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TRANSACTIONS

OF THE

WISCONSIN ACADEMY

OF

11 1

SCIENCES, ARTS AND LETTERS

IV\

VOL. XLV

MADISON, WISCONSIN

1956

The publication date of Volume 4 5 is

March 29, 1957

OFFICERS OF THE WISCONSIN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES,

ARTS AND LETTERS

President

Stephen F. Darling, Lawrence College, Appleton

Vice-President (Sciences)

Rev. Raymond H. Reis, S.J., Marquette University, Milwaukee

Vice-President (Arts)

Frederick M. Logan, Dept, of Art Education, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Vice-President (Letters)

Charles G. Curtis, Beloit College, Beloit

Secretary-Treasurer

Francis D. Hole, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Librarian

Gilbert H. Doane, University of Wiscorisin, Madison

Council

Past Presidents

Paul W. Boutwell

A. W. Schorger

H. A. Schuette

L. E. Noland

Otto L. Kowalke

W. C. McKern

E. L. Bolender

Katherine G. Nelson

C. L. Fluke

Ralph N. Buckstaff

Joseph G. Baier, Jr.

Committees

Membership :

James Perry, Chm.

C. L. Fluke

Don Schlafke

Walter Sylvester

Francis D. Hole

Representative on the Council of the A.A.A.S.

Francis D. Hole, University of Wisconsin

Chairman, Junior Academy of Science

John W. Thomson, Jr., University of Wisconsin

Editor, Wisconsin Academy Review

Walter E. Scott, Madison

Publications :

The President, ex officio

The Secretary, ex officio

James A. Larsen, Editor,

Transactions

The President

The Vice-Presidents

The Secretary-Treasurer

The Librarian

TABLE OF CONTENTS

so 6.7 3

Vy n w & 3

V ' 4 S'- 4 -<e>

1 q :$k>r 5 7

Page

The Moose in Early Wisconsin. A. W. Schorger ....................... 1

Plant Succession on a Sand Plain, Northwest Wisconsin. Irven O. Buss. . 11

Characteristics of Trout Angling at Lawrence Creek, Wisconsin. James T.

McFadden . 21

A Nine-Year Study of Fall Waterfowl Migration on University Bay, Madi¬

son, Wisconsin; Part I. S. Tenison Dillon . . . 31

Autumnal Migration of Ducks Banded in Eastern Wisconsin. Joseph J.

Hickey . 59

Furor Poeticus and Modern Poetry. Haskell M. Block . 77

Naval Warfare in the Rio de la Plata Region, 1800-1861. Clifton B.

Kroeber . 91

Notes on the Biology of the Cherry Fruit Worm in Wisconsin. D. A. Dever 111

North Part of the Old River Channel at Wisconsin Dells. H. F. Williams 125

Ellery Channing in Illinois. Kathryn Whitford and Philip Whitford. . 143

Henry King: A Poet of His Age. Robert F. Gleckner . . 149

Pre-Settlement Vegetation of Racine County. Harold A. Goder . . 169

Notes on Wisconsin Parasitic Fungi. XXII. H. C. Greene . . . 177

An Unpublished Manuscript of E. A. Birge on the Temperature of Lake

Mendota; Part I. John C. Neess and William W. Bunge, Jr. ...... 193

The Transactions welcomes sound original articles in the various fields of science

and scholarship by members of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters.

With this volume, the task of editing passes from the hands of the Academy secretary-

treasurer into those of an editor, and manuscripts should be addressed to James A.

Larsen, Observatory Hill Office Building, University of Wisconsin, Madison 6, Wis¬

consin. Manuscripts should be double-spaced throughout, and should have the address

to which proofs are to be sent in the upper left hand corner of the first page. In

general, bibliographical style to be followed in scientific papers is that on pages 56

and 76 of this issue. Deviations from that style in the current volume exist, in most

instances, for reasons of consistency with previous papers in a series. Manuscripts for

consideration should be in the hands of the editor by June to permit publication of the

Transactions within the year.

■

'

TRANSACTIONS

OF THE

WISCONSIN ACADEMY

OF

SCIENCES, ARTS AND LETTERS

VOL. XLV

NATURAE SPECIES RATIOQUE

MADISON, WISCONSIN

1956

The publication date of Volume 45 is

March 29, 1957

THE MOOSE IN EARLY WISCONSIN

A. W. SCHORGER

Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management ,

University of Wisconsin

The moose (Alces dices) was the largest mammal, with the ex¬

ception of the bison, indigenous to Wisconsin. A specimen shot in

Bayfield County is stated to have weighed a trifle less than 1,000

pounds. The French-Canadian name was original , oriniack , or a

variant. The first mention of moose in the state was by Radisson.

While at Chequamegon Bay, near Ashland, about 1661, he shot one,

and could have killed more, but stated, “we liked the fowles bet¬

ter/'1 On July 22, 1738, La Ronde2 wrote from Chequamegon Bay

that in March he sent his men to bring in a moose killed 15 leagues

from the fort.

Range. The southernmost plausible record for the moose in Wis¬

consin was the one shot by Indians in the town of Dellona, Sauk

County, latitude 43° 307 in 1845. 3 This is below the normal range,

and probably represents the phenomenon common to the species of

individual wandering. Burt4 gives an authentic record of a moose

in Michigan as far south as Oakland County, latitude 42° 30'. Dart5

stated that in 1840 moose were occasionally found at Green Lake,

Green Lake County, latitude 43° 45', and that shed antlers were

often found. Some of them weighed 60 to 70 pounds. These weights

appear high. There is paucity of information in the literature on

the weight of the antlers alone. Merrill6 gives the weights of antlers

with skull attached of three record Alaskan moose as 77, 92, and

101.5 pounds respectively. Of the four races of moose, the Alaskan

is the largest. The antlers with dried skull of a New Brunswick

specimen weighed but 56 pounds.

Schoolcraft,7 when at Rice Lake, Baron County, in 1831, wrote

that the tracks of moose and elk were numerous on the sandy shores

of the Red Cedar River. Subsequently the Indians told him that

some of their party had been near the mill, and thought that the

Sioux were about as the moose had been driven up. The sawmill

was located on the Red Cedar River about 20 miles above its junc¬

tion with the Chippewa River in approximately the center of Dunn

County. This is the southernmost point recorded for the moose in

the western part of the state.

2 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

The reliable records for moose are shown on the accompanying

map which shows that the best habitat was in the northwestern

part of the state.

ABUNDANCE

Moose were most numerous in Douglas County followed by Bay*

field and Burnett Counties. The moose is notorious for shifting its

range, hence it is difficult to determine from published accounts

just how plentiful it was. It is certain, however, that with the ex¬

ception of the caribou, it was the least numerous of the deer family.

When Schoolcraft8 was at Kabamappa’s village, near modern Gor-

1956]

Schorger — Moose in Wisconsin

3

don, Douglas County, in 1832, he was informed by the chief that

though moose were once plentiful in the region, it was then neces¬

sary to go to the remote branches of the Brule River to hunt them.

The only valuable information on abundance is given by Rev. Ely.9

While enroute from Fond du Lac (Superior) to Yellow Lake, Bur¬

nett County, he stopped at an Indian lodge on March 7, 1835. One

of the Indians told him that two or three lodges containing five

hunters had killed, between November 15 and January 15, 13 moose,

9 bears, 2 deer, and various small game. Aside from the above

entry, his diary records moose on only a few occasions.

Curot10 had charge of a trading post on the Yellow River, the

winter of 1803-04. He records trading for only three moose hides.

The translation of his journal has elk skins, but in the French

manuscript the word is orignal. At the post on Lac du Flambeau,

Vilas County, the winter of 1804-05, Malhiot11 traded for the hides,

and the meat, or muzzles, of nine moose.

The statement was made by Brunson12 in 1843, that moose, elk,

deer, etc. were more plentiful in the regions adjacent to the Black

and Chippewa Rivers than in any other part of the country. As far

as the moose is concerned, this would apply only to the upper Chip¬

pewa. Lapham13 merely listed the moose as a Wisconsin mammal

in 1853. Evidently a moose was not easily obtainable at this time

for Charles J. Sprague,14 Curator of the Boston Society of Natural

History, wrote to Lapham on July 22, 1853, that the Madison Nat¬

ural History Society [Association] had made a request for a moose

but did not state whether a skin, a skeleton, or both, was desired.

Hoy15 mentions that a cow moose was killed along the line of the

Wisconsin Central Railway in December, 1877. About this time

Strong wrote that it was rapidly becoming extinct.16

A letter to Seton from Charles H. Baker, a surveyor, reads as

follows: “In answer, first, to your query as to the occurrence of

moose in Wisconsin, I can state positively that in 1870, this animal

was comparatively numerous east and southeast of Superior . . . ,

in the counties of Douglas of Bayfield, between Poplar River and

the head of White River [Bayfield County], at a distance of from

15 to 20 miles or more south of Lake Superior.”17 Merri!l6a wrote in

1916 that recent reports on moose in extreme northern Wisconsin

lacked authenticity and that this species had not been numerous in

northern Wisconsin and Michigan within the memory of any living

person.

The year 1900 may be considered as approximately the time of

the near extinction of the moose in Wisconsin. The last moose to

arrive unaided in Wisconsin was drowned near Superior in 1921.

There is little doubt that this individual was of Minnesota origin.

4 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

Carlton and Pine Counties, Minnesota, bordering northwestern

Wisconsin are at present considered occasional moose counties.18

Formerly they were excellent moose territory.

Of the four proposed races of the moose, the Minnesota popula¬

tions falls within the range of Alces a . andersoni ,19 It is logical to

assume that most of the Wisconsin moose belonged to this race, but

there is insufficient material to prove it. The Isle Royale, Michigan,

specimens belong to this race. As long ago as 1853, Andrews20

wrote that in severe winters both moose and caribou cross on the

ice from the mainland to this island. The moose that once occurred

in the northern peninsula of Michigan may have been Alces a.

americana.

There are some statements on the killing of moose that are very

indefinite as to locality. One was reported killed in June, 1867, on

the South Fork of the Chippewa River.21 There is an east and west

fork, but I am unable to find any tributary formerly known as the

South Fork. A moose was killed on the St. Croix River in July,

1879 ;22 and a Trempealeau paper states that Arthur Gibbs shot

one in the northern part of the state in November, 1899. 23

A large moose shot in northern Wisconsin and consigned to the

Drummond Brothers, Eau Claire, arrived at its destination on De¬

cember .23, 1884, reputedly the first ever to be brought to the city.24

The heads of two moose were expected within the week and would

be placed on exhibition. A week later another moose, killed at Drum¬

mond, Bayfield County, arrived in the city, so that both moose may

have been killed in this county. The first moose is stated to have

weighed a trifle less than 1,000 pounds. If “hog dressed,” this

weight would be high. Breckenridge25 gives the total live weight

of a male moose, five to six years of age, killed in Minnesota, as

1065 pounds. The heart and viscera weighed 239 pounds, and the

blood lost, 26 pounds. Peterson190 gives the weight of a male taken

in Manitoba as 1060 pounds without the blood lost.

In October, 1885, a party of Indiana and Ohio hunters was re¬

ported to have killed 8 deer and a large moose.20 The locality is not

stated. At this time most of the “foreigners” hunted in Florence

County.

There are Moose rivers or creeks in Barron, Douglas, and Sawyer

Counties; and Moose lakes in Bayfield, Douglas, Iron, Langlade,

Marinette, and Sawyer Counties.

RECORDS BY COUNTIES

Ashland. Lapham1 in 1858 listed the moose among the mammals

of the Penokee Range. A female moose seen near Butternut on

November 8, 1877, was killed by Joseph Harper on the 12th.2

1956]

Schorger — Moose in Wisconsin

5

Another account gives the date of the killing as November 9, and

that the head was on exhibition in the office of the Ashland Press.3

A drove of 13 moose was reported in the vicinity of Butternut in

the spring of 1878.4 In December, 1884, E. Gordon killed a cow

moose on Torch River, which is in the southwestern part of the

county.5 In March, 1887, moose were reported quite numerous 20

miles west of Glidden ; and in September of this year, a bull moose

and numerous tracks were reported seen in T42, R2W.6 The same

fall two men while cruising on the West Fork of the Chippewa

reported tracks and other sign of moose in T42, R4W.7

1. Lapham, I. A. Diary Aug. 24-Sept. 23, 1858. Wis. Hist. Soc.

Library; Trans. Wis. State Agr. Soc. 1858-59, 5 (1860) 399.

2. Phillips Times , Nov. 10, 17, 1877. 3. Ashland Press , Nov. 17, 24,

1877. 4. Shawano Journal, Feb. 2, 1878. 5. Glidden Pioneer, Dec. 18,

1884. 6. Glidden Pioneer, March 24 and Sept. 22, 1887. 7. Chippewa

Falls Herald, Dec. 9, 1887.

Barron. Schoolcraft1 reported moose tracks numerous along the

Red Cedar River below Rice Lake in 1831.

1. Schoolcraft, H. R. Summary narrative . . . (1855), p. 543.

Bayfield. The fresh tracks of a moose were seen by Rev. Ely in

the northwestern corner of the county on January 6, 1836. Arm¬

strong1 states that about 1843, the Indians tried to capture a moose

swimming across Chequamegon Bay. Peet wrote from Bayfield, on

January 5, 1858: “One of my neighbors shot 2 Moose out in the

woods a few days since.”2 A moose weighing about 750 pounds,

shot near Drummond in December, 1884, was shipped to Eau

Claire.3 A large moose was reported using the Raspberry Bay area

in the summer of 1886. 4 In connection with the report of Art Boyer

that he had seen a bull moose in the Town of Barnes in the fall of

1936, it is stated that about 20 years previously P. C. Knapp of

Iron River killed a moose in the town of Orienta.5 Cory6 was in¬

formed by M. Berg that a moose was killed at Cable “about 25 years

ago” (c. 1885). A Bayfield paper states that a large moose was

killed at Clear (Eau Claire) Lake early in November, 1882. 7

1. Armstrong, B. G. 1892. Early life among the Indians, pp. 166,

172. 2. Peet, J. Diary. Typed copy in Wis. Hist. Soc. Library. 3. Eau

Claire (d) Leader, Dec. 31, 1884. 4. Bayfield Press, Aug. 7, 1886.

5. Wis. Cons. Bull. 1 (11) (Nov., 1936)“ 12. 6. Cory, C. B. 1912. The

mammals of Illinois and Wisconsin, p. 77. 7. Bayfield Press, Nov. 11,

1882.

Buffalo. It has been stated that Joseph V. Jones came to Mondovi

in 1856, at which time moose were “very common.”1 Undoubtedly,

elk was intended as this animal was once common. Moose is not

6

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

given by Kessinger2 in his brief list of the mammals of the county ;

and Bunnell,3 who came to La Crosse in 1842, and was thoroughly

familiar with the game mammals of the Upper Mississippi, does

not mention it.

1. Durand News, March 15, 1905. 2. Kessinger, L. 1888. History

of Buffalo County, Wisconsin, pp. 42-43. 3. Bunnell, L. H. 1897.

Winona and its environs on the Mississippi.

Burnett. Curot,1 the winter of 1803-04, obtained a few moose

skins at his trading post on the Yellow River. In the spring of 1877

a moose was killed at a logging camp about 40 miles above St. Croix

Falls, which would place it in Burnett County.2 One was killed at

Clam Lake in November, 1882 ;3 and another at the ferry on the

Yellow River, on June 13, 1889. 4

1. Curot, M. 1911. Wis. Hist. Colls., 20:420, 421, 425. 2. Mon-

tello Express, March 3, 1877. 3. St. Croix Falls Dalles of Saint

Croix, Nov. 17, 1882; Madison State Jour., Nov. 9, 1882. 4. Grants-

burg Sentinel, June 21, 1889.

Clark. A moose weighing 900 pounds was killed at Abbotsford

in September, 1883, by John O’Connor.1

1. Eau Claire (d) Leader, Sept. 28, 1883.

Douglas. Doty1 mentions moose as one of the principal game

animals of the Indians in the Fond du Lac (Superior) area in 1820.

In August, 1826, McKenney2 measured a large moose killed in the

ne:ghborhood. Aside from the height, six feet and nine inches, the

remaining measurements are not standard. Rev. Ely (lx.) recorded

moose in his diary on January 21, 22, and 28, 1835, and January 25,

1836. The moose was mentioned in 1855 as one of the game animals

to attract tourists to Superior.3 A large bull moose was seen within

two miles of Superior on September 19, 1860 ; and tracks were re¬

ported to be plentiful on the road to the Douglas Copper Range.4

In the spring of 1873, John O’Sagie and brother killed five moose

in one week on the Poplar River; and A. Tourville two on the

Amnicon, both streams emptying into Lake Superior a few miles

east of Superior.5 Eight moose were brought into Superior the

spring of 1874, the crust on the deep snow rendering it impossible

for the animals to travel.6 In January, 1875, a cow and calf were

seen near the headwaters of the St. Croix River ;7 and in the fall of

this year moose were reported plentiful a few miles from Superior.8

Frank La Suisse, living on Wisconsin Point, shot a bull moose in

September, 1877. 9 The summer of 1884, one was seen by J. A.

McGilvray on the bank of the St. Louis River near Duluth.10

A hunter who came to Bayfield to make a homestead entry on

land in Douglas County, stated that the winter of 1884-85, up to

1956]

Schorger — Moose in Wisconsin

7

the middle of January, he had killed five moose in addition to other

large game.11 A large moose was killed at Nebagamon Lake on

July 1, 1886, by J. Gehen.12 A moose was killed at Brule in No¬

vember, 1894.13 M. J. Bell shot a bull moose between the village of

Brule and Lake Superior about 1896, the head of which was on

display in the Knight Hotel in Ashland.14

Cory15 corresponded with several residents of the county and

learned that three moose were killed in the town of Brule in 1886,

and one on the St. Croix in 1900. One was killed about 1907 in T45,

R15W (town of Summit), and another at Charlie Brook in the fall

of 1909. A moose swimming in Allouez Bay, at Superior on Sep¬

tember 11, 1921, drowned after being roped and towed by a launch.16

1. Doty, J. D. 1876. Northern Wisconsin in 1820. Wis. Hist.

Colls., 7:201. 2. McKenney, T. L. 1827. Sketches of a tour to the

lakes, pp. 281-82. 3. Superior Chronicle, Sept. 4, 1855. 4. Superior

Chronicle, Sept. 22 and 29, 1860. 5. Superior Times : Brandon

Times, April 18, 1873. 6. Milwaukee (d) Sentinel, April 7, 1874.

7. Eau Claire Free Press, Jan. 21, 1875. 8. Superior Times, Oct. 7,

1875. 9. Superior Times, Sept. 29, 1877. 10. Chippewa Falls Herald,

Dec. 26, 1884. 11. Bayfield Press, Jan. 17, 1885. 12. Superior Times,

July 3, 1886. 13. Hurley Miner, Dec. 1, 1894. 14. Wis. Cons. Bulk,

1 (11) (Nov., 1936) 12. 15. Cory, C. B. The mammals of Illinois

and Wisconsin. (1912) p. 77. 16. McNaughton, J. W. Wis. Con¬

servationist, 3 (6) (Jan., 1922) 12.

Dunn. When Schoolcraft1 was at Lake Sapin (Balsam) in 1831,

he was informed that the moose had been “driven up” from the

vicinity of the sawmill on the Red Cedar River.

1. Schoolcraft, H. R. Summary narrative . . . (1855) p. 553.

Florence. There is no authentic record of a native moose. One

was reported, in January, 1887, to be in the vicinity of Florence.1

A moose, shot by a hunter during the deer season of 1937, was

found near Pine River, south of Florence. This moose was trapped

on Is'e Royale and liberated near Escanaba, Michigan.2

1. Milwaukee Journal, Jan. 4, 1887. 2. Wis. Cons. Bull., 2 (10)

(Oct., 1937) 25; 2 (12) and 3 (1) (Dec.-Jan., 1937-38) 54; 3 (2)

(March, 1938) 40.

Forest. A bull moose, that was supposed to have wandered down

from Lake Superior, was killed at Rice Lake by Indians on

March 18, 1873. William Gumaer partook of it at “Johnson’s Sta¬

tion”.2 The above information shows that the moose was killed at

Rice Lake, town of Crandon, Forest County. The military road

from Shawano to Lake Superior ran close to this lake.2

1. Shawano Journal, March 22, 1873. 2. Historical Atlas of Wis¬

consin. (1878) p. 99.

8 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

Green Lake. This county was the southern limit of its range.

Gillespy,1 in 1860, mentioned its former occurrence. Dart came to

the county in 1840 and stated: “Elk and moose were found upon

Willow River, and occasionally around Green Lake. Shed elk and

moose horns were then often found here.2

1. Gillespy, J. C. The history of Green Lake County. (1860)

p. 19. 2. Dart, R. Settlement of Green Lake County. Proc. Wis. Hist.

Soc. for 1909. (1910) p. 260.

Jefferson. It is extremely doubtful if moose occurred in this

county. Somers1 in 1888 collected bones at the ancient village site

of Aztalan and reported those of the moose without giving any

basis for the identification. Subsequent extensive investigations of

refuse pits have failed to establish the presence of moose.

1. Somers, A. N. 1892. Prehistoric cannibalism in America. Pop.

Science Monthly, 42 :204. Cf. S. A. Barrett, 1933. Ancient Aztalan.

Mil. Pub. Mus., Bull. 13:356.

Lincoln. Moose were mentioned as present in the northern part

of the county in 1878.1

1. Prairie du Chien Courier, July 9, 1878.

Marathon. A moose was reported seen in the fall of 1885 near

Spencer, in the southwestern corner of the county.1

1. Spencer Tribune, Nov. 6, 1885.

Marinette. It is highly probable that moose once ranged back and

forth across the Wisconsin-Michigan line. About the first of De¬

cember, 1877, a Mr. Hummel of Green Bay shot a large moose near

Spalding, Menominee County, Michigan, and returned with the

ant'ers.1 In November, 1885, a moose weighing 450 pounds dressed,

was killed in Green Bay near Menominee.2

1. Green Bay Advocate, Dec. 6, 1877. 2. Menominee Herald:

Green Bay (w) Advocate, Nov. 12, 1885:3.

Oneida. Arthur A. Oehmcke, Coordinator, Area II, Wisconsin

Conservation Department, wrote to me on March 8, 1954, that

Charles Talbot, proprietor of a resort on Willow River, has frag¬

ments of moose antlers. These were found at the edge of a cedar

swamp northwest of Willow Lake between 1914 and 1915 by a

trapper, Ed Wilson.

Polk. In October 1866, Thomas Rodgers, town of Sterling, killed

a moose seven feet in height.1 It was stated to have been the first

moose killed in the county. In May, 1885, John Buck, an Indian,

killed a moose, thought to have been three years of age, in the

town of Luck.2 Two Indians, in October, 1903, killed a moose, “the

9

1956] Schorger — Moose in Wisconsin

largest one known to have been killed in the county for the last 15

years.”3

1. Osceola Press, Nov. 17, 1866. 2. New Richmond Republican,

May 20, 1885. 3. St. Croix Falls Standard, Oct. 30, 1903.

Price. A herd of moose was reported as occurring in the vicinity

of Butternut Lake in the spring of 1878 and two were killed there

in the autumn of this year.1 A moose was killed on the South Fork

of th3 Flambeau in January, 1882, and was considered very rare.2

About 1910 W. J. Webster, Superintendent of Schools at Park Falls,

wrote to Cory3 that he had heard of moose being killed in the

county some years previously.

1. “Wildwood, Will” (Fred Pond). Chicago Field, 9 (April 20,

1878) 155; Turf, Field and Farm, 27 (Oct. 25, 1878) 257. 2. Phil¬

lips Times, Jan. 7, 1882; Chippewa Falls Times, Jan. 11, 1882.

3. Cory, C. B. The mammals of Illinois and Wisconsin. (1912) p. 77.

Richland. There is a questionable record for the county. Some

large ribs found in an Indian mound at Eagle Corners were sup¬

posed to have been from a moose.1

1. Brown, C. E. Wis. Arch., 5 (1) (Oct., 1905) 217.

Sauk. Cole was informed by Theodore Conkey, government sur¬

veyor, that a party of Indians killed a moose in 1845 in the town of

Dellona. I examined the original held notes in the State Land Office,

Madison, and found that Conkey did survey the town in 1845. There

is, however, not one mention of a bird or mammal, a failure com¬

mon to all the government surveys in the state. It is to be expected

that a moose would occasionally wander this far southward.

1. Cole, H. E. A standard history of Sauk County, Wisconsin.

1 (1918) p. 103.

Vilas. Malhiot1 traded for the skins and meat of several moose

at his post on Lac du Flambeau the winter of 1804-05.

1. Malhiot, F. V. Wis. Hist. Soc. Colls., 19 (1910) 187-231.

Waushara. Dart1 has stated that when he came to Green Lake

County, moose were to be found along the Willow River. Since

there is no Willow River in this county he must have had in mind

Willow Creek which empties into Lake Poygan in eastern Wau¬

shara County. The Lake Poygan area was once fairly good moose

territory.

1. Dart, R. Proc. Wis. Hist. Soc. for 1909. (1910) p. 260.

Winnebago. The late George Overton, Butte des Morts, informed

me on May 27, 1939, that a few years previously his wife found

part of a moose antler in a creek on his farm. This specimen is still

in possession of the family. Remains of moose have been found at

10 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

the Lasley Point archeological sites, Lake Winneconne, town of

Winneconne. Buckstaff1 has reported five scapulae, and Bullock2 a

badly decomposed antler found here.

1. Buckstaff, R. N. Indian bone implements in the Oshkosh Pub¬

lic Museum. Wis. Archeol. 23 (2) (June, 1942) 25. 2. Bullock, H. R.

Lasley Point mound excavations. Ibid., p. 40.

REFERENCES

1. Radisson, Pierre. Fourth voyage, 1661-62. Wis. Hist. Colls., 11 (1888) 74.

2. La Ronde, Louis D. de. Wis. Hist. Colls., 17 (1906) 278.

3. Cole, H. E. A standard history of Sauk County, Wisconsin. 1 (1918) p.

103.

4. Burt, W. H. The mammals of Michigan. (1946) p. 260.

5. Dart, R. Settlement of Green Lake County. Proc. Wis. Hist . Soc. for

1909. (1910) 260.

6. Merrill, S. The moose book. (1916) pp. 178, 180, 181, and 188.

6a. Merrill, S. Ibid., p. 36.

7. Schoolcraft, H. R. Summary narrative of an exploratory expedition to

the sources of the Mississippi in 1820 . . . (1855) pp. 543 and 553.

8. Schoolcraft, H. R. Narrative of an expedition through the Upper Missis¬

sippi to Itaska Lake ... in 1832. (1834) p. 138.

9. Ely, E. F. Diary. 1833-36. Typed copy in Wis. Hist. Soc. Library.

10. Curot, M. A Wisconsin fur-trader’s journal, 1803-04. Wis. Hist. Colls.,

20 (1911) 420, 421, and 425.

11. Malhiot, F. V. Journal. Wis. Hist. Colls., 19 (1910) 187-231.

12. Brunson, A. Northern Wisconsin. Madison, Dec. 15, 1843. Wis. Hist. Soc.

Library.

13. Lapham, I. A. A systematic catalogue of the animals of Wisconsin. Trans.

Wis. Agr. Soc., 2 (1853) 340.

14. Sprague, C. J. Letter, July 22, 1853. Wis. Hist. Soc. Library.

15. Hoy, P. R. The larger wild animals that have become extinct in Wiscon¬

sin. Trans. Wis. Acad. Sci., 5 (1882) 255.

16. Strong, M. List of the mammals of Wisconsin. Geol. of Wisconsin.

1 (1883) 437.

17. Seton, E. T. Lives of game animals. 3 (1) (1929) 164.

18. Gunderson, H. L. and Beer, J. R. The mammals of Minnesota. (1953)

p. 179.

19. Peterson, R. L. A new subspecies of moose from North America. Occ.

Papers Roy. Ontario Mus. Zool., 9 (1950) ; A review of the living rep¬

resentatives of the genus Alces. Contr. Roy. Ontario Mus. Zool., 34

(1952).

19a. Peterson, R. L. Ibid. (1950) p. 5.

20. Andrews, I. D. Report on trade and commerce of British . . . colonies

and of Great Lakes. Senate Doc. 112, 32nd Congress. Washington.

(1853) p. 234.

21. Hudson Star and Times, June 12, 1867.

22. La Crosse (w) Chronicle, July 31, 1879.

23. Trempealeau Herald, Nov. 17, 1899.

24. Eau Claire (d) Leader, Dec. 24, 1884.

25. Breckenridge, W. J. Weights of a Minnesota moose. Jour. Mam., 27

(1946) 90.

26. Green Bay (w) Gazette, Oct. 31, 1885, 3.

PLANT SUCCESSION ON A SAND PLAIN,

NORTHWEST WISCONSIN1

IRVEN 0. Buss2

Department of Wildlife Management, State College of W ashing ton

An area of about 120 sections located primarily on the north side

and adjacent to the Chippewa River in southeastern Dunn County

(Figure 1) near the prairie-forest border (Curtis, 1955, p. 559)

was studied to: (1) determine the succession of plants on a sand

plain, and (2) record some of the principal plants occurring on

sites undisturbed for 35 years or longer. Field work was done

mainly during June, July, and August, 1940, although numerous

trips were made to the area subsequently.

The climate, geology, formation of alluvial terraces, and the soils

of the south part of northwestern Wisconsin have been described

by Weidman, Hall and Musback (1911). These authors tell that

some time during the periods of glacial activity the streams were

unable to carry away the land-wash brought down from the upland

slopes and were forced to deposit large amounts of sand along their

courses. In this manner, broad sand plains developed along the

rivers of this area. The plain in southeastern Dunn County, where

this study was centered, is probably the largest alluvial sand plain

in the entire south part of northwestern Wisconsin. It is known

locally as the Meridean Prairie.

After filling its valley with such a deposition, a river may change

its action and entrench its course in the built-up flood plain. The

part of the plain remaining above the new valley floor is called a

terrace. The Chippewa valley below Chippewa Falls is character¬

ized by five terraces which are well developed and consist of an

exceptionally deep deposition. Well drillers below Eau Claire can

not tell the depth of the deposition, for the difference between de¬

posited sand and sandstone is rendered indistinguishable by

pressure at depths of 200 feet or more.

Plainfield Sand is the soil type characterizing Meridean Prairie

and the terraces of the Chippewa River. According to Weidman,

Hall and Musback (1911, map) it is a “light sandy soil; level valley

1 Dedicated to Norman C. Fassett, Godfather of this study, who suggested the tech¬

niques used for studying plant succession and provided other technical help during

the course of the field work.

2 Professor of Wildlife Management, State College of Washington, Pullman; for¬

merly Chief of Wildlife Research, Wisconsin Conservation Department, Madison,

Wisconsin.

11

12 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

Figure 1. Soils Map of Study Area near Chippewa River in Southeastern

Dunn County,

1956]

Buss — Sand Plain Succession

13

bottom land; forest trees mainly jack pine.” Rusk Prairie imme¬

diately to the north consists of Rice Lake Loam which, according to

the above authors (p. 58), is a fine sandy loam with sandy or

gravelly subsoil, uniformly level, and in Dunn County “the native

vegetation consisted largely of a slight stand of scrub oak, poplar,

some birch and pine.” Auburn Loam is a sandy or silt loam, gen¬

erally with an undulating surface, and it was “. . . originally

wooded with hardwoods, mainly red oak, black oak, burr oak, some

birch, poplar and scattering maple” (Weidman, Hall and Musback,

1911, p. 79). The bottomlands of the Chippewa River consist of

Meridean Sandy Loam which is a sandy loam containing consider¬

able coarse and fine sand with a small amount of clay material ; it

is nearly level, and the above authors report (p. 65) that the forest

growth was elm, maple, ash, a few oak, and some pine.

The taxonomic nomenclature is that of Gleason (1952) .

PLANT SUCCESSION

On three sections of Meridean Prairie immediately north of the

Chippewa River, uncultivated fields were studied to determine the

succession of plants. The fields were used for raising rye, corn, and

soybeans on a rotation basis after leaving the fields abandoned for

several years or more (Buss and Mattison, 1955, p. 245). The dura¬

tion of abandonment of these fields was variable and was ascer¬

tained from the landowner who knew when he had last cultivated

each field. Those fields that could not be dated in this manner, were

either dated by counting growth rings of trees planted in them by

homesteaders, or they were excluded from observation.

Since all fields in which plant succession was studied were in

three contiguous sections located on Plainfield Sand at the same

elevation, their physical environment was the same, or at least very

similar. Figure 2 presents graphically the direct observations for

plants of 25 species which occurred on fields not cultivated for from

one to 35 years. Abundance was designated by four categories

(abundant to dominant, common or numerous, occasional or scat¬

tered, and few to rare) as shown in the Key of Figure 2. In esti¬

mating abundance both density (number of stems per unit area)

and coverage (actual area covered by a plant) were taken into con¬

sideration; a few plants of one species might give great coverage

and many small plants of another species result in little coverage.

Miller and Egler (1950, p. 156) indicate that such a system has

certain disadvantages but that it also has many advantages for

simple rapid survey. Each vertical line in Figure 2 represents

abundance of one species for one field. For example, there are 15

vertical lines representing abundance of flowering spurge,

14 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

1956]

Buss— Sand Plain Succession

15

Euphorbia corollata , for each of the 15 fields in which it was ob¬

served. By connecting* the vertical lines a figure is developed which

shows: (1) at what time or stage after cultivation the different

plants became conspicuous and when some of them disappeared,

(2) how long after cultivation each species occurred most fre¬

quently, and (3) which plants remained in the oldest observed

stages. Since the length of any vertical line depends on abundance

assigned to it by direct estimate, the records for any plant might

vary directly with the observer. Nevertheless, the results of this

study are strikingly similar to those obtained by Thomson (1939)

who described and used this technique in studying plant succession

on abandoned fields in the central Wisconsin sand plain area.

Some plants, such as sandbur, Cenchrus pauciflorus , invade so

rapidly following slight disturbances that they have been elimi¬

nated from the figure. Pocket gophers, Geomys bursarius , Franklin

ground squirrels, Ciiellus franklini , skunks, Mephitis sp., farm im¬

plements crossing from one field to another, and automobiles cross¬

ing the fields, caused disturbances which permitted the plants to

become established. In most cases the time of the disturbance was

unknown.

The first nine species in Figure 2 occurred in the first plant

stage following cessation of cultivation. They may be considered

weedy plants which disappeared and were replaced by other plants

within five or six years postcultivation. Horseweed, Conyza cana¬

densis, probably occurred on older fields than those shown in the

figure, but it was not found on fields uncultivated for 12 years. Red

sorrel, Rumex acetosella, occurred so locally that observations con¬

cerning this species were very difficult to obtain. Scattered patches

usually grew so densely that no other species grew within its bound¬

aries. Some fields had from four to 10 patches, whereas others

abandoned for the same time had none. It is likely that this species

occurs in fields not cultivated for 15 or more years.

Evening primrose, Oenothera sp., also occurred in early stages,

but it persisted in later stages than the other plants of weedy

nature.

Panic grass, Panicum oligosanthes , more nearly approached a

monotype in a six-year field than any other species growing in any

known-aged field.

The next four plants, E. corollata , puccoon, Lithospermum caro-

liniense, spiderwort, Tradescantia ohiensis , and black-eyed Susan,

Rudbeckia hirta , may be considered dominants since they occurred

in fields of all ages. E. corollata was found growing in practically

every field studied. Its occurrence may be regarded as weedy, and it

should not be considered as a valid species for determining plant

16 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

stage of any field. After L. caroliniense reached a four-year stage,

it did not appear to increase or decrease and persisted as scattered

or occasional wherever it was observed.

Canada blue grass, Poa compressa, grew very dominantly in two

12-year fields.

Tickseed, Coreopsis palmata, displayed behavior similar to that

for L. caroliniense but did not occur as soon after cultivation

ceased.

■

Wild indigo, Baptism leucantha, occurred rarely and only in late

stages. Many original sites along the terraces were lacking in this

species.

Porcupine grass, Stipa spartea, appeared to be the most conserva¬

tive of all species shown in this figure. Where it was undisturbed

on original or virgin sites, it was found growing abundantly. I was

informed by several reliable old homesteaders that S. spartea and

turkey-foot grass, Andropogon gerardi, were by far the most

abundant plants that occurred originally on Meridean Prairie.

Eighty-year-old hunters told me that these grasses waved against

their horse’s bellies as they drove across the prairie hunting

pinnated grouse (Buss and Mattison, 1955, p. 90) .

Although the oldest plant stage studied on these fields was herba-

cious and of prairie type, jackpine, Finns banksiana, encroached

on the edges of a few of the older fields. In each case the field

adjoined a solid stand of P. banksiana and black oak, Quercus sp.,

which bordered two sides of the sand plain. There was no natural

reproduction of woody species in fields not adjacent to these wood-

lots regardless of the age of the fields. Thomson (1943) studied

plant succession on a sand plain in central Wisconsin and shows in

a figure that the frequency of various species in abandoned fields

was very similar to those studied in Dunn County. On page 38

Thomson (1943) states that “The dominance of the prairie species

persists in the fields from fifteen to twenty-two years abandoned

but in the older fields . . . the shrubby and woody plants, Myrica

asplenifolia, Rubus sp., Rhus glabra, and Finns banksiana become

more prominent.” The prominence of shrubby and woody plants in

fields abandoned from 22 to 35 years was not conspicuous in Dunn

County.

Observations were secured on a few fields, and some of the ter¬

races, which had never been cultivated. Although no apparent dif¬

ferences were observed between these fields or terraces and the

fields not cultivated for 35 years, numerous rare species were

probably massing from the abandoned fields.

1956]

Buss— Sand Plain Succession

17

PLANTS ON UNDISTURBED SITES

On the entire area of about 120 sections, sites undisturbed for

at least 35 years were studied to: (1) determine some of the prin¬

cipal plants which occurred on these sites, and (2) show the simi¬

larity or dissimilarity of these species to those observed on the oldest

abandoned fields of the sand plain. The sites occurred at roadsides,

in cemeteries, along a railroad right-of-way that crosses the north¬

ern part of the area, and on small inaccessible areas that were not

'farmed. Many county and town roadsides were undisturbed since

they were constructed over 50 years previous to this study. The

railroad right-of-way has been undisturbed for over 40 years with

the exception of annual fires set to the dead vegetation each spring

!or fall. The section foreman for this line informed me that late fall

burnings were the general rule, but early winters and lack of man¬

power made spring burning necessary during some years. Despite

the annual firing, numerous prairie species occurring during late

stages on other areas of the same soil type were found along the

right-of-way. Some of the plants were conservative species.

Each site was studied once, and the following observations were

j recorded: (1) abundance-^employing the same technique used in

| the study of plant succession on abandoned fields, and (2) the soil

| type on which each species was observed. Specimens of practically

all plants studied were collected and placed in the University of

Wisconsin herbarium.

These observations are summarized and presented in Table 1. All

of the plants listed in the table were observed on three soil types,

Rice Lake Loam, Auburn Loam, and Plainfield Sand, unless a nota¬

tion following the plant name indicates otherwise. Although some

plants were observed on only one soil type, this is believed to have

very little significance in most cases. Observing sites only once and

at various times of summer undoubtedly resulted in some plants

being missed. However, certain plants like umbrella-wort, Oxy-

baphus hirsutus , white sage, Artemisia ludoviciana , and wood lily,

Lilium philadelphicum var. andinum , probably were limited to one

soil type. A few plants showed a higher abundance on one soil type

even though they occurred on all three types. Little bluestem,

Andropogon scoparius , occurred most abundantly on Rice Lake

Loam, S. spartea was observed growing less abundantly on Auburn

Loam than on Rice Lake Loam and Plainfield Sand, tick trefoil,

Desmodium canadense , appeared to grow most abundantly on

Auburn Loam, and L. caroliniense grew markedly more abundant

on Plainfield Sand than on the other two soil types.

18 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

TABLE 1

PLANTS OCCURRING ON SITES UNDISTURBED FOR AT LEAST 35 YEARS ;

Abundant to dominant:

Andropogon gerardi (Big Bluestem or Turkey-foot Grass)

Tradescantia ohiensis (Spiderwort)

Euphorbia corollata (Flowering Spurge)

Common or numerous:

Stipa spartea (Porcupine Grass)

Phlox pilosa (Prairie Phlox), found on Rice Lake Loam only

Artemisia ludoviciana (White Sage), found on Plainfield Sand only

Solidago rigida (Prairie Goldenrod)

Liatris scariosa (Blazing Star)

Liatris pycnostachya (Blazing Star)

Occasional or scattered:

Eragrostis spectabilis (Love Grass), found on Rice Lake Loam only

Eragrostis cilianensis (Stink Grass), found on Rice Lake Loam only

Sporobolus heterolepis (Prairie Dropseed), found on Rice Lake Loam only ;

Andropogon scoparius (Little Bluestem)

Sorghastrum nutans (Indian Grass)

Cyperus schweinitzii (Sedge), found on Rice Lake Loam only

Carex lasiocarpa (Sedge), found on Rice Lake Loam only

Smilacina stellata (False Solomon Seal)

Polygonatum biflorum (Solomon Seal)

Sisyrinchium campestre (Blue-eyed Grass), found on Rice Lake Loam only

Oxybaphus hirsutus (Umbrella-wort), found on Auburn Loam only

Amorpha canescens (Lead-plant)

Petalo sternum purpureum ( Purple Prairie Clover) , few found on Auburn Loam j

Petalostemum candidum (White Prairie Clover) , none found on Auburn Loam l

Tephrosia virginiana (Goat Rue), found on Plainfield Sand only

Desmodium canadense (Tick Trefoil)

Linum sulcatum (Prairie Flax), found on Rice Lake Loam only

Euphorbia glyptosperma (Spurge), found on Rice Lake Loam only

Helianthemum bicknellii (Frostweed), found on Rice Lake Loam only

Cicuta maculata (Water Hemlock)

Asclepias tuberosa (Butterfly-weed), found on Rice Lake Loam only

Lithospermum canescens (Hoary Puccoon)

Lithospermum oarolinense (Puccoon)

Campanula rotundifolia (Harebell)

Lobelia spicata (Lobelia), found on Rice Lake Loam only

Rudbeckia hirta (Black-eyed Susan)

Coreopsis palmata (Tickseed)

Hieracium longipilum (Prairie Hawkweed)

Few to rare:

Lilium philadelphicum var. andinum (Wood Lily), found on Rice Lake f

Loam only

Myrica asplenifolia (Sweet Fern), found on Rice Lake Loam only

Oxybaphus nyctagineus (Umbrella-wort) , found on Rice Lake Loam only i

Baptisia leucophaea (Wild Indigo), found on Plainfield Sand only

Baptisia leucantha (Wild Indigo), found on Plainfield Sand only

Astragalus canadensis (Milk Vetch), found on Plainfield Sand only

Lathy rus venosus var. intonsus ( Vetchling) , found on Rice Lake Loam only

Poly gala sanguinea (Milkwort)

Aster falcatus (Wild Aster), found on Plainfield Sand only

1956]

Buss — Sand Plain Succession

19

In general, the plants observed on sites undisturbed for at least

35 years included the plants which were observed during the study

of succession on the sand plain in fields abandoned for 35 years.

By 1956, intensification of agricultural practices on the fields of

Meridean Prairie and the surrounding area reduced the prairie

flora to a very few relics on the Chippewa River terraces, in several

old cemeteries, and along part of the railroad right-of-way crossing

the area. All of the fields formerly left abandoned for periods of

time up to 35 years are now plowed and planted on an annual rota¬

tion basis. The roadside vegetation has been drastically reduced by

disturbance and improvement of the roads. Thomson (1940, p. 708)

concluded that the prairie flora was rapidly being exterminated in

central Wisconsin by the encroachment of the forest and by the

activity of man. In Dunn County the activity of man greatly

overshadows the effects of the forest in eliminating the prairie flora.

■

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Appreciation is expressed to Katherine G. Buss for her assistance

during the field work, to Dr. Lloyd H. Shinners for help in identi¬

fying some of the plants, and to Dr. J. T. Curtis for his advice in

the preparation of the manuscript.

REFERENCES

Buss, Irven 0. and Helmer M. Mattison. 1955. A Half Century of Change in

Bird Populations of the Lower Chippewa River, Wisconsin. Milwaukee

Public Museum Pub. in Ornithology, No. 1, 319 pp.

Curtis, J. T. 1955. A Prairie Continuum in Wisconsin. Ecology 36(4) : 558-566.

Gleason, H. A. 1952. The New Britton and Brown Illustrated Flora of the

Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. 3 vols. New York.

Miller, William R. and Frank E. Egler. 1950. Vegetation of the Wequete-

quock-Pawcatuck Tidal-marshes, Connecticut. Ecol. Monographs 20(2) :

143-172.

Thomson, John W., Jr. 1939. Dynamics of Some Prairie Plants in Central

Wisconsin. Unpub. Thesis Univ. Wis.

- . 1940. Relic Prairie Areas in Central Wisconsin. Ecol. Monographs

10(4) : 685-717.

- . 1943. Plant Succession on Abandoned Fields in the Central Wisconsin

Sand Plain Area. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 70(1) : 34-41.

Weidman, Samuel, E. B. Hall and F. L. Musback. 1911. Soil Survey of Part

of North Western Wisconsin. Wis. Geological and Nat. Hist. Survey,

Bull 23, 102 pp.

CHARACTERISTICS OF TROUT ANGLING AT LAWRENCE

CREEK, WISCONSIN

James T. McFadden

Wisconsin Conservation Department, W estfield, Wisconsin

INTRODUCTION

As part of a research program designed to evaluate the effects

of different angling regulations on a wild brook trout population, a

complete creel census was conducted at Lawrence Creek during the

1955 fishing season. The information obtained provides the first

complete assessment of angling pressure on a Wisconsin trout

stream.

METHODS

Each angler was required to secure a permit at a permanent

checking station before fishing. Separate permits were issued for

each of the sections into which the stream is divided. Before leav¬

ing the project area, anglers were required to return their permits

and present their catches for examination.

All trout caught were weighed and measured. Scale samples were

taken for age determination. The amount of time spent in fishing

and methods employed were recorded for each angler. Successful

fishing trips were considered to be those during which at least one

legal trout was creeled.

The 1955 trout season opened on April 30 and closed on Septem¬

ber 7. The minimum size limit was six inches, and the daily bag

limit was 10 trout. The only departure from statewide regulations

was the limitation of angling to the period 5 a.m. till 9 p.m. each

day.

DESCRIPTION OF AREA AND STREAM

Lawrence Creek is located in Adams and Marquette Counties,

Wisconsin, approximately 40 miles south-southeast of the geo¬

graphical center of the state. The average length of the growing

season in this locality is 145 days.

The soil of the entire watershed is the relatively infertile Coloma

Sand. Much of the original forest cover of mixed oaks has been

replaced by pine plantations and now abandoned farms. Streamside

cover includes marsh-meadow, alders, and mixed oaks.

The Lawrence Creek Project Area includes 8.3 miles of stream

from the headwaters to the upper end of Lawrence Millpond. The

21

22 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

average width of the stream is approximately 23.5 feet, and the

total surface area 9.4 acres. The volume of flow increases from

approximately 12 cubic feet per second one mile below the head¬

waters, to 25 cubic feet per second at the downstream extremity of

the project area. The gradient is moderate.

