the Historical Society.

Report Of The Board Of Fish Commissioners Of Nebraska For The Year Ending December 31, 1883

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: Publications

No abstract provided.

The Asparagus For Histological Study, Charles E. Bessey

Papers in Systematics and Biological Diversity

I have for several years been wanting a good Monocotyledon for histological study in the botanical laboratory, one which should be for its sub class what the pumpkin is for the dicotyledons. The indian corn, which is commonly used, is too difficult, and too greatly specialized a type, exhibiting as it does the peculiar nodal structure of the stem of the Grarninex, rather than the structure of the stem of monocotyledons in general. A good representative stem. and one which can be obtained everywhere in good condition, from early spring until the end of the season, is the asparagus. …

The Supposed Dimorphism Of Lithospermum Longiflorum, Charles E. Bessey

Papers in Systematics and Biological Diversity

The plant under consideration is a common herbaceous perennial of the prairies and great plains of North America. In the latter part of April and during the month of May it produces flowers with bright yellow salver-shaped (hypocraterimorphous) corollas, whose tubes are about thirty mm. (one and one-fifth inch) long, and from two to three mm. in diameter. About the first of June, in central Iowa, these large flowers suddenly disappear, and from this time forward until the autumn frosts, they produce only small cleistogamous flowers. The corolla lobes of the latter cohere somewhat, and remain closed, and …

Sensitive Stamens In Portulaca, Charles E. Bessey

Papers in Systematics and Biological Diversity

Two years ago my attention was first called to the sensitiveness of the stamens of Portulaca grandiflora, by observing a peculiar motion in them, while a small wild bee was engaged in gathering honey, and perhaps pollen, from the flowers. Upon trial I found that I could, by touching the stamens, make them move through quite considerable arcs of circles. I pursued the investigation somewhat farther at the time, but on account of a pressure of work was compelled to drop it. Last year I again made some examinations which confirmed my previous observations, but declined calling special attention …

De Bestiis Marinis Or, The Beasts Of The Sea, Georg Wilhelm Steller

Zea E-Books in American Studies

Steller’s classic work, published in Latin in 1751 and in German in 1753, contains the only scientific description from life of the Steller’s sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas), as well as the first scientific descriptions of the fur seal or “sea bear” (Callorhinus ursinus), Steller’s sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus), and the sea otter (Enhydra lutris).

Steller’s sea cow was a sirenian, or manatee, inhabiting the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea. It was first discovered by Europeans in 1741 and rendered extinct by 1768. It was a 30-foot long, plant-eating aquatic mammal, weighing …