Non-game fishes occurring in Lawrence Creek include the com¬

mon sucker (Catostomus commersonni) , blacknose dace (Rhinich-

thys atratulus) , brook stickleback (Eucalia inconstans) , muddler

(Cottus sp.), and creek chub (Semotilus atromaculatus) . Of these,

only the muddler is abundant.

The bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) , largemouth bass (Microp-

terus salmoides) , and green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus) move into

the lower part of Lawrence Creek from Lawrence Millpond during

the warmer months, but apparently are not year-around residents.

The:e species are occasionally taken by anglers.

Lawrence Creek was last stocked with rainbow trout (Salmo

gairdneri) in 1945 and with brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in

1948. The stream presently supports a small wild rainbow trout

population, and a large wild brook trout population. No brown

trout are present.

ANGLING STATISTICS

During the 19-week angling season, 3,040 legal brook trout were

caught on 1,712 angling trips totaling 4,653 man hours of effort.

Under a fishing intensity of 495 hours per acre, Lawrence Creek

yielded 323.4 legal brook trout per acre, or 57.2 pounds per acre.

One hundred and seventy-seven legal rainbow trout were also

caught, constituting an additional 18.8 fish per acre or 4.7 pounds

per acre.

Anglers caught an average of 0.67 legal trout per man-hour over

the entire season.

PERIODICITY OF ANGLING PRESSURE AND CATCH

Fishing pressure was extremely heavy during the first week, but

decreased rapidly thereafter (Figure 1). Pressure and anglers’

catch followed similar trends through the season. A noticeable

increase in the number of angling trips occurred during the fifth

week, which included Memorial Day. No such increase in angling

pressure took place during the tenth week, which included the

Fourth of July. Although the number of trips per week increased

after the thirteenth week, at no time did it approach the level of

the opening week of the season.

On the opening day (April 30) , 16.8 per cent of the season’s total

catch and 8.6 per cent of the total trips were recorded. During the

first week, 27.1 per cent of the total catch and 18.9 per cent of the

1956]

McFadden — Trout Angling

23

24 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

total trips were accounted for. By the fifth week, 48 per cent of the

season’s total catch and angling trips had been taken.

Fishing pressure was generally heavier on weekends. Sixty-two

per cent of the angling trips were recorded on Saturdays and Sun¬

days, which constituted only 29 per cent of the days of trout season.

ANGLING INTENSITY

Angling intensity varied from 350 man hours per acre on Sec¬

tion D to 662 man hours per acre on Section C. The average for the

entire stream of 495 hours per acre is very high when compared

with data recorded for other trout streams (Table 1) .

TABLE 1

COMPARISON OF ANGLING INTENSITY ON VARIOUS TROUT STREAMS

IN THE UNITED STATES

TABLE 2

COMPARISON OF MAXIMUM RECORDED ANGLING INTENSITY ON

WISCONSIN WATERS

1956]

McFadden— Trout Angling

25

Angling intensity on Lawrence Creek greatly exceeded that

recorded on other Wisconsin waters for which data are available

(Table 2). Escanaba Lake, Murphy Flowage, Spruce Lake, Nebish

Lake, and Mystery Lake contain warm water fish populations. Pal-

lette Lake contains both warm water species and trout. The hours

of angling on these lakes were accumulated during 12-month sea¬

sons, in contrast to the 19-week season for Lawrence Creek.

DISTRIBUTION OF CATCH

The most successful 11 per cent of the angling trips accounted

for 51 per cent of the season’s total catch (Figure 2). Ninety-four

per cent of the catch was accounted for by 36 per cent of the trips.

No legal trout were taken on 53 per cent of the angling trips.

Figure 2. — Distribution of the catch of legal-sized brook trout among angling

trips during the 1955 season at Lawrence Creek.

26 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

Certain individuals consistently made good catches. For example,

three of the most successful anglers made a total of 39 trips to

Lawrence Creek during 1955. Altogether they accounted for 9 per

cent of the season's total catch. Fishing the same average number

of times, 34 anglers of this proficiency could have taken the entire

season’s catch of 3,040 brook trout in 442 trips, instead of the 1,712

recorded in 1955.

LESS THAfc 1,000

Figure 3. — Relationship of zones of residence of Wisconsin anglers fishing

Lawrence Creek during 1955 to population density of the state.

1956]

McFadden — Trout Angling

27

RESIDENCE OF ANGLERS

In order to compare the number of trips made by resident anglers

from various localities, the state was divided into four zones of

successively greater radial distance from Lawrence Creek (Fig¬

ure 3). Nineteen per cent of the trips were made by anglers resid¬

ing within a 25-mile radius of Lawrence Creek (Zone 1) ; 20 per

cent by anglers residing within a radius of 25 to 50 miles (Zone 2) ;

47 per cent by anglers residing within a radius of 50 to 100 miles

(Zone 3) ; and 3 per cent by those residing more than 100 miles

away (Zone 4) (Table 3) .

TABLE 3

RESIDENCE OF ANGLERS FISHING LAWRENCE CREEK DURING THE

1955 TROUT SEASON

Non-resident anglers accounted for an additional 11 per cent of

the angling trips. Ninety- three per cent of these were made by resi¬

dents of Illinois. Other states from which fishermen came were In¬

diana, New Jersey, California, Minnesota, Texas, Iowa, Ohio,

Michigan, and Missouri.

ANGLING METHODS

Natural baits, including worms, minnows, and insects, were used

exclusively on 61 per cent of the angling trips. Artificial lures, in¬

cluding flies, spinners, and plugs, were used exclusively on 28 per

cent of the trips. On 11 per cent of the trips both natural and arti¬

ficial baits were used. Bait fishing and fly fishing were both effective

methods when employed by proficient anglers.

DISCUSSION

Recruitment of smaller fish to the legal-size group was such that

the number of brook trout in the stream at the close of the season

nearly equalled the number present when the season opened. The

abrupt decrease in angling pressure after the first two weeks of

28 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

the season cannot be attributed solely to depletion of the stock of

trout. Rather, it seems to characterize the psychology of a large

segment of the angling public. The close parallel in the trends of

angling pressure and catch through the season (Figure 1) suggests

that an increase in pressure would have resulted in a corresponding

increase in the catch.

The extremely heavy angling pressure indicates that the trout

fishery of Lawrence Creek is extensively utilized as a recreational

resource. Many trout streams in more densely populated areas of

the United States are not fished as heavily. Unfortunately, com¬

parative data from other Wisconsin streams are not available.

None of the lakes of Wisconsin so far studied have been fished as

intensively as Lawrence Creek. While not comprehensive, the data

available suggest that a relatively higher angling intensity is char¬

acteristic of Wisconsin’s trout stream fisheries when compared with

lake fisheries.

The fact that angling intensiy may be extremely high on Wis¬

consin trout streams (eg. 662 man hours per acre on Section C,

Lawrence Creek) emphasizes the possibility that wild brook trout

populations are being overexploited.

The consistency with which certain fishermen made good catches

of brook trout, while 53 per cent of the angling trips were unsuc¬

cessful, indicates that the skill of the individual is the most impor¬

tant factor in determining angling success. The relatively few

anglers of exceptional ability accounted for a disproportionately

large share of the total catch. The data also indicate that a sub¬

stantial increase in “effective fishing pressure” could be achieved

without an increase in the number of anglers, if the present angling

public increased in proficiency.

Since over 60 per cent of the angling trips were made by persons

living more than 50 miles from Lawrence Creek, it is evident that

trout fishermen are a mobile group. The heavily populated south¬

eastern part of Wisconsin furnished a major portion of the angling

pressure. Very few Wisconsin anglers living more than 100 miles

away fished Lawrence Creek. This area includes mainly the north¬

eastern and northwestern counties, characterized by low population

densities and abundant fishery resources. Residents of Illinois con¬

tributed substantially to the angling pressure, but all other non-

residents combined accounted for less than one per cent of the

angling trips.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author gratefully acknowledges the aid of Wisconsin Con¬

servation Department personnel who assisted in the collection and

compilation of creel census data. Special thanks are due Dr. Ed-

1956] McFadden — -Trout Angling 29

win L. Cooper and Mr. John G. Brasch who critically reviewed the

manuscript.

LITERATURE CITED

Churchill, Warren S. 1956. Personal communication.

Cooper, Edwin L. 1952. Rate of exploitation of wild eastern brook trout and

brown trout populations in the Pigeon River, Otsego County, Michigan.

Trans. Am. Fish , Soc., 81, pp. 224-234.

Dunham, Donald K. 1956. Personal communication.

Mullan, James W. 1955. An evaluation of Massachusetts’ trout stream

fishery. Proc. Northeast Sect. Am. Fish. Soc., 1955.

Newell, Arthur E. 1953. Trout stream investigations. Quarterly Prog. Rept.,

N. H. Project D.-J F-5-R-1, April.

- . 1956. Trout stream management investigations in Swift River,

Albany, New Hampshire. Contr. D.-J. Proj. F-5-R, N. H. Fish and Game

Dept .

Rupp, Robert S. 1955. Studies of the eastern brook trout population and

fishery in Sunkhaze Stream, Maine. Jour. Wildl. Mgt., 19, pp. 336-345.

Shetter, David S. 1944. Anglers catches from portions of certain Michigan

trout streams in 1939 and 1940, with a discussion of indices to angling

quality. Pap. Mich . Aca. Sci., Arts and Lett., 29, pp. 305-312.

.

A NINE-YEAR STUDY OF FALL WATERFOWL MIGRATION1

ON UNIVERSITY BAY, MADISON, WISCONSIN

PART I

S. Tenison Dillon

Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management ,

University of Wisconsin , Madison

This paper presents a consolidation and analysis of nine years’

observations on the fall waterfowl migration through University

Bay. The purpose is an evaluation of the area as a local waterfowl

refuge.

The data were gathered by students carrying out a project assign¬

ment for a course in Wildlife Management Techniques directed by

Dr. Robert A. McCabe of the Department of Forestry and Wildlife

Management of the University of Wisconsin. The students and the

periods of their participation (dates inclusive) are as follows:

Paul F. Springer _ September 28-December 22, 1946

Frederick Greeley _ October 1-December 8, 1947

William H. Kiel, Jr _ October 6-December 24, 1948

Laurence R. Jahn _ September 23-December 28, 1949

Keith L. White _ September 25-December 11, 1950

Robert S. Dorney and

H. Jay Hosford _ September 28-December 10, 1951

S. T. Dillon _ September 24-December 12, 1952

Alexander Dzubin _ October 5-December 21, 1953

George V. Burger _ October 2-December 23, 1954

The average annual observation period covers eighty days and

extends from September 29 through December 17.

Common and scientific names of waterfowl used throughout this

paper are given in Appendix A. Scientific names follow Delacour

and Mayr (1945) and the fourth edition of the AOU check list of

North American birds (1931). Common names follow local usage.

Invertebrate animal nomenclature (Appendix B) is after Pennak

(1953). The identification of invertebrates was carried to varying

levels of classification by the authorities cited. Thus a single com¬

mon name might refer to anything from a genus to a phylum

depending upon the extent to which the taxonomy of the animal

was worked out. In those instances where such confusion was pos¬

sible, the common name is followed in text by the appropriate

scientific designation.

1 Journal Paper No. 33, University of Wisconsin Arboretum.

31

32 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

R 9 E

_ _ _ BOUNDARY UNIVERSITY BAY GAME REFUGE

. EASTERN BOUNDARY BAY STUDY AREA

A ALICE YOUNG, 1941

B ALICE YOUNG, 1939

C JOHN OLIN, 1909

D STEVENS and FULLER, 1909

E JOHN and CHRISTINA BREITENBACH, 1909

F THOMAS ISOM . 1908

G UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS CO, , 1895

H WILLIAM ALBERS, 1905

I ROBY and STEVENS , 1866

J ELIZABETH HAIGHT, 1866

Figure 1. Acquisition map of the land adjacent to University Bay showing

the areas purchased, person (s) selling and the date of the deed transferring

ownership to the University of Wisconsin. The boundaries of the University

Bay Game Refuge and the University Bay study area are also shown.

1956]

Dillon — University Bay Fowl

33

Plant nomenclature, given in Appendix C, follows Fernald

(1950). Where no common name was given, the plant is referred

to in text by its scientific name.

THE AREA

University Bay, situated within the metropolitan area of Madi¬

son (a city of 96,000 people according to the 1950 census), is close

to the center of considerable human activity. It is approximately

one and one-half miles from the State Capitol building and is

slightly less than one-half mile from the Forest Products Labora¬

tory and a Veterans Hospital capable of holding 486 patients. It is

bounded on the north by a projection of land approximately one-

half mile long known as Picnic Point, on the east by the open water

of Lake Mendota, on the south by University Bay Drive and the

athletic fields of the University of Wisconsin and on the west by

the Drive and an eighty-acre reclaimed marsh (known as Univer¬

sity Marsh), now a part of the University Experimental Farm.

For the purposes of this study, University Bay includes that

body of water lying west of a line extending almost due south from

the tip of Picnic Point to the University Residence Halls for men

HISTORY

Land Acquisition , Development and Use. The land forming three

sides of University Bay and including University Marsh was

acquired by the University in a series of purchases from 1866 to

1941. The individual purchases, the person (s) from whom the land

was purchased and the date of the deed transferring title to the

University are shown in Figure 1. The purchase of Picnic Point in

two sections is of particular interest since it had a direct bearing

on the use of the Bay by hunters, as will be described later. The

outer Point and an easement for access were purchased in 1939. It

was not until 1941 that the University acquired the land at the base

of the Point.

In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, the land in the vicinity of

University Bay was farmed except for those areas too marshy to

support livestock or machinery. At that time the land produced

primarily hay and feed grains. Since its purchase by the Univer¬

sity, the area has been developed largely as an experimental farm

but it is used by many departments other than those in the College

of Agriculture.

One of the more difficult phases of this development was the

drainage of University Marsh. In 1910, when drainage was first

considered, the surface water of this marsh was level with that of

Lake Mendota and rose and fell with it. The surface stratum con-

FIGURE 2

LAND-USE MAP OF THE AREA

AROUND UNIVERSITY BAY

34

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

1956]

Dillon — University Bay Fowl

35

sisted of a layer of peat from one to six feet deep. This was under¬

lain by a thin marl bed blending in places into silt or clay beneath

which was water-bearing sand with artesian pressures so great that

water would stand in a pipe two feet above the marsh surface

(Elliott, Jones and Zeasman, 1921). The vegetation at this time

consisted of cattail, willow, wiregrass and blue joint.

The first attempts to drain the area consisted of open ditches

which conducted the water to a central reservoir. The water was

then pumped under University Bay Drive, which acts as a levee,

into the lake. This method proved ineffective as did a briefly-

installed, geared windmill which operated a water-bucket elevator.

In 1914 experiments in tiling and pumping with an electric

motor were begun and proved so effective that on May 8 of that

year the first plowing was done on a portion of the Bay-level marsh.

Tiling was completed in 1921 and remains as part of the drainage

system in use today.

Corn is grown on most of this drained land for economic reasons

but timothy, buckwheat and various truck crops can be and have

been raised on small areas. Most of the corn is cut as silage and,

with proper fertilization, yields of sixteen to twenty-two tons per

acre may be obtained. The fertilizer used is almost entirely manure

from the University dairy barns. A superabundance is available

for use on University lands, consequently it is spread periodically

throughout the year. In addition to its value as fertilizer, it is a

fall and winter food source for wildlife on the area. This includes

flights of Mallards and Black Ducks from the Bay.

The general land-use pattern in the immediate vicinity of Uni¬

versity Bay as of the winter of 1954-55 is shown in Figure 2. The

two beds of emergent vegetation (hard-stem bulrush) shown along

the gravel bar in the Bay are not visible in the winter but I include

them on this map because of their prominence during the fall

waterfowl migration.

Hunting and Trapping. Much of the following information con¬

cerning hunting and trapping on and around University Bay was

contributed by A. C. Breitenbach of 1218 University Bay Drive.

Mr. Breitenbach spent his boyhood on a farm just west of Univer¬

sity Marsh and hunted the Bay consistently until its incorporation

into a refuge.

Although better shooting was to be had elsewhere on Lake Men-

dota, Picnic Point and University Bay were long considered excel¬

lent wildfowling spots. The Point offered good pass shooting and

the secluded Bay, with its abundance of plant foods, provided excep¬

tional decoy shooting. Gunning pressure on the Bay during the

early 1900,s, however, was light when compared with today’s stand¬

ards. Usually the local residents were occupied with the serious

36 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

business of farming and hunted only on week-ends. Probably no

more than ten or twelve persons, representing some four families,

hunted the Bay regularly. They took their ducks from four more

or less permanent blinds situated in the bulrush beds along the bar

and from a number of temporary blinds at the pump-house inlet

and along the south shore of Picnic Point. Occasionally hunters

from town would converge on the Point to take advantage of a

heavy flight and, on such days, as many as twenty-five to thirty

gunners would take stands along its length.

Lesser Scaup and Ring-necked Ducks were shot in greatest num¬

bers. Other diving ducks such as the Canvas-back, Redhead, Buffle-

head and American Golden-eye were taken in smaller numbers.

Among the dabbling ducks, Mallards, Baldpate, Blue-winged Teal,

Black Ducks and a rare Pintail were bagged. I have no data on the

actual numbers of waterfowl taken on the Bay, but I assume they

were large as Wisconsin waterfowl seasons were then long (3-4

months) and bag limits generous (15-20 ducks per man per day).

Gunning ceased on University Bay when it was included in a

game refuge established by the Wisconsin Conservation Depart¬

ment at the request of the University of Wisconsin Regents. This,

however, was not accomplished in one step. First action was taken

around 1927 but, since the University was not in possession of all

the land around the Bay, hunting continued. Five years later the

commission order was renewed, but hunting went on as Picnic Point

was yet privately owned. In 1942, after the acquisition of the lower

Point, this order was rescinded and replaced by Wisconsin Con¬

servation Commission Order GR-520 which provided for the inclu¬

sion of Picnic Point and University Bay in the refuge. Since that

time two revisions of the order have appeared, the last of which

(GR-520, Rev. 2) became effective September 22, 1944, and pro¬

vided for the setting aside of some 692 acres to be known as “the

University Bay Game Refuge” established . . for the purpose of

providing safe retreats for game and game birds in which they may

rest and replenish adjacent hunting grounds, thereby promoting

a successful wildlife program and insuring to the citizens of this

state better opportunities for hunting and recreation through an

adequate supply of game. ...”

The approximate boundaries of the refuge, legally described in

Wisconsin Conservation Commission Order GR-520 (Rev. 2), are

shown in Figure 1.

Trapping before University Marsh was drained must have been

profitable for the marsh was apparently quite productive. Mr.

Breitenbach tells me that Indians used to camp in the area during

the winters of the late 1800’s and take muskrats ( Ondatra

zibethica) with spears. In the early 1900’s, I am told, two men har-

1956]

Dillon— University Bay Fowl

37

vested some 600 muskrats from the area in one season, and often

Mr. Breitenbach and his son have taken 100 or more during a sea¬

son’s trapping. A few individuals still practice limited trapping

around the shores of Lake Mendota, but this does not interfere

with its use by waterfowl.

An additional activity which does influence the use of the Bay

by waterfowl is fishing. This sport is extremely popular during the

fall months and the passage of boats through the Bay is often a

source of considerable disturbance. The west shore of the Bay is

one of the few remaining points of public access to the lake, conse¬

quently use is heavy. As many as eighty-six boats are kept over

winter along this shore and many more enter and leave the water

here during the height of the fall season.

Physical Description . University Bay, as delineated by Figure 1,

covers approximately 180 acres (0.28 square miles). The area of

Lake Mendota is 15,2 square miles.

Hydrographic maps of Lake Mendota for the years 1900 and

1953, obtained from the University of Wisconsin Geology Library,

show the greatest water depth in the bay to be between forty-five

and fifty feet. The maximum depth of Lake Mendota is about eighty

feet. These maps also show some changes in bottom configuration

that have taken place in the fifty-three years represented. The

gradient along the south shore of Picnic Point is apparently becom¬

ing steeper while that east of the gravel bar is becoming more

gentle. There have been some shifts in the deep-water zones also

buf these are, for the most part, outside of the Bay. One would

expect wave action and lake currents gradually to steepen the shore¬

line along the Point. The decrease in the gradient along the bar is

probably due to the deposition of silt entering the Bay at the south¬

west corner from University Creek. This creek drains some 1900

residential acres north and west of the Bay. The per cent of the

total bottom area of the Bay found within ' each contour interval

(Table 1) indicates a general trend toward increasing shallowness.

The map of 1900 also provides topographic coverage of the land

immediately adjacent to Lake Mendota. It shows ten-foot contour

intervals and is based upon a lake-level datum plane of 846 feet

above sea level. This map shows two heights with a lowland marsh

bordering the Bay between. Southeast of the Bay the “college hills”

rise 110 and 120 feet above the lake. To the northwest, at the base

-of Picnic Point, the land rises eighty feet above the lake. The marsh

between (University Marsh) lies entirely within the ten-foot con¬

tour interval. Another smaller marsh, the “Indian Pond”, is shown

at the base of the Point. Picnic Point is only a few feet above lake

level at its narrowest but rises to twenty feet at each extremity.

38 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

TABLE 1

BOTTOM AREA BETWEEN WATER-DEPTH CONTOURS IN UNIVERSITY BAY

FOR 1900 AND 1953

Aquatic Vegetation. In general the species and distribution of

submerged and floating-leaved aquatic plants in any body of water

depends upon the bottom characteristics, water depth and fertility

and light transmission. In the case of University Bay, another

factor is operating. This is the leeching of nutrients from the

heavily-fertilized University Marsh cornfield and their subsequent

deposition into the Bay via the drainage pump. This has undoubt¬

edly affected the density and distribution of aquatic plant growth

in the Bay, but how and to what extent is not known.

The bottom of University Bay west of the gravel bar is filling

with silt and plant detritus. To the east the bottom changes from

coarse gravel on the bar to sandy-mud and finally to debris-filled

mud. Along the south side of Picnic Point a rocky, gravelly shore

slopes to depths of eight to ten meters (Andrews, 1946).

Water depth and light transmission combine to limit plant

growth to a zone above the “compensation point” indicated by

Ruttner (1953, p. 127) to be that depth at which light intensity is

approximately one per cent of the light intensity at the surface. It

is at this depth that photo-synthesis during the day just balances

or slightly exceeds respiration at night. This is, of course, a fluc¬

tuating zone since it is a function of light intensity and transmis¬

sion properties of the water. In Lake Mendota this zone is usually

placed at depths of about five to six meters (Muttkowski, 1918;

Denniston, 1921; Rickett, 1921). Muttkowski termed the bottom

area included between the water depths of zero and six meters the

1956]

Dillon — University Bay Fowl

39

“eulittoral zone” and Table 1 shows that in 1953 about 62% of the

bottom area of the Bay fell within this zone.

Early work by Muttkowski (op. cit.) indicated no definite zona-

tion of submergent or floating-leaved aquatic plants in Lake Men-

dota with the exception of one area located . . along the western

end of the bar in University Bay. Here a zone of pure Chara is

followed by submerged hummocks of Lemna, this in turn by Myrio-

phyllum and Ceratophyllum, and finally by Potamogeton ampli-

folium.” He also noted a “secondary zonation” involving “upright

plants” such as pondweed and wild celery, the leaves of which

reached the surface of the water but did not emerge and “recum¬

bent plants” that remained submerged such as coontail and water

milfoil.

These earlier works have shown the following plants to be

characteristic of Lake Mendota :

Shoreline- — filamentous algae (Cladophora and Spirogyra) .

Eulittoral zone — bushy pondweed, various other pondweeds, wild

celery, muskgrass, coontail and water milfoil.

Marsh, pond, river and creek mouth — duckweed, hard-stem bul¬

rush, cattail, bladderwort, crowfoot and water lily.

The most recent intensive study of the macroscopic flora and

fauna of University Bay was done in the summers of 1939, 1940,

1941 and 1946 by Andrews (op. cit.). Much of the following infor¬

mation concerning plant species and distribution on the Bay is

from his work. It should be noted that Andrews considered the

“eulittoral zone” of Muttkowski to extend only to a depth of four

meters, which included about 56% of the bottom area of the Bay

in 1953 (Table 1).

Plants characteristic of the marshes at the two inlets to the Bay

and the shallows nearby include cattail, bur reed, white water lily,

curly-leafed pondweed and duckweed. On the mucky bottoms inside

the bar are found waterweed, water milfoil, Potamogeton angusti-

folius, floating brown-leaf, sago pondweed, clasping-leaf pondweed

and horned pondweed. On the bar, among the beds of hardstem bul¬

rush, grow bushy pondweed, muskgrass and P. angustifolius. In

the deeper waters outside the bar and along the gravelly north shore

of the Bay are found large-leaf pondweed, whitestem pondweed

and flat-stem pondweed. Plants such as coontail, muskgrass, knotty

pondweed, crowfoot and wild celery are found distributed through¬

out the “eulittoral zone” of the Bay. American lotus was intro¬

duced into the Bay in the early 1930’s as one bed near the mouth

of University Creek. This bed has spread considerably since the

original planting.

40 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

White (1950) presented a figure drawn by Edward Koppe of the

University of Wisconsin Botany Department depicting the distri¬

bution of aquatics in University Bay. This figure is apparently

based on Andrews’ work as three of his sample transects are shown.

During February and March of 1946, Andrews (op. cit.) sam¬

pled flora and fauna through the ice along six transects extending

out into the Bay. At this time crowfoot and whitestem pondweed

were green indicating active growth. Muskgrass was brown or

black and coontail and large-leaf pondweed showed summer growth

that had maintained itself over winter. Specialized overwintering

structures included winter buds of curly-leafed pondweed, flat-stem

pondweed and wild celery and turions of water milfoil. In April

filamentous algae such as Cladophora and Spiro gyra covered the

shoreline and blanketed certain segments of the Bay. By May,

turions of water milfoil began to grow, and this plant became domi¬

nant for a month. A month later, clasping-leaf pondweed, knotty

pondweed, whitestem pondweed and coontail became conspicuous,

mixed with the water milfoil beds. The muskgrass beds on both

sides of the bar were thick by mid- June and the beds of hardstem

bulrush flowered.

By July pondweeds were replacing water milfoil in the shallows

but dense beds of the latter persisted in deep, cool waters indicat¬

ing that summer succession may be delayed there. Mid- July found

most of the pondweeds in flower. By August 1, wild celery was the

dominant plant in the Bay, and a month later the Bay held its

greatest densities of wild celery and pondweeds. The plants of wild

celery had broken off by October and floated to the shore. The

broad-leafed pondweeds were disintegrating such that by Novem¬

ber only stems, debris and a few plants were left in water up to

six feet deep. In deeper waters, water milfoil, clasping-leaf pond¬

weed and whitestem pondweed were still vigorous. The muskgrass

beds near the bar had been loosened and piled up by heavy winds

but dense beds were still intact in deep water.

Ice usually covers the Bay during the first weeks of December.

Thus, the aquatics most prominent in the Bay from September to

December are wild celery, various pondweeds, water milfoil and

muskgrass. All of these plants are of considerable value as food

for nearly all of the species of ducks involved in this study, as well

as for Coots. Both fruiting and vegetative parts are eaten (Cottam,

1939; Martin and Uhler, 1939; Martin, Zim and Nelson, 1951).

Among those species of ducks considered in this paper only the

American Golden-eye and Buffle-head eat more animal than plant

food in the fall and winter (Martin, Zim and Nelson, ibid) . The

fact that by November most of the plant beds have disintegrated or

have been uprooted does not detract from their food value. The

1956]

Dillon — University Bay Fowl

41

tubers and roots are still available on the bottom and the seeds and

vegetative parts are present in windrows along the shore. An addi¬

tional source of food, especially for the Mallards and Black Ducks,

is the freshly spread manure and harvest-waste corn found just

west of the Bay.

There appears to be no shortage of plant food for the fall flights

of waterfowl on University Bay.

Aquatic Invertebrates. Muttkowski (op. cit.) in addition to his

“eulittoral zone”, defined a “sublittoral” and “aphytal zone.” This

differentiation indicates a diversity of environment that determines

to a large extent the species and distribution of invertebrate ani¬

mals within Lake Mendota. The “eulittoral” or zone of plant growth

supports animal life different from that found in the ‘‘sublittoral

zone” of accumulating refuse or the “aphytal zone” of decomposi¬

tion and periodic anaerobic conditions. Muttkowski found the fol¬

lowing animals to be characteristically associated with the “up¬

right” and “recumbent” plants of the “eulittoral zone” of Lake

Mendota: freshwater jellyfish, flatworms, aquatic earthworms

(Class Oligochaeta) , mayfly larvae and nymphs, caddis fly larvae

(Leptocella sp.) and various midges. Scuds or sideswimmers

(Hyalella sp.) and water mites ( Hydrachna sp.) were especially

numerous. In the “sublittoral zone” such tube builders and bur-

rowers as caddis fly larvae ( Leptocerus sp.) and aquatic earth¬

worms (Limnodrilus and Tubifex sp.) were common. In the

“aphytal zone” phantom midges and water mites ( Limnesia sp.)

were found as well as various oxygen storing midges ( Tendipes sp.)

TABLE 2

PRODUCTIVITY RATINGS OF SOME AQUATIC PLANTS OF LAKE MENDOTA

(Data from Andrews and Hasler, 1943)

42 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

The “euiittoral zone” is by far the most productive of inverte¬

brate animal life. Andrews and Hasler (1943), in sampling the

flora and fauna of Lake Mendota in 1939, found certain aquatic

plants to be more productive than others. Their findings are

presented in Table 2.

These writers suggest that coontail and water milfoil are most

productive because they possess the “most dissected surface area.”

Considering total numbers alone, Andrews (op. cit., Table 17)

determined the order of importance among animals of the plant

zone of University Bay to be :

1) sideswimmers ( Hyalella sp.)

2) midge larvae (Tendipes sp.)

3) mayfly nymph

4) caddis fly larvae

5) aquatic earthworms (phylum Annelida)

6) leeches

7 ) water mites ( Hydrachna sp. )

8) snails

Hundreds of thousands of animals per kilogram of dry plant

material were found by Andrews.

Muttkowski ( op. cit.) has presented a description of the seasonal

succession of animal life in Lake Mendota. The close relation be¬

tween the increase and decline of aquatic plant and invertebrate

animal numbers should be noted.

According to United States Weather Bureau records at Truax

Airport, Madison, the ninety-seven-year (1851-52 to 1954-55) aver¬

age date of the ice break up on Lake Mendota is April 6. Soon after

this occurs, midges ( Tendipes sp.) emerge from the water. In early

May the migration of the fishfly larvae begins and by mid-May the

adults are extremely numerous on overhanging branches. Early in

June the mayfly emergence begins and by mid- June the flights are

largely over. The summer succession is characterized by periodic

flights of the phantom midge. These flights, occurring at about ten-

day intervals, reach their peak in mid- July but last until mid-

September. In late June and early July the caddis fly larvae which

pupated in late May and early June leave their cases and become

conspicuous as adults.

The peak of the invertebrate faunal development comes in late

August and early September when the caddis fly eggs laid in July

hatch. These flies attain their full size in late August. At the same

time many of the small aquatic earth worms (class Oligochaeta)

become prominent. This population growth is of such magnitude

that it seems as though every plant in the “euiittoral zone” of Lake

Mendota must be covered with these animals. This increase in num-

1956]

Dillon — - University Bay Fowl

43

bers is paralleled to a lesser extent in flatworms, leeches, and water

mites (Hydrachna sp.) . Mayflies also are especially numerous at

this time as are certain species of the genus Tendipes which reach

their larval maxima. By mid-September the autumnal decline in

the invertebrate population begins. Some species within the

“aphytal zone” are stimulated to new activity by the increased

oxygen supply brought about by the recirculation of lake waters.

Also certain midges ( Tendipes sp.) pupate and fishflies migrate to

the bottom. In general, however, autumn storms cause widespread

destruction among the invertebrates. Waves deposit plants and

animals alike in windrows along the shores such that by late No¬

vember the entire plant zone is almost stripped clean. As the lake

waters become colder, animal activity diminishes and the period of

winter dormancy sets in.

The cycle of invertebrate animal activity is rapidly declining in

University Bay when the heaviest flights of waterfowl arrive. This

would apparently produce a lack of available animal food. Only two

of the species of ducks involved in this study might be affected by

this apparent shortage — the American Golden-eye and Buffle-head.

These species feed largely upon sideswimmers (order Amphipoda) ,

shrimp, snails, caddis fly larvae, dragonfly nymphs and mayflies

during the fall and winter (Cottam, op . cit. ; Martin, Zim and Nel¬

son, op cit.). It may be that these ducks secure their animal foods

from the shoreline windrows or from the bottom in an inactive

state. They may, on the other hand, become predominantly plant

feeders under local conditions where animal foods are not available.

Use by Waterfowl. Waterfowl-use patterns on University Bay

have been discussed in reports by Burger (1954), Dillon (195,2),

Dzubin (1953) and White (1950) in relation to available plant

food, weather conditions and the progressing season. Of these three

factors the distribution of available aquatic food plants is probably

the most important in determining the distribution of waterfowl

on the Bay. As has already been pointed out, the aquatic plants

most numerous in the Bay during the late fall are wild celery, vari¬

ous pondweeds, water milfoil and muskgrass. Of these, wild celery

is the most abundant. All of these plants are well distributed west

of the bar and along the south shore of Picnic Point. Some of the

long-stem pondweeds grow profusely east of the bar up to water

depths of five to seven meters.

The aforementioned reports suggest a close correlation between

this plant distribution and the fall distribution of waterfowl on the

Bay. Dabbling ducks generally restrict their activities to the bul¬

rush beds along the bar, the marshy areas adjacent to the two in¬

lets and to the shallows along the south shore of the Point. The

diving ducks also frequent these areas but are often seen in the

44 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

deeper water east of the bar and off the University Residence Halls

for men. Coots associate with both diving and dabbling ducks.

Weather conditions, particularly strong winds, probably influ¬

ence local waterfowl movements more than their actual distribu¬

tion on the Bay. In any event winds become a factor only when

blowing from the north, northeast or east. Since prevailing winds

in this area are westerly, this does not happen too often (three out

of thirty-five observation days in 1952). When such winds do blow

strongly, waterfowl within the Bay tend to move more freely, par¬

ticularly the diving ducks. Coots and dabbling ducks remain close

to the bulrush beds on the bar or in the shelter of lee shores. Move¬

ment between these areas, however, is frequent. On very calm days

waterfowl of all species present tend to gather on the open waters

of the lake. This may reflect a preference on their part or it may be

the result of disturbance by the generally increased boat traffic

under such conditions.

The progressing season affects the distribution of waterfowl in

as much as the formation of ice on the Bay forces the ducks out

into the lake. Ice usually begins forming inside the bar during the

last two weeks of November and, by the end of the first week in

December, this area is usually closed except, possibly, for small

openings around the two inlets. Ice formation then progresses out

into the Bay and lake until Lake Mendota is entirely covered. The

average date of closure is December 19 over the period from

1851-52 through 1954-55 according to United States Weather

Bureau records at Truax Airport. This progressive freezing poses

no special problem for the Coots and diving ducks but it deprives

the dabbling ducks of much of their shallow-water feeding areas.

As a result, the Mallards and Black Ducks apparently rely upon the

manure and corn found immediately west of the Bay.

THE STUDY

Field Procedure. Materials used as census aids in this study were

a twenty-power Bausch and Lomb spotting scope fitted for mount¬

ing either upon a portable tripod or the glass pane of an automo¬

bile window, a hand counter, binoculars and some type of notebook

or tally sheet. Various field guides (Peterson, 1947; Kortright,

1942) were used for identification of waterfowl.

Counts were made either on foot or from an automobile using

vantage points along University Bay Drive and Picnic Point. The

observation posts varied little from year to year. Most counts were

made between eight and ten A.M., although some afternoon counts

were taken and, in a few instances, afternoon recounts were made

1956]

Dillon — University Bay Fowl

45

as checks on the morning tallies. The observers maintained an aver¬

age of one count every 2.6 days over the average annual observation

period of eighty days.

Each observer attempted to record the total number of water-

fowl of each sex (where possible) of each species. Each duck was

counted separately when possible, but estimates became necessary

when large flocks or groups of actively feeding diving ducks were

encountered. In addition, records were kept on waterfowl-use and

flight patterns and duck reaction to local weather conditions and

disturbance. Notes were also taken describing a number of other

items such as courtship behavior and feeding habits, which I shall

not enlarge upon in this paper.

Field difficulties were encountered which, no doubt, reduce the

accuracy of the data obtained. For example, it is difficult to dis¬

tinguish by sight the sexes of early migrants of such species as the

Blue-winged Teal and Baldpate. In such species as the American

Golden-eye, Buffle-head, Hooded Merganser and American Mer¬

ganser in which the young do not acquire their adult plumage until

the fall or early winter of their second year of life (Kortright, op.

cit.) , sex ratios were recorded as the number of adult males to juve¬

nile males plus females. No attempts were made to sex individual

Black Ducks or Coots. Other field difficulties included disturbance

through human activity in the area and factors which limited visi¬

bility such as thermal currents, wave action, fog and haze.

An additional source of error, affecting only the 1951 data, is

the inconsistency of the description of the area comprising Univer¬

sity Bay. In this year the observers considered the eastern boundary

of the Bay to be a line extending from the south end of the gravel

bar to the tip of Picnic Point. This reduced the area of the Bay by

approximately 10-15 per cent and excluded an unknown number of

ducks and Coots from that year’s counts.

Data Used . The results of nine years of fall observations on Uni¬

versity Bay are shown in Table 3. I have also drawn upon aerial

survey data for the years 1951-54, inclusive, supplied me by Mr.

L. R. Jahn of the Wisconsin Conservation Department. These data

represent waterfowl counts on Lakes Mendota, Waubesa and

Kegonsa (which I shall hereafter refer to as the “three lakes”)

and are presented as cumulative totals in Table 4. Madison lies

along the south shore of Lake Mendota. Lake Waubesa is located

some five miles southeast of Madison and Lake Kegonsa lies

approximately ten miles southeast of the city. Aerial surveys were

conducted on an average of once every 9.4 days over an average

annual observation period of sixty-six days which extended from

September 25 through November 29.

46 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

TABLE 3

TOTAL NUMBERS OF WATERFOWL RECORDED DURING FALL

OBSERVATIONS ON UNIVERSITY BAY, 1946-1954

*Species considered “common” on the Bay.

1956]

Dillon— University Bay Fowl

47

TABLE 3 — Continued

*Species considered “common” on the Bay.

48 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

TABLE 3 — Continued

*Species considered “common” on the Bay.

1956]

Dillon — University Bay Fowl

49

TABLE 4

TOTAL NUMBERS OF WATERFOWL RECORDED DURING FALL AERIAL

SURVEYS OVER LAKES MENDOTA, WAUBESA AND KEGONSA,

DANE COUNTY, WISCONSIN, 1951-1954

(Data Contributed by L. R. Jahn, Wisconsin Conservation Department)

50 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

A far greater percentage of the total number of waterfowl using

the “three lakes” during the falls of 1951-54 appeared on Lake

Mendota than on either of the others. This relation (Table 5) holds

in general for each species as well.

TABLE 5

PER CENT OP WATERFOWL APPEARING ON EACH OF THE

“THREE LAKES”, 1951-195 4

I present these Conservation Department data as a natural com¬

plement to the University Bay material which alone does not pro¬

vide a complete picture of the fall waterfowl flight through the

Madison area. I do not intend to compare or contrast these data

since the areas on which they were gathered are ecologically differ¬

ent as waterfowl habitat ; rather I shall use them to supplement

one another in attempting to show how waterfowl use the University

Bay Refuge.

Species Present. Twenty-three species of waterfowl (ducks,

geese, swans and coot) were seen on the Bay at some time during

the field periods of this study. Of these, only eleven species are

what I shall call “common.” As used here, this designation means

that any one of these eleven species of waterfowl was seen on

approximately one-half or more of the total number of observation

days during at least four of the eight years involved (1946 is

omitted for lack of sufficient data). It also means that each of these

species was represented by a cumulative total of at least 100 indi¬

viduals during the observation periods of at least five of the com¬

plete series of nine years. The eleven “common” species are

designated in Table 3 by an asterisk.

The adoption of these criteria eliminates from our serious con¬

sideration a number of species which may be seen each fall on the

Bay and, on occasion, in relatively large numbers. The Blue-winged

Teal, for example, is fairly abundant in fall migration but arrives

so early (mid-September) that much of the flight was past each

year by the time field observations got well underway. Species such

as the Pintail and Green-winged Teal may be seen on the Bay over

a period of several weeks but usually in small numbers. The Hooded

1956]

Dillon — - University Bay Fowl

51

Merganser and Redhead, particularly the latter, almost qualify as

“common” species. The remaining “uncommon” species visit the

Bay only occasionally in small numbers.

Canada Geese and occasionally Blue Geese, Snow Geese and

Whistling Swans alight on the “three lakes” in the fall, but they

are seldom seen on the Bay (Tables 3 and 4). One Whistling Swan

was seen on the Bay on five successive occasions. A swan was first

seen in the fall of 1950 at which time it was in the grey juvenile

plumage described by Kortright (op. cit.). J. J. Hickey and R. A.

McCabe of the Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management,

University of Wisconsin saw a Whistling Swan in similar plumage

on the Bay in the spring of 1951. The following fall a swan again

appeared, this time in somewhat whiter plumage. This lighter

plumage was similar to that of the Whistling Swan reported on the

Bay by Hickey and McCabe in the spring of 1952. I saw a swan in

adult plumage on the Bay the following fall. This sequence led to

considerable speculation among observers that this might be the

same individual returning and that a tradition might be in the

making. To my knowledge, however, no swans have been observed

on the Bay since the fall of 1952.

Excluding geese and swans, a cumulative total of 258,506 water-

fowl was recorded on the Bay during this study (Table 3). This is

i undoubtedly a maximum estimate as it was impossible to distin¬

guish ducks and coots which has been counted on a previous visit

from those which had not. In any event, this cumulative total rep¬

resents a rate of use of this 180-acre body of water of approxi¬

mately 360 ducks and coots for each day of the eighty-day average

annual observation period during each of the nine years covered

by this study. Actually the average length of time that waterfowl

are present on the Bay each fall probably approaches 100 days

since the first Blue-winged Teal and Wood Ducks usually arrive in

the state by mid-September (Barger, et al , 1942) .

Other species of ducks which find their way to Wisconsin’s inland

lakes, but which have not been reported on University Bay by

observers participating in this study are the Old-squaw, Common

(American) Scoter and the Surf Scoter. These ducks frequent the

open waters of Lake Michigan some seventy-five miles east of

Madison and are occasionally seen on the larger inland waters

where they are apparently becoming more common (Kumlien and

Hollister, revised, 1951). As evidence of this, Nero (1950) and

Nero and Hunt (1954) report Dane County and Madison-area Surf

and American Scoter records. Also the Wisconsin Conservation

Department aerial survey team recorded two Old-squaw on Lake

Kegonsa on December 4, 1954,

52 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

Another species, the Greater Scaup, is a regular migrant on the

larger, inland lakes of Wisconsin but is much less numerous than

the Lesser Scaup. Sight and bag records indicate that the ratio is

about 50:1 (Schorger, 1929). I am informed by Mrs. R. A. Walker,

president of the Madison Audubon Society (personal conversation),

that Greater Scaup are identified each year on the Bay. On only one

occasion, however, have observers participating in this study made

any distinction between these two species (Dorney and Hosford,

1951).

Population Trends. An examination of Tables 3 and 4 provides

an overall picture of waterfowl population trends on University

Bay and the “three lakes” and enables one to make some ecological

as well as numerical observations. It must be remembered, how¬

ever, that these tables present cumulative totals which do not allow

for the annual discrepancies in the number of observation days.

These totals must be converted to a per-observation-day level before

comparisons can be made.

One of the more obvious trends in the University Bay data is the

tendency toward an annual increase in the total number of water-

fowl. This represents an average annual rate of increase of 29 per

cent. The “three lakes” data, although covering only four years

(1951-1954), also conform to this trend, the rate of increase in

this case being 54 per cent. The average annual rate of increase on

the Bay for the corresponding period of time is 22 per cent. A fur¬

ther examination of Table 3 shows that, with the exception of the

Mallard, diving ducks — more specifically Scaup sp., Canvas-back,

Ring-necked Duck and Buffie-head — and Coot are largely respon¬

sible for the increases on the Bay. This is interesting in view of

the fact that University Bay is apparently better dabbling than

diving duck habitat, as is indicated by the relative total numbers of

each group using the Bay each fall (Table 3). Furthermore, this

trend toward an annual increase in these species was sharply accen¬

tuated on the Bay in the last two or, in the case of the Coot, three

years of the study.

There are two probable explanations for this :

(1) Ecological changes in the Bay such that it has gradually

become more attractive to diving ducks. This should also include

the corollary hypothesis that ecological changes might also have

occurred in the preferred, open-water habitat of these ducks such

that it has gradually become less attractive to them, thereby encour¬

aging their use of marginal habitat as represented by the Bay.

Ecological changes have taken place in the Bay, but in such a

way that would seem to favor dabbling rather than diving ducks.

For example, the progressive lessening of water depths as a result

1956]

Dillon — University Bay Foivl

53

of the deposition of silt entering primarily through University

Creek (Table 1). It may be that nutrients draining into the Bay

from the heavily fertilized field immediately to the west have stimu¬

lated production of plant and animal foods preferred by diving

ducks, but I do not know this to be true. There is some evidence

that temporary conditions may exist on Lake Mendota that might

increase diving-duck use of its bays. This will be discussed as a

“food-relation” hypothesis later.

(2) Gradually increasing Mississippi Fly way populations of the

species concerned with 1953 and 1954 (also 1952 in the case of the

Coot) being particularly favorable nesting and/or rearing seasons.

We may assess this possibility to some degree by referring to the

fall migration issues of Audubon Field Notes (January, 1947 and

1948; February, 1949-1954) and to U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service

data compiled by Williams (1952 and 1953) and Crissey (1954).

Observations contributed to Audubon Field Notes from the

“Western Great Lakes Region” (“Middle-western Region” prior to

1949), which includes Wisconsin, indicate a generally increasing

fall waterfowl flight from 1947-1948 to 1952-1954. Zimmerman

(1947) has also shown that the 1946 fall waterfowl flight through

Wisconsin was not heavy. Specifically, increases were noted in the

Mallard and Baldpate in 1949; Green-winged Teal in 1950 (an

early flight, however) ; Blue-winged Teal, Gadwall and Baldpate in

1952 and Canvas-back in 1953. At Seney Refuge, Germfask, Michi¬

gan, Black Ducks and Ring-necked Ducks increased in 1951 while

Buffle-head and Common Golden-eyes were “scarce.” In general

these trends were also apparent on University Bay (Table 3).

The Fish and Wildlife Service data concern the status of the

continental waterfowl populations for 1952, 1953 and 1954. Sepa¬

rate discussions are presented for each flyway combining kill data,

mid-winter inventories (January) and breeding-ground surveys

(May to July). The data compiled by Williams (1953) and Crissey

(op. cit.) have not been officially published and are included in this

paper by permission of Mr. J. P. Linduska, U. S. Fish and Wildlife

Service, Washington, D. C. The data have not been edited and are

subject to correction.

There are two alternatives in handling this information. One is

to consider the breeding-ground surveys as a forecast of the fall

flight for the same year and the other is to consider these surveys

plus the mid-winter inventories as an index of the fall flight of the

preceding year less hunting season mortality. The second alterna¬

tive seems the more desirable since the breeding-ground surveys

usually present an incomplete picture of the juvenile segment of

the population which will form an important part of the fall flight

for that year. Therefore, in the following tables and discussion, the

54 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

1952, 1953 and 1954 Fish and Wildlife Service data will be pre¬

sented under the years 1951, 1952 and 1953, respectively.

Considering all species of ducks together, Fish and Wildlife Serv¬

ice surveys indicate a general increase in the Mississippi Flyway

population during the course of this study. The flyway population

of Coots, however, did not conform to this pattern and was appar¬

ently suffering a decline in 1952 and 1953. These relationships are

shown in Table 6 where changes in Mississippi Flyway population

indices relative to the average indices for the preceding five years

are given for ducks and the Coot. The five-year time interval

includes the year shown and the four years preceding it.

TABLE 6

FLUCTUATIONS IN MISSISSIPPI FLYWAY POPULATION INDICES OF DUCKS

AND COOTS FOR 1951, 1952 AND 1953 RELATIVE TO AVERAGE

INDICES FOR THE PRECEDING FIVE YEARS

(U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Data)

Duck populations per observation day on University Bay, when

compared with the average populations of the preceding five years,

show changes similar to those experienced in the flyway as a whole.

The Coot population, however, was apparently increasing on the

Bay while it was decreasing throughout the flyway. These trends

on University Bay are shown in Table 7.

TABLE 7

FLUCTUATIONS IN UNIVERSITY BAY DUCK AND COOT POPULATIONS FOR

1951, 1952 AND 1953 RELATIVE TO POPULATION AVERAGES FOR

THE PRECEDING FIVE YEARS

Per Cent Change

1956]

Dillon — University Bay Fowl

55

This apparent agreement between duck population trends in the

Mississippi Flyway and on University Bay does not carry over with

any consistency into a consideration of individual species.

During the fall of 1954, approximately five times as many

Canvas-back were observed on University Bay as during any pre¬

vious fall of this study (Table 3). Aerial surveys on Lake Mendota

showed the Canvas-back population there to be approximately four

times greater than that of any preceding year in which fall surveys

were made (Table 4). This suggests the possible operation of a

threshold phenomenon in which Canvas-back, once they exceed cer¬

tain population levels in their normal habitat— -the open waters of

the lake — occupy the marginal habitat of the bays, at least for

short periods of time. An examination of aerial survey data shows

that Canvas-backs reached maximum fall numbers on Lake Men¬

dota between November 3 and 15, 1954 (61,450 were tallied on

November 8). On University Bay, maximum numbers were

attained between December 7 and 16 (1,634 were recorded on De¬

cember 12). Aerial surveys were terminated as of December 4 at

which time 7,400 Canvas-back were on the lake. Only a few Canvas-

back were seen on the Bay after December 12. The four-week time

interval between the appearance of maximum Canvas-back num¬

bers on Lake Mendota and University Bay (assuming no concentra¬

tions appeared on the Bay between observation periods) indicates

that this is not a “threshold phenomenon” in the strict sense. It

more likely involves a food relationship that might operate as

follows.

The succession of plant and animal foods in Lake Mendota is

rapidly declining in November and December. This dwindling sup¬

ply was utilized for a month prior to December 4 by a Canvas-back

population ranging from 7,000 to 60,000 ducks. It seems probable,

then, that any late-season flights of Canvas-back might be forced

to seek out the less heavily utilized food supplies of the bays. This

might account for the appearance of 1,634 Canvas-back on Univer¬

sity Bay on December 12. We must, however, not overlook the pos¬

sibility that the coincidental appearance of an observer and a flock

of 1,634 Canvas-back on University Bay could have taken place by

merest chance. If, on the other hand, this “food-relation” hypothesis

is correct, it might explain some of the apparent population

increases on the Bay in recent years.

(To be concluded)

56 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

LITERATURE CITED

American Ornithologists’ Union. 1931. Check-list of North American Birds.

4th ed. Lancaster, Pa.

Andrews, J. D. and A. D. Hasler. 1943. Fluctuations in the Animal Popula¬

tions of the Littoral Zone in Lake Mendota. Trans. Wis. Acad. Sciences,

Arts and Letters, 35:175-185.

Andrews, J. D. 1946. The Macroscopic Invertebrate Populations of the Larger

Aquatic Plants in Lake Mendota. Ph D. thesis, Univ. of Wis.

Barger, N. R , Elton E. Bussewitz, Earl L. Loyster, Sam Robbins and

Walter E. Scott. 1942. Wisconsin Birds; a PreVmninary Check List With

Migration Charts. Wis. Soc. of Ornith. Madison. 32 pp.

Cottam, CL4RENCE. 1939. Food Habits of North American Diving Ducks. U. S.

Dept, of Agr. Tech. Bull. 643. 139 pp.

Crissey, W. F. 1954. 1954 Status Report of Waterfowl. U. S. Dept, of Interior

Fish and Wildlife Service Special Scientific Report — Wildlife 26. 97 pp.

Delacour, Jean and Ernst Mayr. 1945. The Family Anatidae. Wilson Bull.,

57(1) : 3—55.

Denniston, R. H 1921. A Survey of the Larger Aquatic Plants of Lake Men¬

dota. Trans. Wis. Acad. Sciences, Arts and Letters, 20:495-500.

Elliott, G R. B., E. R. Jones and O. R. Zeasman. 1921. Pump Drainage of

the University of Wisconsin Marsh. Univ. of Wis. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 50.

32 pp.

Fernald, Merritt Lyndon. 1950. Gray’s Manual of Botany. 8th ed. American

Book Co. N. Y. 1632 pp.

Kortright, Francis H. 1942. The Ducks, Geese and Swans of North America.

American Wildlife Institute. Washington, D. C. 476 pp.

Kumlien, L. and N. Hollister. 1951. The Birds of Wisconsin, with Revisions

by A. W. Schorger. Wis. Soc. of Ornith. Inc. Madison. 122 pp.

Martin, A. C. and F. M. Uhler. 1939. Food of Game Ducks in the United

States and Canada. U. S. Dept, of Agr. Tech. Bull. 634. 156 pp.

Martin, Alexander C., Herbert S, Zim and Arnold L. Nelson. American

Wildlife and Plants. McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc. N. Y. 500 pp.

Muttkowski, R. A. 1918. The Fauna of Lake Mendota: a Qualitative and

Quantitative Survey with Special Reference to the Insects. Trans. Wis.

Acad. Sciences, Arts and Letters, 19(1) : 374-482.

Nero, Robert. 1950. Surf Scoter Records in Dane County. Passenger Pigeon,

12(1) :39.

Nero, Robert and Richard Hunt. 1954. Recent Dane County Scoter Records.

Passenger Pigeon, 16(3) :110.

Pennak, R. W. 1953. Fresh-Water Invertebrates of the United States. The

Ronald Press Co. N. Y. 769 pp.

Peterson, R. T. 1947. A Field Guide to the Birds. Houghton Mifflin Co. Boston.

290 pp.

Rickett, H. W. 1921. A Quantitative Study of the Larger Aquatic Plants of

Lake Mendota. Trans. Wis . Acad. Sciences, Arts and Letters, 20:501-527.

Ruttner, Franz. 1953. Fundamentals of Limnology. Univ. of Toronto Press.

Toronto. 242 pp.

Schorger, A. W. 1929. The Birds of Dane County, Wisconsin. Trans. Wis.

Acad. Sciences, Arts and Letters, 24:457-499.

1956]

Dillon — University Bay Fowl

57

Williams, C. S. 1952. 1952 status report of waterfowl. U. S. Dept, of Interior

Fish and Wildlife Service mimeo. 59 pp.

Williams, C. S. 1953. 1953 status report of waterfowl. U. S. Dept, of Interior

Fish and Wildlife Service Special Scientific Report — Wildlife 22. 64 pp.

Zimmerman, F. R. 1947. The 1946 Fall Flight of Waterfowl Through Wiscon¬

sin. Wis. Cons. Bull. 12(7) :3-5.

UNPUBLISHED REPORTS CITED IN TEXT ON FILE AT THE DEPART¬

MENT OF FORESTRY AND WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT,

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN

Burger, George V. 1954. The 1954 University Bay Waterfowl Counts.

Dillon, S. T. 1952. Migrational Trends and Sex Ratios in University Bay

Waterfowl.

Dzubin, Alexander. 1953. Fall Migration Numbers and Sex Ratios of Water-

fowl Utilizing University Bay, Lake Mendota.

White, Keith L. 1950. Fall Migration and Sex Ratios of Waterfowl at Univer¬

sity Bay, 1950.

AUTUMNAL MIGRATION OF DUCKS BANDED IN

EASTERN WISCONSIN

Joseph J. Hickey

Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management

University of Wisconsin .

The object of this paper is to demonstrate the extent of autumnal

migratory movement of ducks that have been banded in eastern

Wisconsin, Five species will be discussed: black ducks (Anas

rubripes ), mallards (A. platyrhynchos) , wood ducks ( Aix sponsa) ,

and blue- winged and green-winged teal (Anas discors and A . earo-

linensis). These were banded by Frank A. Schader under the direc¬

tion of L. H. Barkhausen at Suamico, near Green Bay, Wisconsin,

from 1929 to 1940 and at the Moon Lake Wildlife Refuge, Camp-

bellsport, 59 miles farther south, by Frank Hopkins from 1927 to

1935 inclusive.

Banding data have certain limitations which make them only

crude indices of the routes used by migrating waterfowl (Hickey

1951). On the one hand, the ducks banded at a given location are

more likely to be shot in that general region in subsequent years

than they will in other regions. In this respect, they are not ade¬

quately randomized samples of large populations. And on the other

hand, the recoveries sent in by hunters are indicative of birds that

have come into contact with gunfire and not, of course, representa¬

tive of nonstop flights at moderately high altitudes. Other limita¬

tions involve clerical errors which in the past have marred the data

set up in a centralized banding file by the United States Fish and

Wildlife Service (Hickey 1952:20). About 12 per-cent of the locali¬

ties mapped in the present paper probably refer to the residence of

the hunter and not to places where ducks were actually shot. In

approximately 10 per cent of records, the date of recovery actually

represents the date on which the hunter wrote or mailed his report.

I am indebted to Seth H. Low for courtesies which facilitated

my transcription of banding data at the Patuxent Research Refuge

of the Fish and Wildlife Service; to my wife, Margaret B. Hickey,

for assistance in transcribing the data ; to Miss Effie Macdonald for

help in mapping; and to Laurence R. Jahn of the Wisconsin Con¬

servation Department for advice in the course of preparing this

report. The maps used in this paper were based on Goode Base

Maps copyrighted by The University of Chicago and used by per¬

mission of the University of Chicago Press.

59

60 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

TABLE 1

DISTRIBUTION OF INDIRECT RECOVERIES OF MALLARDS

BANDED IN THE LAKE STATES

Where recovered

Alaska .

Alberta .

Saskatchewan .

Manitoba ....

Ontario .

Quebec .

Mi sc. Canada.

Subtotal. . . .

Pacific Flyway

Idaho .

Nevada .

Central Flyway

Montana .

North Dakota

South Dakota.

Nebraska .

Kansas .

Oklahoma ....

Texas .

Subtotal ....

Mississippi Flyway

Minnesota .

Iowa .

Missouri .

Arkansas .

Louisiana .

Wisconsin .

Illinois .

Kentucky .

Tennessee . .

Mississippi .....

Alabama .

Michigan .

Indiana .

Ohio .

Subtotal .

Atlantic Flyway

Pennsylvania . .

New York .

New Jersey. . . .

North Carolina.

South Carolina.

Georgia .

Subtotal .

Reference .

0.9

1.8

3.6

5.4

1.8

2.7

0.9

3.6

4.5

18.9

25.9

1.8

5.4

11.6

6.2

3.6

13.4

0.9

2.7

0.9

73.3

0.9

Flickey

1951'

Percentage Recovered

0.1

0.9

2.2

4.7

0.7

0.2

8.8

0.2

0. 1

0.1

3.7

3.3

0.9

0.7

0.4

1.4

10.5

15.2

4.9

2.2

8.6

5.3

6.9

25.0

0.7

3.1

0.6

1.7

1 .9

0.5

79.7

0.1

0.2

0.4

0.9

Mann et al.

1947

0.5

1.0

4.3

2.3

0.5

8.6

0.3

0^5

0.5

1.3

15.0

2.8

2.3

4.3

6.3

26.9

17.3

0.5

1.0

2.8

1.3

3.8

2.0

1.5

87.8

1.0

2.0

This Paper

1.5

11.2

8.2

0.8

23.2

6.0

1.5

0.8

9.0

8.3

0.8

11.9

8.2

1.5

0.8

29.8

0.8

4.5

67.3

0.8

1.6

Pirnie

1941

1956] Hickey — Waterfowl Migration 61

The term “direct recovery” as used in this paper involves a bird

recaptured in the same migratory period in which it was banded

(AMrich 1949a). An “indirect recovery” involves a bird banded in

one migratory period, here usually the fall, and recaptured in some

subsequent migratory period, usually some subsequent year (ibid.).

MALLARD MOVEMENT

Previous Work. Hawkins (1949), in mapping 1,785 direct recov¬

eries of mallards banded in the Prairie Provinces, has shown the

main flight of these birds in the interior of the continent. For the

most part, the direction appears to be a southeasterly one. Wiscon¬

sin recoveries made up 0.5 per cent of the reports of birds banded

in Alberta, 0.5 per cent of those banded in Saskatchewan, and 2.5

per cent of those banded in Manitoba. Hickey (1951) has tabulated

5,932 indirect recoveries of mallards banded in 12 states and prov¬

inces. Ninety-nine of these recoveries refer to Wisconsin-banded

birds, the main flight apparently proceeding down the Mississippi

Valley and a few birds crossing the Appalachians to Virgina, South

Carolina and Florida.

Indirect Recoveries. The reported movement of 394 Wisconsin-

banded mallards is tabulated in Table 1 and compared to similar

data for birds banded in this general region. Judging from the

numbers recorded in the Central Flyway, the Minnesota, north¬

eastern Illinois and eastern Wisconsin birds represent progressively

more easterly segments of the mallard population. The percentage

distribution of the birds banded in southwestern Michigan is pecu-

1'arly distorted by the high fraction of the population reported

shot in Canada. The explanation must be ecological rather than

statistical, and it may have to await the actual mapping of the

Canadian recoveries of these Michigan birds. The progress of

Wisconsin-banded birds across Minnesota and Wisconsin and thence

south on the eastern side of the Mississippi River is fairly similar

to Pirnie’s (1941) map of his recoveries in the United States.

Indirect recoveries of Wisconsin-banded mallards are mapped in

Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4. The birds in spring are as far west as the

Grand Prairie region in Alberta close to the British Columbia line

and as far east as the southern tip of Lake Huron and the western

tip of Lake Erie. The records are few and may well be subject to

geographic differences in the manner in which birds are recaptured.

They are not proof that most of these birds nested in Ontario rather

than Manitoba. The aberrant March 4 report from Wichita County,

Kansas, was not verified by checking the correspondence files in the

banding office of the Fish and Wildlife Service.

62 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

Figure 1. Indirect recoveries of mallards banded in eastern Wisconsin. Dis¬

tribution of reports secured in some migratory period in which the birds were

banded. In the upper map, the two circles in Wisconsin show the location of

the banding stations.

1956]

Hickey — Waterfowl Migration

63

Figure 2. Indirect recoveries of mallards banded in eastern Wisconsin

(continued) .

64 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

Figure 3. Indirect recoveries of mallards banded in eastern Wisconsin

(continued) .

1956]

Hickey — Waterfowl Migration

65

Figure 4. Indirect recoveries of mallards banded in eastern Wisconsin

(concluded) .

66 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

August records of mallards often refer to birds which have

engaged in postbreeding-season flights. Apparently these birds may

be as far north as Akimiski Island in James Bay on August 10 and

as far south as Portageville, Missouri, in the same month. All but

one of the September recoveries refer to the last 16 days of this

month.

Hunters’ reports of these birds in the first 15 days of October

fairly blanket Minnesota and Wisconsin, with the greatest concen¬

tration being in the vicinity of the banding station. By late October

the migratory movement has apparently widened. This picture is

simply a composite one obtained by mapping birds banded over a

number of years. It is, moreover, importantly affected by the dates

of legal hunting in this region. During the period from 1931 to

1941, for instance, hunting began in Illinois once on October 6,

7 times on October 14-16, twice on October 21-22 and three times

on November 1 (Bellrose 1944) .

TABLE 2

RECAPITULATION OF INDIRECT RECOVERIES OF WISCONSIN-

BANDED MALLARDS1

lSome birds were omitted from this table because the dates were not sufficiently definite.

South Dakota and Michigan data were omitted for the sake of brevity.

On at least one occasion, a Wisconsin-banded mallard reached

the Delta of the Mississippi River by the 2nd of November. The

first report from Texas is dated November 16; the first from South

Carolina, November 19. Late-November reports of birds in Alberta

and Manitoba come well after freeze-up time; these may well in-

1956]

Hickey— -Waterfowl Migration

67

68 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

volve dates on which hunters sent in their letters rather than dates

on which the birds were shot. The November maps show not only

concentrations of recoveries near the banding station but also a

well-marked path of mallard mortality along the Illinois River.

Eastern-Wisconsin mallards evidently winter in numbers in

Arkansas and Louisiana, with a sprinkling of birds reaching the

Atlantic Seaboard from Virginia to Florida. A general picture of

the autumnal distribution of mortality in these mallards is summed

up in Table 2.

Direct Recoveries. Figure 5 shows the distribution of hunters’

reports sent in during the same fall in which the mallards were

banded. The geographic patterns of the Campbellsport and Suamico

series are much the same. The autumnal movement of birds north¬

ward from the banding point has been noticed on numerous occa¬

sions on which duck records like these from the interior of the

continent have been analyzed in the past (Lincoln 1932-33;

Pirnie 1935, Warren 1945, Van den Akker and Wilson 1949). From

Campbellsport, 4.9 per cent of Hopkins’ 226 direct recoveries were

distributed along the Atlantic. This is quite similar to 5.6 per cent

of Barkhausen’s 448 direct recoveries.

Twenty-seven per cent of the direct recoveries from Campbells¬

port emanated from within 50 miles of the banding station, while

51 per cent of the direct recoveries involving Suamico birds were

reported within a similar radius. While the tendency for a refuge

to increase hunting opportunities within its vicinity is now well

known, this high proportion of local reports of the Suamico birds

is, I think, rather unusual. So many of the Suamico-banded birds

were shot nearby at Long Tail Point and in the immediate vicinity

of the banding station as to preclude the possibility of mapping

these particular records in this publication. The distribution of

other recovery reports from Wisconsin is given in Figure 6.

As a general rule, ducks baited into banding traps cannot be con¬

sidered as randomized samples of large regional populations: in

years after the date of banding, more of them tend to be shot in the

state or province in which they were banded than in any other state

or province (Hickey 1951). This is also true of the samples con¬

sidered here. A review of indirect recoveries for both black duck

and the mallard (Figure 7) reveals, however, that the “homing”

is by no means precise.

BLACK DUCK MOVEMENTS

Previous Work. As Addy (1949) has pointed out, the Appa¬

lachian Mountains apparently serve to some extent to divide east¬

erly and westerly populations of the black duck as they migrate

1956]

Hickey — Waterfowl Migration

69

Figure 6. Direct recoveries of mallards: Wisconsin reports of birds shot or

found dead in the same migratory period in which they were banded. The cir¬

cles around each banding station have a 40-mile radius. The smaller circles or

dots refer to 1 or 2 reports; the slightly larger circles or dots refer to 3 or

more reports from the same locality.

70 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

Figure 7. Indirect recoveries: Wisconsin reports of mallards and black ducks puu ootureng pspunq

Campbellsport and reported in some subsequent year.

1956]

Hickey — Waterfowl Migration

71

south each fall. Lake Scugog, just north of Lake Ontario, is almost

on the dividing line. Of 298 direct recoveries tabulated by Lincoln

(1927) for birds banded at this station, 55 per cent were in the

Atlantic Flyway, 44 per cent in the Mississippi Flyway, and 1 per

cent in the Central Flyway (specifically Kansas, Oklahoma, and

Texas). Among 115 indirect recoveries, these percentages were 71,

26, and 2 per cent respectively. This shift is statistically significant

and not easily explained. It seems to have been critically associated

with the number of recoveries reported from Ohio : 13 per cent of

the direct recoveries, 3 per cent of the indirect. When this essen¬

tially Canadian sample of birds first reached Ohio, it seems to have

been particularly vulnerable to gunning. In later years when the

entire sample consisted of adult birds, the greater experience of

the birds may not have made them so vulnerable when they first

came in contact with hunting pressure in the United States. Lin¬

coln’s tabulations of these Ontario-banded black ducks suggest to

me that the Atlantic-bound birds made Maryland and Virginia

their first stop after leaving Canada; the Mississippi-bound birds

clearly stopped off in Ohio on the flight leaving the vicinity of the

banding station.

Pirnie (1932, 1935) has mapped 331 direct recoveries of black

ducks, banded at the Munuscong State Waterfowl Refuge in the

eastern end of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Excluding Michi¬

gan and Ohio recoveries, 91 per cent of these reports were in the

Mississippi Flyway, and 9 per cent were in the Atlantic Flyway.

Among these records were 1 for Minnesota and 13 for Wisconsin.

Pirnie (1941) has also mapped the southward drift of black

ducks banded near Battle Creek in southwestern Michigan. Recov¬

ery of 22 of these birds in northern Ontario in spring and early

summer strongly pointed to this region as an important nesting

home for many of the black ducks leg-banded at this station. Of the

83 birds reported in states other than Michigan, 78 per cent were

recovered in the Mississippi Flyway. This figure includes both

direct and indirect recoveries. I was surprised to observe that it is

significantly different from the value mentioned above for birds

banded on the Upper Peninsula. Twenty-five Wisconsin reports

appear in these data.

Seasonal Movement of Wisconsin Black Ducks. A total of 190

recoveries of black ducks are available from the banding work of

Barkhausen and Hopkins at Suamico and Campbellsport. Of these,

74 are reported from Wisconsin as direct recoveries, 22 from Wis¬

consin as indirect recoveries, 56 as direct recoveries in other states,

and 38 as indirect recoveries elsewhere. Exclusive of the Wisconsin

recoveries, 91 per cent of the reports (both direct and indirect)

emanate from the Mississippi Fly way, 6 per cent from the Atlantic

72 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

Figure 8. Recoveries of banded black ducks. Three maps show the approxi¬

mate date of birds recovered in some migratory period after the one in which

they were banded. At lower right: direct recoveries — birds recovered in the

same autumnal migration period in which they were banded. Each banding

station is shown as a dot within a circle. Not mapped: direct recoveries within

50 miles of each banding station.

1956]

Hickey— Waterfowl Migration

73

and 2 per cent from the Central Fly way. In general the geographic

distribution (shown in Figure 8) follows that of Pirnie’s (1932)

sample from the Upper Peninsula. It differs from Pirnie’s (1941)

sample from southwestern Michigan in having significantly less

birds reported from the Atlantic Seaboard. Within the Mississippi

Valley, however, the two sets of recoveries from eastern Wisconsin

and southwestern Michigan are very much alike, although the

Wisconsin-banded birds do not move into eastern Michigan as much

as the Battle Creek birds do. It seems quite likely that black ducks

which reach eastern Michigan during the fall migration increase

the probability of their being later recorded in the Atlantic Flyway

to the East.

MISCELLANEOUS WATERFOWL

Green-winged Teal. Low (1949) has mapped recoveries of green¬

winged teal banded in British Columbia, the Prairie Provinces,

Utah, and the Maritime Provinces. The only one of these recovered

in Wisconsin was a bird banded at the Bear River Migratory Bird

Refuge in Utah and said to have been taken in the same autumn

near Lake Winnebago. Unlike reports of Saskatchewan- and

Manitoba-banded mallards, green-winged teal banded in these prov¬

inces appear to move almost due south. Low (ibid.) found no

evidence of birds from the. interior reaching the Atlantic Seaboard.

Direct and indirect recoveries of Wisconsin-banded birds (Fig¬

ure 9) indicate that these birds go as far as east Texas on the Gulf

Coast and to Georgia and Florida on the seaboard. One bird banded

at Suamico on November 4 was reported at Titusville on the east

coast of Florida 18 days later. Another banded at Suamico on

November 4 was shot at Natchetoches Parish, in southwestern

Louisiana five days later. It is not possible at this time to reach any

definite conclusion about the breeding distribution of these

Wisconsin-banded teal. The two southern Manitoba records were

obtained in April, and the York Factory record could not be defi¬

nitely dated. The James Bay reports involve a spring and an

August date.

Blue-winged Teal. The light shooting pressure encountered by the

blue-winged teal has long made it a poor subject for banding

studies. Stoudt (1949) has examined nearly 3,000 recoveries in the

files of the Fish and Wildlife Service, and mapped the spectacular

distribution of reports to Central America, Colombia, and Vene¬

zuela. Direct recoveries of Wisconsin-banded birds are principally

confined to Minnesota and Wisconsin. An appreciable movement to

Minnesota is evident before the birds go south. One bird was

recovered in Panama ; another in Venezuela.

Figure 9. Recoveries of green- winged teal and wood ducks banded in eastern Wisconsin.

1956]

Hickey— Waterfowl Migration

75

Wood Duck. Very little is known about the movement of banded

wood ducks. Of the recoveries of Wisconsin-banded birds, 18 ema¬

nated from Hopkins’ work at Campbellsport, 56 from the banding

at Suamico, and 19 from operations carried out at the Necedah

National Wildlife Refuge by B. J. Carter, C. V. Fermanich, and

R. W. Hunt. As Figure 9 demonstrates, these birds move south to

Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Georgia.

Although the sample is small, the geographic spread of these

reports is considerable.

December to February reports of these wood ducks were con¬

fined to Alabama (1), Mississippi (3) , Louisiana (3) and Texas (2).

Lesser Scaup . A female lesser scaup (Aythya affinis) reported by

L. H. Barkhausen as banded at Big Suamico on October 22, 1930,

was reported shot at Boston, Georgia, on December 10, 1931. Aid-

rich (1949b) has mapped a fairly conspicuous migration route of

this species from the Prairie Provinces through Minnesota, Wis¬

consin, and southeastern Michigan to Chesapeake Bay. Birds

banded in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba

have all been recovered in Wisconsin in the same migratory period

in which they were banded. The main numbers of Wisconsin birds

probably come from Manitoba and Saskatchewan. As Lincoln

(1932-33) and others have brought out, this flight to the Atlantic

Coast is apparently characteristic of a number of other diving

ducks like the canvas-back (Aythya valisineria) , the redhead

(A. americana) , and probably the ruddy duck ( Erismatura

jamaicensis) .

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

This paper is an analysis of 1,064 recovery reports of mallards

banded at Suamico and Campbellsport in eastern Wisconsin. Addi¬

tional data on 207 black ducks, 57 green-winged teal, 37 wood ducks,

24 blue-winged teal and 1 lesser scaup are also considered.

The mallard recoveries were spread out during the spring from

the Grand Prairie region of Alberta to the western tip of Lake Erie.

By August, the birds were as far north as James Bay and as far

south as Missouri. Hunters’ reports blanketed Minnesota and Wis¬

consin during the first 15 days of October. By November, a well-

marked path of mallard mortality was evident along the Illinois

River, and some birds had reached Louisiana, Texas, and South

Carolina. Eastern Wisconsin mallards appear to winter in Arkansas

and Louisiana in numbers, with a sprinkling of birds reaching the

Atlantic Seaboard from Virginia to Florida.

The black ducks banded in the same region had a migration con¬

fined pretty much to the Mississippi Valley. The green-winged teal

76 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

migrated as far as eastern Texas on the Gulf Coast and to Georgia

and Florida on the Atlantic Coast. The wood ducks appear to winter

in much the same geographic area. The single report on a lesser

scaup came from Georgia and appears to be in line with the well-

marked southeasterly movement of diving ducks which other

authors have mapped from the Praire Provinces to the Atlantic

Coast.

LITERATURE CITED

Addy, C. E. 1949. Fall Migration of the Black Duck. In Migration of Some

North American Waterfowl. U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Spec. Sci.

Rept. (Wildlife) 1, pp. 6-8.

Aldrich, John W. 1949a. Migration of Some North American Waterfowl;

a Progress Report on an Analysis of Banding Records. U. S. Fish and

Wildlife Service, Spec. Sci. Rept. (Wildlife) 1. 48 pp. + maps.

— - . 1949b. Migration of the Lesser Scaup. In Migration of Some North

American Waterfowl. U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Spec. Sci. Rept.

(Wildlife) 1, pp. 40-42, 3 maps.

Bellrose, Frank C., Jr. 1944. Duck Populations and Kill; An Evaluation of

Some Waterfowl Regulations in Illinois. Bull. III. Nat . Hist. Surv.,

23(2) : 327-372.

Hawkins, Arthur S. 1949. Migration of the Mallard. In Migration of Some

North American Waterfowl. U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Spec. Sci.

Rept. (Wildlife) 1, pp. 4-5, 1 map.

Hickey, Joseph J. 1951. Mortality Records as Indices of Migration in the

Mallard. The Condor, 53 (6) : 284-297.

- . 1952. Survival Studies of Banded Birds. U. S. Fish and Wildlife Serv¬

ice, Spec. Sci. Rept. (Wildlife) 15. ii + 177 pp.

Lincoln, F. C. 1927. Returns from Banded Birds 1923 to 1926. U. S. Dept, of

Agric., Tech. Bull. 32. 95 pp.

- — . 1932-33. State Distribution of Returns from Banded Ducks. Bird-

Banding, 3:140-142, 4:19-32, 80-99, 132-146, 177-189.

Low, Seth H. 1949. Migration of the Green-winged Teal. In Migration of

Some North American Waterfowl. U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Spec.

Sci. Rept. (Wildlife) 1, pp. 17-18, 3 maps.

Mann, Roberts, David H. Thompson, and John Jedlicka. 1947. Report on

Waterfowl Banding at McGinnis Slough, Orland Wildlife Refuge, for the

Years 19 1+1+ and 191+5. Forest Preserve District of Cook County, Illinois.

235 pp.

Pirnie, Miles C. 1932. Fall Migration of the Black Duck from Northern

Michigan. Papers Mich. Acad. Sci., Arts, and Letters, 15 (1931) :485-490.

- — . 1935. Michigan Waterfowl Management. Lansing: Mich. Dept, of Con¬

servation. xxii + 328 pp.

- . 1941. The Dispersal of Wild Ducks from the W. K. Kellogg Bird Sanc¬

tuary, near Battle Creek, Michigan. Papers Mich. Acad. Sci., Arts, and

Letters, 26(1940) :251-259.

Van den Akker, John B., and Vanez T. Wilson. 1949. Twenty Years of Bird

Banding at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Utah. Jour. Wildlife

Management, 13 (4) :359-376.

Warren, Carl R. 1945. A Waterfowl Banding Study on a New Impoundment.

Trans. 10th N. A. Wildl. Conf., pp. 319-326,

FUROR POETICUS AND MODERN POETRY*

Haskell M. Block

Department of Comparative Literature, University of Wisconsin

When we examine 20th century poetry from an international

standpoint, we can see that the radical experimentation in struc¬

ture and language that we find in such American poets as Ezra

Pound and T. S. Eliot, E. E. Cummings and Hart Crane, to name

only a few, is part of a wide-spread effort in our time to reconstruct

the foundations of the poetic art. Often this reconstruction took the

form of an organized protest. Almost always, the new poets of the

day, whether in France or Spain, Russia or America, thought of

themselves as consciously avant-garde , committed to the rejection

of outworn themes and styles, and compelled to set forth justifica¬

tions of their own efforts in grandiose and magniloquent terms.

The manifestoes of the revolutionary poetic movements that flour¬

ished for a short time throughout Europe during and after World

War I are interesting today largely for historical reasons,1 but the

mere fact that these documents exist suggests the importance of

deliberate formulations of poetic theory to the young experimen¬

talists. At over 30 years distance we can see the large gap that

separates their ambitions from their accomplishments, and if we

are careful, we do not read contemporary poetry as a mere exem¬

plification of aims and doctrines. Yet sometimes, theory and prac¬

tice cohere and mutually reinforce our understanding of the poet’s

work, and even when no such coherence can be found, the poet’s

aesthetic and critical theories can be of the highest interest as a

clue to his poetic strategy and technique and to the impulses

animating his work and that of his contemporaries.

The doctrine of furor poeticus is as old as the study of poetry,

perhaps older, yet in recent years it has played a role of major

importance in shaping the attitude of the poet toward his art.

According to this view, the poet creates under the direct impulse

of divine inspiration and in a momentary condition of delirium or

frenzy which deprives him of his reason. The ancients described

the poet’s madness as a kind of demonic possession, in which the

* This essay is part of a larger study tentatively entitled Surrealism and Modern

Poetry. I am grateful to the Graduate School of the University of Wisconsin for a

grant which enabled me to complete the research on which this essay is based.

1 The best over-all study of this phase of the history of modern poetry -remains

Guillermo de Torre, Literaturas Europeans de Vanguardia (Madrid. 1925), A con¬

tinuation of this work is badly needed.

77

78 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

poetic utterance at once takes on the force of prophecy. We can

readily understand why the earliest of western poets were regarded

essentially as prophets. Poetry in pre-literary times was intimately

allied, in some societies at least, with tribal ritual and with the

welfare of the community. The poet’s function was not simply to

glorify in song the heroic deeds of the past or to inspire those

of the present; he was called upon to predict the future as well,

and he was able to do so because of his divinely inspired vision,

the sign of the poet’s kinship with the hidden spiritual forces held

to govern nature and human destiny.2

From the beginnings of Greek literature, the nature and func¬

tion of the poet were explained by the doctrine of prophetic in¬

spiration. Well before Plato, philosophers such as Heraclitus,

Empedocles and Democritus were particularly concerned with such

psychological phenomena as the apparently irrational ecstacy that

accompanied poetic composition. For Heraclitus, souls of the deepest

intelligence possess intuitive powers of divination associated with

premonitory dreams that signal supernatural revelations. For

Empedocles, the condition and status of the individual depends on

the daimon or genius that has entered into and possessed him;

through the exaltation induced by delirium, the poet-prophet cre¬

ates poetry and at the same time, purifies his soul. Democritus

went even further in the fusion of madness and poetic genius, de¬

claring, according to Cicero, that one cannot be a good poet “with¬

out an inflammation of the soul and without the presence of an

overpowering impulse akin to delirium.” This poetic power is not

dependent on intelligence or knowledge, for it is wholly divine in

origin. Dreams and visions are signs of supernatural visitation and

the immediate source of poetic inspiration ; without such inspiration

no poetry worthy of the name can be produced.3

We can see at once how considerable was Plato’s debt to his

predecessors. Homer, Hesiod, Pindar and other ancient poets in¬

sisted on the same divine sanction of the poet’s activity, and saw

no conflict between the poet’s madness and his concern with his¬

torical or even moral truth.4 With the aid of the Muses, knowledge

as well as power was assured the poet-seer ; witness Homer’s many

appeals for information as well as for inspiration.5 But as Plato

insists, without the gift of inspiration, whatever knowledge and

skill a would-be poet might possess is useless.

2 See N. K. Chadwick, Poetry and Prophecy (Cambridge, 1942).

3 For a fuller discussion see A. Delatte, Les Conceptions de VEnthousiasme chez les

Philosophes Presocratiques (Paris, 1934).

4 See Louis Meridier (ed.), Platon: Oeuvres Completes, t. V, Ion (Paris, 1931), p. 14.

5 A. Sperduti, “The Divine Nature of Poetry in Antiquity.” Transactions of the

American Philological Association. Vol. 81 (19501, p. 231.

1956]

Block — Furor Poeticus

79

It is of course owing to Plato far more than to his predecessors

that subsequent poets could give renewed expression to the concept

of furor poeticus by way of explaining and justifying their art.

Poetic madness is described by Plato, after Democritus, as a kind

of demonic possession which in a true poet deprives him wholly of

his reason. This explanation of the poet's frenzy and his unique

prophetic and oneiric power Plato sets forth most fully in an early

dialogue, Ion , which offers the most representative illustration of

the ancient point of view.6 Similar descriptions can be found in

Phaedrus , in The Laws, and in other dialogues. For Plato, the poet

is often a person of little intellectual ability, but when the god is in

him, he is exalted above all other mortals. Plato goes further than

his predecessors in emphasizing the distinction between inspiration

and art, but in all essential respects his view of the nature of poetic

activity is that which was generally held in ancient Greece before

his time and which through Plato was transmitted to modern litera¬

ture. Thus despite the highly imperfect knowledge of virtually all

ancient literature and philosophy possessed by the middle ages,

sufficient expressions of the poet's divine madness were available

in Horace, Ovid, Pliny and Claudian among others, so that the

traditional view could reappear in Statius, Fulgentius, and in later

anonymous compilations.7 From the Renaissance to our own day,

the concept of furor poeticus has received wide and varied restate¬

ment, especially by poets and critics who responded directly to the

mystical and visionary allure of Platonic and Neo-Platonic thought.

In English poetry Blake and Shelley are perhaps the most char¬

acteristic champions of the view that the poet is divinely inspired ;

post-Romantic poets, in England and on the continent, have from

time to time reasserted the demonic and hallucinatory character of

poetic vision.

When we approach the history of modern poetry we find that no

single writer has been more influential in the dissemination of this

view of the nature and function of the poet than Arthur Rimbaud.

This is not the place to assess Rimbaud’s astounding literary career,

compressed between the ages of 16 and 19, and followed by the

poet's repudiation not only of literature but of modern civilization,

to die at 37 after spending the latter part of his life as an African

trader and gun-runner. Rimbaud’s aesthetic theory is even more

fragmentary and frenetic in expression than the prose-poems of

Illuminations and Une Saison en Enfer to which it is intimately

related. Virtually the whole of Rimbaud’s literary theory is con-

6 An extended discussion is provided by Craig- LaDriere, “The Problem of Plato’s

Ion,” Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, X (1951), 26-34.

7 Cf. E. R. Curtius, European Literature and the Latin Middle Ages (London, 1953),

p. 474.

80 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

tained in two letters of May, 1871, subsequently known as the

“lettres du Voyant,” perhaps the most dynamic expression of the

interpenetration of poetry and prophecy that one can find anywhere

in recent literature.

1 say it is necessary to be a seer, to make oneself a S E E R !

The poet makes himself a seer by a long, immense, and rea¬

soned derangement of all the senses. All the forms of love,

suffering, folly, he searches in himself, he boils down in him¬

self so as to keep nothing of them but the quintessences. Un¬

speakable torture, wherein he needs all constancy, all super¬

human strength, wherein he becomes among all the great

invalid, the great malefactor, the great outcast, — and the

supreme Savant! — For he reaches the unknown! Because he

has cultivated his soul, already rich, richer than any! He

reaches the unknown ; and when, gone mad, he ends by losing

the comprehension of his visions, he has seen them! Let him

die in his leap among things unheard of and without names:

other horrible toilers will come ; they will begin at the horizons

where he went down. . . .8

We can see at once that Rimbaud here joins hands with an ancient

poetic tradition, mingling echoes of Plato, of Baudelaire, Hugo,

and also of the mystical and prophetic writings of Ballanche,

Eliphas Levi, and other students of occult magic.9 For Rimbaud,

as for his precursors, the poet is essentially a medium, or must

become so through a wilful disorganization of his senses. Thus in

expressing IBs wild and visionary thoughts and feelings, the poet-

seer gives simultaneous expression to the unconscious spiritual

power that pervades the universe. Hence the sanctity of the poet’s

mystical experience and the privacy of his inner vision, a vision

that only he can have. Yet there is this important difference be¬

tween Rimbaud’s poetic of “ dereglement” and the ancient notion of

furor poeticus. The bard or rhapsode of Homer’s day acquired his

divine gift through the operation of mysterious and external pow¬

ers mediating between the poet and the supernatural. His poetry

and the frenzy which accompanied it were wholly beyond his con¬

trol. Rimbaud, on the other hand, insists on the recapture of the

primitive character of the poet-seer through conscious effort. The

poet must learn how to disorder his senses systematically, so that

he can induce hallucinations at will.10 Otherwise, presumably, he

will be no more able to explore the realm of the unknown than

ordinary men.

8 The translation is from W. C. Blum, “Some Remarks on Rimbaud as Magician,”

The Dial, Voh 68 (1920), pp. 723-724.

0iCf. Enid Starkie, Arthur Rimbaud (New York, 1940).

10 See the discussion of W. M. Frohock, “Rimbaud’s Poetics : Hallucination and

Epiphany,” The Romanic Review, XLVI (1955), 194.

1956]

Block— Furor Poeticus

81

It may be true that Rimbaud’s early poetry fails to support the

cosmic aspirations of the letters of May, 1871, but it is difficult to

separate his last work, Une Saison en Enfer, from the poetic of

hallucination. This collection is made up of prose-poems which are

at once autobiographical reminiscences and restatements of poetic

theory. As is true in Rimbaud’s earlier poems, the poet’s repre¬

sentation of his distorted visionary experiences is logical and lucid,

yet the poetic process which he describes in Une Saison en Enfer

is at the same time a celebration of the disorder he invokes and

which he ends by finding sacred. As the poet exclaims in uDelires

II” :

I became an adept at simple hallucinations: in place of a

factory I really saw a mosque, a school of drummers composed

of angels, carriages on the highways of the sky, a drawing¬

room at the bottom of a lake ; monsters, mysteries ; the title of

a melodrama would raise horrors before me.

Then I would explain my magic sophisms with the halluci¬

nation of words!

Finally I came to regard as sacred the disorder of my mind.

In a sense, “Alchimie du Verbe” is the poet’s testament, a recipe

for the conscious destruction of rational consciousness, a direct

appeal to the cultivation of fantasy and nightmare expressed in a

poetry of personal and private association, of metaphorical dis¬

location and cosmic disorder. It is easy to see why so many 20th

century poets have claimed Rimbaud as their spiritual godfather

and pr'mal source of inspiration, for his theory as well as for his

technique.

The emergence of Rimbaud as a major force in 20th century

poet'c thought and expression coincided with the rapid develop¬

ment of non-objective art in the years immediately preceding the

first world war. The war itself, with its violent transformation of

lived reality into chaos, also helped to encourage a poetry of frag¬

mentation and disintegration, a deliberate rejection of the tradi-

t'onal sanctions of so-called civilized life and a reversion to primi¬

tive and instinctive roots of artistic expression. The surrealist poets

in France, led by Andre Breton, did little more than codify a poetic

that had developed at least a decade before the surrealist mani¬

festoes of 1924, in the poetry of Apollinaire, Jacob, Cendrars,

Reverdy, and other so-called cubist poets. In their poetic theory the

surrealists insisted even more boldly than did Rimbaud on the nec¬

essary dislocation of objective reality, the explosive power of

metaphor, the exploration of the total unconscious mind through

free and violent association. Here too, however, we must be on

guard against equating theory and practice. Automatic writing or

82 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

the complete suppression of logical control and the abandonment

of any process of revision is far more important in the manifestoes

of 1924 than it is in the poetry which even the most extreme sur¬

realist poets of the Paris school composed. In poetry written out¬

side of France in response to the surrealist experiment, the role of

automatic writing is reduced even more. Yet the emphasis on fluid

associations and fragmentary, disjunct metaphors undoubtedly

plays an important part in subsequent poetry wherever the sur¬

realist influence was felt. With this influence there came a revival

of the doctrine of furor poeticus.

When we examine the course of avant-garde poetry in Spain in

the 1920’s we can see that here the surrealist theories and tech¬

niques came to be assimilated to native and somewhat more mod¬

erate experimental tendencies. No better illustration of this devel¬

opment in its relation to the concept of furor poeticus can be found

than the writings of Federico Garcia Lorca.

Students of the poet-playwright, Garcia Lorca, have emphasized

both the traditional and the experimental character of his poetic

expression. Certainly the political significance of the poet’s tragic

end — at the hands of a Franco firing squad in the terrible summer

of 1936— has been thrust into the background. It is right that the

poetry receive precedence, for Garcia Lorca was one of the most

unpolitical of writers, a poet consciously dedicated to his art rather

than to social or political propaganda.

Perhaps no Spanish poet of his time was more eclectic than

Lorca and more readily able to assimilate even the most contradic¬

tory attitudes and techniques. His early poetry, as we can see in the

Romancero Gitano, is poetry close to the tradition of the popular

juglar ; it is poetry to be recited far more than to be read. Its themes

of violence and sensuous brutality, mystery and death, derive from

the passionate world of the gypsies of Andalusia, made vivid and

intense by the poet’s involvement in the wonder and suffering he

recreates. Such poems as the “Romance Sonambulo” or the “Ro¬

mance de la Guardia Civil Espanola” testify to the poet’s fluidity

of metaphor and free juxtaposition of the planes of fantasy and

external reality. It is clear that from the time of Lorca’s study at

the Residencia de Estudiantes in Madrid and increasingly during

the 1920’s, he became familiar with the doctrines and techniques

of contemporary experimental poetry, with its emphasis on frag¬

mentation, speed, violence, syntactical distortion, the rejection of

logical structure and linear description, and the exploration of the

hidden recesses of the mind. The appearance in 1925 of Guillermo

de Torre’s critique, Liter atur as Europeas de Vanguardia, undoubt¬

edly played an important part in the diffusion of the new poetic

1956]

Block — Furor Poeticus

83

techniques among Spaniards of Lorca’s generation. Such poets as

Rafael Alberti, Vicente Aleixandre, Gerardo Diego, Luis Cernuda,

all responded warmly to the appeal of French surrealism,11 assimi¬

lating its revolutionary doctrines and modifying them within the

framework of traditional Spanish poetry. No doubt the visit of the

French poet, Louis Aragon, to the Residencia de Estudiantes in

1925 also served to direct the attention of young Spanish writers

of the day to the efforts of Andre Breton and his confreres in Paris.

In the case of Lorca, some importance must also be placed on his

close friendship with the painter, Salvador Dali. Lorca’s own

attempts at painting were conspicuously in the manner of Spanish

non-objective artists such as Juan Gris, Picasso, and Dali. In the

decade following 1925, Lorca’s poetry was frequently marked by

the same privacy of imagery and inwardness of vision which the

surrealists in France claimed to derive from pure psychic auto¬

matism. This tendency reaches its climax in Lorca’s development

in the volume, Poeta en Nueva York, composed during the unhappy

visit to the United States in 1929-30. Some readers have refused

to see in this collection anything but a temprorary aberration of

the poet’s faculties. However, if we examine this phase of the

poet’s career in relation to changes in his poetic theory occurring

in the years immediately preceding his American journey, we can

see that this surrealist phase of Lorca’s development is deliberate

and in no way accidental.

The poet’s first important critical pronouncement is his lecture

delivered on the occasion of the tercentenary of the death of the

Spanish poet, Gongora.12 In the course of his speculations on the

way in which poetry comes about, Lorca states expressly his view

that the poet is divinely inspired, but almost in the same breath,

emphasizes his belief that this supernatural inspiration precedes

but does not accompany the act of poetic creation: “Conceptual

vision must be calmed before it can be clarified.”13 This view of

furor poeticus is on the whole the traditional view of poets since

classical antiquity.14 It is important to add, however, that it was a

view which Lorca came to revise radically as his technique came

to reflect the poet’s obsession with the compelling power of demonic

and primitive sources of inspiration and the consequent irrationality

of poetic vision.

By 1928 we can see that the poet has advanced a considerable

distance from the traditional view of divine inspiration of the Gon-

11 Cf. Jose Luis Cano, “Notjcia Retrospectiva del Surrealismo Espanol,” Arbor XVI

(1950), 334-335.

12 The text is reprinted in Garcfa Lorca’s Obras Completas (Madrid, 1954), pp. 67-

90. Subsequent references are to this edition.

13 Ibid., p. 80.

14 Cf. C. M. Bowra, Inspiration and Poetry (London. 1955), pp. 2-3.

84 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

gora essay. In an interview with a journalist in June of that year,

Lorca asserted that his present position in poetry was marked by

a return to inspiration : “Inspiration, pure instinct, the poet’s only

reason. I find logical poetry intolerable. Here truly is the lesson of

Gongora. For the present, I am instinctively impassioned.”15 We

should view these remarks primarily as a justification of the poetry

Lorca was then writing or contemplating, and not as a systematic

aesthetic formulation. Yet in the same year, in a lecture entitled

“Imagination, Inspiration, Evasion,” he attempted to clarify his

poetic theory and to set forth the foundations of a new and dynamic

poetic freedom.16 In this lecture Lorca makes a sharp distinction

between the provinces of the poet’s faculties. Imagination, he as¬

serts, “always operates on data of the clearest and most precise

reality. It is within the realm of our human logic, controlled by

reason, from which it can not disconnect itself. Its special manner

of creating requires order and limits.” Inspiration, on the other

hand, rises not from human logic but from a poetic logic. It im¬

poses no order, no limits to the poet’s activities. While imagination

is a discovery that invokes the aid of acquired technique, inspira¬

tion is a gift which technique is incapable of bringing forth. Lorca

places himself in a direct relationship with the poetics of Rimbaud

and his successors when he declares : “The poetic act that inspira¬

tion discovers is an act with a life of its own, governed by unpub¬

lished laws, and which breaks with any sort of logical control.”

The result is what he defines as poetry of evasion, an escape from

the confines of objective reality “by way of the dream, by way of

the subconscious, by way of the dictation of an unusual fact that

delights the inspiration.”

We can see at once how the wild and hallucinatory imagery of

“El Rey de Harlem” or the “Oda a Walt Whitman” of Poeta en

Nueva York is an expression of this new aesthetic formulation.

There is no doubt that the disordered and at times seemingly

chaotic vision of the poems of 1929-30 coincided fully with the

poet’s view of the way his art comes into being. The most extreme

assertion of the doctrine of furor poeticus in the critical writings

of the Spanish poet comes in 1930, in a lecture presented at Havana

shortly after his departure from New York, entitled character¬

istically, “Theory and Play of the Demon.”17 Here Lorca boldly pro¬

claims that “tenir duende”— “to have the demon” — is the sign of

15 La Gaceta Literaria, 15 de junto, 1928. Cited by Guillermo Diaz-Plajo, Federico

Garcia Lorca (Buenos Aires, 1948), p. 15.

16 “Imaginacion, InspiraciOn, Evasion” was first presented in Granada in 1928 and

then in Madrid in 1929. Newspaper accounts of the lecture, including substantial quo¬

tations from Lorca’s text, may be found in “Federico Garcia Lorca: Textes en prose

tires de Foubli,” edited by M. Laffranque, Bulletin Hispanique , LV (1953), 332-338.

17 The text may be found in Obras Completas , pp. 36-48.

1956]

Block— Furor Poeticus

85

the greatest artists. What is unique and significant in art comes to

us not from the poet, but from the demon through the poet. In

figurative language appropriate to the nature of his subject, Lorca

invokes not only Socrates, from whose “ joyous demon” that of the

poet is descended, but also Nietzsche, Rimbaud, Apollinaire, the

Arabic bards of the Moors, the dancers of Cadiz, and the great

bullfighters of contemporary Spain. Without the presence of de¬

monic possession, no artist can achieve energy or passion and infuse

vitality into his art. The demon is “a power and not an act, a

struggle and' not an idea.” It has no relation whatsoever to scien¬

tific knowledge or to logical reason, but exists as the spiritual force

of creation, residing both within and outside of the artist, in the

world about him and in his blood. Its impact on the poet is revealed

in “an almost religious enthusiasm” that gives rise to radical

changes in the poet’s sensations and his forms of expression.

Through the struggle it arouses and the inward agitation of the

poet within its sway, the demon inspires a creation that is at once

magical and intense, and as the forms of demonic possession are

endless, so the expression of the poet’s inner conflict never takes

the same form twice. Inspired poetry is endlessly unique. Each

great artist, Lorca declares, is possessed by his own peculiar spirit,

and in the act of creation, is overwhelmed by it, transported out of

himself and impelled to seek out “new scenes and unknown accents”

in the quest of an ineffable vision. The furor poeticus is thus the

sign and cause of the poet’s initiation into the secrets of his art and

the mysteries of the universe he inhabits.

In many ways Lorca’s poetic theory and practice offer one of the

most extreme statements of the doctrine of furor poeticus that we

may find in the work of a 26th century poet. Yet it is important to

recognize that this attitude belongs primarily to a single phase of

Lorca’s career, frenzied in its intensity and necessarily brief in its

duration. We know that by 1932 Lorca had veered sharply away

from the poetic theory of demonic inspiration. By that time, in¬

deed, he had become skeptical of any attempt to define poetry, but

he insists as forcefully as in the early essay on Gongora on the

consciousness of his effort: “If it is true that I am a poet by the

grace of God . or of the demon- — I am also so by the grace of tech¬

nique and effort and of my absolute realization of what is a poem.”18

Perhaps this fusion of inspiration and effort represents the poet’s

final view, but we cannot be sure. By 1932 Lorca was immersed in

the composition of plays that were to lead him more and more

away from the bold metaphorical and personal style of his poetry

toward a more chastened and subdued idiom closer to the language

18 “Pootica,” in Poesta Espanola. Seieccion de Gerardo Diego (Madrid, 1932). The

text is reproduced in Ohras <Completas , p. 93.

86 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

and experience of every-day reality. How long he would have per¬

sisted along this line of development, no one can say. This much,

however, is clear: the doctrine of furor poeticus played a major

role in the poet’s assertion of his freedom to give full expression

to an inner vision superior to the life of conscious and purposive

acts, and in so doing, to explore the depths of his being with an

intensity and passion shared by few poets of our time. There can be

no doubt that some of the poems of Garcia Lorca written in accord¬

ance with the ancient view of how poetry comes about are among

the most significant compositions of an age of avant-garde experi¬

mentation in European poetry.

When we turn from the European scene to the America of the

1920’s, we may observe the same attempt to enlarge the frontiers

of poetry through the exploration of the unconscious and the irra¬

tional and through the elaboration of new techniques to express

the intensity and range of poetic experience. Hart Crane is among

the most representative of the American poets who participated in

this enterprise. In both theory and practice, his work provides a

striking illustration of the continuity and inter-relatedness of

European and American poetry in our time.

We can readily understand why the doctrine of furor poeticus

should have been congenial to Hart Crane at the beginning of his

poetic development. A youth of unusual sensitivity and delicate

balance, easily susceptible to external excitation, alienated in his

environment, Crane seized on the tradition of the poet’s divine in¬

spiration as a way of justifying the uniqueness and sanctity of his

poetic vision. In his copy of Plato’s Phaedrus he underscored in

heavy lines the assertion of Socrates that “the poetry of sense fades

into obscurity before the poetry of madness.”19 We know that Crane

was reading Plato in the spring of 1919 ;20 the Platonic view of

poetic inspiration was to affect his poetics and his poetry through¬

out the whole of his career.

Few poets have been as susceptible as Hart Crane to literary in¬

fluences. From the very beginning of his discovery of his poetic

vocation, Crane read avidly in the classics of ancient and modern

literature, and especially in contemporary poetry. With other young

writers of his time he shared an admiration of Ezra Pound and

T. S. Eliot, and delighted in the paradoxical wit of Donne and the

Metaphysical poets. At the same time, Crane selected his masters

carefully, deliberately constructing a poetic tradition that he felt

would respond to his aims and temperament and serve to guide his

development. His principal models, in addition to those mentioned,

were Blake, Whitman, Nietzsche and Rimbaud.

19 Philip Horton, Hart Crane (New York, 1937), p. 125,

20 Letters of Hart Crane (New York, 1952), p. 17.

1956]

Block — Furor Poeticus

87

It was probably in the pages of The Dial for 1920, where some of

Crane’s first published poems appeared, that he came to know Rim¬

baud. In the summer of that year The Dial published a translation

of the i(Lettre du Voyant,”21 and also versions of the poet’s two

collections, Les Illuminations and Une Saison en Enfer. At once,

Crane wrote to a bookseller in Paris for a copy of Rimbaud’s poems.

He received them in the fall of 1920 and read them as well as he

could with the aid of a dictionary.22 Thereafter he frequently drew

upon Rimbaud for guidance in his writing and in his evaluations

of other poets.23 Edgell Rickword’s study of Rimbaud, published in

1924, furnished him with additional evidence of the French poet’s

significance. In a letter of June 20, 1926, Crane declares flatly that

“Rimbaud was the last great poet that our civilization will see,”

and in almost the same breath he couples Rimbaud and Blake as

the prime examples of the generative power of the poet’s inner

feelings and explorations.24 In his demand for “a reasoned derange¬

ment of all the senses” so as to make of the poet a seer, Rimbaud

provided the young American with a poetic credo fully in accord

with his unusual excitability and with the demonic and irrational

impulses animating his art. In its fundamentals, Hart Crane’s

poetic theory is a direct expression and enlargement of that of

Rimbaud.

It is in some ways surprising to see Hart Crane attempting to

provide a conscious rationalization of an art founded on the ex¬

ploration of the unconscious and irrational. Yet Crane was far

more concerned with questions of poetic theory than many more

learned poets of the 1920’s, and his aesthetic speculations provide

at least some measure of the seriousness of his efforts to define his

attitude toward his art. Perhaps his most important critical state¬

ment is the essay, “General Aims and Theories,” written in 1925

by way of c]arifying the poems in his first collection, White Build¬

ings25 It is here that he sets forth most elaborately his theory of

the “logic of metaphor” as the organizing principle of poetic

expression :26

As to technical considerations: the motivation of the poem

must be derived from the implicit emotional dynamics of the

materials used, and the terms of expression employed are often

selected less for their logical (literal) significance than for

their associational meanings. Via this and their metaphorical

inter-relationships, the entire construction of the poem is

21 See n. 8 above.

22 Brom Weber, Hart Crane (New York, 1948), p. 107.

23 An extended discussion is provided by Brom Weber, ibid., pp. 144-150.

24 Letters , p. 260.

25 The essay is reprinted in Horton, op. cit., pp. 323-328.

26 Ibid., p. 327.

88 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

raised on the organic principle of a “logic of metaphor/’ which

antedates our so-called pure logic, and which is the genetic

basis of all speech, hence consciousness and thought-extension.

The reliance on emotional dynamics and on free association in the

use of language points clearly to a technique of syntactical disloca¬

tion and metaphoric fragmentation, of wilfully induced hallucina¬

tion very much in accord with the aims of Rimbaud and of his

followers in the avant-garde movements of European poetry.

At the same time, there are significant differences, and it is espe¬

cially important to recognize that at times, Crane’s view of the role

of acquired skill, of conscious art, in the creative process is alto¬

gether traditional. “There is little to be gained in any art so far as

I can see, except with much conscious effort,” he wrote in a letter

of 1921. 27 Yet the aim of this effort as subsequently set forth came

to be the total transformation of the realm of rationally ordered

logic into a vision that will embody “the so-called illogical impinge¬

ments of the connotations of words on the consciousness.”28 Rim¬

baud too had insisted on the deliberate as opposed to the uncon¬

scious source of poetic madness, but Crane goes further than his

predecessor in asserting the primacy of intuitive vision, of ecstatic

joy, of “the tremendous emotional excitations” that characterize

for him the poetic act.29 He is not as bold as the Lorca of Poeta en

Nueva York who held that madness is the poet’s divine right and

the mark of his greatness, but Crane’s impassioned cry, “New

thresholds, new anatomies!” is not only an ecstatic outburst in¬

spired by alcoholic intoxication ; it is a plea for an enlargement of

the poet’s province, an affirmation of the power of vision and trans¬

formation that the true poet possesses. In this claim we can see

once more an attempt to re-establish the sanctity of poetic inspira¬

tion through the invocation of the doctrine of furor poeticus.

This view of the poet’s demonic possession and divine inspira¬

tion can be found in 19th century poetic thought in the United

States as well as in Europe, and we should not overlook Crane’s

conscious affinities with his American forbearers in his poetic the¬

ory. Emerson had declared in his essay on “The Poet” (1844) that

poetry is a response to an inner voice, the fruit of the poet’s wonder

and exaltation in discovering “what herds of daemons hem him in.”

The act of composition he held to be a systematic and deliberate

process, the organization of “a metre-making argument,” but he

adds that the poetic impulse is a divine gift. It is altogether under¬

standable that Emerson’s greatest admirer among American poets,

Walt Whitman, shared this view of the poet’s supernatural origin

27 Letters, p. 52.

2S See Horton, op. cit., p. 330.

2i’Cited ibid., p. 152.

1956]

Block— Furor Poeticus

89

and character. In “Song of Myself the prophet-seer proclaims his

divinity “inside and out" : “Through me the afflatus surging and

Surging.” Poetry for Whitman is the expression of a cosmic spirit

that gives life and energy both to the poet and to the universe.

The furor 'poeticus is not so much a description of the way poetry

allegedly comes about, as a sign of the special function of poetic

expression : the communication of the poet's unique insight into the

divine poem of which he is a part.

From the beginning of Hart' Crane's speculations on his epic

poem, The Bridge , early in 1923, Whitman was foremost in the

poet's mind.30 His growing sense of personal identification with

Whitman, that reached its culmination in the “Cape Hatteras" sec¬

tion of The Bridge , was in large part a response to his need for a

“gigantic vision" as a means of ordering his inner turbulence. The

glorification of the poet's conception of “the American myth" in

his major effort flows directly from his interpretation of the spir¬

itual message of Whitman's poetry. Crane came to see himself as

Whitman's immediate successor and repeatedly urged the impor¬

tance of Whitman's example for all American poets, present and

future.31 There can be no doubt that Crane's deliberate attempt to

liberate poetry from the shackles of rational logic and scientific

discourse owed at least as much to Whitman as it did to Rimbaud.

In both instances, the doctrine of furor poeticus was available in

a contemporary form that could be readily absorbed.. into the poet's

aesthetic.

Hart Crane’s poetry provides ample proof of the importance of

his preoccupation with the roots of poetic expression. In his lyrics

such as “Voyages" in White Buildings as well as in the poems that

make up The Bridge, the poet's language is marked by an unusual

reliance on associational values, a fluid expansion and amalgama¬

tion of metaphors and symbols. Often, his imagery is reduced to

fragments, in which an extended series of acts or feelings may be

rendered in a single word or phrase. The poet's radical individual¬

ity, his free employment of autobiographical reference and private

allusion, further complicates his art. Yet the poems of Hart Crane,

like those of Rimbaud or Garcia Lorca, cannot be dismissed as

unintelligible simply because they do not reveal all of their secrets

at a single reading. The best of these poems are not so much the

products of uncontrolled thoughts and feelings as the expression of

an inner vision transcending literal statement in order to make

known the hidden, underlying relationships and values of objects

and events. For the poet, inspiration and its accompanying inner

30 Letters, pp. 128-129.

31 See Hart Crane’s essay, “Modern Poetry,” reprinted in Collected Poems of Hart

Crane (New York, 1946), p. 179.

90 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

turbulence is the source of poetic composition, but it does not ex¬

clude the operation of acquired technique ; rather, it enhances what

art the poet may possess and aids him in his deliberate quest for a

fusion of chaos and order. Clearly, there is nothing in the poetic

theory of Hart Crane that would exclude the most rigorous revi¬

sion, but this too, he would hold, should be inspired by the poet’s

awareness of his secret and dynamic powers. It is this unique con¬

sciousness that directs and shapes the poet’s language in accord¬

ance with the dictates of his inner vision. That Crane in his most

ambitious poetry organized his vision into a harmony of parts and

whole may be doubted, but the energy and power of his shorter

poems as well as of sections of The Bridge are a lasting testimony

of his poetic genius. His best poetry is in perpetual readiness for

rediscovery and assimilation by all who would enlarge the resources

of the poet’s art.

It is not difficult to understand why poets committed to radical

experimentation in language and to an intense and passionate ex¬

ploration of their innermost feelings as the groundwork of poetic

expression should find the doctrine of furor poeticus congenial to

their art. Whether theory preceded or followed technique is not

always clear ; often the two develop hand in hand, interacting and

mutually reinforcing one another. In the instances of Rimbaud,

Garcia Lorca, and Hart Crane, there can be no doubt that the age-

old view of the poet as a being at once inspired and possessed, and

thereby endowed with unique powers of intuition and devination,

has been of vital importance in their poetic art. It has mattered

both as strategy and tactics, justification and exploration, a means

of evading common reality and of enlarging the poet’s vision of a

deeper, mysterious reality. From an objective and critical stand¬

point, furor poeticus can never provide a satisfactory account of

the poet’s ways and means, but this has not been its office. It has

served in our time as a reassertion of the poet’s primitive authority

and spiritual power, a liberation of the ecstasy and wonder of the

poet’s universe.

NAVAL WARFARE IN THE RIO DE LA PLATA REGION,

1800-1861

Clifton B. Kroeber

Department of History, University of Wisconsin *

Naval war is an important but little-known phase of the early

national histories of Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay.1 While the

decisive battles of South American independence were fought by

armies, in Chile, New Granada, and Peru, between 1818 and 1824,

these battles occurred 10 years after the three colonies of the Rio

de la Plata region were free of Spanish rule. In their part of the

world, Spanish power was shattered by a naval battle in 1814.

Later, naval war was important in the turbulent civil and foreign

wars that punctuated the history of the Plata region until 1861.

The three colonies of the Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata shared

with Brazil and Bolivia the great Plata-Parana-Paraguay river

basin, an area larger than the United States east of the Missis¬

sippi. In 1800, most of the colonists still lived close to the rivers.

There were few cart roads anywhere in the region, and the rivers

were the ordinary routes of travel. The colonists were old hands at

running their little sailing ships among the channels and islands of

the Parana River and its great delta. Contraband trade was a long-

established habit, and these sailors knew every tangled passage and

channel that led through the delta from the Argentine to the present

Uruguayan shore.

Deep-water sailing was quite unfamiliar to the colonists. For

300 years Spain had prevented her colonials from building sea¬

going ships or learning overseas navigation. When Spain’s weak¬

ness encouraged foreign invasion of the Plata region in the early

* Now at Occidental College, Los Angeles.

1 Some aspects of naval history of the Plata region have been thoroughly studied.

See, among others : A. J. Carranza, Gampanas Navales de la republica argentina . . .

(Buenos Aires, 1914-1918) ; Teodoro Caillet-Bois, Historia naval argentina (Buenos

Aires, 1944), and Los marinos durante la dictadura ... (Buenos Aires, 1935) ; Juan B.

Otano, Origen , desarrollo y fin de la marina desaparecida en la guerra de 1864-1870

(Asuncion, 1942) ; Lewis W. Bealer, Los corsarios de Buenos Aires . . . 1815—1821 . . .

(Buenos Aires, 1937) ; Agustln Beraza, Los corsarios de Artigas (Montevideo, 1949) ;

and Charles C. Griffin, “Privateering from Baltimore during the Spanish- American

Wars of Independence,” Maryland Historical Magazine, XXIII (1940), pp. 1-25.

Abbreviations used in this article are: ANA — Archivo General de la Nacion, Buenos

Aires ; ANU — Archivo General de la Nacion, Montevideo, and, within that, ex-MHNU

refers to papers formerly in the Museo Historic© Nacional, Montevideo ; ANP — Archivo

de la Nacion, Asuncidn ; CDBA — Consular Despatches, Buenos Aires, in The National

Archives, Washington, D. C. ; MHNU — Museo Historico Nacional, Montevideo.

91

92 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

nineteenth century, there was only a handful of colonists who knew

how to sail large ships or how to fight a naval battle.

Spain kept professional naval officers in America at that time so

that the colonists need not learn the naval profession. Montevideo :

had been made one of six major naval bases Spain maintained in !

America. Warships for the base were scarce during the last years |

of the eighteenth century and in the early 180Q’s,2 and the com- .

mander at Montevideo used such warships as came to the Rio de |

la Plata on temporary duty like transatlantic convoy. He also had

a number of river gunboats,3 probably small ones, with one cannon, 1

that used both sail and oars. Meanwhile, Buenos Aires could not be

defended against amphibious attack, since the coast is so low and

easy to approach in small boats; so the Spanish crown made no

attempt to build more than a simple fort there. The Spaniards de- I

pended on their strategic strong point of Montevideo to guard all i

the back country against foreign attack.

In 1806, the Rio de la Plata faced its first large foreign invasion, ;

and the colonists learned their first naval lesson. No Spanish war¬

ships were present4 when a British invasion fleet sailed into the

estuary— quite unauthorized by the British government, as it hap¬

pened — and the colonists had to defend themselves against some of

the world’s best soldiers and sailors. In a rapid enveloping move¬

ment, the British landed troops near by, and their ships blockaded ,

Buenos Aires. The story of the ensuing fight in the city and the '

unexpected Argentine victory is well known, but the naval pre¬

liminaries of the colonists’ victory were of key importance. A force i

of fighting men sailed across from the Uruguayan shore in sma1!

sh;ps and boats, evading the British vessels and bringing to Buenos

Aires leaders and soldiers who soon won the battle in the city.5

2 In 1797 there were six frigates, some meant for occasional convoy duty; ANA, ;

Consulado, Expedientes, leg. 2, exp. 31. About 1800 only one frigate, two corvettes, 21

launches, and a few other small craft were there ; H. Martinez Montero, Marinas j

mercante y de pesca del Uruguay (Montevideo, 1940), I, 37. One large vessel had j

been sold at Montevideo because of doubts it would ever survive the trip back to .

Spain ; see Expediente obrado para la venta y remate dela Corbeta de Guerra S.ta ,

Escol&stica, ANU, ex-MHNU, caja 245, carpeta 31. This had been the only large ship

at Montevideo. |

8 This force fluctuated in numbers, and other launches there were for nonmilitary I

purposes. See the record of one built at Buenos Aires, for a six-man crew : Consulado i

of Buenos Aires to its deputy at Montevideo, Buenos Aires, October 3, 1804, in MHNU,

Consulado de Comercio, legajo 1802-1804.

4 Martinez Montero, op. cit., I, 37. When the English captured Montevideo in 1807,

there were only a dozen launches there. Captain Juan Gutierrez de la Concha had

brought six larger ships from Spain with seven light gunboats, in 1806 ; but such small ;

ships as these were hidden in the inner port at Buenos Aires to protect them while

the British were present: see Carranza, op. cit., I, 19-20.

5 Even after the British had given up the invasion and were blockading the northern

entrance channel and raiding into the estuary, there were no major war vessels on

hand: Santiago de Liniers to the Consulado, Buenos Aires, December 17, 1807, ANA, ,

1956]

Kroeber—Rio de la Plata Warfare

93

The British naval-blockaders meanwhile suffered from ignorance of

the treacherous estuary’s sailing conditions. Six of their gunboats

went aground and had to be towed away. They then lost a major

warship, probably one of the few British warships ever to sur¬

render to cavalrymen, who were able to splash out from the shore

when an unexpected change in the weather sent the water level so

low that the warship was stranded, several miles from shore.6 The

British did not realize that the estuary is so shallow that heavy

ships were always in danger of going aground during a slight

change in weather and water level. The colonists learned another

lesson during this fighting: that small river craft could do much,

even in the face of large warships, by stealing back and forth in

the shallows of the estuary and delta.

After this invasion and a further British attempt in 1807 had

been repelled, Spain allotted a number of large warships to con¬

tinuous duty at Montevideo.7 This fleet was on hand when the col¬

onists of Buenos Aires began their war of independence in 1810. In

August,8 the Spanish ships blockaded Buenos Aires, to cut the rebels

off from foreign trade and thus from any independent source of

revenue. The royalists took charge of ports on the Uruguayan

shore, Colonia and Maldonado, and they soon dominated the Parana

River as far north as San Nicolas and the Rio Uruguay all the w&y

up to the head of navigation at Salto. In 1811, the Spanish viceroy

Elio authorized privateering in the rivers, a common war measure

in those days, and Spanish naval activity on the rivers was con¬

ducted chiefly by these privateers,9 who ranged as far upriver as

Consulado, Expedientes, leg-. 4. He says there were three small schooners and some

gunboats, two of them maintained by the consulado.

Liniers crossed from Colonia to Las Conchas (Tigre, now in the suburbs of Buenos

Aires), using1 small ships, on August 3, 1806. The British had four ships of the line

(50-64 guns each) and eight other vessels: Caillet-Bois, Historia naval, pp. 29-30.

6 Alexander Gillespie, Gleanings and Remarks, collected during many months of

residence at Buenos Aires . . . (Leeds, 1818), p. 35.

7 At least nine sizeable warships were there by September, 1810: Carranza, op. cit.,

I, 35.

8 Communication between Buenos Aires and Montevideo was cut off August 13,

1810, and on September 10 the Spanish ships appeared off Buenos Aires ; see Caillet-

Bois, Historia naval, pp. 40-42. On the 16th and 17th ensued one of the strangest

incidents in naval history. A storm wind from the southwest (pampero) had been

blowing for a day and night, and the water level in the estuary had fallen many feet

by the morning of the 17th. H.M.S. Porcupine, off the coast at Quilmes, was lying in

only four feet of water. The Spanish blockaders, five to eight miles offshore, were in

only twelve feet. The revolutionary Junta lost the opportunity of taking guns out into

the estuary to bombard the blockaders, and by 5 A.M. on the 18th, the water rose

again. See Carranza, op. cit., I, 35—37, and Caillet-Bois, Historia naval, pp. 42—43.

The latter believes the water must have fallen to 8-10 feet below mean low water

(which was then reckoned at what we would call the average of lowest seasonal lows).

9 Both Buenos Aires and the Spanish officials at Montevideo authorized privateering

before 1816; see H. D. Barbagelata, Artigas y la revolucion americana . . . (2nd ed.,

Paris, 1930), p. 34 (Elio’s decree authorizing it, November 18, 1812) ; Carranza, op.

cit., I, 227 (three Buenos .Aires privateers captured in 1811) ; and Las presas marltimas

en la republica argentina . . . (Buenos Aires, 1926), pp. 85-86 (Spanish privateers at

Santa Fe, 1812), and pp. 94-95 (Battle between privateers, December 4, 1814). These

early corsarios, like the earliest Artigas commissioned in Uruguay, evidently oper¬

ated only in the estuary and rivers.

94 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

Paraguay. On the other hand, the Spaniards had few troops any¬

where in the region, and the garrison of Montevideo was not strong

enough to leave the walls of the city itself. For the time being, the

Spaniards had no usable army and the revolutionists no navy; so

the war dragged.

The revolutionists of Buenos Aires were slow to understand that

they were engaged first of all in a naval war. They allowed a large

number of Spanish naval officers to return freely to Montevideo

when the fighting started,10 and at first they did nothing to create a

navy. In 1811, they had a small fleet but disbanded it when a tem¬

porary truce was made with Viceroy Elio.11 When hostilities broke

out again in 1812, the revolutionists on both the Argentine and

Uruguayan sides of the estuary were so numerous that they put

Montevideo to the siege, but there was no navy to seal up the port

or to protect the passage of men and supplies from the Argentine

to the Uruguayan shore.

With Spanish warships on hand, supplies could reach the army

only by a very roundabout route. For almost two years, the Buenos

Aires government had to cart supplies by land, north to San Nicolas

or Santa Fe on the River Parana, across the river to the town of

Parana, then across the whole province of Entre-Rios to the River

Uruguay, and overland again through Uruguay to the outskirts of

Montevideo.12 Meanwhile, Buenos Aires also had trouble keeping

in touch with the towns along the River Parana, because Spanish

privateers were so active on the river. The Spanish ships managed

to avoid the revolutionists’ batteries on the riverbanks by using

alternative river channels.13

Finally, in 1814 a group of foreign merchants influential in the

Buenos Aires government prevailed on Supreme Director Gervasio

Posadas to allow them to buy and arm private vessels for a war

fleet.14 They enlisted foreign sailors, found a Yankee trader to pay

10 Caillet-Bois, Historia naval , p. 40.

11 Ibid., p. 68. The blockade was lifted October 16, 1810, due to pressure brought by

British naval officers. Viceroy Elio arrived at Montevideo in January, 1811, and re-

imposed the blockade in March. He signed an armistice with Buenos Aires on Octo¬

ber 20, 1811, at which time the quondam “warships” of Buenos Aires were returned to

their owners (ibid., pp. 45, 58, 67).

12 Ibid., pp. 80-81. General Rondeau put Montevideo to the siege October 20, 1812,

in cooperation with Artigas and other Uruguayan leaders. The blockade of Buenos

Aires was renewed by the Spaniards on March 4, 1812 : see U. S. Consul W. G. Miller’s

despatch, March 25, 1812, CDBA, I, stating that the Spanish force numbered twelve

sail.

13 This, in spite of a carefully' worded warning against just such a thing by the

governing Junta at Asuncion, Paraguay, January 29, 1812 ; see Benjamin Vargas

Pena, ed., Paraguay -Argentina, corresponden.cia diplomatica . . . (Buenos Aires,

1945), pp. 116-117. The Junta also asked to have privateers sent to Paraguay, and

their letter shows that river craft were being held in port as much as possible while

the danger from Spanish privateers was still great.

14 Caillet-Bois, Historia naval, pp. 84-86.

1956]

Kroeber — Rio de la Plato i Warfare

95

the bills, and proposed a tough old Irish sailing captain named

William Brown as admiral.

Brown’s force of converted merchant ships never did match the

strength of the Spanish fleet and he had his work cut out for him

in training local lads for the navy; but foreign sailors and ship¬

masters gave the necessary stiffening of experience. Brown him¬

self proved to be a born commander. He had the rare ability of

convincing governments that he was doing the best possible job

despite small progress and frequent setbacks. His continuity in

command is unique in the military annals of the period. Brown was

also a fine sailor, and he made careful use of the peculiar features

of the Plata estuary. He knew when to offer battle, when to fade

away into a fog, and how to take refuge in waters where a stronger

enemy couM not follow. He was personally fearless. As commodore

of a questionable little fleet, he repeatedly sailed his flagship into

such danger that his captains would not follow. This aggressive

posture impressed the government and the navy alike, and Brown

soon found officers who dared to sail with him.

The Spanish advantage was in size of ships and in guns that

could do damage at long range ; but Brown would storm alongside

to board or retreat safely into shallow water instead of anchoring

his ships to indulge in suicidal cannonade. He found unexpected

opportunities to cut out units of the Spanish fleet, striking with

great daring when given the slightest chance.15

Brown’s first objective was to drive the Spanish privateers out

of the River Parana and the delta. He won a small river battle and

gained the strategic island of Martin Garcia (March, 1814) , thereby

barring the Spanish naval forces from the River Parana. Then he

appeared off Montevideo with his whole force, blocking the Spanish

warships from the upper estuary unless they cared to fight their

way through his squadron. The strategic value of this move was

that supplies could now be ferried from Buenos Aires directly to

the Argentine forces besieging Monteviedo.16

The Spaniards, penned up in a besieged and dreary city, were

hesitant to fight at sea; but one of them was finally persuaded to

lead the ships out against Brown’s armada. After a two-day battle

punctuated by violent weather, Brown caught the Spaniards and

ran them down or shot them to pieces (June 12-15, 1814) . It was a

15 His small fights are described in Carranza and Caillet-Bois’ works. He took the

fleet out 'March 8, 1814, using ships bought in the port. One balandra and one falucho

were already on hand.

The only previous fleet, in 1812, had been sent toward Paraguay to support General

Manuel Belgrano’s army in that direction. These three ships were caught in the delta

region and beaten to pieces by Spanish forces: Caillet-Bois, Historia naval, pp. 52-56.

16 After the Martin Garcia battle, the Buenos Aires government sent 3,000 men

across the estuary in 22 transports.

96 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

one-sided victory and practically the end of the Spanish fleet.17 The

evacuation of Montevideo by the Spaniards followed almost at once

(June 23, 1814), dissolving an army of 6,000 men, the last Spanish

force still occupying the Plata region. Where the land siege had

not brought victory, the naval campaign helped to tip the balance

against the Spaniards.

Now that the homeland was free of Spanish troops, the govern¬

ments of Buenos Aires and Montevideo carried the war against

Spain. Brown’s converted merchantmen could not challenge the

Spanish navy off the coasts of Europe; but large seagoing ships

could. The story of the deep-water privateers of Buenos Aires and

Montevideo, beginning in 1815, is a sequel to the North American

sea war against Britain in 1812-1815. Many of the same Americans

participated, sailing now under the flags of nations whose language

most of them did not speak and whose shores some of them never

saw.18 These corsarios were usually financed by foreign merchants

at Buenos Aires or Montevideo, and almost all of them were foreign

ships with polyglot crews.19

Their war was disastrous to Spanish commerce. In 1817 they

hung off Cadiz, cutting up the merchant shipping of Spain and

taking contraband cargoes from neutral ships. Privateers commis¬

sioned by Jose Gervasio Artigas of Uruguay20 did most of their

fighting against Portuguese shipping,21 since the Portuguese mon¬

arch, then in Brazil, wanted to annex Uruguay to his possessions.

Artigas’ privateers also added to the damage sustained by Spain.

In 1818 and 1819, their attacks on Spain and Portgual were at their

peak; but having captured most legitimate prizes, they turned

more and more to piracy.22 It was 1821 before Buenos Aires called

an end to authorized privateering,23 and both the British and Ameri-

17 Brown had seven ships, more than 1100 men, and 130 guns (captains Baxter,:

Clark, Russell, King, MacDougall, Lamarca, and Hubac). The Spaniards had 11 ves-'

sels, 1087 men, and 155 guns; see ibid., pp. 97—100. The Spanish disadvantage was that

the guns were divided among more ships and leadership was poor. Brown received

one reinforcement during the battle. He captured four ships, burned two others, and

chased the rest away.

18 Bealer, op. cit., Beraza, op. cit., and Griffin, op. cit., discuss this privateering. It

is not necessarily true, as Bealer states (p. 10), that the major role in the creation

of the Argentine navy was played by men from the United States. William P. White

did finance the 1814 fleet out of his own pocket, and many of the first captains were

United States citizens.

19 Bealer, op. cit., pp. 10—11; Beraza, op. cit., p. 33; and Caillet-Bois, Historia naval, *

p. 96.

20 Beraza, op. cit., pp. 182—184, 186, for effects of this effort during 1817 and 1818.

21 Bealer, op. cit., p. 201, mentions how serious it was.

22 The history of these privateers has been written mainly by historians partial to i

Buenos Aires ; but the weight of evidence seems to show that Artigas’ privateers were i

poorly controlled and often continued their activities into the period when privateering 1

was becoming piracy. It should be remembered, however, that Artigas’ position was!

much more desperate than that of Buenos Aires. He was considered a rebel by ■

Buenos Aires and his homeland was invaded by a large Portuguese army.

23 A copy of Governor Martin Rodriguez’s decree, Buenos Aires, October 6, 1821, is, 1

included in CDBA, II.

1956]

Kroeber — Rio de la Plata Warfare

97

can navies had to make full efforts to keep the sea lanes reasonably

safe. As one port after another refused to receive their prizes, these

modern corsairs fell back on the old haunt of American piracy, the

Caribbean. What had become an international abuse by 1819, how¬

ever, had been a legitimate24 and effective arm of war for several

years before. Buenos Aires and Montevideo had had seagoing ships

that could even the score with Spain and Portugal.

In 1816, Buenos Aires had also equipped its own warships25 for

use against certain dissidents in the river provinces (Entre-Rios,

Santa Fe, Corrientes and Uruguay, then known as the Banda Ori¬

ental). Artigas of Uruguay had a fleet of small ships in the middle

Parana. After the Portuguese invaded his province and occupied

the capital city of Montevideo (January 19, 1817), he created

another small force in the Rio Uruguay. His ships made damaging

attacks on Buenos Aires war vessels in both rivers. These battles

were not large but they were bloody, deadly-serious encounters

affecting the political domination of the whole river region. The

ships of the two major powers, Buenos Aires and the Portuguese,

found that naval action in the rivers was tricky and hazardous.

Danger lurked for any ship sailing in the rivers, where the navi¬

gable channels led the ship from shore to shore, often under the

fire of concealed batteries. Launches could put out from the river

banks to overwhelm any ship that grounded on a sandbank or was

separated from its squadron.26

In 1818, the Portuguese finally gained control of the Rio Uru¬

guay, storming Artigas’ batteries on the western bank and captur¬

ing his small fleet. The meaning of this victory was that Artigas

found it hard to move freely back and forth across the Rio Uruguay

as he had in the past. He now had to operate either west of the

river, in Entre-Rios Province, or east of it, in what is now Uruguay.

The Portuguese also took Colonia, removing the last local base for

Artigas’ privateers who now had to use foreign ports exclusively.27

By contrast, the failure of Buenos Aires to control the River

Parana during late 1819 and early 1820 helped Francisco Ramirez

of Entre-Rios Province to organize a campaign along the river and

finally to beat the forces of Buenos Aires. The naval success of

Ramirez was probably a factor both in his victory in the land battle

21 War was war, and Spanish corsarios too broke the rules of polite privateering.

By 1817, in any case, Artigas knew that his cause was failing; see Beraza, op. cit.,

p. 345.

25 U. S. Consul Halsey’s despatch, July 19, 1815, CDBA, I, notes that four or five

ships were to be put “in active service” as part of the measures against Artigas.

26 Sometimes these incidents were as novel as they were inspired. One tiny ship of

the Buenos Aires flotilla, retreating down the River Parana in 1816, was lassoed as it

passed close to the high river bank: Caillet-Bois, Historia naval , p. 155.

27 Ibid., pp. 155-159. Artigas had had twelve little ships in the Arroyo Perucho

Verna, just above Colon on the west bank.

98 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

of Cepeda and in his brief domination of the city of Buenos Aires

during early 18,20. This was the first and almost the only cam-

pa gn in which Buenos Aires altogether lost control of the river

provinces. Later, Ramirez’ squadron was beaten. His control of the

river once broken, he was caught on the western bank of the

Parana among hostile armies that soon drove him to his doom.28

Naval forces had played a secondary but very important role in the

continuous fighting since 1815 that saw Artigas driven out of Uru¬

guay (1820), Ramirez fail in an attempt to impose federalism on

Buenos Aires, and both Buenos Aires and Portugal emerge as major

powers in the Rio de la Plata.

In the years that followed, Buenos Aires drifted into a war with

the newly independent Empire of Brazil. The chief cause was

rivalry over present-day Uruguay. In 1823, the Brazilians com¬

pleted their war of independence by blockading Montevideo into

submiss ‘on, capturing it, and incorporating the whole province into

the new Empire. Buenos Aires still claimed the Uruguayan terri¬

tory, and in 1825 she encouraged a small group of Uruguayans

who invaded their homeland in order to make it an Argentine

province. In spite of the obvious danger of such a policy, Buenos

Aires made no naval preparations while war was impending, or

indeed until the war with Brazil was already a month old (Janu¬

ary, 1826). 29 At that time, William Brown was again offered the

command of a Buenos Aires navy that consisted of two old river

craft and a dozen gunboats recently used only as rock barges. The

old seadog took charge at once and sailed out the very next day to

reconno'tre the Brazilian squadron blockading Buenos Aires.30 For

more than a year he fought against an ever increasing Brazilian

force that finally numbered more than fifty warships.

Brown had luck at first. He frequently sought battle, engaging

the enemy under almost preposterously dangerous conditions. By

sheer aggression, he induced the Brazilians to withdraw their

28 Ibid., pp. 199—206, for an account of this whole campaign that ended in July, 1821.

29 A Brazilian fleet appeared off Buenos Aires in July, 1825, to inquire why the

government appeared to be helping General Lavalleja and the rest of the Thirty-Three

Orientates (Uruguayans) who invaded the Banda Oriental in that year; Ibid., p. 214.

By October 19, U. S. Consul Slacum reported that the Brazilian squadron was again

lying off the port, and he expected war soon. See his despatch of November 5, 1825,

CDBA, II.

30 Caillet-Bois, Historia naval, p. 223. War was declared by Brazil on December 10,

1825, and on January 11 Brown was asked to serve. On the 12th, he made his first

trip from the port. The Buenos Aires government authorized privateering, January 22,

1826.

As always, the navy had to be re-created. J. J. M. Blondel, Almanaque politico y

de comercio de la ciudad de Buenos Aires . . . 1826 (Buenos Aires, 1825), pp. 45—47,

lists the pre-war naval organization that furnished only two captains (Cerruti and

Rosales) to Brown’s fleet of 1826. The Gaceta MercanUl , Buenos Aires, February 17,

1826, reported that captains Clark, Parker, Espora, Cerruti, Rosales, and Handell were

being appointed “while the conduct of the former captains is being reviewed.” Brown,

in short, ran his own show.

1956]

Kroeber — Rio de la Plata Warfare

99

blockade so far down the estuary that Buenos Aires opened a direct

supply line to the Uruguayans fighting to free their province.31

This success did not last long. The Brazilians selected better com¬

manders and sent in more warships, until the Buenos Aires navy

could make only occasional hit-and-run attacks.32 The imperial fleet

divided into three units: heavy ships waited to catch the elusive

Brown whenever he stood out of the inner roads of Buenos Aires ;

light craft in the Rio Uruguay blocked the east-west supply line to

the Uruguayan army ; and a mixed force remained near Montevideo

as a distant blockade of the approaches to Buenos Aires. The

Brazil'ans finally overwhelmed Brown, and they reduced the foreign

trade of Buenos Aires to almost nothing.

The Argentine commodore succeeded in crossing the estuary and

cutting up the Brazilian gunboats in the Rio Uruguay,33 and on

more than one occasion he held his own with the blockading

squadron. The attrition of battle was too much for his few ships,

however, and when in April, 1827, two of his vessels were caught

and destroyed while aground on a sandbank,34 his “fleet” action had

to cease.

The Buenos Aires navy had fought bravely. Most of the leaders

were foreigners, but Brown discovered a number of Argentines

whose courage and skill fitted them for ship commands. Some of

these same Argentines lent their experience to the establishment of

31 The Brazilians would not fight his leaky old tubs at that time. The blockade was

withdrawn to Punta de Indio, far down the estuary. On February 9, Brown fought

a drawn battle using ships captained by Parker, Seguf, Mason, Baisley, Cerruti, and

Warner, and with Espora and Rosales commanding smaller cahoneras. After that, he

had a bloody failure trying to take the port of Colonia, March f, 1826 — it was a

land-sea operation with too little coordination of effort. The Portuguese nonetheless

evacuated Martin Garcia Island, near Colonia. Caillet-Bois, Historic, naval, p. 242,

believes they did it because Brown was expected to keep on trying until he took the

island and the port.

32 The blockade was tight after July, 1826, when Admiral Norton reorganized the

Brazilian fleet. He led most of his thirty-one ships (266 guns, 2300 men) against the

port of Buenos Aires in July, 1826, trying to wipe out Brown’s force ; but the affair

ended without a casualty. Brown’s four remaining vessels escaped into shallow water

where Norton could not follow.

33 The navy lists copied in J.A.B. Beaumont, Travels in Buenos Ayres and the adja¬

cent provinces . . . (London, 1828), pp. 216 ff„ show that he not only broke up this

force of about twelve gunboats but also put some of them into his own fleet. As of

April, 1827, Brown had thirty-one vessels (“merchant brigs, small schooners, and

sailing barges’’), and 186 guns, as against the thirty-six ships and 452 guns of the

Brazilians.

34 This was the so-called Battle of Monte Santiago, April 7, 1827. Some of the best

officers and sailors were lost here, since two Argentine ships fought almost to the last

man ; Caillet-Bois, Historic naval, p. 318, and Beaumont, op. cit., pp. 220-222. Some

of Brown’s captains not mentioned above were: Bathurst, Coe (his second in com¬

mand on several occasions), Silva, Granville, Shannon, and Drummond. Captain

Parker was one of many colonists who came out from England in August, 1825, in the

Beaumonts’ Rfo de la Plata Agricultural Association, and who then saw service in the

cause of Buenos Aires. Beaumont, op. cit., pp. 4-6, 122, 223, 246, assigns this as

a prime cause for the failure of the immigration scheme, and he says that some of his

peaceful agriculturists were even making fortunes as privateers.

Brown’s last aggressive action was on July 29, 1827, when he sailed into the block¬

ading force off Buenos Aires and fought almost alone until the next day. His captains

finally rescued him.

100 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

the steam boat navy and the Argentine Naval Academy a generation

later.

Privateering was harder to stop. Brown himself was one of the

commanders who went out to sea to harry the Brazilian coasts after

his fleet had stopped fighting in the estuary. The corsarios of

Buenos Aires wreaked havoc along that shore35 all during the war.

On the other hand, naval victory in the estuary helped the Brazilians

keep a tight blockade on the port of Buenos Aires.36 Customs duties

were the chief revenue of the Buenos Aires government, and the

loss of this income led to unsound monetary policies, depreciation

of money, and inflation.37 Loss of prestige due to the failure to win

this war was also a major factor in the overturn of government at

Buenos Aires in 1827. The group that went out of power had been

making an ambitious attempt to unify the nation, and the war

helped bring that attempt to nothing.

After the war, the Buenos Aires fleet was disbanded again,38 and

there was no naval resistance to the French naval intervention in

the estuary in 1838-1840. 39 The small fleet that did exist during that

period40 was insufficient even for the war against independent Uru¬

guay that broke out as soon as the French warships were gone. The

Buenos Aires dictator Juan Manuel de Rosas had to buy more

ships41 and go to much trouble finding experienced sailors before

35 Caillet-Bois, Historia naval, p. 218, copies the names of sixteen of them, evidently

half of this list being estuary and river craft.

36 Cesar Dfaz, Memoriae, 1842-1852 . . . (Buenos Aires, 1943), tells how they held

close to Buenos Aires and also kept a close guard over the small but important estu¬

ary port of Salado, while he was there in 1827-1828. The blockade of Buenos Aires

began December 21, 1825 and ended September 30, 1828 ; see The British Packet and

Argentine News, Buenos Aires, August 31, 1833. This newspaper listed 106 foreign

merchantmen as having broken the blockade; 16 in 1826, 38 in 1827, and the rest in

1828 ; but these figures are a total of ships arriving at Salado and Ensenada de

Barrag&n as well as at Buenos Aires.

37 The ratio of Buenos Aires paper money to silver rose steadily after the war but

by 1840 had not yet regained its pre-war value. See Consul Edwards’ despatch,

April 12, 1842, CDBA, VI, showing that in 1840 the paper-silver ratio was still only

half what it became in 1842 (it was then 18 to 1 ; i.e., the paper peso 5% cents U .S.).

^Ars&ne Isabelle, Voyage d Buenos Ayres . . . (de 1830 a, 1834) (Havre, 1835),

pp. 31-32, explains that: the French naval commander in the estuary stole in and

burned what was left of the fleet, evidently in 1829.

39 The background and course of this intervention are well treated in Nestor S.

Colli, Rosas d traves de la intervention francesa en el Rio de la Plata (durante los

ahos 1838 a 1840) (Buenos Aires, 1948).

40 In early 1838, they had the brigantine Sarandl (9 men), brigantine Elolsa (22

men), two little port launches, the bergantin-goleta San Martin (31 men), and the

bombard Porteha (17 men), perhaps others; see Relacion de las Cantidades de Dinero

qe con Caudal del Estado he Satisfecho & las Tripulaciones de los Buques de Grra del

Estado . . . April, 1838, in ANA, Secretarla de Rosas.

41 Caillet-Bois, Los marinos, pp. 16-18, 39, shows that both governments reinforced

their flotillas after Rosas’ decree of January 22, 3 841 (closing the Parana, to other

than Argentine shipping and refusing to allow his vessels to stop at the Uruguayan

customs-house on the Rio Uruguay at Higueritas). This customs-house had been

established mainly because of an earlier decree of Rosas to the effect that all Uru¬

guayan river craft must stop for inspection at Martin Garcia Island, then held by

Buenos Aires. The bergantfn-goleta Vigilante, of five guns, was one of the last new

ships Rosas acquired at this time ; and the Uruguayans bought at least four mer-

1956]

Kroeber — Rio de la Plata Warfare

101

attempting to blockade the port of Montevideo where President

Fructuoso Rivera of Uruguay maintained his government. Argen¬

tines could be conscripted for the fleet, but few of them were good

sailors ; and most foreign sailors to be found at Buenos Aires were

under protection of their consuls and had to be hired if they could

be obtained at all.42 William Brown was again called upon to lead

the fleet, while the Uruguayans’ ships were commanded by John H.

Coe, a “North American adventurer,” who had once captained a

Buenos Aires ship in the war against Brazil.

In 1841-1842, the English and French naval commanders in the

estuary refused to allow Brown’s squadron to blockade Montevideo

because of the predictable loss to neutral shipping, and Brown was

only permitted to blockade the port in 1843. 42 The old leader’s touch

was still good, and, while he won few clear-cut victories, his ships

stopped the foreign trade of Montevideo.44 On February 16, 1843,

this blockade became more threatening when Montevideo was cut

off from the land side by the troops of Manuel Oribe, the Uruguayan

leader friendly to Buenos Aires.45 Not wanting to risk a naval battle

in Montevideo Bay, Rivera’s forces rested their defence in gun¬

boats anchored at both ends of the bay, and they established many

new shore batteries, using cannon taken from ships in the port.

In April, 1843, the blockade of Montevideo was tightened, ships

being forbidden to bring food to the stricken city. This measure

went beyond the usual practice of the time but it was recognized

as legitimate, for instance, by United States authorities on the

chantmen to go with their six war vessels and smaller lanchones ; see ibid., pp. 36-37,

and The British Packet, May 15, 1841, which tells of the purchase of the U. S. mer¬

chantman Kremlin by the Buenos Aires government.

42 As early as 1821, British merchants at Buenos Aires had persuaded the govern¬

ment to refrain from pressing their nationals into military service (A Five Years’

Residence in Buenos Aires . . . 1820 to 1825 ) [London, 1827], p. 40). The Anglo-

Argentine treaty of 1825 formulated this arrangement. In 1841, Comandante Alvaro

Alzogaray wrote to Brown that among the 100 merchant ships in the Riachuelo port

(Buenos Aires), all but two men in the crews were protected by foreign consuls

(English, United States, French, Brazilian, or Sardinian). See his letter, Buenos Aires,

July 1, 1841, in Francisco Sergi, Ilistoria de los italianos en la argentina (Buenos

Aires, 1940), p. 151.

The navies had to consist in great part of paid foreigners, since foreign naval

commanders on the scene usually acted promptly to free their nationals from

conscription.

43 John F. Cady, Foreign Intervention in the Rio de la Plata . . . (Philadelphia,

London, 1929), p. 114, terms this sort of blockade “almost worthless as measures of

] coercion. . . .” Martinez M'ontero, op. cit., I, 11, concurs.

1 44 Commercial shipping had great difficulty, but small raiding parties often sailed

, from Montevideo. The Italian Legion, led in part by Guiseppe Garibaldi, went on

i small forays against Oribe’s makeshift port of Buceo (eastward around the point from

f. Montevideo Bay), and as far away as Santa Fe on hit-and-run attacks. Once they

i captured a brigantine at Buceo, under the guns of Oribe’s other ships ; see the anony-

f mous manuscript titled Historia de la Legion Italiana en Montevideo, entries for

August and October, 1843, August 1844, and January and February, 1845, in MHNU.

Like so many naval expeditions in that region, the Legion’s raid on Rosario, Janu¬

ary 23, 1845, lost a ship when the water level fell unexpectedly. The other ships

escaped just ahead of Rosas’ cavalry by pitching their cannon into the river.

45 Diaz, op. cit., p. 94. It was formally declared March 17.

102 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

scene. The British and French representatives, however, forced

Commodore Brown to pass any ships that came in from sea without

knowing the blockade existed.46

Montevideo was sore beset but not quite starved out. Fishermen

managed to bring in some food, and United States and other for¬

eign merchant ships ran the blockade to bring fresh meat to the

Uruguayans.47 Real relief for Montevideo came only with the Anglo-

French naval intervention in 1845. Before the English and French

forces intervened, Brown had managed to eliminate most of the

remaining Uruguayan warships. These vessels, it appears, were

deliberately sacrificed by one of Rivera’s officers, the Italian Gui-

seppe Garibaldi, as the necessary price of convoying a large number

of Rivera’s troops to Entre-Rios Province in 1842. 48

Meanwhile, Paraguay gained her independence (1811) and re¬

mained aloof from the Argentine and Uruguayan disturbances. The

Paraguayans were good river sailors, and even during the late

colonial period they were accustomed to river campaigns — engag¬

ing in frontier strife with the Portuguese, sending reinforcements

against the English invasion of 1806, and running errands for the

Spanish military officials in the colony.49 This kind of small naval

activity was familiar to the two strong, suspicious men who ruled

Paraguay from 1811 to 1862 (Jose Gaspar Rodriguez de Francia,

to 1841, Carlos Antonio Lopez afterward). Both these dictators

kept up the navy and used it for other than purely military tasks,

as the Spaniards had done before them. Much of Paraguayan indus¬

try and commerce was in the hands of the state,50 and these dictators

used their sailing ships and canoes as public transportation every¬

where in the republic.

46 Ibid., pp. 149—151. See also Foreign Minister Felipe Arana to U. S. Consul Amory

Edwards, Buenos Aires, March 19, 1843, and Edwards’ correspondence with other

figures, all in CDBA, VI.

47 As mentioned in Arana’s note cited in footnote 46, and in Consul Edwards’ despatch

of September 20, 1843, CDBA, VII, in which he notes that U. S. ships were being

bought in the Rio de la Plata to be used in this trade.

48 Diaz, op. cit., p. 43, refers to this incident which he blames on the principal min¬

ister of Rivera’s government, Antonio Vidal.

49 Libro Mayor de la Real Caxa del Paraguay . . . , 1803, in ANP, recording a

variety of expenses of this naval activity. Some ships were owned by the crown, some

leased or hired for specific purposes. The Libro Mayor de la R1 Caxa del Paraguay,

ano de 1807, ibid., shows expenses of hiring six ships to take troops to Buenos Aires

during the English invasion, in 1806 — more than 5,000 pesos’ worth. Ships were also

hired to carry troops north to Fort Borbon on the Paraguay River ; see Libro Mayor

. . . for 1808, ibid. The captain of the port of Asuncion was ordered not to com¬

mandeer ships already loaded for river trade: Instrucciones al Capit&n del Puerto,

by the governing Junta, Asuncibn, January 9, 1812, ANP, tomo 216, no. 1.

60 Some kind of official monopoly of yerba mate (Paraguayan tea) and wood existed

from early independence days. By 1846, it was well established.

In 1845, Lopez was using small ships to bring supplies from distant points for gov¬

ernment projects; see his permits to travel, issued to Sgts. Andres Carvallo (for

twenty men and a zumaca) and Ignacio Robles (for sixteen men and a buque),

Asuncion, January 23 and July 27, 1845, ANP, tomo 272, no. 30.

1956]

Kroeber—Rio de la Plata Warfare

103

Paraguay built up a sailing-ship navy before 1820, 51 and this

force was increased by a variety of smaller craft in later years.52

Carlos Antonio Lopez, like Francia before him, anticipated dangers

of all kinds and from all possible directions. He provided against

sudh threats by buying and building a fleet of small steamers espe¬

cially during the 1850’s.53 This was the strongest war fleet in the

Plata region at the time, although it was put to no warlike use

until the Paraguayan War of 1865-1870.

Meanwhile, Buenos Aires was once again in trouble with major

naval powers. In July, 1845, United States Consul Graham at

Buenos A 'res was exasperated at the British and French refusal to

allow Brown’s navy to impose a compete blockade on Montevideo :

“The English and French acknowledge the right of this Gov¬

ernment [Buenos Aires] to blockade Montevideo . . . but they

refuse to permit any interference with their [own] trade to

Montevideo, therefore all Governor Rosas has the power to do,

is to say that vessels having communication with that place,

shall not enter this Port. . . .”54

Worse was yet to come. British and French traders in Montevideo

were loudly protesting the stoppage of their trade, and Rivera’s

Uruguayan government sent out several missions to obtain British

or French intervention against Buenos Aires. On August 1, 1845,

the French and English naval units in the Rio de la Plata put a

blockade on Oribe’s port of Buceo,55 presumably to discourage his

siege of Montevideo. The next day they captured the whole Buenos

Aires fleet, removed their nationals from its crews, and sent the

ships home to Argentina.56 The blockaders soon captured the Uru-

61 Otauo, op. cit., p. 3, records that Francia sent a squadron to demonstrate off the

port of Corrientes in 1818. The Libro Manal de la Caxa de Hazda de la Republica del

Paraguay [for 1816], ANP, lists the construction expense for several new warships

and for repair of others. Wood was brought for ship repair in 1822, according to <Juan

Jose Zuloaga’s declaration, Asuncion, August 20, 1822, ibid., tomo 235, no. 14.

52 By 1845, government construction of canoas, lanchas, and other smallish vessels

was too extensive to detail here. These craft were built and repaired near Villa Rica,

at Concepcion, Asuncion, Pilar, Yuti, Tobati, Paso de la Patria, Oliva, and probably

elsewhere; see ANP, tomos 272, no. 30; 282, no. 13; 291, no. 13; and letters in tomo

1424. This activity continued into the 1850’s, culminating in the establishment of a

large number of guard posts along the rivers, all of them equipped with small vessels

or canoes.

53 There were a dozen of these vessels, if not more ; see Otano, op. cit., passim. The

military repair, shipbuilding, and machinery shops built for this program are dis¬

cussed in a progress report submitted by the English chief engineer, John W. K.

Whitehead, during 1857 (ANP, tomo 323, no. 2). He states that it had taken eighteen

months to put the first of the locally built steamers into the water, counting from the

time they started to build not only the ships but the foundries, shops, and other

works. He also discusses the building of a new pier which was being built so that

heavy marine engines could more easily be moved into steamboats built in local yards.

54 Despatch of July 5, 1845, CDBA, VIII.

55 British Charge Adolph Turner’s notification to U. S. Consul Robert M. Hamilton,

Montevideo, August 2, 1845, ibid.

68 Consul Graham’s despatch, August 11, 1845, ibid. He was almost if not quite

speechless; “If it be a declaration of war, against which nation is it — The Banda

Oriental or the Argentine Confederation?” Could these local commanders declare a

104 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

guayan port of Colonia from Oribe’s army, took the island of Martin

Garcia from Rosas, and coursed up and down the Rio Uruguay. The

Argentine dictator reacted by denying British and French ships

the right to anchor at Buenos Aires or to buy food or supplies there.

Thus his open support of Oribe’s Uruguayan faction provoked the

Anglo-French forces to blockade the ports of Buenos Aires Province,

on September 22, 1845. 57

This was a very different sort of blockade than those of 1826-

1828 or 1838-1840. As Consul Graham saw it:

“The effect and apparent object of this new kind of blockade,

is to make our Merchants as well as others doing business with

Buenos Ayres, to pay duties on exports & imports in Monte¬

video as well as here; and besides the freight charged by the

small vessels to and from Montevd.0 is more than to & from the

U. S. The proceeds of the Montevidean custom house belong to

a company of English Mchts. who made advances to sustain

the Govt, and the present object of the Blockaders appears to

be to secure them from loss. Does not this subject merit the

Attention of our Govt. ? . . .”58

Historians are agreed that the blockade was so managed as to route

foreign trade by Montevideo rather than to deny it the Buenos

Aires market altogether. In other respects, too, this naval interven¬

tion failed to meet the proper definition of a blockade. For instance,

there never was a consistent blockade of any port in the Argentine

province save Buenos Aires itself.

The British forces withdrew from this intervention in mid-1847,

probably because British merchants in Buenos Aires finally made

their protests heard. Thereafter, the French had but a single war¬

ship stationed off Buenos Aires,59 and this quasi-blockade ended in

midwinter of 1848 without having caused any permanent damage

to Oribe or to Juan Manuel de Rosas of Buenos Aires.

The importance of this long period of naval and military conflict

between Argentina and Uruguay, which continued from 1838 to

1852, is not to be found in the two interventions by major Euro¬

war? If they would, as they said, blockade any Oriental port occupied by troops in

the service of the Argentine government, then “What constitutes an occupation of a

port of the Oriental Republic?”

57 Graham’s despatch, September 17, 1845, CDBA, VIII; see also British Charge

Francis L. Ball’s note to Graham, Buenos Aires, September 22, 1845, and French

Charge Baron de Maueuil (?) to Graham, same place and date, ibid.

On September 1, there were 71 foreign vessels at Buenos Aires. At first they were

given only fifteen days time in which to leave, but this limitation was extended to

November 1, 1845, at which time those remaining were sent out of the port ; see

Graham’s despatch, November 3, 1845, CDBA, VIII.

^Despatch of January 2, 1847, CDBA, VIII. I have not been able to verify these

accusations : others say that the French dominated this group.

Our representatives at Buenos Aires were a mediocre set of men during the early

and middle nineteenth century, and most of them automatically took at face value the

official facts and interpretations handed them by governments of Buenos Aires.

59 As Graham asserts in his despatch, July 3, 1847, CDBA, VIII.

1956]

Kroeher — Rio de la Plata Warfare

105

pean powers. Its significance lies in the war between Rosas and

Oribe on the one hand and Rivera on the other. From 1838 to 1847,

this war was fought to decide whether Uruguay would continue to

be an independent nation or whether it would become an Argentine

province. Rosas and Oribe failed to win because the French and

English twice intervened to protect Rivera and the port of Monte¬

video. After 1847, however, there was a change. When the English

and French were gone, the war acquired a new dimension. Rosas

and Oribe now threatened to overwhelm Montevideo where Rivera

lay besieged ; and if Montevideo fell, Rosas would control the trade

of the whole river region and all its foreign and local shipping. It

was this threat-— that Rosas would finally gain a domination that

he had sought for two decades— that provided new allies to Rivera’s

cause.

Even in 1847, Entre-Rios Province had refused to follow Rosas

and Oribe in their embargoes against shipping from the rivers

Parana and Uruguay to the port of Montevideo. In 1851, faced with

the imminent capture of Montevideo by Rosas and Oribe, Governor

Urquiza led Entre-Rios into an alliance with Corrientes Province,

Rivera’s party in Uruguay, and the Empire of Brazil. The an¬

nounced object of this alliance was to overthrow Oribe and to face

Rosas, if necessary, in order to ensure freedom of trade and ship¬

ping in the river region.

In May, 1851, the promised Brazilian fleet appeared in the Rio

de • a Plata to protect the gathering of troops planned by Urquiza.

This force also shielded Montevideo until the land army could

relieve it from Oribe’s siege. Rosas meanwhile had been prevented

by the French from reoccupying the island of Martin Garcia, which

he felt he must hold in order to oppose any such coalition as was

now forming against him.00 Brazil gathered troops along her Uru¬

guayan border, and her steamers supported Urquiza by entering

his ports along the western side of the Rio Uruguay.

Near the end of 1851, this Brazilian fleet threw a protective

shield along the Parana and Uruguay rivers, while Urquiza’s army

advanced to raise the siege of Montevideo. When the city was free

and Oribe’s forces scattered, the ships ferried many of Urquiza’s

troops over into Entre-Rios. In December, they steamed up the

Parana to protect his army once again as it made the westward

crossing of the Parana from Entre-Rios Province into Santa Fe.

Admiral Grenfell’s Brazilian ships shot their way past Rosas’ bat¬

teries at Tonelero on December 17, joining Urquiza near Diamante

at the head of the Parana delta.01 There the six steamers, with

60 Graham’s despatch of May 19, 1851, CDBA, VIII.

81 1 follow Diaz, op. cit., pp. 158 ff., and William Hadfteld, Brazil , the River P'late and

the Falkland Islands . . . (London, 1854), p. 190, for these events.

106 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

dozens of sailboats and any number of improvised rafts, canoes,

and other floating objects, spent sixteen days carrying men and

equipment across the stream. General Cesar Diaz relates that fifty

thousand horses swam this crossing.

Urquiza and a few of the leading units went so rapidly south

through Santa Fe Province by Christmas Day that the fleet began

bringing men down river to Rosario to catch up with the general.

Gathering the whole army, Urquiza dispensed with any further

naval support and made a long, hard march out into the pampa and

round about to approach Buenos Aires from the southwest. There

he fought the victorious battle of Caseros, in early 1852, that broke

the power of Rosas. After four decades of independence, Argen¬

tina was on the point of forming her first national government.

As it proved, the new leaders of Buenos Aires would not suffer

Urquiza’s temporary rule, nor would they agree to the national

constitution written at Santa Fe in 1858. By the end of 1853,

Urquiza moved on Buenos Aires once again to enforce submission

to the national government. Both sides quickly organized little

fleets, now for the first time including steamships. Urquiza’s naval

blockade of Buenos Aires (April 23- June 20, 1853) came to a

bizarre end when his commander John Coe went over to the Buenos

Aires government with all his ships.62

The British merchant Wilfrid Latham summed up the reasons

for this strange turn of events in saying that the blockade “became

a ‘job’ — a trading job of the commander of the blockading squadron.

. . .”63 Latham had been trying to mediate the disagreement be¬

tween Urquiza and Buenos Aires, and his petition with the names

of five thousand foreign residents of the city having gone in vain,

another way to end the fighting was found, he says :

“. . . the Buenos Ayrean government having offered a good

price for Coe’s defection, and deposited the gold ounces on

board an American man of war lying in the river, the whole

blockading squadron came into port, and anchored under the

guns of the fort, with the Buenos Ayres flag flying. . . .”64

62 According- to Wilfrid Latham, The States of the River Plate (2nd ed., London,

1868), pp. 276—280, and Alfred M. Du Graty, La Confederation Argentine (Paris,

1858), pp. 51 ff. Consul Graham’s despatches also tell parts of the story. He states

that Buenos Aires boug-ht its vessels and enlisted as many Italian sailors as could be

found at Buenos Aires or Montevideo (despatch of January 31, 1853, CDBA, VIII).

He also dates Coe’s defection on June 20 ; see the despatch of July 3, 1853, ibid:

“There seems to be no doubt that the chiefs of the squadron were bribed. . . .” If so,

this was the second round of bribing, since a few weeks earlier two ships that now

rejoined the Buenos Aires fleet had deserted to the Confederation forces. Their com¬

manders remained in service both times. See Latham, op. cit., pp. 280-281, and

Graham’s despatch of May 9, 1853, CDBA, VIII.

83 Latham, op. cit., p. 285.

64 Ibid., p. 287.

1956]

Kroeber—Rio de la Plata Warfare

107

After this incident, some of the Buenos Aires warships were

sold and the few remaining in service were modernized.65 When

Bueno-s Aires and the Argentine Confederation again commenced

hostilities in 1859, both governments had to buy and rent steam¬

ers and sailing ships. They contracted for the services of “foreign

legions” of Italians and Spaniards on the pattern of Guiseppe Gari¬

baldi's Legion at Montevideo a few years before.66 This time the

Buenos Aires force occupied Martin Garcia. Island, and the Confed¬

eration declared its ports closed to all “commerce or correspond¬

ence” with Buenos Aires.67 The Confederation fleet made only occa¬

sional appearances off Buenos Aires, and no blockade of the port

was recognized by foreign powers. The important fighting took

place on land, the only naval action coming when the Confederation

fleet retired up the Parana, forced its way past the guns of Martin

Garda, and dodged the Buenos Aires fleet altogether by using an

unexpected channel. When Buenos Aires lost the decisive land battle

on October 25, her fleet was able to fight off Urquiza’s squadron

and bring the troops safely home to Buenos Aires again.68

The final act in this decade of intermittent naval war among

Argentine provinces came in 1861. Martin Garcia was again occu¬

pied by the forces of Buenos Aires, and both sides, collected navies

as quickly as possible :

“The principle was 'catch as catch can.’ The Federals kept

what they could at Parana, and the Buenos Ayreans seized all

the vessels they could lay their hands on at their own end of

the river. None were safe except those which sailed under a

foreign flag. . . . When the Government took possession of a

steamer, they set to work to strengthen and repair her as well

as they could, to mount a few guns, and through the agency of

crimps, to get sailors from foreign ships in the port. . . .”6&

The fleets thus assembled were almost equal in force, Buenos Aires

possessing six steamers and a brig, while President Santiago Derqui

of the Confederation had nine steamers and some smaller craft.70

These squadrons confronted each other but did not fight while the

issue was being decided by the armies. Buenos Aires was the victor

65 The governor’s annual message to the legislature (printed at Buenos Aires, 1854)

mentions selling some “unnecessary” and degenerate vessels ; and the message of 1858

(printed at Buenos Aires, April 30, 1858) speaks of the navy as being “considerably

reduced,” but also mentions that the government of Buenos Aires had just had a

small war steamer built in Europe. This was probably the first ship built abroad for

either Argentina or Uruguay.

00 Consul Hudson’s despatch of May 28, 1859, CDBA, IX.

67 Hudson’s despatch, June 7, 1859, CDBA, IX. This decree went into effect on May 30,

1859.

68 Consul Hudson’s despatches of August 20 and October 29, CDBA, IX, narrate

these events.

69 Thomas W. Hinchliff, South American Sketches . . . (London, 1863), p. 88.

70Hinchliff, op. cit pp. 329-331, and Consul Hudson’s despatch of August 24 1861

CDBA, X.

108 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

at the Battle of Pavon, September 17, 1861. After covering the

retreat of Confederation troops across the River Parana into Entre-

Rios, the national government’s squadron retired to Parana to be

dismantled. In this disarmed state it was '‘captured” by the fleet of

Buenos Aires, thus ending the river campaigns that had been such

an important part of the wars since 1810.

During the period 1810-1861, the fleets of the Platine states

wisely did not fight naval wars with the major naval powers that

intervened in their affairs. Likewise, the governments that ruled

Buenos Aires and Montevideo up to 1861 could not hope to meet the

challenge of civil or foreign war by naval force alone. Fighting in

ships was a new and uncertain experience to these former Spanish

colonists, and the tiny budgets of their new republics had no place

for peacetime navies save for a handful of ships in coast-guard and

port duties.

In time of war, foreigners led the Argentine and Uruguayan war

fleets, and many of the seamen were foreign born. This is not sur¬

prising, since foreigners dominated shipping in the Plata region

more and more as time went by. Argentina and Uruguay never had

seagoing merchant fleets during that period. The coastal trade with

Brazil fell into other hands. As for the hundreds of small craft on

the rivers and estuary, Italian and Spanish immigrants owned and

manned so many of them as to rival the number of native-born

sailors. But by 1861 the Argentines and Uruguayans had acquired

a tradition that soon led them to build steam-driven fleets, to found

naval academies, and, down to our own time, to maintain profes¬

sional navies that render useful services to those peaceable

republics.

Paraguay did emphasize naval affairs, mostly because her dic¬

tators were at once so all-powerful in Paraguay and so apprehen¬

sive of foreign attack. They spent a disproportionate amount of

time and money on all aspects of national defence, including the

navy. Still, it was true that the rivers were Paraguay’s first line

of defence, as it later proved when she launched a terrible war

against other Platine powers in 1865.

Why was naval warfare so frequent and so serious in that period

between 1800 and 1861 ? First of all, fleets were valuable in support

of armies, as has been shown in the foregoing pages. Most generals

were aware of this even before 1850. Secondly, warships were even

more often used in the Plata region to block the enemy’s trade,

since so much commerce went by water and because shipping

activity increased with each new decade. Also, the Platine economy

was gradually becoming part of the Atlantic trading system. Com¬

mercial powers like England and France now showed an active,

1956]

Kroeber — Rio de la Plata Warfare

109

sometimes an aggressive interest in the Plata region. Argentina

had her diplomatic difficulties with the United States government,

as well.

Most important of all, naval warfare reflected a conflict of inter¬

ests among the three Platine nations and also within Argentina

and Uruguay. Before 1861 each of the three nations was constantly

distracted by a particular problem of its own. For Paraguay, the

problem was to obtain recognition of her independence gained in

1811, sustained thereafter, and formally declared in 1842. For Uru¬

guay, the issue was first to gain her freedom (1828), and then

somehow to force others to honor her independent status in day-

to-day practice. For Argentina, the problem was unification under

one government, which was finally achieved in 1861.

With these problems unsettled, the three riverine nations spent

more than half a century in mutual suspicion, antagonism, and war,

to say nothing of bitter civil wars in Argentina and Uruguay. The

most frequent occasion for trouble was the use of the rivers for

trade and travel. This long struggle is known as the issue of free¬

dom of navigation — the attempts by Paraguay, Uruguay, and the

Argentine river provinces to gain the right to regulate their own

shipping, to have free access to the rivers and the sea, and to have

foreign ships come directly to their own river ports. Naval warfare

among those nations should be understood as merely a part of that

larger issue of free navigation, which was of first importance dur¬

ing peace and war alike. Freedom of navigation was, in turn, but a

locus of conflict over the basic issues of unification and independ¬

ence which were disturbing domestic and international affairs

everywhere in the region. To place naval warfare in this context

is to go far toward explaining why it was so frequent, so serious,

and so significant in the Rio de la Plata region before 1861.

.

I

NOTES ON THE BIOLOGY OF THE CHERRY FRUIT WORM

IN WISCONSIN1

D. A. Dever

Department of Entomology, University of Wisconsin *

This study was initiated in 1949 with the discovery of a new

insect pest infesting sour cherries in Door County, Wisconsin, viz.,

the cherry fruit worm, Grapholitha packardi Zell. Larvae of this

insect are found in the flesh of cherries at harvest time. Some of

the infested fruits can be detected and removed at the canning fac¬

tory by the sorting crew. Many of them, however, are not detected

until the processed fruit is opened for inspection.

Such infestations constitute a serious threat to the cherry indus¬

try of Door County, as the presence of infested cherries in the

processed fruit is sufficient reason to condemn the entire cherry

pack. In view of this, investigations were initiated to determine

effective control procedures for this pest. Concurrent records and

observations were made on the biology and ecology of the cherry

fruit worm.

DISTRIBUTION

Wisconsin ranks third nationally in sour cherry production. The

main acreage of sour cherry trees is in Door County. A survey was

made to determine the distribution and relative abundance of the

cherry fruit worm. Twenty-three orchards in Door County and sev¬

eral of the larger orchards on Washington Island were surveyed.

The results of the survey are presented in Table 1.

The cherry fruit worm was found to be quite generally distrib¬

uted throughout the county. The infestations were quite heavy in

the southern part of the county. In the northern areas they were

sporadic and light in nature. The nature of the distribution and the

occurrence of the cherry fruit worm on Washington Island indi¬

cates that this insect was present in Door County for a number of

years prior to its discovery in 1949.

HISTORY

It seems probable that the cherry fruit worm was widely dis¬

tributed in North America many years before it was first reported

as occurring in Texas by Zeller in 1876. He described the cherry

’•Approved for publication by the Director of the Wisconsin Experiment Station.

* Now Research Entomologist, California Spray-Chemical Corporation, Medina, N. Y.

Ill

112 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

fruit worm under the name Grapholitha packardi. Since Zeller’s

original description the species has been mentioned as a pest of

apples in Missouri by Murtfeldt (1891) and as a pest of apples,

peaches, and roses by Forbes (1923) in New York. Heinrich (1926)

listed the distribution of the cherry fruit worm as Texas, Missis¬

sippi, Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois, Michigan, Maryland, West Vir¬

gin a, New Jersey, Delaware, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire.

Lipman (1936) and Martin (1939) reported this species as a pest

of cultivated blueberries in New Jersey. However, the full impor¬

tance of the cherry fruit worm as a pest of sour cherries was not

realized for many years despite its early discovery and wide

distribution.

TABLE 1

RESULTS OF A GENERAL SURVEY TO DETERMINE THE DISTRIBUTION OF

THE CHERRY FRUIT WORM IN DOOR COUNTY, 1951

Orchard

Smith . . . . .

Wellhaven .

Overbeck .

Ullsperger .

Palm, r, Jr .

Babach .

Goldman .

Barnard .

Petudlka .

Bieri .

Eames .

Moore .

Chase .

Slobay .

Perry .

Clark .

Fiedler .

Erickson .

Urmeneta .

Logerquist .

Ebers .

Roen .

Carlson .

General Survey

Locality*

Cherry

Fruit

Worm

Sturgeon Bay .

Experiment Station

Valmy .

Egg Harbor .

Juddville .

Fish Creek .

North Bay .

Ephraim .

Sister Bay. .

Sister Bay .

Baileys Harbor .

Washington Island.

t

f

t

0

t

0

t

0

t

*Orchards are located within five miles of town indicated,

f Indicates presence of insect in orchard.

In most areas the cherry fruit worm was infesting sour cherries

many years before it reached high infestation levels. Downes

(1929) reported that it was first found in British Columbia in 1917

but did not become serious until 1927. In that year the average

1956]

D ever— Cherry Fruit Worm

113

infestation in sour cherries was from 36 to 45 per cent of the total

crop. Hoerner and List (1952) indicated that the cherry fruit worm

was present in Colorado as early as 1914. They stated that in 1915

and again in 1922 fruit had been refused by a processor on account

of infestations by this species. Breakey and Webster (1938) re¬

ported cherry fruit worm as unusually abundant in sour cherry

orchards in western Washington. The fruit was heavily infested

and part of the crop was refused by the canneries. In 1949 this spe¬

cies was first noticed as destructive to sour cherry in Wisconsin

(Dever and Fluke, 1951, Dever 1954 b) .

The presence of cherry fruit worm larvae in harvested and proc¬

essed fruit has caused considerable anxiety among the growers and

processors of sour cherries.

According to Hoerner and List (1952) the armed forces refused

the northern Colorado crop in 1945 because of worm infested cher¬

ries. In 1949 the Wisconsin cherry pack was jeopardized because

of larval infested cherries in the processed fruit.

INJURY

The cherry fruit worms cause injury by boring into the fruit.

They bore through the epidermis shortly after they hatch. In a few

days this early injury can be detected by means of the entrance

hole made by the young larvae as well as the small brown trails

caused by their tunnelling. The larvae may feed extensively just

below the surface, and is evidenced by sunken, rough, brownish

colored areas (Figure 1). More than one fruit may be damaged as

the larva matures. Mature fruits are roughened, blackish, and gen¬

erally distorted. Larval frass may be present on the surface of the

cherry. The inside of the cherry, next to the pit, is completely eaten

away (Figure 2).

In Door County, worm infested cherries may be found from the

middle of July through harvest time. The larvae may leave the fruit

prior to harvest, but in some cases they may still be present in the

harvested fruit. As a result, worm infested cherries may find their

way into the processed fruit.

The injury caused by the cherry fruit worm may be confused

with that caused by plum curculio larvae. In early stages the char¬

acteristic crescent shaped mark made on the fruit by the adult

curculio will serve to distinguish curculio infested cherries. As the

extent of the damage increases, however, it becomes more difficult

to separate the two. Positive identification can be made using

certain larval characteristics (Dever, 1954).

A ^ .rz

114 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

Figure 1. Various degrees of injury caused by larvae of the cherry fruit worm.

Figure 2. Internal damage caused to mature cherries by cherry fruit worm

larvae.

1956]

Dever — Cherry Fruit Worm

115

TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION

The following description of the moth is that given by Forbes

(1923).

“Dark fuscous, head and palpi dark; fore wing with several

transverse lead-grey bars, parallel to outer margin, and also con¬

nected with oblique fasciae running down from the costa. A distinct

series of black dots or short bars in the speculum, and between the

speculum and the costa, extending most of the width of the wing.

B:sal line in fringe unbroken. Hind wing in male light gray, no

darker at the margin, with a blackish sex-patch covering most of

cell and extending a little beyond it; in female blackish. Fringe

gray. 10 mm. Male usually smaller.”

Heinrich (1926) makes the additional comment concerning the

sex-scaling. “Its most striking character, however, is a strong patch

of blackish sex-scaling upon the upper surface of the hind wing

and a similar patch on the under surface of the fore wing of the

male. This character, as far as I know, is shared by no other North

American species of Grapholitha or Laspeyresia.”

The following description of the full grown larva was made from

specimens collected in the Door County area of Wisconsin.

Mature Larva- — general color whitish-pink, ventral surface not

so pink as dorsal ; head, from mottled yellowish-brown to dark

brown, shiny ; mouth parts, pale gray, almost white ; antenna, white

at base, slightly darker towards tip; thoracic shield, shiny, pale

yellow to light brown, divided in the middle by a longitudinal paler

line; thoracic legs, white; prolegs white, crochets uniordinal, uni¬

serial, and in a complete circle ; crochets on anal prolegs uniordinal,

uniserial, and in a transverse band ; setae on grayish-white pinacu-

lae; anal shield, mottled grayish-black; anal comb, dark brown

with four to six prongs of irregular length. (For detailed setal

pattern see reference cited : Dever 1954) .

BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY

The cherry fruit worm has one generation a year in Wisconsin.

The adults (Figure 3) are small grayish-black moths with a wing

spread of one-quarter inch. The adults lay (Figure 3) their oval,

yellow eggs on the fruit at the time it begins to color. After an in¬

cubation period of approximately 10 days, the eggs hatch and the

young larvae bore into the fruit. These larvae reach maturity in

about three weeks and leave the fruit to construct their winter

quarters. They may spin a nest under a piece of loose bark, in a

roughened stub of a broken branch or twig, or, they may bore into

116 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

Figure 4. Overwintering nests of cherry fruit worm showing nest and empty

pupal case.

Figure 3. Adults of the cherry fruit worm.

* *

117

1956] D ever— -Cherry Fruit Worm

the stubs of pruned branches. The winter is spent in these quarters

as mature larvae.

Hibernation . The hibernacula have a light gray silken cover. The

cover is easily removed to reveal two additional layers which are

very black and quite tough and brittle. The hibernacula are ex¬

tremely well concealed and are found in crevices, ends of twigs,

bark curls, or similar depressions.

Although the places selected by the larvae may not be well pro¬

tected it was thought that the well constructed hibernaculae would

afford protection from severe cold. However, many of the larvae

collected in the spring were dead. A white fungus growth was found

on the larval bodies within the hibernacula. The fungus was identi¬

fied as a non-pathogenic organism which lived as a saprophyte on

dead and decaying organic matter. It appeared that some of the

larvae may have been killed by severe winter temperatures.

The effect of temperatures on the larvae was investigated by

simulating conditions of exposed and protected larvae. A collection

of fruit infested with mature larvae was made in the fall of 1950.

The infested fruits were divided into two lots of 25 infested fruits

per lot.

One lot was placed in a glass battery jar in an outdoor insectary.

Several strips of corrugated cardboard and several pruned cherry

twigs were also placed in the jar to provide a place for the larvae

to construct their hibernacula. Later in the season, it was found

that some of the larvae had constructed winter quarters in the

crevices of the corrugated cardboard; others, by boring into the

cherry twigs.

The other infested fruits were scattered about the base of a five

year old cherry tree of the Montmorency variety. The tree was

completely enclosed by a screen wire cage. Hibernation sites were

provided in the form of pruned cherry twigs scattered around the

base of the tree. The larvae constructed hibernacula by boring into

the ends of the twigs.

In the battery jar, those larvae which had bored into the pruned

twigs survived the winter ; those which had utilized the corrugated

cardboard as overwinter sites, died. In the screen wire cage, all the

larvae overwintering in the twigs survived and the adult moths

infested the fruit on the tree. It was concluded that the larvae

which hibernate under loose pieces of bark, etc., may not survive

the severe winters encountered in the Door County area.

Pupation . The larvae pupate in their hibernacula in the spring

(Figure 4). The pupae are slender, yellowish-brown, and measure

approx'mately one-fifth of an inch in length. According to Hoerner

and List (1952) the average length of the pupal stage is 29 days.

118 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

It is not uncommon to observe pupae projecting from the hiber-

nacula just prior to and after adult emergence.

Adult activity. In Door County the appearance of the first adult

moths will vary with seasonal conditions. On cool, humid, and some¬

what cloudy days they commence flying about four o’clock in the

afternoon. On warm sunny days they will not fly unless disturbed.

They are strong fliers and exhibit a very erratic flight pattern. The

records obtained for the three year period indicate that the moth

flight commences two to four weeks after petal fall and lasts for a

period of 14 to 21 days.

The seasonal moth flights for the three years were obtained by

trapping the adults with fermented bait and light traps. The bait

was the standard codling moth attractant of molasses, honey, and

yeast in water. The light traps were superior to the bait traps but

neither of the trapping methods was considered very efficient. The

total number of moths trapped was exceedingly small and did not

represent a true picture of the distribution of the adult population.

An experiment was set up in 1951 to test the relative merits of

several baits.

The basic bait of molasses and honey was retained but the yeast

was not used. Instead of yeast one c.c. of various attractants was

added. They were oleic acid, sorbitol borate, tartaric acid, eugenol,

and acetic acid. Six baits were set out in an orchard which had

previously been infested with cherry fruit worm. Five of the baits

had the attractants added. The sixth bait or check was the ordi¬

nary fermented bait. These were replicated twice making a total of

12 bait pails. The baits were set out during the height of moth

activity and records taken for one week. In all cases only one or

two moths were trapped during the experiment. None of the

chemicals tested was any better than the standard bait of honey,

molasses, and yeast.

In 1952 another attempt was made to find a lure for the adult

moths. In this experiment the standard oriental fruit moth attrac¬

tant was tested. It consisted of 7.3 pounds of liquid dimalt and

one and one-half ounces of sodium benzoate in 15 gallons of water.

There were no moths trapped by this bait during the two week

period of adult emergence. This was surprising since Tomlinson

(1951) and Hoerner and List (195.2) have both reported that the

oriental fruit moth bait is effective in trapping fruit worm adults.

If the evidence presented earlier in this paper concerning the

apparent winter killing of the overwintering larvae is considered,

it may be argued that the moth population was low. On the other

hand, it is probable that the night temperatures during the period

of moth activity were also a factor in limiting the adult flight. Few

1956]

D ever— Cherry Fruit Worm

119

cherry fruit worm moths were trapped in an orchard located on

the cooler, lake side of the Door peninsula (Palmer orchard). In

this same orchard, the number of adults trapped of the bud moth,

Spilonota ocellana D. & S., and the fruit tree leaf roller, Ar chips

argyrospila Walk., were equally low. There was considerable inci¬

dence, however, of fruit damage by these three insects in this

orchard. In orchards where cherry fruit worm adults were trapped

the minimum and maximum temperatures were slightly higher

than the temperature recorded in orchards located in the vicinity

of the Palmer orchard. In view of this and the injury caused by the

cherry fruit worm, it is concluded that the moth population is

moderate but that the moth activity may be limited by low evening

temperatures.

During the cool, wet growing season of 1950, the moth flight

started during the first week of July and lasted for three weeks. In

1951 and 1952, however, the growing season was more temperate.

This resulted in an earlier appearance of the first moths. In 1951

the moth flight lasted nearly three weeks, from June 12 to July 1.

In 1952 the flight period was much shorter from June 9 to June 18.

The prevailing temperatures during the period of moth activity

were higher in 1952 than those which prevailed for the same period

in 1951. Apparently seasonal temperatures have a pronounced

effect on the initiation and duration of the adult flight of the cherry

fruit worm.

As pointed out above, climatic differences in the growing periods

for 1950, 1951 and 1952 caused a three week variance in the initia¬

tion of moth activity for the respective years. These differences also

caused a variance in the blossoming period. In 1950 the blossoms

started to open May 26 and were fully open by June 8. Petal fall

was June 6. In 1951 blossoming was ten days earlier. It started

May 16 and ended May 28, with full bloom May 24. In 1952 the

blossom period occurred earlier, May 5, but was prolonged and

ended May 22. Full blossom occurred from May 11 to 17. The period

which elapsed between the appearance of the first adult moths and

petal fall varied from 19 to 33 days over the three year period, 33

days in 1950, 19 days in 1951 and 22-29 days in 1952. Since these

differences exist, the timing of spray recommendations for cherry

fruit worm control should be based on annual records of adult

activity.

Oviposition. The adult moths lay their eggs on the unripe fruit.

According to Hoerner & List (1952) they may lay them anywhere

on the fruit but a slight preference is shown for roughened areas.

The author has usually found them next to the suture at the base

of the petiole or at the calyx end next to the pistil scar. The eggs

120 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

are whitish-yellow in color and circular to elleptical in shape. They

are difficult to detect as their color corresponds to that of the fruit at

the time they are laid. As they develop, the contents of the egg

gradually turn grayish-white. Shortly before they hatch, the larval

head capsule is readily visible.

Numerous attempts were made to obtain eggs from moths in the

laboratory. The moths were obtained from reared collections, bait

traps and mechanical traps. They were placed in oviposition cages

and supplied daily with branches bearing several cherries. Only

one egg was obtained and it hatched in four days. Hoerner and

List (1952) observed an incubation period of seven days in the

laboratory. They and Downes (1929) both report an incubation

period of 10 days under field conditions.

Larval Development. The newly hatched larvae are whitish-gray

with a black head and measure from an eighth to one-quarter of an

inch in length. They bore through the epidermis of the cherry

shortly after they hatch. The entrance holes may be near the petiole,

on the side, or at the pistil scar. At first they tunnel just under¬

neath the epidermis but gradually they work in toward the pit.

Some of the larvae may attack several fruits before their

development and leave the fruit.

The seasonal larval development is presented in Figure 5. The

relatively light infestation which occurred in 1950 and 1952 made

it difficult to follow larval development. In 1951, however, the in¬

festation was adequate and fairly complete records were obtained.

In 1950 the last instar was present in the fruit up to and during

harvest (latest date August 8). On the other hand, in 1951 the

larvae had matured and deserted the fruit as early as July 27 in

the bay shore area and as late as August 3 in the lake shore area.

In 1952 the majority of the larvae had left the fruit by July 20,

although a few were still present as late as July 28. In 1951 and

1952 the larvae had left the fruit before harvest. Although the

completion of the larval development before harvest does not lessen

the damage caused by the fruit worm, it does remove a mortality

factor. It is apparent that the over-wintering population of the

cherry fruit worm will be reduced if larval development is not

complete before the fruit is harvested.

An experiment was made to determine how the mature larvae

migrated to their hibernation quarters after they deserted the fruit.

On July 20, 1951, 68 mature cherry trees were banded with cor¬

rugated cardboard. The bands were four inches wide and were

fastened to the tree with cellulose tape. Two bands were placed on

the trunk, one above and one below a ring of sticky paste. Other

bands were fastened to the main branches. These bands were ex-

1956]

Dever — Cherry Fruit Worm

121

amined every four days for mature larvae. Larvae were present in

the bands above and below the ring of sticky paste. This indicated

that the larvae either crawl down the branches of the tree or drop

to the ground and crawl to the tree. Since they were also found in

the bands on the main branches, it is concluded that they hibernate

in any suitable place encountered during their migration. Whether

MONTHS

Figure 5. Seasonal development of cherry fruit worm larvae as determined by

larval collections. Door County. 1950, 1951 and 1952.

they will hibernate in the soil or cover of the orchard floor in Wis¬

consin is not clear. According to Hoerner and List (1952) they do

but the author has not found them in such locations in Wisconsin,

despite repeated examinations of soil samples and grass stems.

Larval instars. Larval development consists of a series of molts

or ecdyses. There are two methods which can be employed to aid in

determining the number of molts for a given species (Wiggles-

122 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

worth, 1950). It has been shown by Dyar that the head capsule of

caterpillars grow in geometrical progression, increasing in width

at each molt by a ratio which is constant for a given species.

Another empirical law is known as PrzibranTs rule. According to

this rule the weight is doubled during each instar. Both the head

capsule and weight measurements should be obtained in controlled

experiments so that correct values can be assigned to the respective

stages. In some cases, however, these measurement data do not

Figure 6. Frequency distribution of head capsule widths of cherry fruit worm

larvae collected at regular intervals throughout the seasons of 1950, 1951, and

1952. Door County.

overlap and the larval instars are sharply differentiated. With this

in mind, collections of the immature -stages of the cherry fruit worm

were made at periodic intervals and at various localities in Door

County. The weight and head capsule size of these specimens were

recorded to determine the number of instars of the cherry fruit

worm. Initially the larvae were weighed on a Roller-Smith torsion

balance before preservation in alcohol. This procedure was con¬

tinued for one season and the data obtained evaluated. It was

apparent that the weight ratio between instars of the field collected

larvae was not in accordance with PrzibranTs rule, and would not

1956]

Dever — Cherry Fruit Worm

123

add support to instar differentiation using head capsule measure¬

ments. Therefore, the recording of larval weight was discontinued

and the collected larvae were preserved in 95 per cent ethyl alcohol.

The head capsules of the larvae were measured at the widest

point of the vertex using a binocular microscope. These measure¬

ments provided sufficient data to determine the number of larval

molts of the cherry fruit worm. The head capsule widths fell into

four distinct groups when plotted graphically (Fig. 6). The mini¬

mum, maximum, and average widths of the head capsules in milli¬

meters for the four groups were as follows: Group I — .210; .310;

.255: Group II— .330; .400; .367: Group III— .480; .600; .543:

Group IV- — .650 ; .940 ; .772. The average width of .772 mm. is defi¬

nitely that of the last instar as many of the larvae measured in

this group were hibernating, and a cast head capsule was not found

in numerous examinations of hibernacula in which the larvae had

pupated. The calculated ratio according to Dyar’s rule is relatively

constant: .694 between Groups I and II; .675 between Groups II

and III; and .703 between groups III and IV. This is supporting

evidence that a distinct group does not exist between the four

groups. This establishes four instars with the final instar having

an average width of .772 mm. It cannot be stated conclusively that

the first group with an average width of .255 is the first instar. If

the average ratio of .69 observed between the other groups is con¬

sidered there could be a distinct group having the average head

capsule size of .175 mm. This could be the first instar. However,

many larvae were collected that had just gained entrance to the

fruit. There was no cast head capsule in the burrow. Therefore, if

another instar exists the moult must occur before the larva enters

the fruit. It was concluded that the measurements presented here

are valid and indicate at least three larval moults in the develop¬

ment of the cherry fruit worm. It is possible that a fifth instar

occurs, and if so, it is undoubtedly the first.

LITERATURE CITED

Breakey, E. P. and R. L. Webster. 1938. The Cherry Fruit Worm in Western

Washington. Wash. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 368:40.

Dever, D. A. and C. L. Fluke. 1951. The Cherry Fruit Worm in Wisconsin.

Abstract in Proc. 6th Ann. Meeting N. Central States Branch of A.A.E.E.

p. 29.

Dever, D. A. 1954. Identification of the Larvae of the More Important Insect

Pests of Sour Cherry in Wisconsin. Trans. Wis. Acad. Sci., Arts, and Let¬

ters. Vol. 43:83-88.

- — . 1954. Cherry Fruit Worm. Univ. of Wis. Extension Service Circ. U73.

Downes, W. 1929. The Cherry Fruit Worm ( Grapliolitha packardi Zell.).

Proc. Ent. Soc. Br. Col. 26:39-43.

124 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

Forbes, W. T. M. 1923. The Lepidoptera of New York and Neighboring States,

N. Y. (Cornell) Agr. Exp. Sta . Memoir 68, 395 pp.

Heinrich, C. 1926. Revision of the North American Moths of the Subfamily

Laspeyresiinae and Olethreutinae. U.S.N.M. Bull . 132:29-30.

Hoerner, J. L. and G. M. List. 1952. Controlling the Cherry Fruit Worm in

Colorado. J. Econ. Ent. 45:800-805.

Lipman, J. G. 1936. Blueberry Insects. U9th Ann. Rep. N. J. Agr. Exp. Sta.

1936:40.

Martin, W. H. 1939. Blueberry Insects. 52nd Ann. Rep. N . J. Agr. Exp. Sta.

1939:35-36.

Murtfeldt, M. 1891. Entomological Notes From Missouri for the Season in

1890. U.S.D.A. Div. Ent. Bull. 23:52-53.

Wigglesworth, V. B. 1950. The Principles of Insect Physiology. Methuen and

Co. Lid., London. 544 pp.

Zeller, P. C. 1876. Beitrage zur Kenntniss der nordamericanischen Nacht-

f alter, besonders der Microlepidopteren. Verhandlungen Zoologisch-

botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien. 25:300-301.

NORTH PART OF THE OLD RIVER CHANNEL AT

WISCONSIN DELLS

H. F. Williams

Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Madison, Wisconsin

INTRODUCTION

The topographic features depicted on the accompanying map of

the north part of the Old River Channel at Wisconsin Dells appear

to have been almost entirely neglected by Wisconsin map-makers.

No map was found showing significant topographic detail, other

than rather steep smooth slopes on each side of the channel, in this

small area of about one-quarter by one-half mile.

Yet, to anyone descending the approximately 100 feet from the

comparatively level land on either side of the channel to the water

surface, the topographic detail becomes very apparent since in

many places it is impossible to negotiate the sandstone cliffs and

ledges without long offsets to one side or the other. These offsets

are more likely than not to necessitate other offsets through the

dense vegetative cover with the result that once the channel level

is reached one has only an obscure notion of his location. This was

the experience of the writer when attempting to make a recon¬

naissance map in limited time during white pine blister rust control

work in the summers of 1946 and 1955.

Except for the description of H. H. Bennett (1895), the several

authors who have written about, the Old Channel, inadequately

characterize it as a wide expanse of sand, a vale of considerable

extent, a gorge, a series of swamps and lakes, a depression, a

clearly visible channel or simply as a channel.

I am indebted to the Upham Woods Project of the University of

Wisconsin, the present owners, for permission to attempt a map

of the area during the winter of 1955-1956 and to publish it with

a description and a review of the literature.

Method of Survey: A Brunton magnetic compass was used for

direction, distance was obtained by pacing, and the compass clino¬

meter was used for elevations. Traverses were plotted on a base

from an 8 inch to the mile Adams County aerial photograph No.

BHT-7G-157 taken September 2, 1950 twice enlarged by panto¬

graph. Stereoscopic examination of aerial photographs taken in

1988, 1941, 1950 and 1955, because of heavy shadows, failed to

125

126 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

reveal clear-cut topographic features with differences in elevation

of up to 80 feet that the writer knew were in the area.

Symbols and Names: Topography is shown on the map by

hachure lines along the direction of slope mapped in connection

with closed magnetic traverses; heavier hachure lines for nearly

vertical sandstone cliffs ; crossed hachures for interrupted or

broken cliffs ; isolated connected hachures for areas of ledges ; light,

widely spaced hachures for gradual slopes, closer together and

shorter for steeper slopes, banks and low cliffs. Contours were

precluded by the time available.

A similar treatment of topography was attempted by the writer

for the Bad River country in Copper Falls State Park and vicinity,

Ashland County, Wisconsin in 1949. A precise, short-interval, con¬

tour map would pose many interesting problems for the cartog¬

rapher in this area and answer many interesting geological and

physiographic questions.

Slope lines added under the stereoscope to aerial photographs

during intensification of planimetric features can greatly aid the

cartographer in locating himself on the ground in many areas.

Maps of much of the state show no topography. By this simple

technique the vertical beginning and ending and the curves and

angles of many steep slopes can be located with precision if the

vegetative cover is not too heavy. Many short steep slopes are lost

between contours even on the best contour maps.

A location map is of practical importance in this area from the

wildfire control standpoint. The principal readily identifiable fea¬

tures on the ground here are topographic. Conventional symbols

are used for sand, streams, trails and water.

Names are applied to distinct topographic entities. The only

name previously applied to a feature in the area is Allen’s Creek.

It is not strictly identifiable with any present ground feature though

it bears a relation to the west side of the channel, Rockfall Creek

and the G. L. 0. Valley of the present map. The creek to which it

was applied is gone, drowned, as it were, by the back waters from

the dam at Wisconsin Dells. R. V. Allen was the builder and owner

of the Old Dell House which stood on the east side of the Old

Channel at its south end. Many other features — cliffs, valleys, caves

and elevations — in the area are well worth naming.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The area is heavily wooded with a mixture of pines, hardwoods

and hemlock, the latter mostly on the channel slopes on the south

side. There is a level cultivated field adjoining on the north. The

rock ledges and cliffs are of Cambrian, a very ancient, sandstone.

1956] Williams — Wisconsin Dells River Channel 127

The pattern of valleys and cliffs appears to be governed by a system

of rock joints at approximate right angles to each other as described

by Van Hise (1895).

Hand-level lines were run from the channel ice to the tops of

most of the higher elevations. They were all on the order of 70

(60-80) feet. Coldwater Island was the lowest, about 60 feet;

Hanging, Lost and Pine Islands about 70 feet; Shipside Cliff and

the tops of the elevations across the channel to the north about 80

feet. The level land back from the dissected area is some 20 to 80

feet higher, or about 100 feet above the water in the channel.

Descents of 70 feet in as many horizontal feet are common, often

interrupted by nearly vertical descents of 10 to 50 feet.

In general, the elevation of the valley floors above the channel is

progressively higher the further they are from the channel towards

the upland. This is indicated to some extent by the length of the

hachures along the sides. Direction of drainage or slope in the

valleys is indicated by small arrows where otherwise not clear.

In all the valleys having two mouths, drainage or slope is in both

directions. Some half dozen examples are shown with the slope

direction marked. Are these peculiar valleys the meanders of for¬

mer streams, as seems probable, or did they originate by decom¬

position of the rock in situ? Excavation would determine the

nature of their floors. Water worn cliffs recede into the valley

detritus in several places.

The channel before the dam was built at Kilbourn (City of Wis¬

consin Dells) is described as choked with sand. Now it is filled with

water the year round and averages throughout its length of a mile

and a half about 100 feet in width.

The level of the tops of the sand banks, sand ridges and sand

flats on both sides of the channel is several feet, as much as 15 or

so in places, above the present water surface. A study of the nature

and origin of this sand deposit, which is more extensive further

down the channel, would be most interesting. The writer could not

help but compare it with river terraces in glaciated areas or with

valley trains, although it is designated by Alden (1918, Plate III)

as of recent origin. On the landward side of the sand in three loca¬

tions on the south bank intermittent streams formed by run-off

from the land have eroded valleys in the sand. Run-off depressions

similar to these form specialized habitats for plant life along many

of the creeks and rivers in and adjacent to the glaciated area of

Wisconsin.

In an area cut up so thoroughly topographically as this one, it is

thought probable that very interesting studies could be made also

as to the comparative age of the erosion at different elevations. It

128

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

1956] Williams — Wisconsin Dells River Channel 129

would seem likely that the more gentle rounded slopes back of the

abrupt descents must be far older than the latter.

Numerous shallow caves in the sandstone testify to the friable

character of the rock. About 10 such are shown on the map. Their

depth seldom exceeds 10 feet. They have been a feature of explora¬

tory activity by several generations of local youngsters. Archeo-

logically, a few may be of interest.

The only stream having some water in it most of the year enters

the area from the north over a series of rock falls, the highest

being about eight feet. It has a gorge similar to others in the Dells

area with broken sandstone cliffs rising as high as 70 feet or so and

with rock walls only a few feet apart in two places. Two other val¬

leys or gorges extend back to the cultivated field on the north.

There is some indication, marked by sharp descents of a few feet,

that one or both may be hanging valleys of sorts. The only hanging

valley recognized at present in the Dells area is that of Artists’

Glen across the river to the east.

REVIEW OF CARTOGRAPHY

Map makers missed the Dells area for many years as it lay north

of the portage route between Green Bay and the Mississippi River.

According to Kellogg (1921) the first map to indicate the Dells

area was that of Featherstonhaugh (1835). Reference thereon was

by caption and hachures from hearsay. Prior to the General Land

Office Survey, I. A. Lapham and David H. Burr also indicated the

Dells area by hachures and captions. None of these three, listed

first below, showed any indication of the Old Channel. All of the

maps listed are of small scale, none over two inches to the mile.

The present map was drawn at 16 inches to the mile and a still

larger scale might well have been used.

1835— -Featherstonhaugh. On his “Map of a Portion of the Indian

Country. . . . Made in the Autumn of 1835 . . the Dells

passage of the Wisconsin River is shown by hachures and

the caption, “A narrow passage with lofty mural Sandstone

banks.”

1836 — Burr. The Dells passage is shown by hachures with the cap¬

tion, “High Rocky Banks 3 miles in length overhanging the

River so that one may jump across.”

1846— -Lapham. The Dells passage is shown by hachures with the

caption, “The Dells. Perpendicular Rock Bluffs 300 f. high.

River 40 f. wide.”

130 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

1851 — General Land Office (G.L.O.) Map. G.L.O. Valley of the

present map is connected with the east end of the channel.

Rockfall Creek is connected with the south end of the

channel and there is no valley indicated between the two.

1873 — Lapham, Charles. Rockfall Creek or G.L.O. Valley is con¬

nected to the south end of the channel and called Allens

Creek. The Old Channel, separate from the creek, is shown

by hachures cutting in a northeasterly direction directly

across Blackhawk Island to a little north of the mouth of

Coldwater Canyon. First map of the Old Channel.

1876 — Nash and Morgan. Map shows a creek from Dell House

(south end of the channel) to between Rockfall Creek and

G.L.O. Valley, thence northeast for a quarter mile. No indi¬

cation of rest of channel. NWNW Section 33 marked “Un¬

known Land.” Remainder of NNW owned by R. V. Allen.

1877 — Chamberlin and Others, Atlas Plate IV. The Old Channel is

shown by hachures running nearly due north and south,

somewhat similar to the 1873 map preceding. There is

almost no “north part” of it. Allen’s Creek is not shown.

1891 — Lapham, Charles. Hachures are used to show the Old

Channel which now is of approximate correct general shape.

Allen’s Creek now occupies the channel itself. The creek

ends about 10 chains before reaching the east entrance to

the channel. The channel is shown much too wide. There is

no detail in the north part of the channel besides the regu¬

larly hachured valley, the terminus of the creek and two

small ponds. The east entrance of the channel is now about

correct with reference to the mouth of Coldwater Canyon.

Forty years after the General Land Office Survey.

1900 — Salisbury and Atwood. A copy of Lapham’s 1891 map, page

141.

1901 — U. S. Geological Survey, The Dells Quadrangle (Surveyed

1899). This map is still being reprinted without revision.*

Contour interval 20 feet. A continuous single line stream is

shown in the Old Channel. Contours are smooth on both

sides of the north part of the Old Channel and from 840 to

940 feet above sea level. No topographic irregularities,

branch streams or valleys are shown there.

1906 — U. S. Geological Survey, River Surveys. 10-foot contour in¬

terval on land. In the north part of the Old Channel con¬

tours are from 820 to 910 on the island and 820 to 890 on the

mainland. The latter is too low as it does not check with

* The U.S.G.S. has advised the writer that advance prints of a completely remapped

The Dells quadrangle are scheduled to be available by May 1, 1958.

1956] Williams- — Wisconsin Dells River Channel 131

hand-level elevations nor with The Dells Quadrangle. One

small closed 10-foot contour is shown at about the mouth

of Rockfall Creek. It is not identifiable with any ground

feature. A 20-foot closure of the east entrance to the channel

is indicated. No water is shown in the north part. No other

topographic irregularities or branch streams or valleys are

shown although the contours, bending southward near the

center of the NWNW of Section 33, gives a vague indication

of the high land between the two main tributary valleys.

1907— Case. Map from Salisbury and Atwood (1900) which was

from Lapham (1891).

1914 — Webb Publishing Co. Atlas. The Uphams, from whom the

University acquired the land, now own the area. No topo¬

graphic detail.

1914— Whitson and Others, Soil Map. A continuous single-line

water connection is shown around Blackhawk Island. No

contours, topographic detail or tributary streams or valleys

are shown. Area along both sides of the north part of the

Old Channel is designated “Rough, Stony Land.”

1918— Alden, Plate III. The north part of the Old River Channel is

shown as a single-line stream bordered by a post-Wisconsin

stage of glaciation, or Recent, alluvial deposit of flood-plain

sand. The width of the deposit is shown about five times its

actual width. The area is indicated as having been sub¬

merged by Glacial Lake Wisconsin.

1932— Martin. Map on page 346 shows a double-line north part of

the Old Channel not connected to the river. No other detail

there. Map on page 349 shows the old river channels based

on The Dells Quadrangle (1901). No other detail in the

north part of the channel.

1933 — Land Economic Inventory Map of the Wis. State Dept, of

Agriculture and Markets. Shows vegetation types. Channel

a continuous double-line stream. No topographic detail.

1937 — Holmes. Map on page 218 shows double-line Old Channel

not connected to the main river similar to Martin’s map on

page 346.

1938 — U.S.D.A. Aerial Photograph BHT-1-2, 3 and 4. Because of

the heavy vegetative cover at all vertical elevations within

the area and the black shadows cast by this cover combined

with shadows of the elevations themselves, details of topog¬

raphy are indictinct or totally unrecognizable under stereo¬

scopic examination. Photographs, however, provide the base

for ground mapping here.

132 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

1941 — U.S.D.A. Aerial Photographs AJA-2B-46 and 47 ; AJA-8B-

35 and 36. See preceding.

1946 — Cole. Pages 4 and 5 have a perspective map of the Dells area

by A. G. Campbell. No authentic detail in the north part of

the Old Channel but cliffs are rather well represented though

exaggerated. Map on page 28 is a similar perspective some¬

what better as to the shape of Blackhawk Island. On page 14

is a copy of Martin’s map of the old channels. Map on page 16

shows the Old Channel as a single line without other detail.

1950 — U.S.D.A. Aerial Photographs 7G-156 and 157, Juneau

County. See under U.S.D.A. 1938.

1955 — U.S.D.A. Aerial Photographs WR-5P-197 and 198, Sauk

County. See under U.S.D.A. 1938.

Summary of Cartography. Nineteen maps are cited between 1851

and 1946 which bear indications of the north part of the Old

Channel. Only two of these are contour maps. The rest omitted

topographic indication or used generalized hachure or perspective

representations. The many clear-cut topographic features in the

area are largely or completely absent from all maps.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

No specific mention could be found of any of the prominent indi¬

vidual topographic features along the north part of the Old Channel

in the literature examined. Many of the references are obviously

based on hearsay or copied with or without variations from others.

Prior to the construction of the present power dam at Kilbourn

(City of Wisconsin Dells) in 1908, the east entrance to the Old

Channel was closed during most of the year by a high sand bank.

This, plus the difficulty of navigating the river here by canoe and

lumber raft in the early days, insured a nearly complete indiffer¬

ence to the north part of the Old Channel for a long time.

A pamphlet published by the H. H. Bennett Studio of Kilbourn

entitled “Old Days in the Dells” adds light on why the Dells area,

including the north part of the Old River Channel failed to attract

much attention in the early years. “In those days [prior to about

1875] few people traveled for pleasure in the wilds of Wisconsin,

and little or no interest was excited by the few accounts of the

scenery of the Wisconsin river. Most of the inhabitants of Kilbourn

found the exploration of their river too difficult and paid little

attention to their strange rock neighbors. . . .” (Page 6)

Even today much of the Dells area may fairly be described as

virtually unknown in the sense that adequate maps and descriptions

are non-existent.

1956] Williams— Wisconsin Dells River Channel 133

The first three references following have to do with the Dells

area itself while the remainder pertain to the north part of the Old

River Channel.

1832— First mention of the Dells area in literature in connection

with the capture of Black Hawk. (Kellogg, 1921)

1844— Lapham. “At the ‘Dells/ the river runs for three miles, be¬

tween perpendicular cliffs of rock about three hundred feet

high, and only forty across/' (Page 216)

1846 — Lapham. The same statement but the distance was increased

to eight miles. (Page 171)

1851— General Land Office Field Notes. The subdivider of Town¬

ship 14 North of the Wisconsin Base Line, Range 6 East of

the Fourth Principal Meridian was Henry S. Howell. In

June of 1851 he ran a line north between Sections 32 and 33

to establish the north section corner common to these two

Sections. At 58.0 chains he records a slough 70 links wide

bearing southwest. This is the Old Channel on the west side

of the present map. He noted that the land surface was

“uneven" and “broken."

Running west from the northeast corner of Section 33,

across both the gorges of Coldwater Canyon and the Wis¬

consin River, at 60 chains he crossed a ravine bearing south¬

east and south, 30 links wide and with rocky banks. This

apparently was the G.L.O. Valley of the present map.

Neither the 58 nor the 60 chain measurements check

closely with this map. Further, the measurement between

the north line of Section 33 and the Old Channel as given

for the river meander does not check closely. The section

corner is marked on the ground by an iron pipe at a fence

corner and the juncture of the north line of Section 33 and

the river is similarly marked. Just how the corners and lines

in this area were established as they are understood by the

property owners in the area today is unknown to the writer.

It may be noted parenthetically, that clearly marked subdivi¬

sion corners are not common in the Dells area. Cadastral

surveys are complicated by the topography which, away

from the river, and along with the sandy soil, is not highly

regarded.

Subdivision of land on air photographs according to the

system of rectangular surveys, is similar to that of subdivi¬

sion on the ground ; both following the rules of proportional

measurement of the U. S. Bureau of Land Management

(formerly the General Land Office) as set forth in its several

publications (e.g. 1947, 1952).

134 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

In relatively flat areas where the original survey was

quite regular and where identifiable control points are not

too far apart on the photos, unknown subdivision lines and

corners can be plotted with a high degree of confidence.

Even where control is only fair, as it is for the area under

consideration, for many purposes this system is superior to

that of pacing distances and determining direction by mag¬

netic compass, where, of course, stadia or taped distances

and transit azimuths would be prohibitively costly.

1875 — Brown. The first guide-book to the Dells describes the Old

River Channel : “Ancient River Bed. A high sand-bar faces

this opening [opposite Coldwater Canyon], but the visitor

will perceive a vale of considerable extent, and rocky bluffs

beyond, where the river evidently once flowed, centuries and

centuries ago; until it forced its way through its present

narrow gorge.” (Page 12)

This is the first specific reference found to the north part

of the Old River Channel — 81 years ago, 43 years after the

first known reference to the Dells area. The references cited

here are those found in the State Historical Society and Uni¬

versity Libraries in Madison and the Public Library at Wis¬

consin Dells. Bennett, 1895; Bennett, 1908; Brown, 1875;

and Wisner, 1875 were examined at the Bennett Studio in

the City of Wisconsin Dells through the kindness of Miss

Miriam Bennett.

1875 — Wisner. Believed to be the second guide-book to the Dells.

“The Ancient River Bed, or sand bank on the left [opposite

Coldwater Canyon]. In an early day the river divided here

and a part ran around, coming out and uniting with the

main river at or below the Dell House, forming a large

island.” (Page 30)

1877 — Chamberlin and Others. “The perpendicular sandstone walls

are from 15 to 80 feet in height, the country immediately on

top of them being about 100 feet above the river.” (Page

418) This description, applied to the main river, fairly de¬

scribes the vertical elevations in the north part of the Old

Channel also.

Following is the first mention found in technical literature

of the old river channels, “In several places branch gorges

deviate from the main gorge, returning again to it; these

are evidently old river channels and are now closed by sand.”

(Page 418) The side gorges: “The streams entering the

river in this portion of its course make similar canons on a

smaller scale.” (Page 418)

1956] Williams ■ — Wisconsin Dells River Channel 135

1879 — Donan. “The Old River Bed, through which part of the river,

if not all of it, once poured its waters, but now a wide

channel of yellowish white sand, lies on the left [nearly

opposite Coldwater Canyon]. (Page 18)

1880 — Western Historical Company. “The Ancient River-Bed is

seen [when ascending the river] as a sand bank on the left.

In an early day, the river divided here, and a part ran

around, coming out and uniting with the main river at or

below the Dell House, forming a large island.” (Page 473)

Same description as Wisner, 1875.

1887 — Jones. “Old River Bed. Here, in other days, the river used to

run, the entrance being now closed by an immense sand

heap. Very many interesting studies will be found by geolo¬

gists in following this old channel to its outlet, about 3

miles.” (Page 18) The distance is actually about half this;

the prediction is still good. This is believed to be the third

guide-book to the Dells area.

1895— Bennett. The “Old Channel of the River, now choked by a

high sand bank, which is on the left in going up the river;

but, high as it is in low water, some seasons the spring floods

raise the river high enough so that a part of the stream

runs over it and around a large tract of land, coming out

and uniting again with the main river, near the old Dell

House, forming an island. . . . Much of the way this old

Channel is as well defined as the present river, and as inter¬

esting, several isolated rocks of strange shapes, that were

islands, many caves and grottoes in the high cliffs, along

either side, much of the distance.

“If you are strong take a tramp through the old channel

some time in the autumn, when the day is not too warm,

and you will enjoy it; but if you are feeble or indolent don’t

try it. . . .” (Page 9)

The famous H. H. Bennett, “The man with a camera,”

could also make pictures with words ! Here described for the

first time, though lacking specific reference, are the aban¬

doned islands, the caves, the strikingly picturesque similarity

of the Old Channel with the New, and not least, perhaps, the

main reason why the area is even yet little known — it is not

easy of examination.

1895 — Van Hise. “Above the Narrows the old course of the stream

may be seen to leave its present channel, and below the Nar¬

rows to again join the present course. While this old channel

has not been followed personally it is said to be about l1/^

miles in length. Because of the peculiar conditions which

136 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

result in almost immediate base levelling of the side dells,

and the rectangular system of joints, it is thought probable

that side dells at the beginning and end of the Narrows

[south of the Old Channel] began to develop; that because

of the system of joints in two directions their heads inter¬

sected, and thus made the beginning of the new channel. . . .

In this shorter course the erosion would go on more and

more rapidly, and finally the old longer course would be

abandoned for the shorter one. Thus ... we have the un¬

usual phenomenon of [a] strong river in a gorge abandon¬

ing its course to follow another gorge made by two small

weak tributary streams which had no advantage in slope.”

(Page 558) As in the case of the Old Channel valley previ¬

ously mentioned, careful studies of the age of the New

Channel valley at its different vertical elevations might

throw additional light on the drainage here in ages past.

1900 — Salisbury and Atwood. “Not all the present route of the

river through the dalles has been followed throughout the

entire post-glacial history of the stream. . . . During high

water in the spring, the river still sends part of its waters

southward by the older and longer route.” (Page 140) The

old valley is described as a “depression.”

1907 — Case. “To one side of the Narrows can still be traced the

abandoned portion of the channel in a series of swamps and

lakes through which water still flows in time of high flood.

. . . The river for some cause was deflected for a short dis¬

tance and then returned to the old channel. . . .” (Page 143)

1908 — Smith. No reference to the Old Channel. Refers to dams at

Kilbourn. Present dam, then under construction, provided

for a 17 foot maximum head of water. (Page 135) Van Dyke

(1916) states that the present dam was begun in 1907 and

the entire plant was completed and set in operation in

August of 1909. (Page 78) According to the River Survey

of 1906 there was but a slight drop in the water surface

between the site of the dam and the east entrance to the

Old Channel. The direct distance is only about two miles and

the drop on the order of two or three feet in this distance.

Hence, the water in the ponds and creeks in the Old Channel

might have been raised as much as 15 feet. Records at the

Wisconsin Public Service Commission Office in Madison in¬

dicate that the maximum head of water at this dam may

today be somewhat higher than stated above. The height of

this “artificial” water bears a direct relation, of course, to

the problem of the sand deposit in the Old Channel.

1956] Williams — W is c onsin Dells River Channel 137

Today Blackhawk Island is surrounded by water through¬

out the year. Due to variation in water level above the dam,

as well as changes in temperature, the ice in the Old and

New Channels cracks and groans throughout the winter,

adding to the wild isolation of the place.

It is readily apparent that the sand deposit, especially

along the south shore of the Old Channel, is being eaten into

in many places. This process probably began as early as

1856 when a dam with a fall of eight feet was constructed at

Kilbourn. This would have been sufficient to raise the water

in at least part of the Old Channel by several feet. This dam

was destroyed by irate lumbermen in 1859. Subsequent dams

built in 1866 and 1871 probably were not high enough to

greatly affect the Old Channel deposits. (Western Historical

Co. Pages 809, 814, 817)

1908 — Bennett. The following was written after completion of the

dam started in 1907. The “Old River Bed, marked at the

entrance by a sand bar [opposite Coldwater Canyon]. For¬

merly this bar choked the entire entrance, but since the rais¬

ing of the river by the dam at Kilbourn the waters go

through this old channel, and some of the time it is possible

to make the trip through it by launch or rowboat, regaining

the main river near the Old Dell House site.” (Page 11)

1918 — Alden. Several important references to the geologic history

of the Dells area.

1932 — Martin. “It is clear that the Wisconsin used to turn west¬

ward just below the mouth of Coldwater Canyon, looping

back to the present channel about three-quarters of a mile

down stream. . . . The stream in Artists Glen is then sup¬

posed to have flowed southward. . . . Subsequently the Artists

Glen stream cut into its north bank and the Wisconsin cut

into its own south bank so that the narrow strip of rock be¬

tween the two streams was eventually cut through, pre¬

sumably in a period of high water in the spring. As soon as

the main Wisconsin River was diverted into the narrow

channel of Artists Glen it quickly cut down, for it gained

velocity because of the constriction and steeper grade. . . .

From this it is clear that the old channel west of Coldwater

Canyon is not the incised meander of a river in old age, as

is sometimes suggested, but an exceedingly youthful form

due to stream capture.” (Pages 349-350)

1942 — Derleth. “. . . The Wisconsin changed its channel three

times; the two abandoned channels are clearly visible to¬

day.” (Page 254) Lost, Coldwater and Isle of Pines are

138 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

three unique “Islands” of the “River of a Thousand Isles.”

True, they each have only one foot in the water today.

1946 — Cole. “Two abandoned channels can be found, one of them

a short loop southwest [?] of the Old Dell House, the other

from there south of the railroad to below the dam.” (Page

13) “Before the stream was diverted by cutting through the

sandstone the river flowed through the now deserted

channel, entering the main stream near the Dell House site.

Water flows through the old channel during high water,

thus forming an island.” (Pages 18, 19)

1946 — Powers. “During its turbulent descent through the Dells, the

Wisconsin River altered its course several times. Its latest

abandoned channel runs from the mouth of Coldwater Can¬

yon to the site of historic Dells House, and is pointed out by

boat men on the river.” (Page 84)

Summary of Literature. For the most part, descriptions of the

Old Channel and its valley are incomplete. The valley of the north

part of the channel is not a simple gorge or canyon ; the land sur¬

face is more than broken or uneven ; the expanse of sand that filled

the bottom of the valley is not its most pronounced characteristic;

it is least of all a simple depression.

DISCUSSION

The north part of the Old Channel and its valley is actually a

complex system of rock prominences, cliffs, rock ledges and slopes

associated with ten or more distinct drainage features or valleys

besides the old river course itself. The differences in vertical eleva¬

tion between these features are on the order of 60-80 feet in as

many horizontal feet with more gentle slopes continuing upward

for another 20-40 feet. The width of the valley varies, lacks sharp

upper limits, perhaps averages a quarter mile. The bottom of the

valley was filled at one time with a deep deposit of sand. A more

exact topographic and geological correlation of all these features

than is here attempted would be of great interest in understanding

the formation of this valley itself and the others in the Dells area.

The writer believes he lacks sufficient data on this and the many

other nearby valleys to speculate at any length on the origin of this

complicated Old Channel valley. He is satisfied to point out and to

map in some detail its complex topography. “The regimen of a

stream is the result of the complex interaction of many variable

factors. . . .” (Flint, 1947, page 483.)

The presently accepted theory as to the origin of the Dells area,

including the north part of the Old River Channel, elucidated by

1956] Williams — Wisconsin Dells River Channel 139

Van Hise (1895), Alden (1918) and Martin (1932) is that it is

entirely postglacial and the result of the continental glacier push¬

ing the Wisconsin River westward out of its preglacial course onto

a broad, low, comparatively level ridge of friable, jointed sandstone.

To the writer, this theory appears to lack studied detail to some¬

what the extent that the maps of the north part of the Old River

Channel lacked detail. He has been over much of the Dells area on

foot and finds feature after feature, scarcely less pronounced than

those of the north part of the Old Channel, unmapped, undescribed

and unexplained.

The forces that carved the side dells were both glacial and non¬

glacial with respect to the position of the glacier, the latter but

scarcely less effective than the former in carving dells and canyons.

Presumably non-glacial erosive forces would have acted in the area

long before the onset of glaciation, or if not, what was the cause of

the earth movement that produced rock fractures in this area such

that at about the end of the last glacial advance “almost immediate

base levelling of the side dells” (Van Hise, 1899, page 558)

occurred?

The possibility that the water in the Old Channel at one time

flowed in the opposite direction, ultimately joining the Wisconsin

to the north before the latter stream was pushed westward to its

present course by the glacier, ought not to be overlooked. Such a

possibility is not entirely speculative : The upland on the west side

of the present map is considerably higher than that on the east;

the height of the abandoned islands diminishes eastward ; the

stream in the Rocky Arbor part of the Old Channel flows eastward.

If this could be proved, much interest, and indeed, dignity, would

be added to the north part of the Old Channel as a river in its own

right rather than primarily as an abandoned course of the Wis¬

consin. Correspondingly, the initiation of many of the tributary

side dells might then have preceded the melting of the last con¬

tinental glacier when its terminus stood a few miles to the east of

the Dells area.

A network of precise vertical and horizontal control points estab¬

lished in this Old River Channel area would be a preliminary to its

detailed mapping. Tied to the plane coordinate reference system,

this network and the map based upon it would be susceptible of

very exact identification in all its parts and exactly relatable to any

other place in the system as described in the several publications

of the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (e.g., 1940, 1952).

In any more detailed analysis of the origin of the old channels,

the possibility of finding organic material susceptible of radio¬

carbon dating in the channel deposits might be borne in mind. A

140 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

reexamination of the rate of Dells area Cambrian sandstone erosion

in the period since the last glacial epoch, a period according to

carbon-dating data now believed to be only about half as long as

formerly thought (about 12,000 as against 25,000 years), would

also be in order. (Libby, 1956, page 108; Flint, 1947, pages 379-

406; Thwaites, 1948, pages 104-106.)

CONCLUSIONS

1. Details of this small area of Wisconsin topography have re¬

mained unmapped and largely undescribed.

2. Published contour maps of this area give an erroneous impres¬

sion of regular relief. The hachuring here attempted, while

wanting in precise vertical elevations, provides a means of

approximate point location on the ground, a feature of value,

for example, in wildfire control.

3. Some fifteen distinct topographic entities with differences in

vertical elevation averaging perhaps 70 feet are mapped and

named and the location of others indicated.

4. Conventional air photographs do not satisfactorily reveal the

topography of this area.

5. A precise topographic and geological study of this area should

prove extremely interesting either as it would strengthen or

modify the presently accepted theories as to the origin of the

Wisconsin Dells area.

MAPS AND LITERATURE CITED

Alden, William C. 1918. The Quaternary Geology of Southeastern Wisconsin.

U.S.G.S. Professional Paper 106. Washington. 356 pages. Plate III.

Bennett, H. H. 1895. The Wisconsin Dells. Milwaukee, Wis. 24 pages. Page 9.

There are also 1896 and 1900 editions.

Bennett, H. H., Studio, 1908. The Wisconsin Dells. N.P. 31 pages. Page 11.

Bennett, H. H., Studio. 1926. Old Days in the Dells. N.P. 12 pages. Page 6.

Brown, J. J. 1875. The Tourists’ Guide to and through the Dells of the Wis¬

consin River and Vicinity. Second edition. Kilbourne City, Wis. 28 pages.

Page 12. (4th edition, 1885.)

Burr, David H. 1836. Map of the Territory of Wisconsin. Photostat in State

Historical Society Library.

Campbell, A. G. See Cole, H. E. 1946.

Case, Ermine C. 1907. Wisconsin; Its Geology and Physical Geography. Mil¬

waukee, Wis. 190 pages. Bibliography. Page 143, Map page 142.

Chamberlin, T. C. and Others. 1877. Geology of Wisconsin , Volume II. Madi¬

son, Wis. 768 pages. Pages 418, 570. Atlast plate XIV, Area E.

Cole, H. E. 1946. Baraboo, Dells and Devil’s Lake Region. 5th edition. Baraboo,

Wis. 112 pages. Pages 13, 18, 19. Maps pages 4, 5, 14, 16, 28.

Derleth, August. 1942. The Wisconsin, River of a Thousand Isles. New York,

N. Y. 366 pages. Page 254.

1956]

Williams — Wisconsin Dells River Channel

141

Donan, P. 1879. The Dells of the Wisconsin. Chicago, Ill. 24 pages. Page 18.

Featherstonhaugh, G. W. 1836. Report of a Geological Reconnaissance made

in 1835. . . , Senate Document 333 , 24th Congress , 1st Session , Washing¬

ton, D. C. 168 pages. Accompanying map: A Map of a portion of the

Indian Country . . . made in the Autumn of 1835. . . .

Flint, Richard Foster. 1947. Glacial Geology and the Pleistocene Epoch. New

York, N. Y. 589 pages.

Holmes, Fred L. 1937. Alluring Wisconsin. Milwaukee, Wis. 480 pages. Map

page 218.

Howell, Henry S. 1851. See U. S. General Land Office.

Jones, J. E. 1887. Dells of the Wisconsin River. Kilbourn City, Wis. 31 pages.

Page 18.

Kellogg, Louise P. 1921. As to who first discovered and explored the Dells is

unknown. . . . Baraboo Daily News. Jan. 3, 1921.

Lapham, Charles. 1873. Mss. map: Dells of the Wisconsin River. Wisconsin

Historical Society Library.

Lapham, Charles. 1891. Map: Dells of the Wisconsin River near Kilbourn

City, Wis. C. M. & St. P. Ry. [Milwaukee, Wis.]

Lapham, Increase A. 1844. A geographical and Topographical Description of

Wisconsin . Milwaukee, Wis. 256 pages. Page 216.

Lapham, I. A. 1846. Wisconsin, its Geography and Topography. Milwaukee,

Wis. 202 pages. Frontispiece map and page 171.

Libby, W. F. 1956. Radiocarbon Dating. American Scientist, 44: (1) :98-112.

Martin, Lawrence. 1932. The Physical Geography of Wisconsin. Second ed.

Madison, Wis. Bull. Wis. Geol. & Nat. Hist. Surv., 36:pp. 349-50. Maps

pages 346, 349.

Nash, G. V. and Morgan, F. B. 1876. Map of Juneau County, Wisconsin.

Milwaukee, Wis.

Powers, William E. 1946. The Dells and Devils Lake Region, Wisconsin. The

Chicago Naturalist. 9:75-86. Photograph page 85 of the east entrance to

the Old Channel.

Salisbury, Rollin D. and Atwood, Wallace W. 1900. The Geography of the

Region about Devil’s Lake and the Dalles of the Wisconsin. Wis. Geol. &

Nat. Hist. Survey Bull. V, p. 140. Map page 141.

Smith, Leonard S. 1908. The Water Powers of Wisconsin. Madison, Wis.

Wis. Geol. & Nat. Hist. Survey, Bull. XX, pp. 110, 112, 118, 135. Plate

XXI.

Thwaites, F. T. 1948. Outline of Glacial Geology. Ann Arbor, Mich. 129 pages.

U. S. Dept, of Agriculture. 1938. Air Photographs BHT-1-2, 3, 4. Juneau

County.

U. S. Dept, of Agriculture. 1941. Air Photographs AJA-2B-46, 47 and

AJA-3B-35, 36. Juneau County.

U. S. Dept, of Agriculture. 1950. Air Photographs 7G-156, 157. Juneau

County.

U. S. Dept, of Agriculture. 1955. Air Photographs WR-5P-197, 198. Sauk

County.

U. S. Dept, of Commerce, Coast & Geodetic Survey. 1940. Use of Coast &

Geodetic Survey Data in the Survey of Farms and Other Properties.

Serial No. 347. Revised (1940) Edition. Washington, D. C. 12 pages.

U. S. Dept, of Commerce, Coast & Geodetic Survey. 1952. Plane Coordinate

Projection Tables for Wisconsin. Special Publication 288. Washington,

D. C. 32 pages.

U. S. Dept, of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 1947. Manual of

Instructions for the Survey of the Public Lands of the United States .

Washington, D. C. 613 pages.

142 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

U. S. Dept, of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 1952. Restora¬

tion of Lost or Obliterated Corners and Subdivision of Sections. Wash¬

ington, D. C. 40 pages.

U. S. General Land Office. 1851. Mss. map: Map of Township 14 North,

Range 6 East of the Fourth Principal Meridian. Mss. Field Notes on the

Subdivision of T14N, R6E. Vol. 54 of Field Notes. Dubuque, la. Mss.

located in State Capitol, Public Lands Commission Office, Madison, Wis.

This township was subdivided by Henry S. Howell.

U. S. Geological Survey. 1901. The Dells Quadrangle. (Surveyed 1899)

U. S. Geological Survey. 1906. River Surveys, Wisconsin River, Wisconsin.

Sheet No. 1 of eleven sheets.

Van Dyke, Madge Patterson. 1916. The Story of Kilbourn and Its Vicinity.

B.A. Thesis, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis. 87 pages. Page 78.

Van Hise, C. R. 1895. The Origin of the Dells of the Wisconsin. Trans . Wis.

Acad, of Sciences, Arts and Letters, 10:556-560. Madison, Wis.

Webb Publishing Co. 1914. Atlas . . . Juneau County, Wisconsin. St. Paul,

Minn. 68 pages. Page 55.

Western Historical Co. 1880. The History of Columbia Co., Wisconsin. Chi¬

cago, Ill. 1,095 pages. Pages 473, 809, 814, 817.

Whitson, A. R. and Others. 1914. Soil Survey of Juneau County, Wisconsin.

Wis. Geol. & Nat. Hist. Survey. Bull. 38. 93 pp. Soil map attached to back

cover.

Williams, H. F. 1949. General Topography of Copper Falls State Park. Wis.

Conservation Dept. Activities Progress Report 22. Madison, Wis. Nov. 30,

1949. Map page 21.

Wisconsin Dept, of Agriculture and Markets. 1933. Land Economic Inven¬

tory Map of T14N-R6E, Juneau County.

Wisner, Frank O. 1875. The Dells of the Wisconsin. Kilbourn City, Wis.

68 pages. Page 30.

ELLERY CHANNING IN ILLINOIS

Kathryn Whitford and Philip Whitford

Departments of English and Botany, University of Wisconsin — Milwaukee

Nothing we know of William Ellery Channing would recommend

him for a position as a frontier farmer. Thoreau’s Journal reveals

him as a man who did not relish being rained upon, who was likely

to tire upon a long trip, and who failed to discipline himself to

careful note taking-much less plowing. Sanborn paints a brilliant

conversationalist and something of a snob- — a man who liked to

recall that in the houses where he called in his youth all the gentle¬

men wore silk stockings.1 Surely if the record of Channing’ s life is

a record of failures, one would be justified in expecting his year in

a log house on the Illinois prairie to be a debacle.

Actually Channing seems to have conducted himself rather cred¬

itably, and the failure of the Illinois enterprise may be laid at least

as much to the fact that the land failed Channing, as that Channing

failed the land.

In 1839 when Channing went West, he was already a dedicated

poet;2 and, in consequence, he necessarily expected both economic

support and poetic inspiration of the land to which he went. But

in 1839 northern Illinois was not able to offer either, despite the

glowing reports with which land speculators in Illinois flooded the

Eastern cities and which bore about the same relation to reality

that John Smith’s True Relation bore to an earlier frontier. Illinois,

in 1839, was still in the depths of the panic of 1837, which was felt

more keenly in Illinois than in almost any other part of the coun¬

try. Thousands of acres had been recently sold and, by the terms

of the Specie Circular, land payments were required in gold or

silver. In consequence, the West was drained of hard money. In

addition, the state of Illinois was deeply in debt for an abortive

system of land improvements, mostly canals, which it had begun

shortly before 1837 ; the situation became so desperate that after

July, 1841

no attempt was made to pay even the interest on the public

debt; taxation was high and the people were unable to pay

even moderate rates. Illinois was in ill repute. There was no

1 Sanborn, F. B. “Ellery Channing and his Table Talk” Critic Vol. 47, p. 126.

2 Channing, William Ellery, Poems of Sixty-five Years, ed. and with biographical

introduction by F. B. Sanborn, Concord and Philadelphia, 1902, p. xix.

143

144 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

trade; real estate was almost unsalable; business was stag¬

nated; everybody wanted to sell his property and move away

but there were only a few . . . who cared to buy.3

Conditions in Illinois did not improve until 1842-43, when it be¬

came clear that there would be no repudiation of the public debt

and no increase in taxation.

Channing remained there despite the general depression, and if

he demonstrated a lack of financial acumen by so doing he more

than compensated for it by the shrewdness with which he selected

and bought his land.

The 160 acres which he bought from Franklin Grifhng for the

sum of $500 was not a quarter section, but three separate parcels

of land chosen to include the combination of prairie, marsh and

timber which all settlers coveted.4 Thus he provided himself with

well-drained upland for crops, a bit of marsh for pasture, and trees

for buildings, fences and fuel.

The largest tract of the three contained 80 acres of which 25

were probably open oak grove and the rest well-drained prairie.

This tract was the one closest to Woodstock, and it seems reason¬

able to suppose that he built his log house5 6 here, where there was

timber to be cleared from good agricultural land, and where he

was close to his 25 acres of prairie which lay half a mile to the

north and included a small marsh which has since been drained.

The third tract, containing 55 acres, lay five miles to the west on a

gravelly moraine ridge which even now is used chiefly for pasture

and timber and which still contains a few 200 year old oaks to

testify to its character at the time of settlement.

A year later, despite the continuing depression, Channing was

able to sell his land for $60 more than he had paid for it; but the

question remains, why, after such an auspicious beginning, Chan¬

ning was willing to sell his holdings to Pliny Hayward and return

East. The answer appears to lie in the fact that McHenry County

offered scant food for Channing’s poetic imagination.

It must be borne in mind that Channing’s natural inclinations

as a poet led him to seek “the wild and lonely aspects of nature

and the abodes of unconventional men.”0 But Northern Illinois had

absolutely nothing in common with the frontiers which Cooper was

even then describing. The land had never been notably wild, but

3 Pooley, W. V. The Settlement of Illinois from 1830 to 1850, Bull, of the Univ. of

Wis. no. 220, History series vol. 1, no. 4, Madison, 1908, pp. 569-570.

4 Schafer, Joseph, Four Wisconsin Counties, Prairie and Forest, Wisconsin Domes¬

day Book, General Studies vol. 11, State Historical Society of Wis. 1927, p. 121.

5 Channing, Op. cit. introduction by F. B. Sanborn, p. xx.

6 Cooke, George Willis, An Historical and Biographical Introduction to accompany

the Dial, Cleveland, 1902, p. 77.

1956]

Whit ford — Ellery Charming

145

was famous rather for its orderly and park-like beauty.7 By 1889

it was no longer lonely, what ever it may have been only 10 years

earlier — it was thronging with people much more conventional than

Channing himself, and of types entirely familiar to him, since

most of them had come across the route through the Great Lakes

from New York and New England. The substantial character of

this frontier can be demonstrated by a quotation from The Settle¬

ment of Illinois from 1830 to 1850:

The settlers were of a class superior to the early pioneers

of the southern counties. In many places “neat white houses,

tasteful piazzas, neat enclosures and newly planted shrub¬

beries” gave evidence of New Englanders or people from the

Middle Atlantic States. The people, as a rule were contented

with their homes and evinced no desire to emigrate except for

a few who desired to go to the Oregon territory. Occasionally

suprise is manifested at the character and intelligence of the

settlers.8

The fact remains that Channing’s imagination was not to be fired

by the sight of solid New Englanders hewing solid and prosaic

homes from a land which often had a cultivated aspect before it

had ever been touched by an axe or a plow. In consequence, a scant

handful of Channing’s poems are all that appear to reflect his

experiences during a year on the Illinois frontier.

None of these poems uses the word “prairie” or specifies in any

way the background of their origin; but emphasis in some of

Channing’s early poetry is given to such prairie phenomena as

winds and particularly wind-blown grasses, new or strange land,

trees holding their leaves into the fall or winter, the spaciousness

of the sky and the brilliance of the stars. When these elements

appear in conjunction with each other, and are not accompanied

by mentions of pine trees, hemlocks, or other characteristics of the

Eastern landscape, they may be taken to indicate possible Illinois

influence. Three of the poems which show such a conjunction of

prairie images occur in the volume of 1843; one poem appears in

the volume of 1847, and the last is a fragment from the long poem

“John Brown”9 which, though it was written many years after

Channing’s return from the West, might easily have evoked mem¬

ories of Illinois as Channing attempted to describe the prairies of

Kansas.

F. B. Sanborn wrote of the lines from “John Brown” beginning

“Ah the old Kansas life ran in our veins. . . .” “Verse like this is

7 Vestal, A. G., Preliminary Vegetation Map of Illinois, n.p. 1930.

8 Pooley, op. cit., pp. 552-553.

9 Channing, John Brown and the Heroes of Harpers Ferry, Boston, 1886.

146 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

the reminiscence, half a century after the experience, of the prairie

life of young Channing in Northern Illinois”.10

If, on the authority of Sanborn (who by 1886 probably was as

intimate with Channing as anyone was ever to be), one accepts

the lines from “John Brown” as demonstrating prairie influence,

then “The Stars”11 which is demonstrably similar in content and

feeling, and much closer in time to Channing’s prairie year, must

be accepted as having its origin also in prairie influences.

“October”12 is the most philosophical of the five poems which

seem to show prairie influence and, therefore, contains the fewest

consecutive descriptive lines. Grass, wind, stars and dry leaves,

combined as they are here are suggestive, but certainly not proof,

of prairie influence. The reference to “wandering men” would

appear to strengthen the claim of this poem to be included among

the prairie poems. Of equal importance is the fact that this poem

was published by Emerson in the Dial in 1840, which establishes

this poem closer than any of the others to the year Channing spent

in Illinois.

The case for considering “The Benighted Traveller”13 one of the

prairie poems is very strong despite the fact that Channing uses

the term “moor” rather than prairie in the opening line. Channing

consistently clothed his verses in the conventional vocabulary of

English poetry, in which the word “prairie” had no place, even at

the expense of strict accuracy. In similar fashion he used the term

“red deer” in the poem “Woodland Thought”14 although the red

deer is European and not an American species. Putting aside the

term “moor,” Channing’s mention of marshes, mist, the “herb that

withered long ago, untouched before,” and the traveller lost at

night, are all significant in terms of Channing’s Illinois experience.

Roads in northern Illinois were poorly marked and since there

were almost no fences a traveller went cross-country much of the

time. In some seasons the prairie flies were so vicious that travellers

deliberately chose to hazard becoming lost after dark rather than to

attempt to travel by day.15 The “withered herb, untouched before”

implies not only an unpopulated area but also an ungrazed area;

the marshes and mists which rose from them, while not peculiar to

Illinois, were at least among Channing’s most familiar memories

of Illinois ; for both his pieces of work-land overlooked the spread¬

ing marshes at the headwaters of Nippersink Creek. “A Woodland

10 Sanborn, F. B. “Maintenance of a Poet,” Atlantic Monthly Vol. 86, p. 821.

11 Channing-, Poems, Boston, 1843.

12 Ihid.

13 Ibid.

14 Channing, Poems, Boston, 1847.

45 Vestal, A. F. “Why the Illinois Settlers Chose Forest Lands”, Transactions of III.

State Academy of Science, Vol. 32, No. 2, p. 87.

1956]

Whitf or d— Ellery Charming

147

Thought”, published seven years after Channing's return from Illi¬

nois, appears in its first stanzas to contain memories of land¬

clearing in Illinois. These stanzas imply that the cutting is being

done for purposes of settlement, and the reference to "church like

wood” is more appropriately applied to the virgin forests of Illi¬

nois than to the largely second-growth forests of Massachusetts.

But here all connection with Illinois ceases. The sea-going destiny

of the planks is typical of New England and not Illinois ; although

it is true that Illinois logs were being rafted down the Mississippi

to New Orleans, and there was a minor ship-building boom along

the great lakes during the years just after the opening of the Erie

Canal. The use of the term "spires” may be merely an extension of

the image begun with "church-like”, but it may also indicate that.

Channing was thinking in terms of conifers which do not occur in

McHenry County.

Channing did not fulfill Emerson's hope that "This voice of love

and harmony” might "teach its songs to the too long silent echoes

of the Western forest”;16 but it must be assumed that he himself

did not regard his year in Illinois as an entire failure, for by his

words written to Thoreau,

I see nothing for you in this earth but that field which I once

christened "briars”; go out upon that, build yourself a hut,

and there begin the grand process of devouring yourself alive.17

he implies approval for his friend of a path which he already had

travelled.

In summary then, examination of the year which Ellery Chan¬

ning spent in McHenry County, Illinois, reveals that young Chan¬

ning exercised commendable judgment in his choice of land, that he

was disappointed in the nature of frontier life as he encountered it

in Illinois, and therefore sold his property and returned East; but

also that he made tangible improvements during his year of owner¬

ship and was able to sell the land at a time when selling Illinois

land was a difficult accomplishment. A group of at least five poems

appear to reflect Channing's western experience, a number which

is about proportionate to the duration of the experience, and if the

poems which derive from the western year contain no immortal

lines, at least their quality is consistently high by comparison with

Channing's work as a whole.

16 Emerson, R. W. “New Poetry”, Dial, Vol. I, p. 232.

17 Thoreau, H. XX Familiar Letters, Boston and New York, 1906, p. 121.

HENRY KING: A POET OF HIS AGE

Robert F. Gleckner

Department of English , University of Wisconsin

According to John Sparrow, who has edited the definitive edition

of Henry King’s poetry, King’s best work is a thing not merely of

interest, but of beauty.1 Yet King has received little critical atten¬

tion. To trace the development of his poetic powers, however, is an

impossible task because of the lack of verifiable data concerning

his methods or the dates of composition of his poems. Although

some of the occasional pieces can be dated with reasonable cer¬

tainty, all of his lighter lyrics, many of his imitations of Donne,

and his religious poetry can be placed only conjecturally. The stand¬

ard assumption is that most of King’s secular poetry, including the

so-called “slavish” imitations of Donne, belong to a period early in

his life, and that his religious poems and many of his elegies are

representative of his more sober maturity. This may or may not be

true. What is more important is that King was born 20 years after

Donne and Jonson and lived for nine years after the Restoration.

One cannot assume from this, of course, that he wrote poetry all

through his long life and is therefore representative of the late 16th

century, early 17th century, and Restoration poetic modes ; but it is

valid to examine the effects of the multiform cross-currents of lit¬

erature as they are revealed in the poetry he did write. In this way

a progression or development is discernible — one which shows

traces of all but a few of the literary genres, techniques, attitudes,

tones, and ideas which made the first half of the 17th century such

a storehouse of admirable works, and one which looks forward, at

least, to the Restoration and the 18th century.

In order to explore to the fullest in a short essay this wide range

of material, I have adopted an arbitrary system of “development”

in King’s poetry. This system is employed not to establish any

chronology, nor to prove a growth of poetic power, nor to cate¬

gorically pigeonhole King’s poetry, but rather to show most effec¬

tively ( 1 ) that King consciously imitated Donne in several poems ;

(2) that he learned also from Jonson, and, after assimilating the

lessons of both men, he produced what might be called his own

individual style; and (3) that, especially in the later occasional

xJohn Sparrow, ed., The Poems of Bishop Henry King (London, 1925), pp. xiii. All

page references to King’s poetry will be from this edition.

149

150 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

pieces, he made use of the feeling, rhythm, vocabulary, felicity of

phrase, and pointed diction of the succeeding century. To this end

I have chosen not always the best poems, but those which best

illustrate each of these three phases.

Though considerably younger than John Donne, King came to

know him well, and it was natural that he try his poetical wings

first with the aid of the master’s support. Sir Herbert Grierson has

suggested that Donne may even have criticised the poetry which

King undoubtedly showed to him. This is an attractive possibility,

of course, but even without it, a casual reading of the poems them¬

selves will reveal that many are merely literary exercises in the

manner of Donne, conscious attempts at a style and method which

no doubt appealed greatly to King as to the other younger “meta¬

physicals.” These poems comprise the first step in King’s develop¬

ment as I have outlined it above.

The first poem in the canon, “Sonnet. The Double Rock,” Saints-

bury has called “very typical metaphysicality of a good second

water.”2 In general my judgment would be more severe, but the

poem is a good example of Donne-imitation — and, incidentally, of

King’s usual failure to erect a monument of any consequence to

Donne’s genius. There is a visible straining here for the para¬

doxical quality of Donne’s verse with little of its depth of emotion

or intensity of expression. The movement of the lines suggests

something of Donne, especially the contrasting decasyllabic and

tetrasyllabic couplets in which King cleverly uses the shorter line

for a variety of effects. Despite its general lack of value as poetry,

“The Double Rock” is of interest because the stanza form, along

with that of “The Complaint,” is the most radical King ever used :

the dimeter lines never reappear in his work although they are

probably the best lines in this poem. This is indicative of the direc¬

tion in which King was eventually to go — toward greater, many

times monotonous regularity in both stanza form and meter. He

tried to accept the intricacies of Donne’s method but revolted from

the “licentiousness” of form which that method seemed to demand.

“The Double Rock” is King’s one experiment in that kind of form.

That he was an experimenter (if that term may be used in a

slightly less than literal sense) is important to an understanding

of the enormous difference in the quality of King’s poetry ; his ex¬

perimentation was not in new forms or new genres, but rather in

the traditional poetry which the prolific writers of the era were

turning out like pulp fiction today.

The two paradoxes, for example, though very ordinary indeed,

perhaps deserve mention here for their apparent close connection

George Saintsbury, ed., Minor Poets of the Caroline Period (Oxford, 1921), III, 169.

1950]

Gleckner— Henry King

151

with Donne's prose paradoxes. King's are little more than prose

pieces poured into pentameter couplet form, with corresponding

wrenching of syntax and word order, interlarding, and generally

poor poetic performance. One couplet will suffice to demonstrate

not only the bad poetry but also the general lack of good taste :

Dripping Catarrhs and Fontinells are things

Will make You think You grew betwixt two Springs. (52)

“Madame Gabrina, Or the Ill-favourd Choice" is another of the

stock-in-trade of the poets of the day, the ode to any ugly mistress,

and King, I suppose, should not be censured for trying his hand at

a standard-operating-procedure. But the poem is scarcely original.

King merely softens the ugliness of poems like Donne's “The Ana¬

gram," “The Comparison," and “Julia" (Elegies II, VIII, and XIII

respectively) .

In view of these disappointing performances, it is likely that

King's search for a congenial form was quickly over. “The Double

Rock," the paradoxes, and “Madam Gabrina" were never dupli¬

cated in form or content, and he settled upon occasional verse,

elegies, epitaphs, and the loose conception of the sonnet peculiar to

the Caroline lyricists, as vehicles suitable to his talents. In general

we must agree with his choice.

The earliest of these occasional poems to which a certain date

can be assigned is “An Elegy Upon Prince Henry's death," written

in 1612. Among the deluge of laments poured upon Henry's coffin

was, of course, John Donne's “Elegie on the Untimely Death of the

Incomparable Prince Henry." Although similar techniques are em¬

ployed in both poems, the tone and total effect of Donne's differ

radically from King's. Both poems begin with an imperative,

Donne's addressed to Faith and God, King's to Nature, but imme¬

diately thereafter their divergence is marked. Donne suggests that

the loss of Henry will cause the “chains" of Faith and Reason to

break, while King's emphasis is on the total collapse of all Nature.

Just so when Milton's Eve plucked the apple and ate,

Earth felt the wound, and Nature from her seat

Sighing through all her works gave signs of woe,

and when Adam followed suit,

Earth trembled from her entrails, as again

In pangs, and Nature gave a second groan.

King's version is as follows :

Keep station Nature, and rest Heaven sure

On thy supporters, shoulders, lest past cure

Thou dasht in ruin fall, by a griefs weight

Will make thy basis shrink, and lay out thy height

Low as the Center. . . . (66)

152 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

Though these lines are only vaguely Miltonic, King’s skillful use

of the enjambed couplet lends a certain majesty and “drive” to the

sense of falling and collapse. Donne’s elegy, on the other hand, be¬

gins with short, clipped sentences and phrases, the impact of which

is oddly diffuse instead of solidly emphatic ; what Donne takes three

pages in explaining — the imagined collapse of reason and faith and

hence of all life — King cautions against in a few lines. Donne’s

poem is a much more sustained performance, however, packed with

syllogism, paradox, verbal and syntactical intricacy, but perhaps

because of these very qualities it remains somewhat cold in com¬

parison with the frequent warm sincerity of King’s lines. For

example :

Heark! and feel it read

Through the astonisht Kingdom, Henry’s dead.

It is enough ; who seeks to aggravate

One strain beyond this, prove more sharp his fate

Then sad our doom. The world dares not survive

To parallel this woe superlative.

0 killing Rhetorick of Death! two words

Breathe stronger terrours then Plague, Fire, or Swords

Ere conquer’d. This were Epitaph and Verse

Worthy to be prefixt in Natures herse,

At Earths last dissolution; whose fall

Will be less grievous though more generall:

For all the woe ruine ere buried,

Throngs in this narrow compasse, Henry’s dead. (66)

Still both poets seem to have used the occasion more as a starting

point for an abstract essay (Donne’s on Death, King’s on Grief)

than as a time for obsequies. Both avoid mention of the mere facts

of Henry’s life, both use a rough form of the couplet with extended

enjambement, but whereas Donne sustains his effort to the end,

King falls off badly and retrieves his earlier strong sincerity only

in the smooth couplet close :

Who, like the dying Sun, tells us the light

And glory of our Day set in his Night. (67)

In such a couplet we can see that even in an early poem King did

not subordinate his individuality to a complete acceptance of

Donne’s poetical precepts. As Robert Sharp has said (From Donne

to Dry den), Donne seldom, if ever, subordinated his mind to an

external form, and his phrases remain knotty and unsubmerged in

couplets as well as in other forms (80) ; King could mold his

thought to the couplet when the occasion demanded it.

Another “experiment” by King, this time in what Saintsbury

calls “playing the dog,” is the poem “To his unconstant Friend.” It

is a veritable goldmine of Donnean cliches, which fall slightly flat

1950]

Gleckner— Henry King

153

without the master's “awful fire" to carry them along. The tone of

insolent sarcasm with which King opens the poem,

But say, thou very woman, why to me

This fit of weakness and inconstaneie? (23)

is his approximation of the Donne who wrote in “The Expostula¬

tion" :

To make the doubt cleare, that no woman’s true,

Was it my fate to prove it strong in you?

These introductory questions are followed in both poems by a series

of further questions of increasing bitterness, some of which in

King's poem attain an acidlike tone not unworthy of Donne:

I see friends are like clothes, lay’d up whil’st new,

But after wearing cast, though nere so true.

Or did thy fierce ambition long to make

Some Lover turn a martyr for thy sake?

Thinking thy beauty had deserv’d no name

Unless some one do perish in that flame:

Upon whose loving dust this sentence lies,

Here’s one was murther’d by his Mistriss eyes. (23)

A parallel passage in Donne's poem is as follows :

And must she needs be false because she’s faire?

Is it your beauties marke, or of youth,

Or your perfection, not to study truth?

Or think you heaven is deafe, or hath no eyes?

Or those it hath, smile at your perjuries?

Are vowes so cheape with women, or the matter

Whereof they are made, that they are writ in water ; . . .

Despite their resemblance the two passages obviously were not

written by the same poet: the cumulative effect of Donne's biting

paradoxes King's muse was simply unable to achieve. Donne's poem

is again sustained to the end, culminating in a final bitterness :

Did you draw bonds to forfet? signe to break?

Or must we read you quite from what you speake,

And finde the truth out the wrong way? or must

Hee first desire you false, would wish you just?

Unable to maintain a consistent tone or to build a climax, King is

forced to settle for simple declarative sentences. What power and

surge he has generated collapses in the flatness of a statement that

Donne would have transformed into a bristling interrogative jibe.

In the concluding section of his poem King does redeem his earlier

weakness somewhat with a refreshing burst of wit that is rare in

his poetry:

I will not fall upon my pointed quill,

Bleed ink and Poems, or invention spill

To contrive Ballads, or weave Elegies.

154 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

Nor like th’enamour’d Tristrams of the time

Despair in prose, and hang my self in rhime

Nor thither run upon my verses feet,

Where I shall none but fools or mad-men meet,

Who mid’st the silent shades, and Myrtle walks,

Pule and do penance for their Mistress faults (24)

To this point I have been concerned with what I have called the

first “step” in King’s poetic development, a period probably early

in his career when, perhaps under the tutelage of Donne, he was

obviously dabbling in various types of poetry. The product of this

dabbling is some of King’s worst poetry (not all by any means),

and it is bad because he tried to adhere too strictly to a style and

manner for which he was not fully equipped. Apparently King him¬

self realized this for there are relatively few “slavish” imitations,

and he began to attune his lesser powers to a variation of Donne’s

example. Such a variation is symptomatic of the gradual watering-

down process which the metaphysical school experienced because

of the general incapacity of the minor poets to attain the heights

that Donne and a few others so nimble scaled. As Robert Sharp has

said, “The metaphysicals . . . were not nearly so much concerned

with feeling. Wit as an intellectual faculty became of more impor¬

tance to them, and poetry less a matter of experience than a ‘knack

of dexterity.’ Their esthetic allowed this substitution. Superficial

virtuosity replaced real feeling and served to conceal the lack of

genuine inventive power. Consequently, wit assumed the impor¬

tance of an end rather than a means; it became the whole poetic

process” (From Donne to Dry den, p. 38). King, however, was not

entirely one of these, for he developed, perhaps as an inheritance

from Donne, a concern for genuine emotion. Rather than apply

Sharp’s criticism to him, then, let it be said that he was becoming

a kind of quietist after the early excesses described above.

“The Surrender” is a good example of King’s movement away

from conscious imitation of Donne toward the quiet urbanity and

wit of King’s finest poetry. The bankruptcy metaphor of the first

stanza is most effective and may recall Donne’s use of usury in

“Loves Usury” or of business in “Lovers Infiniteness.” The tender

reminiscence of the second stanza —

We that did nothing study but the way

To love each other, with which thoughts the day

Rose with delight to us, and with them set, (17)

is similar to Donne’s more famous lines in “The Exstasy” :

Wee like sepulchrall statues lay;

All day, the same postures were,

And wee said nothing, all the day.

1956]

Gleckner — Henry King

155

In the third stanza King skillfully echoes the opening phrase of

stanza two, reinvoking the reminiscent mood, and then goes on to

describe the contented, mutually-exclusive privacy of the love affair

with an increased awareness of its present loss— much as Donne

described the same kind of relationship in “The Anniversaries

And, in the last section of the poem there is complete resignation

to the lovers' fate and a depth of feeling beautifully subordinated

to the abject quality of the verse movement :

Fold back our arms, take home our fruitless loves,

That must new fortunes trie, like Turtle Doves

Dislodged from their haunts. We must in tears

Unwind a love knit up in many years.

In this last kiss I here surrender thee

Back to thy self, so thou again art free.

Thou in another, sad as that, resend

The truest heart that Lover ere did lend.

Now turn from each. So fare our sever’d hearts

As the divorc’t soul from her body parts. (18)

Although the versification is uneven, there can be no doubt as to

the beauty and the unconsciously Donne-like quality of such lines.

The metaphor of unwinding the love “knit up in many years" not

only echoes two earlier lines (“and Heaven did untie / Faster than

vowes could binde”) but also lends support to the underlying frame¬

work of the whole poem, the structural theme of surrender, part¬

ing, releasing, separating. The closing couplet with its brief, almost

terse, four-word sentence suggests complete resignation, a certain

courage in accepting Fate's decision, and the lover's anxiety to quit

the scene, to put it behind him. Other Donne-like qualities of the

poem are its homely images and logical structure, the building to

a climax, and the added force of a new analogy even in the closing

couplet. The emotion is as close to genuine as King can get in an

imagined experience.

Certain conclusions can now be drawn about the literary rela¬

tionship between King and Donne. Not possessed with either the

intellectual subtlety or the “awful fire" of Donne's brain, King

nevertheless sought to imitate the impassioned dialectic of his

friend. The desire is understandable. It is a tribute to King's good

sense, then, that he realized such poetry could be written only by

one whose personality and artistic ability were as singular as

Donne’s. King's poetry showed instead a tendency toward sim¬

plicity, greater straight-forwardness of statement, an almost “hum¬

bleness" of phrase, a preference and a facility for calm emotion.

He recognized but did not adopt Donne's basic scepticism, bound

up as it was with the “new philosophy" and the introduction of the

Copernican system, and Donne's religious fervor, his sense of the

156 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

transcendence of the spiritual, is all but absent from King’s works.

To compare King’s few examples of purely religious poetry, “The

Labyrinth” and “A Penitential Hymn,” with Donne’s is to realize

that there can be no real comparison.3 There is little descriptive

poetry in either poet just as the imagery of each is less picturesque

than scientific and philosophic, less “poetic” than realistic and

homely. Perhaps, indeed, this was Donne’s greatest legacy to his

follower, for King used such imagery with extraordinary effect in

his masterpiece, “The Exequy.” The vein of sheer ugliness that runs

through Donne’s work, the recurring presentiment for details which

are merely and almost wantonly repulsive, King happily ignores

for the most part. Thus, though we cannot say of King, as Grier¬

son says of Donne, that he is “at once passionate and ingenious,”

the existence of a debt must be acknowledged. The “Donne tradi¬

tion” was accepted in part by King just as he relied on “Saint Ben”

for another ingredient of his poetic style.

The debt King owed to Jonson is not less obvious than that owed

to Donne, but it is less easily demonstrable. Douglas Bush has de¬

scribed the major difficulty: “The impossibility of a clear-cut group¬

ing [of schools of poetry] is epitomized at the start in the much

discussed question whether certain poems were written by Jonson

or by Donne; and their contemporaries and successors, indifferent

to posterity’s need of distinct labels, drew in varying proportions

from both masters” (English Literature in the Earlier Seventeenth

Century, p. 104). In the following poems, then, it is safest to say

that King relied on both men, or as Bush says, on “the whole set of

traditions and conditions” for which the names of Jonson and

Donne stand (ibid.). The order in which the poems are discussed

is designed to show King’s gradual assimilation of these traditions

and conditions until in his best poems he produced something

uniquely characteristic of the King manner. I hasten to add that

my contention is not that this Jonsonian influence operated after

that of Donne. The poems mentioned thus far are only those in

3 It is a curious fact, this relative lack of religious poetry in the canon of King. It

may be explained, perhaps, by certain apparently unrelated facts: (1) King was not

an impassioned orator in the pulpit in the sense that Donne was. “There is an account

of a sermon preached by him at Paul’s Cross in 1617 in which ‘he did’ — as he usually

did — ‘reasonably well, but nothing extraordinary’’’ (Sparrow, p. xi). Much of Donne’s

religious verse gains great power through the use of rhetorical elements. The two

poems of King’s cited are flat, shallow, and lacklustre in comparison. On the other

hand, his sermons in general have been commended for their literary value. Perhaps

sensing this inequality in his religious writings King was content to restrict his more

pious thoughts to the sermons. (2) King, as far as we know, had no such inner con¬

flict that provoked the intensive self-torture of the Dean of St. Paul’s in his brilliantly

wrought “Holy Sonnets.” (3) It was not unusual for churchmen at the time to write

more and better secular poetry than devotional. Others, for example, are Herrick,

Strode, Corbet, and Cartwright. (4) This may be a further piece of evidence in asso¬

ciating King with the “sons of Ben,” or, at least, in pointing out a definite Jonsonian

influence.

1956]

Gleckner — Henry King

157

which the “metaphysical” has all but submerged the “cavalier”

manner. The poems to follow are not devoid of the realistic blend of

emotion and wit so characteristic of Donne, but they do possess

these qualities to a lesser extent as the Jonsonian spirit becomes

more eloquent.

“The Defence” may be taken as an example of King’s joining

both traditions together in the same poem, though with a minimum

of fire or spirit. The opening couplet is somewhat reminiscent of

Donne while the handling of the octosyllabic couplet form through¬

out suggests the more famous “Master Johnson’s Answer to Master

Wither.” King’s poem begins:

Say she were foul, and blacker than

The Night, or Sun-burnt African,

If lik’t by me, tis I alone

Can make a beauty where was none ;

For rated in my fancie, she

Is so as she appears to me. (27)

Jonson’s poem begins as follows :

Shall I mine affections slacke,

Cause I see a womans blacke,

Or my selfe with care cast downe,

Cause I see a woman browne?

Be she blacker than the night,

Or the blackest Jet in sight,

If she bee not so to mee,

What care I how blacke shee bee?4

Although the sentiment here is not peculiarly Jonsonian, is indeed

more Donnean, the movement of the verse, its regularity and tend¬

ency toward a polished “finishedness,” and the superficial, courtly

tone are characteristic of Jonson’s neo-classic bent. Most of his

finest lyrics were cast in simple and unobtrusive metrical struc¬

tures, such as the octosyllabic couplet and quatrain, and King

eagerly accepted these structures as better adapted to his own talent

than more complicated and subtle relationships of rhyme and meter.

With this legacy came also Jonson’s sense of design, his selective¬

ness, and a feeling for brevity and condensity.

King’s two songs, “I prethee turn that face away” and “Dry

those fair, those chrystal eyes,” are respectable examples of his

work in this mode ; indeed they could have been written by almost

any son of Ben. By far the best of King’s Caroline lyrics, however,

is the gem-like “Tell me no more how fair she is.” Of all of his

4 On the disputed authorship of the Jonsonian poem see C. H. Herford and P. Simp¬

son, eds., Ben Jonson (Oxford, 1925), I, 442n.

158 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

poems this possesses the unique perfection, the “urbane elegance/’5

of a Jonsonian song:

Tell me no more how fair she is,

I have no minde to hear

The story of that distant bliss

I never shall come near :

By sad experience I have found

That her perfection is my wound.

And tell me not how fond I am

To tempt a daring Fate,

From whence no triumph ever came,

But to repent too late :

There is some hope ere long I may

In silence dote my self away.

I ask no pity (Love) from thee,

Nor will they [sic] justice blame,

So that thou wilt not envy mee

The glory of my flame :

Which crowns my heart when ere it dyes,

In that it falls her sacrifice. (7)

The inevitable comparison is with Jonson’s “Song. To Celia.” Just

as in that poem the single trochee at the beginning is never re¬

peated, although echoes of it occur in the trochaic words, so in

King’s poem. The trochee of his first line is doubly effective then —

prosodically in setting up a unique foot to be repeated only within

the lines in separate words, and in adding vigor and strength to the

initial statement. The central paradox of the poem, stated in the

final couplet of the first stanza, is accentuated by King in two ways :

(1) by contrasting the affirmative of that couplet with the stout

negatives of lines one, two, and four; and (2) by reversing in the

last line of the stanza the antithetical “me” and “she” used in the

opening line. The second stanza is noticeably toned down — mostly

through the use of an initial iamb instead of the trochee of the

preceding stanza: the lover is now less angry than irritated — and

persistent in his hope. Again the negatives of the quatrain stand

out in pronounced contrast to the assertive couplet. Here the affirm¬

ative note becomes more powerful in its suggestion of a possible

hope which the lover still clings to. The imperative rhetoric of

these two stanzas becomes in the third a plaintive request, an

humble acceptance of fate, and the ironic “triumph” of the lover in

sacrificing his heart. This “triumph” is prepared for and made

more powerful by the second stanza where the possibility of any

victory over Fate is denied. The irony of repenting too late, con-

5 See F. R. Leavis, “English Poetry in the Seventeenth Century,” Scrutiny , IV

(1935), 236-256, for a survey of what he calls the tradition of “urbane elegance.”

1956]

Gleckner — Henry King

159

sidered as the only possible “triumph” in the second stanza, makes

the concluding irony of the lover’s actual victory more effective by

virtue of the deliberate self-contradiction. The downward tonal

spiral from indignant anger through a growing solemnity in resig¬

nation, to the almost-chanted religiousness of the final couplet is

paralleled by the increased use of words with rich religious conno¬

tation. In the first stanza, as is to be expected, there are few — in

fact only one — and that one, “bliss,” serves properly to characterize

the unattainable on earth. The second stanza subtly introduces the

temptation and its inevitable consequence, repentence, until in the

third we have the judgment, without mercy, passed upon the lover

by the god of Love. The “glory,” “crowns,” and “sacrifice” of the

final three lines add an unexpected power to the rather simple

statement of the lover’s ironic triumph.

To judge this poem upon the basis of degrees of exquisiteness, as

Saintsbury does in the Cambridge History of English Literature ,

seems to me pointless. Still one can agree with Saintsbury that

“There are few pieces which unite a sufficient dose of . . . exquisite¬

ness with so complete an absence of all faultier characteristics —

obscurity, preciousness, conceit, excessive sensuousness, ‘meta¬

physical’ diction, metrical inequality” ( CHEL , 1932 ed., VII, 82).

King’s “Tell me no more,” then, exemplifies a great change in

17th century poetry. The dicta of Horace’s Ars Poetica, which

Jonson translated and largely subscribed to, differ greatly from

Donne’s practise. For example, Horace states that “The force and

charm of arrangement will be found in this: to say at once what

ought at once to be said, deferring many points, and waiving them

for the moment” ; he will “aim at a poem so deftly fashioned out of

familiar matter that anybody might hope to emulate the feat, yet

for all his efforts sweat and labour in vain” ; and he will “censure

the poem that has not been pruned by time and many a cancella¬

tion — corrected ten times over and finished to the finger-nail.”6

King himself in one of his sermons echoes such views of decorum,

brevity, and simplicity without pedestrianism : “I never liked him

who served up more sauce than meat, more words than matter, or

wit than religion — but yet I have ever thought choice matter ill

dressed like good meat ill cooked, which is neither a credit to the

bidder nor a pleasure to the guest.”7 Such a change in poetic modes

was, of course, not abrupt but gradual, and in King’s finest poem,

“The Exequy,” he created in the midst of these conflicting poetic

6 Allan H. Gilbert, ed., Literary < Criticism : Plato to Dryden (New York, 1940), pp.

129, 132, 137.

7 Quoted by Rosemond Tuve, Elizabethan and Metaphysical Imagery (Chicago, 1947),

p. 366.

160 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

forces a work of art which bears the unmistakable stamp of his

own individual talent.

Apparently written between 1624 and 1630 when King was 32 to

38 years old, “The Exequy” is cast in octosyllabic couplets, the

same meter as two other famous poems of powerful feeling, Mar¬

vell’s “To His Coy Mistress” and Crashaw’s “St. Theresa.” Apart

from subject matter there is also a great kinship between “The

Exequy” and Donne’s “The Exstasy,” especially in the use of the

conceit (though King is less fantastic) and in the portrayal of an

ideal love. But the simple grace, the profound sincerity of emotion,

and the precise handling of the couplet seem to me to be inspired

by Jonsonian example, as in his epitaphs “On My First Daughter,”

“On Margaret Ratcliffe,” “On My First Sonne,” “On S. P. a Child

of Q. El. Chappel,” and “On Elizabeth, L. H.” Donne and Jonson

together have few poems of grief or sense of loss which are com¬

parable in emotional power to this one.

Though the scope of this paper will not permit a full analysis of

the poem (or even its full quotation), a few comments are neces¬

sary to point out the skillful synthesis King has effected of the arts

of poetry as practised by Donne and Jonson. The poem falls rather

neatly into two main parts, each having its own development and

climax independent of the other and yet remaining an integral com¬

ponent of the whole. A final group of six lines draws both these

sections together by a resolution of the poet’s grief over his wife’s

death into a sort of “hope and comfort.” Much of the first part of

the poem is inspired by Donne, and yet the charge of conscious

imitation would be unjustifiable and not a little imperceptive. The

section on benighting the day and the eclipse sounds like Donne, but

the peculiar aptness of the figures in the logical structure of the

poem is vindication enough of King’s own poetic ability. Further¬

more, the basic contrast of black and white, night and day, the sun

and an eclipse, is not only functional to thought and emotion but

also a central concept which serves as an ironic climax to the first

part of the poem — the climax being the permanence of the eclipse

as long as the lover lives, the irony in that the eclipse took place in

the “Noon-tide” of his wife’s life, when the “Sun” normally is in

its zenith. The short passage on the calcining of the body seems to

me to come as close as any portion of the poem to conscious imita¬

tion of Donne, and significantly it is the least congruous and

effective section of the first part.

The second part of the poem is a kind of symphonic rearrange¬

ment, or better, absorption of the theme and movement of the first ;

structurally, it echoes the first. King opens it with an almost pro¬

saic statement of the fact that the earth now possesses his love ; it

proceeds by a gradual transition to observations about the time

1956]

Gleckner — Henry King

161

that separates him from his dead wife; and it concludes with an

ecstatic vision of a heavenly reunion. If the first part of the poem

could not have been written had Donne never lived, the second owes

much of its tone and sentiment, its “tough reasonableness beneath

the lyric grace,” to Ben Jonson. This is perhaps best exemplified in

brief by the justly famous climax of the poem. The thought of the

poet’s future reunion with his wife in death is triumphing over his

earlier grief and despair :

But heark! My pulse like a soft Drum

Beats my approch, tells Thee I come;

And slow howere my marches be,

I shall at last sit down by Thee. (41)

The basic theme-metaphor of the first part of the poem (time) and

that of the second (the journey) are here fused in the martial

terminology of a march and a drum-beat. In addition, the quatrain

climaxes the emotional progression from grief and despair, to a

contemplation of hope, to the actual triumphal carrying out of that

hope. The drum-beat itself is functional in three different ways

which bring together all of the main elements of the preceding

sections: (1) it is the clock which measures “How lazily time

creeps about,” the minutes and short degrees and hours, each of

which for the poet is “a step toward thee”; (2) it provides the

metrical pattern for the marching image with the spondee, “soft

Drum,” at the end of the line, immediately followed by the trochees

in the first and third feet of the next line; (3) it emphasizes the

quiet triumph of the poet over his grief, in that the sound of the

drum echoing across the abyss between life and death, becomes the

first link between the two lovers. The drum beats his approach,

tells her he’s coming, implying that he is so near now that she

actually can hear this drum, his pulse, his heart. There is no terror

in these lines, as I have pointed out elsewhere ;8 rather there is sub¬

dued, controlled elation (perhaps with a consequent quickening of

the pulse) in the expectancy of reunion, coupled with a comfort

and contentment which become explicit in the closing lines :

I am content to live

Divided, with but half a heart,

Till we shall meet and never part. (41)

King’s major achievement, then, was in the elegy (used in its

loosest sense to include other poems like “The Anniverse” and “The

Departure”) and the classical-Caroline lyric. In these forms King

emerged out of the streams of Donne’s and Jonson’s influence to

become a poet in his own right. Indeed, in his later poetry, even in

8 Explicator, XII (1954), 46.

162 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

these very genres though most often in his longer occasional poems,

he went beyond Jonson to anticipate the classical precision of Dry-

den and even Pope. Symptomatic of this was his increasing use of

the heroic couplet. In Donne’s couplets “his frequent avoidance of

parallelism is secured by runover lines, by rhythms widely unequal

in their duration, by riming masculine endings with feminine. . . .

Stress-shifts, particularly when they make a line runover, are used

to break up normal smoothness in favor of abrupt rhythms and

thoughts. . . . Transitions are often brusque, and meant to clash

with the smooth progress of an extended period. . . . And Donne

does not usually avail himself of the epigrammatic potentialities —

through parallelism — of the couplet unit.”9 As the century pro¬

gressed the couplet gradually became prescriptively associated with

the verse of definition and with occasional verse, and began to as¬

sume the precise proportions of the distinctive Augustan form,

having taken its shape in the hands of Grimald and Marlowe,

Drayton and Fairfax, Jonson and Waller. Though it is not my

intention here to outline the development of the couplet form, it is

important to note King’s increasingly skillful use of that form.

In one sense King’s so-called metaphysicality is anomalous to his

conception of the physical form of poetry. If a variation of verse

form is an integral part of metaphysical poetry, if a conscious in¬

terruption of smooth metrical flow is coincident with the expres¬

sion of complex thought and feeling, then King is hardly meta¬

physical at all. Almost never did he employ anything but basically

regular iambic pentameter or tetrameter lines; of the compara¬

tively small number of irregular feet in his works, the majority

stand first in the line ; and almost all of his poems are cast in the

couplet form, with an increasing restriction of the thought to that

unit instead of the paragraphic form of most of his contemporaries.

Indeed this sense of regularity and conformity is even more evi¬

dent in his sermons, which seldom attain the impassioned eloquence

of Donne’s, for example. Noting this quality in the sermons, one of

King’s editors has remarked that “His instinct was all for system,

establishment, orthodoxy. He was a sound adherent of organiza¬

tion — exalting the Letter above the Spirit, assent above convic¬

tion — one whose religion was ecclesiasticism : the Church qua In¬

stitution, the Bible qua Clerical Code of Law. In short, so far was

he from any taint of non-conformity that it is almost just to say of

him that he was more a Churchman than a Christian.”10

Even King’s youthful poetry displays such “orthodoxy” in its

couplets. The following, for example, are from Donne imitations:

9 Arnold Stein, “Donne and the Couplet,” PMLA, LVII (1942), 696.

10 Lawrence Mason, “The Life and Works of Henry King-, D.D.,” Transactions of the

Connecticut Academy , XVIII (1913), 259.

1956]

Gleckner — Henry King

163

Forth of my thoughts for ever, Thing of Air,

Begun in errour, finish’t in despair. (3)

Lust is a Snake, and Guilt the Gorgons head,

Which Conscience turns to Stone, & Joyes to Lead. (54)

The following, also from early poems, show King’s appreciation

of the couplet’s epigrammatic quality :

Who for this interest too early call,

By that exaction lose the Principall. (10)

Who thus repeats what he bequeath’d before,

Proclaims his bounty richer then his store. (19)

Beginning with the birth of Charles II in 1630 King devoted his

talents almost exclusively to eulogy of royalty, “salutations,” epi¬

taphs, and funeral elegies, and it is in these poems that he appears

most clearly as a forerunner of the Restoration and Augustan poets.

In “Upon the Kings happy return from Scotland,” for example,

the verse has a definite affinity to Waller’s. Here is King :

So breaks the day when the returning Sun

Hath newly through his Winter Tropick run,

As you (Great Sir!) in this regress come forth

From the remoter Climate of the North. (32)

Here is Waller, some 27 years later, in “To the King, upon His

Majesty’s Happy Return, in the Year 1660” :

The rising Sun complies with our weak Sight,

First gilds the Clouds, then shews his Globe of Light

As [sic] such a Distance from our Eyes, as though

He knew what Harm his hasty Beams wou’d do.

And, later in the same poem :

That, if Your Grace incline that we shou’d Live,

You must not, SIR, too hastily forgive.

But King could be a kind of Dryden as well. In “An Epitaph on

the Earl of Essex” (about 1646), “An Elegy on Sir Charls Lucas,

and Sir George Lisle” (1648), and the two elegies on the death of

Charles I (about 1649), King demonstrates that he is worthy to be

considered among the number of ante-Drydenian poets who look

forward to the elegies and satires of that celebrant, that signalizer

par excellance , as Van Doren calls him. The opening lines of “An

Elegy upon the most Incomparable King Charls the First” are an

admirable introduction to the kind of verse that follows :

Call for amazed thoughts, a wounded sense

And bleeding Hearts at our Intelligence.

Call for that Trump of Death, the Mandrakes Groan,

Which kills the Hearers: This befits alone. (117)

164 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

King seldom if ever rose so to the heights of eloquent passion as the

murder of King Charles caused him to do. Only the Lucas-Lisle

elegy and “A Deep Groan” can approach it for sheer power of

expression, whether or not it is good poetry. After eulogizing

Charles in a series of comparisons with the “best of Judah's Kings,”

King curses the “Mountebanks of State” in terms that suffer little

by comparison with Dryden’s invective. Note particularly the swift

and regular motion of the verse, the pronounced medial pause

(even without punctuation), the alliteration that gives emphasis

to the antithesis and balance :

See now ye cursed Mountebanks of State,

Who have Eight years for Reformation sate;

You who dire Alva's Counsels did transfer,

To Act his Scenes on England's Theater;

You who did pawn your Selves in Publick Faith

To slave the Kingdome by your Pride and Wrath;

Call the whole World to witnesse now, how just,

How well you are responsive to your trust,

How to your King the promise you perform,

With Fasts, and Sermons, and long Prayers sworn,

That you intended Peace and Truth to bring

To make your Charts Europes most Glorious King.

Did you for this Lift up your Hands on high,

To Kill the King, and pluck down Monarchy? (119)

The subtle irony and sarcasm underlying such comparatively quiet

lines as 7-12 above is characteristic of Dryden, and gains more

force here by being juxtaposed to the greater directness of the other

lines. The ironic pattern of this passage culminates in the fine last

couplet above, where the paradox becomes explicit. “Lift up your

Hands,” King reminds us in the gloss, is “the form of taking the

Covenant,” but here the lifted hands are also to be used for murder,

and symbolically for breaking the covenant. The satire grows in

fury and intensity as King describes the Remonstrance of the State

of the Kingdom and the consequent flight of Charles, the pursuit

of whom is likened to the hunt. Thus “debasing” the king to the

lowly position of a hunted fox produces paradoxically a shrinking

of the pursuers’ characters (and shows, incidentally, that King was

familiar with the rhetoric of satire). Then after comparing the

destruction of the churches and tombs by the Puritans to other

famous crimes of pillage, King goes on to recount the “murder”

of King Charles in a passage which looks forward to Dryden espe¬

cially in its structural use of the pronoun “you” and the emphatic

heavy rimes :

Though Pilate Bradshaw with his pack of Jews,

God’s High Vice-regent at the Bar accuse,

They but reviv’d the Evidence and Charge,

Your poys’nous Declarations laid at large;

1956]

Gleckner — Henry King

165

Though they Condemn’d or made his Life their Spoil,

You were the Setters forc’d him to the Toil:

For you whose fatal hand the Warrant writ,

The Prisoner did for Execution fit;

And if their Ax invade the Regal Throat,

Remember you first murther’d Him by Vote. (130)

In this poetry of the “third step” King reveals the earlier hints

of the separation of wit from judgment, of imagination from rea¬

son, which characterized the Restoration period. A greater em¬

phasis on generalization, and a correspondent dulling of keen

details, is beginning to push through the tradition of Donne, to

require a broader brush and greater swiftness of strokes. King

began to feel more at home, just as Dryden often was, when he

was making statements. It has been said that the conventions were

becoming easier to follow each year, and it is obvious that King

was attaching himself actively to those new conventions. The poetry

he produced in this manner is clearly not of the sublime, but as a

contemporary of King’s wrote, “The temper of the century had

swiftly become suited to a sort of expression aiming ‘rather at apti¬

tude than altitude.’ ”11 Thus, though Dryden may be said to have

followed and developed Donne in a direct line of succession, too

often the Restoration poets renounced Donne completely, and pro¬

priety even to insipidity usurped the throne of imagination. Per¬

haps the closest King ever came to such artifice and practised

elegance is in “The Labyrinth,” curiously a religious poem :

Dull to advise, to act precipitate,

We scarce think what to do, but when too late.

Or if we think, that fluid thought, like seed

Rots there to propagate some fouler deed.

Still we repent and sin, sin and repent;

We thaw and freeze, we harden and relent:

Repentence is thy bane, since thou by it

Onely reviv’st the fault thou didst commit.

Nor griev’st thou for the past, but art in pain

For fear thou mayst not act it o’re again.

So that thy tears, like water spilt on lime,

Serve not to quench, but to advance the crime. (92)

In a sense, then, King exemplifies the fact that “Metaphysical

poetry, if we ignore its rich results, may be said to have only held

back for a time the wave of European neoclassicism that had

reached its first crest in Jonson.” Though that movement was far

from being merely literary, one of its clearest literary manifesta¬

tions was the “turning back from troubled explorations of the in-

11 The sentence is Mark Van Doren’s, quoting- a remark by Thomas Jordan in 1664,

in The Poetry of John Dryden (New York, 1920), p. 137.

166 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

dividual soul to the accepted sententiousness of public occasions

and general experience.”12 In these terms, King seems to be repre¬

sentative of his age. But the terms “representative” and “a poet

of his age” have been used so glibly and so often without definition

that they have nearly lost significance. Representative in regard

to what, we may ask — the philosophy, the aesthetics, the politics or

economics? Must one be representative of all these to be truly rep¬

resentative? What does “a poet of his age” really mean? In a sense

this paper has been an attempt at one answer to this question, as

well as an essay in method, a method by which such critical terms

as the above can be revitalized.

In extra-poetical activity King was what might best be called a

“dabbler.” Along with other educated men, he recognized the great

change in the universe, and in man’s relation to the universe,

brought about by the Copernican system. There are even some

traces of scepticism in his poetry ; there is a concern with the mean¬

ing of death and an afterlife; there are treatments of the vanity,

brevity, and uselessness of man’s life; there is political feeling

voiced against the Puritans and eulogy of monarchy ; and there are

pleas for divine guidance and succour. But from the extent and in¬

tensity of the treatments accorded these various aspects of 17th

century life, it is difficult to label King as a sceptic, pessimist, stoic,

or anything else. He was, rather, not unlike most of the churchmen

of his time, an intelligent man aware of the complexity of modern

life but with no particular ax to grind — unless it be, quite naturally

for an Anglican bishop, against the Puritans. In this paper, there¬

fore, I have concerned myself mainly with his poetry and have

deliberately avoided discussion, which would be largely fruitless,

of the conventionalities of an orthodox Anglican clergyman’s life.

In the poetry it was precisely these same conventionalities which

had to be examined to find out where Henry King the poet

“belonged.”

To say that King is representative, then, to say that he is of his

age, implies several fairly definite ideas. First, the terms are de¬

scriptive rather than critical in that the representative poet must

have an acute awareness of the various kinds of poetry being

written by his contemporaries, whether he subscribes to the philo¬

sophic and aesthetic bases for that poetry or not. This awareness

naturally leads to emulation, imitation, and, somewhat curiously,

anticipation. Without Donne, Jonson, and Dryden, King could not

be representative ; he would merely be, perhaps, “second-rate.” The

terms, then, do have certain critical overtones. King is a minor poet

12 Douglas Bush, English Literature in the Earlier Seventeenth Century (Oxford,

1945), p. 169.

1956]

Gleckner — Henry King

167

because the poetic age of which he is representative was estab¬

lished by others greater than he. They are the men who give the

age its name, so to speak, who define its limits, who prescribe its

patterns, and who stand as touchstones for its evaluation. That

King wrote better poetry than some of the other representative

poets does not make him more representative, but simply a better

poet. But I have said that he is an anticipator as well as an imi¬

tator, which suggests that the term “of his age” more often than

not refers to an age of transition in poetry. Were King merely a

follower of Donne, say, we should call him a “lesser Donne,” in

somewhat the same way that we label Henryson and Dunbar Chau-

cerians. On the other hand, poets like Gray, Collins, and Cowper

are representative of the transition between neoclassic poetry and

romantic poetry; they are poets of their age. Finally the repre¬

sentative poet tries his hand at many forms of verse — under the

tutelage of many masters — and somewhere along the line he strikes

the poetry of his own nature and talent. It is here, and only here,

that he may transcend his representative limits.

That King the poet dabbled, like the man, is unmistakable. That

the dabbling produced some bad poetry is expected ; that it gives us

an insight into a many-faceted poetic age is helpful; that it gave

us a few poems like “The Exequy,” “Tell me no more,” “The Anni-

verse,” is remarkable. If this is being representative, Bishop Henry

King was surely a “poet of his age.”

PRE-SETTLEMENT VEGETATION OF RACINE COUNTY

Harold A. Goder

Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin *

An ecological source of information concerning pre-settlement

vegetation is found in early land survey records. The origin of the

land survey dates from 1785 when a government cartographer sub¬

mitted to Congress a general plan of survey for the Northwest Ter¬

ritory. The plan was adopted, and the survey was begun in accord¬

ance with its terms. The field books of the land survey of Wisconsin

are available for evaluation in the Public Land Office, Wisconsin

State Capitol Building, Madison, Wisconsin.

Acknowledgment is made to Dr. John T. Curtis, University of

Wisconsin, for critically reading the manuscript.

INTRODUCTION TO SURVEYORS’ METHODS

A north-south line was surveyed from the Ohio River to Lake

Erie ; then east-west lines, six miles apart were run at right angles

to the east boundary of the Northwest Territory. North-south lines

were surveyed parallel with the east boundary forming tracts six

miles square, each constituting a government Township. To survey

a Township, the crew would start in the lower right corner of the

six mile square tract and measure an imaginary section line 80

chains* due north. If any trees occurred on the line between the

starting point and the 80 chain end point, the species, the diameter,

and the number of chains from the starting point were recorded in

a field book. The surveyors established 40 and 80 chain points by

blazing witness trees. The species, diameter, angle of direction, and

the number of links from the 40 and 80 chain points to the witness

trees were noted. Upon completing the north-south line, the men

would survey an east-west line at right angles to the 80 chain sec¬

tion corner. They repeated the process until they had surveyed all

interior section lines.

The paucity of witness trees on the prairie necessitated the

establishment of section corners by earthen mounds.

Surveyors worked through the spring and summer of 1836 to

complete the surveying of Racine County, which lies in the south-

* Now at Wisconsin State College, Platteville, Wisconsin.

* 80 chains, 66 feet; 100 links, 1 chain; 1 link, .6 foot.

169

R 20E R2IE R22 E R23E

170 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

N t? 1

N 21

N ZL

Vegetation of Racine County-1836

Figure 1.

1956]

Goder — Racine County Vegetation

171

eastern part of Wisconsin. At the time of the survey the City of

Racine had a white population of 600 ; the whole county, 1,400.

DESCRIPTION OF RACINE COUNTY

The surface features of the county fall into several divisions. Be¬

ginning at Lake Michigan is a terrace, which was noted by the sur¬

veyors as a bluff, extending west from the lake for a mile. From a

line just east of the terrace limits to a line west of Wind Lake

(T4N, R20E) is a belt of undulating morainic country. The topog¬

raphy of the western edge of the county varies from gently rolling

to hilly and broken. In this area most of the lakes of the county are

found.

The county is drained by two rivers. In the east, Root River

emanates in Milwaukee County and flows southward into Racine

County and then into Lake Michigan. The Fox River courses south¬

ward through the western part of the county.

At the present time the economy of Racine County is based upon

industry and agriculture. The greatest change in vegetation has

occurred through cropping of the prairie, drainage of marshes, and

reduction of wooded areas.

METHODS

The data for this report were taken from surveyors’ records.

Data were transcribed from the original held books for each town¬

ship. The recorded diameters, taken from the surveyors’ records,

were converted to dominance (basal area in square inches). The

basal areas, number of individuals in each size class, and the num¬

ber of points of occurrence for each species were transferred to

data summary sheets. Each quarter and section corner counted as

one point of occurrence.

The importance value (Curtis, 1951), a summation of relative

per cent frequency, density, and dominance, was calculated for

each species. Relative per cent frequency, density, and dominance

are determined by dividing the total value of each into the species

individual value.

To supplement the above values, the distance in links was con¬

verted to feet by using a two-arm protractor and a special rule

(Cottam, 1949). The two revolving arms, each graduated in links,

extend from the center of a disc on which the cardinal points of the

compass are printed. The ruler converts the distance to feet. For

example: two trees 11% degrees west of south and 17 degrees east

of north, 46 and 13 links from the 40 chain point were noted. The

arms of the protractor are rotated to 11% degrees west of south

and 17 degrees east of north. The ruler is placed from link point 46

TABULATION OF IMPORTANCE VALUE (IV) AND MEAN BASAL AREA (BA) OF TREES RECORDED BY THE SURVEYORS

IN PLANT COMMUNITIES ANALYZED

172 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

a, -c

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- *-* c C C

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8

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ODD

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OOCOi-iW-CO^wOOODD.— —

< cq u Uh (l ll >— >0 a ac/ac/H d

1956]

Goder- — Racine County Vegetation

173

to link point 13 across the arms of the protractor and the distance

in feet is read from the ruler.

The map (Figure 1) is drawn to scale from a master copy which

is kept in the Ecological Laboratory of the University of Wisconsin.

The master copy includes the location and species of each witness

tree utilized by the surveyors.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

The pre-settlement vegetation recorded by the surveyors sepa¬

rates into several plant communities. Approximately 80 per cent of

the area was recorded as oak opening and prairie. The remaining

20 per cent was composed of forest, marsh, and swamp com¬

munities.

Oak Openings: The oak opening represents an ecotone between

prairie and forest. The openings were most frequently noted in an

area bordered by the Fox River in the west and by the Root River

in the east. Early settlers described the openings as natural parks

of oaks through which deer roamed. In the summer the grasses

were overlaid with red, yellow, white, and purple flowers, forming

a carpet throughout the openings (Leach, 1925) .

The presence of bur oaks (Quercus macrocarpa) and the great

distance between trees were used as indicators to delimit areas of

oak openings for analysis (Table 1). The dominant tree was bur

oak, accounting for 69 per cent of all the trees recorded in the oak

opening area. The high per cent of bur oak can be correlated with

its ability to resprout from grubs after the main trunk has been

destroyed. White oak (Quercus alba) and black oak ( Quercus velu-

tina) were subdominant. Minor species included white ash (Frax-

inus americana) and shagbark hickory (Cary a ovata).

The greatest per cent of all trees occurred in the 10 to 12-inch

diameter size class. The largest trees noted, bur oaks, were in

the 36-inch diameter size class. The mean distance between wit¬

ness trees was 206.1 feet. The greatest distance recorded was 620

feet and the shortest distance, 11 feet.

Prairie : The greatest single expanse of prairie was recorded in

T3N R21E, R22E, R23E and T4N R21E, R22E (Figure 1). West

of this area the region described as prairie by the surveyors was

dissected by streams and ridges into small areas of 10 to 60 acres.

The prairie extended to the west bank of Root River but was not

recorded east of this waterway ; nor were arboreal species recorded

west of the river in high numbers. Along the exterior lines of 29

sections picked at random the surveyors recorded only 40 trees, a

fact that indicates the paucity of arboreal vegetation on the prairie.

174 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

The encroachment of the prairie by arboreal species was related

to the presence of fires. Fires, sweeping from the southwest across

the rolling prairie, were halted at the west bank of the Root River.

Numerous accounts of early settlers state that at certain seasons

of the year fires would sweep across the prairie and destroy all

rank vegetation (Leach, 1925).

The gradation between oak openings and prairie is not a distinct

boundary. Part of the region described as prairie by the surveyors

was probably the ecotone between true prairie and oak opening.

The trees most frequently recorded were those able to withstand

fire (Table 1) .

The mean distance between bur oaks utilized for witness trees

was 329 feet; whereas, between black oak the distance was 1205

feet. The mean distance between all trees was 427.2 feet. The

greatest per cent of trees occurring on the prairie was in the

24-inch diameter class.

An admixture of pioneer and climax forest species occurred in an

area called Skunk Grove (T3N R22E Sec. 3, 4, 9, 10 and T4N R22E

Sec. 33 and 34). Within this disruption of the fecund prairie, the

surveyors recorded bur oak, white oak, and black oak from the peri¬

phery and ironwood (Ostrya virginiana) and sugar maple (Acer

saccharum) from the interior.

Present day investigations reveal a topography of slightly higher

elevation than surrounding areas and dissection by many small

streams. If fires occurred on all sides of Skunk Grove, an inherent

character of the area prevented the destruction of the arboreal

species. The topography probably prevented fire, but other causes

were also present.

Upland Forest: The largest area of upland species was east of

Root River. In this region arboreal species were protected from

the prairie fires. Here, sugar maple and beech (Fagus grandifolia)

(Table 1) were dominant. Of these two species, beech was most

frequently utilized as a witness tree. Beech and sugar maple were

recorded in all size classes ; this fact indicates that reproduction of

these species had not been disturbed by fire. The greatest per cent

of trees recorded occurred in the 8 to 12-inch diameter size class.

The mean distance between all trees was 32.4 feet.

In summarizing the area, the surveyors noted that almost every

variety of hard timber for sawing, hewing, and fencing was avail¬

able. It was also recorded that the undergrowth included the same

species as the upper stratum.

Hardwood Swamps: Hardwood swamps are designated by the

absence of tamarack (Larix laricina). The largest hardwood

swamps were localized east of Root River in T4N R23E although

1956]

Goder— Racine County Vegetation

175

smaller swamps were noted adjacent and east of the Fox River.

Black Ash (Fraxinus nigra) was the dominant swamp species

(Table 1). Most of the trees were in the 5-inch diameter size class.

The mean distance between trees was 29 feet.

The largest tamarack swamp occurred east of Wind Lake in T4N

R20E, covering approximately 500 acres at the time of the survey.

Small marsh areas were scattered throughout the county.

SUMMARY

The land survey of Racine County was completed in 1836. Utiliz¬

ing the information recorded by the surveyors, the writer sepa¬

rated the pre-settlement vegetation into several plant communities.

Oak opening and prairie communities predominated. Other types

were upland forest, swamp, and marsh. Topography, drainage sys¬

tems, and fire influenced the pattern of vegetation.

SUMMARY OF EXCERPTS TAKEN FROM FIELD NOTES AND

PIONEER LETTERS

T2N R19E — thinly timbered with white, black, and bur oak; no

undergrowth. Land level and poor to rolling, second rate. Wet

prairies along Fox River, tamarck swamps and considerable marsh.

T3N R19E — prairie along Fox River wet; prairie west of river

dry and rolling. Timber white, bur, and black oak ; linden, and some

aspen and hickory. Willow swamps, lakes, and river. Oak openings

east of the river.

T4N R19E — small prairies lying west of river dry and rich. Land

east of river wet, timbered with black ash and willows. Bur, white,

and red oak; linden, elm, hickory, ash, ironwood, sugar, and some

oak openings on upland. Prairie grasses Section 4. Thick under¬

growth of rose, alders, vines, red root, and rosin in northern tier

of sections. Considerable marsh.

T3N R21E — southeast part of prairie dry and rolling. Two-thirds

of township dry prairie. Bur oak openings bordering prairie. Some

marsh.

T4N R21E — marsh along south branch of Root River nesting

place for wild geese, ducks, and pelicans. Prairie rolling and fairly

dry. Timber white, black, red, and bur oak; ironwood, red ash,

wild cherry, hickory, elm, aspen, and black walnut. Some oak open¬

ings. Northeast sections have understory of cherry, hazel, alders,

prickly ash, red root, rosin weed, and rose.

T3N R22E — considerable ploughed land on prairie and border

regions. Prairie rolling and rich. An area called Skunk Grove

176 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

located in Sections 33-34. In grove sugar, linden, aspen, white

thorn, plum, hazel, hickory, black walnut, white ash, elm, iron-

wood, beech, white, bur, black and red oak.

T3N R23E — Racine, Section 9. Reach first timbered areas here

when traveling north from the south. “I remember just how every¬

thing appeared to me at that time ; from the river bank east to the

bluff of the lake, and north to what is now 7th street stood large

scattering oaks. Down the bluff next to the river were red and white

cedar. The flat across Root River in the vicinity of the present

State Street there were sugar maples, black oak, basswood, elm,

beech, hickory, and white and black ash with a few scattering but¬

ternut and black walnut” — a letter. Root River is a rapid, lime-

bedded stream which falls into slack water just above the south

boundary of Section 8 where depth is 3 feet but becomes much

deeper a short distance below.

T4N R23E — considerable black ash and willow swamps. Linden,

hickory, black ash, beech, basswood, red oak, and sugar maple.

Beech and oak undergrowth.

T4N R22E — west of Root River prairie high and dry. Ploughed

land within prairie. East of river trees sugar, beech, butternut,

hickory, ash, elm, and basswood.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cottam, Grant. 1949. Phytosociology of an Oak Woods in Southwestern Wis¬

consin. Ecology 30:271-287.

Curtis, J. T. and R. P. McIntosh. 1951. An Upland Forest Continuum in the

Prairie-forest Border of Wisconsin. Ecology 32:476-496.

Goder, H. A. 1951. Pre-settlement Vegetation of Racine County, 1836. Unpubl.

M. S. thesis.

Leach, E. 1925. Reprints of early pioneer letters published in Racine News¬

papers, 1925.

NOTES ON WISCONSIN PARASITIC FUNGI. XXII

H. C. Greene

Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin

The collections of fungi referred to in this series of notes were

made, unless indicated otherwise, in the season of 1955.

Synchytrium cellulare J. J. Davis was reported on Pycnan-

themum virginianum in my Notes I (Trans. Wis. Acad. Sci. 32 :79.

1940). J. S. Karling, in a recent article entitled “Prosori in Syn¬

chytrium* ’ (Bull. Torr. Bot. Club 82:218-236. 1955), states, as a

result of his examination of the Wisconsin material of S. cellulare ,

that “It is not certain that the parasite which Greene collected on

Pycnanthemum virginianum is identical with S. cellulare”, but he

does not identify it further. The galls induced on P. virginianum

differ from those on the other hosts according to Karling.

Physoderma claytoniana Greene, described from Wisconsin

material (Farlowia 1 :569. 1944) , was discussed by Sparrow (Amer.

Jour. Bot. 34:325. 1947) who, on the basis of specimens collected

in Michigan and Ontario, concluded that the type material was

somewhat immature and produced an emended description adjust¬

ing the limits of spore size upward. D. B. 0. Savile has recently

compared the type with specimens on both Claytonia virginica and

C. caroliniana from Quebec and finds them to match closely. Savile

considers all this material to be mature and concludes that the

Michigan and Ontario organism is at least varietally distinct.

Plasmopara halstedii (Farl.) Berl. & DeToni often infects

Silphium terebinthinaceum in Wisconsin, but has not so far been

observed on Silphium laciniatum which is closely related to S. tere¬

binthinaceum and indeed often hybridizes with it. Possibly pointing

to a definite resistance in S. laciniatum is a situation observed in

the University of Wisconsin Arboretum at Madison where, in an

artificially seeded area, numerous plants of both species are grow¬

ing intermingled and are so closely crowded that many of their

leaves are in contact. Here, in June, there was heavy infection of

nearly all the S. terebinthinaceum leaves, but none could be found

on S. laciniatum, although in some cases the leaves were being

dusted with spores from leaves of S. terebinthinaceum rubbing

against them. Although other parasites have been found on S. tere¬

binthinaceum X laciniatum , it may be significant that Plasmopara

has not, perhaps indicating resistance imparted by S . laciniatum .

177

178 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

Sphaerotheca humuli (DC.) Burr, appears systemic as it

occurs on Phy so carpus opulif olius in Wisconsin, producing witches’

brooms of the lateral twigs, which become stiffly elongate and up¬

right and whose leaves tend to grow upright and parallel to the

twig. In April, in a woods near Brodhead, Green Co., infected

Physocarpus shrubs were found where the leaves and twigs were

so heavily studded with perithecia as to appear coal black and were

very noticeable from a considerable distance. The fungus seemed

to have exerted a preservative effect on the leaves and all remained

in place on the twigs despite the vicissitudes of a severe previous

winter.

Undetermined powdery mildews have been collected on the fol¬

lowing host species : Liatris spicata. Dane Co., Madison, June 27 ;

Solidago patula. Sauk Co., Parfrey’s Glen, August 23.

Rhytisma asteris Schw. and Rhytisma solidaginis Schw. are

different names applied to what is probably the same fungus, de¬

pending on whether it occurs on Aster or Solidago. Specimens

taken recently at Madison are on Aster pilosus and Solidago nemo-

ralis. Most commonly encountered on Solidago graminifolia, but

Wisconsin specimens on Solidago patula, on Aster sagittif olius and

A. linariif olius are in our herbarium.

Mycosphaerella sp. occurs on Bromus latiglumis collected at

Nelson Dewey Memorial Park near Cassville, Grant Co., August 3,

1954. This is on a leaf bearing lesions with Colletotrichum grami-

nicola (Ces.) Wils. and the perithecia are adjacent to the Colleto¬

trichum but not intermingled with it. The perithecia are gregarious

on the dead distal portion of the leaf. They are black, subglobose,

approx. 100-200/a diam., ostiolate, with asci narrowly clavate with

a rather long pedicel, about 45 x 7/a overall. The hyaline ascospores

are 15-17 x 3/a. Connected with the Colletotrichum ?

Mycosphaerella which is believed to almost surely represent

the perfect stage of Didymaria didyma (Ung.) Schroet. has been

studied on an overwintered leaf of Anemone canadensis. On sev¬

eral occasions leaves of A. canadensis have been observed in late

summer closely studied with black perithecium-like bodies which,

at first sight, were suggestive of Phleospora anemones Ell. & Kell.,

but which proved to be immature. Material collected near Arena,

Iowa Co., August 10, 1954, was kept out-of-doors over winter at

Madison and brought in for examination following a period of

heavy rains in late April 1955. At this time numbers of the black

bodies had developed at their apex conidiophores and conidia iden¬

tical with those of Didymaria didyma, commonly found on A. cana- i

densis in Wisconsin. Others of the bodies proved to be mature peri¬

thecia of Mycospharella. These were globose, about 125-150/a diam.,

1956]

Greene — Wisconsin Parasitic Fungi. XXII

179

bearing short-clavate asci, 35-40 x 1.2-14 /a. The uniseptate hyaline

ascospores are slender-fusoid, 4-6 x 17-20/a. So far as examination

of the rather meager specimen showed, imperfect and perfect stages

were not produced on and in the same sclerotoid body, but there is

no doubt in my mind that they are one and the same. Although it

seems extremely probable, it is not proved that the imperfect mani¬

festation is really Didy maria didyma. Various similar cases of

overwintering of conidial stages have been reported by me where

there was no question that the sclerotoid bodies had followed the

primary infection.

Phyllachora lespedezae (Schw.) Sacc. is the subject of a re¬

cent morphological-cytological investigation by J. H. Miller (Amer.

Jour. Bot. 41 : 825-828. 1954). It is interesting to note that his find¬

ings in general confirm speculations made by me in my Notes III

(Trans. Wis. Acad. Sci. 35:114. 1944) concerning this species as it

appears in Wisconsin on Lespedeza capitata.

Ravenelia epiphylla (Schw.) Diet. I on Tephrosia virginiana

has been collected at Tower Hill State Park, Iowa Co., June 28.

This i-s the first Wisconsin collection of the uredinoid aecia.

Uromyces sparganii Clint. & Peck is now applied to include the

former U. pyriformis Cooke, originally described as a distinct spe¬

cies confined to Acorus calamus, following studies of Parmelee and

Savile (Mycologia 46:823-836. 1954) where they show U. sparganii

and TJ. pyriformis to be morphologically identical and cross-

inoculable. Uromyces sparganii is also shown to have a hitherto

unrecognized aecial stage on Hypericum virginicum. The authors

state, “There are presumably numbers of specimens of the aecial

stage of Uromyces sparganii filed in herbaria under U. hyperici.

Unfortunately Hypericum virginicum also takes the latter rust and

the aecia do not seem to be safely distinguishable.” It is of interest

to me that in the summer of 1954, at Tower Hill State Park, Iowa

Co., I collected heavily rusted Acorus immediately adjacent to plants

of Hypericum virginicum bearing rather passe aecia. There are no

uredia or telia present, as there so commonly are in the autoecius

U. hyperici, so it seems highly probable that the aecia are those of

U. sparganii as described by Parmelee and Savile.

Phyllosticta sp. has been found on aecia of Aecidium avocensis

Cummins & Greene, collected near Avoca, Iowa Co., June 22, 1951.

These were mistaken, under a hand lens, for Darluca filum (Biv.)

Cast. The pycnidia are small, black, flask-shaped bodies about half

again as high as wide, containing numerous, small, hyaline conidia,

about 2-2.5/a x 3-4/a. Possibly parasitic.

Phyllosticta sp. on the nodal swellings of flowering stalks of

Festuca ovina occurred at Madison, August 10. The affected areas

180 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

are closely beset with small, 40-60/* diam., black, globose pycnidia

which contain hyaline (yellowish in mass), narrow-cylindric

conidia, approx. 5-8 x 1.5-2 /*. Since this late in the season the

flower stalks are dead it is not possible to say with certainty whether

or not the fungus developed as a parasite, but it seems probable

that it did.

Phyllostxcta sp. on Erythronium alhidum was found at two

stations in Green Co., May 5. This appears to be a strong parasite,

with large areas of the leaves closely beset with the numerous

pycnidia. The body of the pycnidium is subglobose to rather mark¬

edly flattened, sooty, darker above, often with a well-defined short

beak, ostiole present but not well marked, 50-115/* diam., with

small, hyaline, rod-shaped microconidia, approx. 4-7 x 1.5/*. There

is profuse production of tortuous, coarse mycelium throughout the

affected host tissue. Stained prepared sections show evidence of

intraepidermal origin of the pycnidia, and further show nothing to

indicate the presence of any early ascomycetous stage.

Phyllosticta sp., of dubious status as to parasitism, is on leaves

of Ribes cynoshati collected at Wyalusing State Park, Grant Co.,

August 17. The rounded to oval spots are sordid grayish-brown

with narrow darker border, approx. 2-4 mm. diam. ; pycnidia am-

phigenous, clustered, dark brown, widely ostiolate, globose, small,

30-40/* diam. ; conidia hyaline, bacilliform, 3-4 x 1/*.

Phyllostxcta sp., of somewhat doubtful parasitism, occurred on

leaves of Tephrosia virginiana, collected in Tower Hill State Park,

Iowa Co., June 28. The spots are small, irregular, somewhat sunken

and pale brown. Pycnidia are strongly erumpent, appearing almost

stalked in some cases, sooty, pseudo-parenchymatous, approx. 100-

150/* diam. ; conidia hyaline, broadly ellipsoid or short-cylindric,

2. 5-3. 5 x 5-7/*. Reminiscent of Stagonospora tephrosiae Greene in

the spots and the disposition of the pycnidia on them, and mistaken

for that species in the field.

Phyllostxcta which it seems may possibly be only a poor devel¬

opment of Ph. fraxinicola Curr. occurred in sparse development on

leaves of Fraxinus pennsylvanica var. lanceolata near Arena, Iowa

Co., August 12. The pycnidia are decidedly more erumpent than

those in other specimens seen and not more than two or three per

spot, in contrast the many per spot in Ph. fraxinicola. The conidia

are very similar, however, and neither fungus is far removed from

Coniothyrium, as a matter of fact.

Phyllosticta sp. occurred on leaves of Gentiana andrewsii at

Madison, June 26. The whitish to pale tan spots are rounded, thin,

translucent, sunken, approx. 1.5-3 mm. diam., often confluent;

pycnidia scattered to gregarious, pale brown, variable in size,

1956]

Greene— Wisconsin Parasitic Fungi . XXII

181

approx. 75-150/a diam»; conidia hyaline, rod-shaped, short-cylindric

or subfusoid, 3.5-6 x 2-3/a. Possibly secondary, but there is no posi¬

tive indication that any other agent was involved.

Phllosticta sp. on current season’s capsules of Castilleja sessili-

flora was discussed as a possible parasite in my Notes XVIII

(Trans. Wis. Acad. Sci. 42:70. 1953). In July 1955 what appears

to be the same fungus was found on the 1954 capsules of the related

Aureolaria grandiflora at Madison.

Phyllosticta sp. on SoUdago altissima , collected at Madison,

August 25, approaches Ph. solidaginis Bres., as it is represented by

specimens on SoUdago gigantea in the University of Wisconsin

Cryptogamic Herbarium, but the conidia are somewhat shorter,

and the rounded grayish spots smaller and not zonate.

Phomopsis sp., which may be parasitic, occurs on the midrib of

a leaf of Wulfenia buUii collected near Brodhead, Green Co., July 10.

The pycnidia are black, slightly elongate, about 125/a diam. Most of

the conidia seen were scolecospores, hyaline, continuous, mostly

strongly curved, tapering to a point at one end, approx. 20-30 x

1-1.5/a. Reversing the usual situation in Phomopsis, only a few

conidia of the other type. were observed. These were hyaline, broadly

fusoid, 7 x 3.5/a.

Ascochyta lophanthi J. J. Davis is another of those borderline

species to which little violence would be done if it were placed under

Stagonospora, as this writer has already formally done with Asco¬

chyta thaspii Ell. & Ev. In a specimen of A. lophanthi on Ly copus

americanus, collected at Madison, July 7, a sizeable minority of the

large and well-developed conidia are 2-septate, and a very few have

3 septations.

Ascochyta sp. occurs on leaves of Monarda punctata collected

near Dekorra, Columbia Co., July 15. The spots are ashen, translu¬

cent, rounded, with a narrow purplish border, 1-1.5 mm. diam. ;

pycnidia one to two or three per spot, epiphyllous, subglobose, black,

firm-walled, approx. 100-150/a diam. ; conidia hyaline, cylindric,

9-13 x 3-4/a, showing a median septum very consistently. The spots

are somewhat like those usually associated with Phyllosticta decidua

Ell. & Kell., but the fungus is plainly different. I do not find any

reports of Ascochyta on Monarda . Parasitism rather questionable.

Stagonospora polytaeniae Greene (Amer. Midi. Nat. 39:454.

1948), described before I recognized that Ascochyta thaspii Ell. &

Ev. is a good Stagonospora and transferred it to that genus (Amer.

Midi. Nat. 48:52. 1952), appears upon review and study of addi¬

tional recent material to belong under S. thaspii (Ell. & Ev.)

Greene. Specimens on Polytaenia nuttallii and on Pastinaca sativa

(Amer. Midi. Nat. 44:636. 1950') must therefore be transferred.

182 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

Septoria didyma Fckl. has been reported on Saiix interior (longi-

folia) in Wisconsin on the basis of several collections. Comparison

of the Wisconsin specimens with Fungi rhenani No. 1677, issued as

this species and stated on the label to have been collected by Fuckel,

shows definitely wider and more robust spores in the latter, which

is reminiscent of Marssonina. Otherwise the Wisconsin material is

quite similar and is certainly not more than varietally different.

Septoria didyma Fckl. and S. salicina Peck represent, it would

appear, the extremes of an intergrading series of parasites on Saiix

in Wisconsin. Septoria didyma var. santonensis Pass, was erected

to receive forms which are intermediate and the late J. J. Davis

assigned specimens on Saiix fragilis to this variety, containing

those forms with a spore length of approx. 22-38/*. The range for

Septoria didyma is about 15-25/* and for S. salicina 40-60/*. In my

Notes II (Trans. Wis. Acad. Sci. 34:93. 1942) I assigned long-

spored specimens on Saiix fragilis to S. salicina, with the statement

that I was unable to see a satisfactory distinction between S. sali¬

cina and S. didyma var. santonensis . Recent collections on S. frag¬

ilis, however, are exactly intermediate and I am led to conclude

that the varietal category is probably of value and should be

recognized.

Dilophospora alopecuri Fr., as it occurs on Calamagrostis cana¬

densis, was discussed in my Notes IV (Farlowia 1:577. 1944). As

stated, this was described by E. A. Bessey on leaves which had

been sent to him from Kenosha Co., Wis., for study of nematode

infestation. Bessey mentions the occurrence of the fungus on the

same leaves, but does not indicate any closer association with the

nematode galls. In a recent collection made near Brodhead, Green

Co., and to a much lesser extent in two earlier specimens on the

same host from Madison, there is a striking association, and the

elongate, golden-yellow galls, in which the nematodes are devel¬

oped, are closely studied with Dilophospora pycnidia. The youngest

and newest of the galls are free of the fungus, so that it seems that

it becomes established on the galls following infestation. Lesions

where the fungus occurs alone, and there are many such, are tissue-

paper thin and there would be no subsequent opportunity for

development of the thickened, hypertrophied galls.

Leptothyrium sp. occurs on leaves of Liatris asp era var. inter¬

media (Lunell) Gaiser collected in the University of Wisconsin

Arboretum at Madison, August 16. The spots are large, 1.5-3 cm.

diam., orbicular, grayish-brown, subzonate. The fruiting bodies

are amphigenous, scattered, shining black, rounded above, flattened

and imperfect below, approx. 150-200/* diam., scattered to gregari¬

ous. The conidia are hyaline, cylindric or short-cylindric, 6-10 x

1956] Greene — Wisconsin Parasitic Fungi . XXII 183

3-4.5 p.. The status of the fungus seems questionable and it is per¬

haps secondary, although there is no clear-cut evidence that any

other external agent has produced the spotting.

Colletotrichum sp. occurs on conspicuous spots on the leaves

of Geranium maculatum, collected at Madison, August 7. Parasitism

is somewhat uncertain and the possibility cannot be overlooked that

the spots were primarily caused by Cercospora, as some Cercospora

conidia were found in one of the half dozen mounts made, although

no conidiophores could be found. The spots are orbicular to broadly

ellipsoid, .3-1.5 cm. diam., with a wide, blackish-brown border and

cinereous center; acervuli epiphyllous, loosely gregarious on the

cinereous area, small, approx. 30-50/x diam. ; setae uniform

purplish-black, straight or moderately curved or tortuous, tapering

gradually toward the subacute tip, continuous, jn number from a

half dozen to 20 or more in the acervulus, 20-45 jm long, 2.5-3 n thick ;

conidiophores short, almost obsolete, closely packed ; conidia

hyaline, cylindric or subfusoid, 12-14 x 4-4.5/a.

Vermicularia COMPACTA C. & E. on petioles of Parthenocissus

vitacea was reported in my Notes XX (Trans. Wis. Acad. Sci. 43:

179. 1954). A specimen collected in July 1954 near Wautoma, Wau¬

shara Co., occurs on leaf blades of this host. The large, 3-6 cm.,

rounded, dull bronze lesions are very conspicuous, and in general

habit and spore characters the fungus corresponds well with the

earlier specimen on petioles. Coll. S. D. Van Gundy.

Botrytis sp., which appears parasitic, has been collected on

blighted buds and leaves of Paeonia officinalis at Madison in the

summer of 1955. On the leaves the spots are light brown, large,

rounded and sharply delimited, with the fungus hypophyllous on

them. According to Whetzel (Trans. Mass. Hort. Soc. 1915) (1) :

108. 1915) Botrytis blight is by far the most common and destruc¬

tive disease of the peony. In his opinion at least two distinct species

of Botrytis are involved.

Botrytis sp. occurs on large, pale brown, subzonate lesions on

leaves of Menispermum canadense collected near Juda, Green Co.,

August 11. Over the years an impressive list of hosts bearing

Botrytis as a putative parasite has been assembled, but determina¬

tions of the species of Botrytis concerned have presented equally

impressive difficulties.

Cladosporium sp., which may be parasitic, occurs on leaves of

Desmodium nudiflorum, collected in Tower Hill State Park, Iowa

Co., June 28. The spots are orbicular, approx. 3-7 mm. diam., or

sometimes confluent over larger areas, pale brown with very nar¬

row red-brown borders. Fruiting amphigenous, grayish, localized

in center of spots. Hyphae non-fasciculate, but tending to be closely

184 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

ranked and in contact by their swollen bases, pale grayish brown,

simple or subgeniculate, 15-70 x 3.5-5.5/a, 1-2-septate ; conidia pale

olivaceous, subfusoid or cylindric, smooth, 10-21 x 3.5-4/a, con¬

tinuous or 1-septate.

Cladosporium humile J. J. Davis, the conidial stage of Venturia

acerina Plakidas, occurs in consistent and intimate association with

Rhytisma acerinum on leaves of Acer saccharinum, collected at

Madison, August 19. The Cladosporium has developed about the

periphery of the tar spots, perhaps indicating only a rather weak

degree of parasitism.

Cercosporella filiformis J. J. Davis ( Cercospora filiformis

(Davis) Chupp) on Anemone patens var. wolf gangiana, like Cerco¬

sporella saxifragae Rostr., overwinters in a sclerotoid condition on

the dead host leayes and with the spring rains, produces a large

number of fresh conidia on the sclerotoid bodies. These conidia pre¬

sumably infect the developing current season’s leaves, thus perpetu¬

ating the fungus without intervention of a perfect stage. This

observation Is based on leaves bearing the sclerotoid stage, collected

near Cambria, Columbia Co., in September 1954, and held outdoors

over winter in a cage at Madison.

CERCOSPORA on Lathyrus latifolius (cult.) , Madison, September

1953, appears to best fit C. lathy rina Ell. & Ev., but might possibly

also be assigned to C. lathyri Dearn. & House.

CERCOSPORA sp. on Vitis riparia, collected in small amount in the

New Glarus Woods Roadside Park, Green Co., September 7, does

not well match any of the species hitherto described on Vitaceae,

as outlined in Chupp’s monograph of Cercosporae. The fungus is

hypophyllous, with effuse, largely superficial, pale olivaceous my¬

celium, from which the short conidiophores arise in non-fasciculate,

seemingly more or less haphazard fashion. The conidia are faintly

olivaceous, indistinctly multiseptate, very narrowly obclavate —

almost acicular — with a conic base and prominent scar, approx.

3.5-4 x 55-90/a.

Cercospora sii Ell. & Ev., which parasitizes Slum suave in Wis¬

consin, has an uncertain taxonomic status. The late J. J. Davis rele¬

gated it to Fusicladium depressum var. sii (E. & E.) Davis, while

Chupp in his recent monograph states “Petrak . . . suggests that

this is a synonym of Fusicladium depressum. It dose not seem

related in any way to Fusicladium, but the spores being nearly all

1-septate, the stromata slight, and the conidiphores relatively long,

the fungus is here classed under Piricularia rather than Cerco-

sporaF A specimen recently collected at Madison has many 2-septate

conidia, and an occasional one with 3 septa, so I prefer to retain

this species under Cercospora , while recognizing its variability.

1956] Greene— Wisconsin Parasitic Fungi . XXII 185

Spartina pectinata , collected at Madison, September 5, bears an

interesting, but as yet undetermined loculate fungus which is ap¬

parently strongly parasitic. An elongate, narrow, dark stroma is

produced between leaf ribs on the top surface, just below the cuticle

and rupturing and upraising it. The stromata, while only about

150/a wide at the most, may be up to 1 cm. or more long. The loeules

are developed at varying levels and quite closely adjacent below the

dark continuous common stroma and they are of variable diam¬

eter. Vast numbers of hyaline, rod-shaped microconidia, 3-4 x 1/a,

are produced in some of the loeules, while others show structures

that are possibly the immature stages of an Ascomycete, It seems

likely that the conidia are spermagonial in nature.

Salix discolor , collected in Columbia Co. near Pardeeville,

Sept, 24, 1954, has conspicuous sclerotized areas on leaves, the ma¬

jor portions of which are still green and living. The fungus tends

to permeate the tissue between the veins, so that the vein islets are

black and the veins themselves are pale brown and the venation

pattern is strikingly shown. The fungus is sterile, but sections

through the infected area show profuse mycelium and the organism

appears parasitic.

All scientific papers dealing with taxonomic and ecological studies

of fungi which have been carried out on Wisconsin material through

1953— so far as known to the authors— are listed on pp. 37-4,2' of a

paper entitled “A Bibliography of Wisconsin Vegetation” by H. C.

Greene and J. T. Curtis. This is No. 1 of a new scientific series of

the Milwaukee Public Museum called “Publications in Botany”.

ADDITIONAL HOSTS

The following hosts have not been previously recorded as bear¬

ing the fungi mentioned in Wisconsin.

Peronospora parasitica (Pers.) Fr. on Hesperis matronalis .

Green Co., near Brodhead, June 3.

Erysiphe CICHORACEARUM DC. on Polemonium replans. Dane

Co., Madison, June 29. Only slight fruiting, as the fungus tended

to kill back the leaves at an early stage in its development before

perithecia could form.

Hpoxylon pruinatum (Kh) Cke. has been reported on Populus

tremuloides in Wisconsin in these lists. I am reliably informed that

Populus grandidentata and P. balsamifera are additional hosts for

this state.

Rhytisma SALICINUM (Pers.) Fr. on Salix petiolaris. Dane Co.,

Madison, August 31.

186 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

Coleosporium CAMPANULAE (Pers.) Lev. II on Campanula ro-

tundifolia. Marquette Co., Observatory Hill near Montello, July 20.

Coll. H. H. litis. Not listed on this host in Arthur’s Manual.

Melampsora bigelowii Thum. II, III on Salix behbiana. Dane

Co., Madison, September 6.

Melampsora abieti-caprearum Tub. II on Salix petiolaris. Dane

Co., Madison, September 3.

Puccinia gram in is Pers. II, III on Glyceria borealis. Dane Co.,

Madison, July 80.

Puccinia coronata Cda. II, III on Agropyron trachycaulum.

Dane Co., Madison, September 5, 1954. Apparently not hitherto

reported on this host. *

Puccinia angustata Peck II on Scirpus cyperinus. Dane Co.,

Madison, August 15. Hitherto reported from Wisconsin only on the

very distinct var. pelius.

Puccinia extensicola Plowr. I on Solidago missouriensis. Green

Co., near Brodhead, June 3. On Solidago speciosa. Lafayette Co.,

Red Rock, June 7.

Puccinia extensicola Plowr. II, III on Car ex cephalophora.

Pierce Co., Hager City, July 24, 1952. Coll. J. R. Bray. Wisconsin

is cited as a host locality in the North American Flora treatment of

P. extensicola, but there is no mention of its occurrence in Davis’

notes, nor do I find a specimen in the Wisconsin Cryptogamic Her¬

barium. Also on Carex lanuginosa. Dane Co., Madison, August 7,

1954. Host det. J. H. Zimmerman.

Puccinia caricis (Schum.) Schroet. II on Carex lanuginosa.

Dane Co., Madison, July 23.

Puccinia andropogonis Schw. I on Pentstemon digitalis. Dane

Co., Madison, July 13. The affected plants were much stunted and

deformed. Closely adjacent plants of Andropogon scoparius bore a

very heavy uredial infection of P. andropogonis.

Puccinia eleocharidis Arth. I on Eupatorium altissimum. Rock

Co., near Tiffany, July 29. Although the specimen was small and

old, it was readily identifiable. Seemingly the first report on this

host.

Puccinia liatridis (Webber) Bethel I on Liatris spicata. Keno¬

sha Co., 5 mi. S. of Kenosha, August 9. The specimen is old, but

aecia with identifiable spores occur at the periphery of some of the

lesions.

Uromyces junci (Desm.) Tub I on Helianthus rigidus. Sauk Co.,

Spring Green, June 7. Referred here provisionally on the basis of

spore size and host, as was done with a similar specimen on Heli¬

anthus occidentalis in my Notes XVI (Amer. Midi. Nat. 48:743.

1956]

Greene ■ — Wisconsin Parasitic Fungi. XXII

187

1952). There seems to be no satisfactory morphological character

other than spore size to differentiate the aecial stage of U. junci

from Puccinia helianthi, and an even more dubious host character

to differentiate it from Uromyces silphii.

Ceratobasidium anceps (Bres. & Syd.) Jacks, on Steironema

ciliatum. Iowa Co., near Arena, June 28. On Eupatorium macu-

latum, Solidago altissima. Dane Co., near Cottage Grove, July 12.

Xenogloea eriophori (Bres.) Syd. on Scirpus fluviatilis. Dane

Co., Madison, July 22.

Phyllosticta chenopodii-albi Siemaszko on Chenopodium hy-

dridum. Green Co., Oakly, August 2.

Phyllosticta punctata Ell. & Dearn. on Viburnum lentago .

Dane Co., Madison, September 12. The conidia are slightly smaller

and the pycnidia somewhat larger than indicated in the descrip¬

tion, but the lesions seem highly characteristic.

Selenophoma everhartii (Sacc. & Syd.) Spr. & Johns, on Dan-

thonia spicata. Lafayette Co., Red Rock, June 7.

Asteromella andrewsii Petr, on the following cultivated gen¬

tians at Madison, August 1954. Coll. & det. J. T. Curtis : Gentiana

cruciata, G. newberryi, G. parryi, and G. flavida X andrewsii. The

latter is an authentic hybrid produced under controlled conditions.

Ascochyta compositarum J. J. Davis on Eupatorium perfoli-

atum . Dane Co., Madison, July 25. The pycnidia measured are

rather small for this species, only about 100/x diam., but the conidia

are large, well-formed and characteristic. Associated with the Asco¬

chyta on the largely dead leaves is a somewhat immature Myco-

sphaerella. Also on Eupatorium maculatum. Dane Co., Madison,

Sept. 8.

Stagonospora thaspii (Ell. & Ev.) Greene on Osmorhiza clay-

toni. Dane Co., Stewart's Woods, S31, Town of Verona, July 1.

Stagonospora cirsii J. J. Davis on Carduus acanthoides. Iowa

Co., Jonesdale, August 5.

Septoria passerinii Sacc. Microspore stage on Hystrix patula.

Green Co., near Monticello, September 1, 1954. Det. R. Sprague.

Septoria didyma Fckl. on Salix nigra. Dane Co., Madison, Sep¬

tember 7.

Septoria campanulae (Lev.) Sacc. on Campanula rotundifolia.

Marquette Co., Observatory Hill near Montello, July 20. Coll. H. H.

litis. Apparently the first report on this host.

Septoria solidaginicola Peck on Solidago canadensis. Dane Co.,

Madison, August 22. The conidia are somewhat longer than in many

of the collections of this species, but the lesions are highly char¬

acteristic.

188 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

Septoria atropurpurea Peck on Solidago speciosa. Lafayette

Co., Red Rock, June 7. The pycnidia are somewhat more prominent

and erumpent than is usual with this species, but the relatively

long and thick spores are characteristic.

Septoria atropurpurea Peck on Aster prenanthoides. Sauk Co.,

Parfrey’s Glen, August 28.

Septoria cirsii Niessl on Car duns acanthoides. Iowa Co., Jones-

dale, June 18. There seem to be no earlier reports of parasitic fungi

on this troublesome weed.

Gloeosporium RiBis (Lib.) Mont. & Desm. on Ribes cynosbati.

Grant Co., near Montfort, July 18.

Gloeosoporium CORNI H. C. Greene on Cornus alternifolia. Dane

Co., Madison, September 6. Since the original collection on C. fem-

ina other specimens on that host and the current one suggest that

this fungus may be associated with insect activity. However,

whether or not it is a strong parasite, it is a highly characteristic

fungus occurring on sharply delimited spots, usually one to a leaf,

on leaves which are otherwise green and vigorous.

Colletotrichum madisonensis H, C. Greene on Carex tricho-

carpa. Green Co., Oakly, August 2.

Cylindrosporium apocyni Ell. & Ev. on Apocynum cannabinum.

Rock Co., near Tiffany, July 29.

Ovularia sphaeroides Sacc. on Vida cracca var. tenuifolia.

Dane Co., Madison, August 17, 1954. Coll. S. D. Van Gundy.

Ramularia stolonifera Ell. & Ev. on Cornus obliqua. Grant

Co., Blue River, August 5.

Ramularia dispar J. J. Davis on Eupatorium maculatum. Dane

Co., Madison, September 8. An earlier specimen collected by J. J.

Davis at Crivitz, Marinette Co., labeled as on E. purpureum, ap¬

pears also to be on E. maculatum. There is no doubt in my mind

that these species are distinct.

Cercospora caricis Oud. (C. caricina Ell. & Dearn.) on Carex

stricta. Dane Co., Madison, August 4. On Carex rostrata. Sauk Co.,

Parfrey’s Glen, August 28. On Carex sartwellii. Dane Co., Madison,

September 16.

Cercospora salicis Chupp & Greene on Salix interior (longi-

folia). Iowa Co., Arena, August 12.

Cercospora helianthi Ell. & Ev. on Helianthus rigidus. Dane

Co., Madison, September 2.

Tuberculina persicina (Ditm.) Sacc. on Puccinia bolleyana

Sacc. I on Sambucus canadensis. Dane Co., Madison, July 7.

1956]

Greene— -Wisconsin Parasitic Fungi. XXII

189

ADDITIONAL SPECIES

The fungi mentioned have not been previously reported as

occurring in Wisconsin.

Microsphaera euonymi (DC.) Sacc. on Evonymus europaeus

(cult.). Dane Co., Madison, September 21, 1954. Coll. C. G. Ehlers.

This species is distinguished primarily by the fasciculate habit of

the long appendages, the ultimate branchlets of which are not regu¬

larly and strongly recurved as is the case in Microsphaera alni. Sal¬

mon in his monograph of the Erysiphaceae states that “M. euonymi

is confined to Europe; the record of its occurrence in California

“on Euonymus” by Darkness and Moore is doubtless an error.”

Conceivably the fungus could have been imported along with the

cultivated host to account for its presence at Madison, but in this

connection it is of real interest that this same fungus has recently

been collected, October 11, 1955, on the native Evonymus atropur-

pureus in an isolated maple woods near Oakly, Town of Spring

Grove, Green Co. This would seem to demonstrate beyond any

reasonable doubt that M. euonymi is endemic.

Fabraea thuemenii sp. nov. is the name proposed by E. A.

Stowell in a 1955 University of Wisconsin doctoral dissertation on

the fungus which causes leaf blight of English hawthorn, Crataegus

oxyacantha, and which has as its conidial stage Entomosporium

thuemenii (Cooke) Sacc. This was reported by me for Wisconsin

material as Fabraea maculata (Lev.) Atk. (Trans. Wis. Acad. Sci.

34:94. 1942), but Stowell seems to have shown that F. maculata is

correctly applied only to the fungus causing leaf blight of pear and

quince.

Rhizosphaera kalkhoffi Bub. on Picea glauca. Dane Co., Madi¬

son, May 19. This caused a destructive needle cast of large specimen

trees in the University of Wisconsin Arboretum, resulting in vir¬

tual defoliation. Waterman (Phytopath. 37 :507. 1947) described

this disease in some detail, as it affected cultivated Picea pungens

in Connecticut.

Ustilago anomala Kze. on Polygonum cilinode. Marathon Co.,

Rib Mt. near Wausau, June 28, 1942. Coll. C. G. Shaw and L. H.

Shinners. This specimen is in the mycological herbarium of the

Department of Plant Pathology at the State College of Washington,

but has been seen by me and a label placed in the University of

Wisconsin herbarium.

Phyllosticta confertissima Ell. & Ev. on Ulmus americana.

Dane Co., Madison, September 26. Although the conidia are of the

micro-type there is nothing about the lesions or the fungus to sug¬

gest that this is the precursor of a perfect stage. Both lesions and

fungus correspond very closely to the original description.

190 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

Septoria oudemansii Sacc. on Hierochloe odorata. Waukesha

Co., near Eagle, May 24, 1941. Coll. C. G. Shaw. Det. R. Sprague.

Colletotrichum lucidae sp. nov.

Maculis fuscis, zonatis, conspicuis, amplis, orbicularibus vel

irregularibus, 0.5-3 cm. diam. ca. ; acervulis epiphyllis, sparsis, in-

conspicuis, subcuticularibus, 110-175/a diam.; setis, rectis, flexuosis,

vel subgeniculatis raro, apicibus subobtusis, claro-brunneis, supra

pallidioribus leviter, 50-65 x 4-5/a, 1-2-septatis ; conidiophoris sub-

cylindraceis, subhyalinis, confertis, 12-15 x 3-5/a; conidiis hyalinis,

obtusis, cylindraceis, 13-19 x 4-6.5/a.

Spots dark brown, banded-zonate, conspicuous, large, orbicular

or irregular, approx. 0.5-3 cm. diam. ; acervuli epiphyllous, scat¬

tered, inconspicuous, subcuticular, 110-175/a diam.; setae straight,

flexuous, or rarely subgeniculate, clear brown, becoming somewhat

paler toward the subobtuse tips, 50-65 xx 4-5/a, 1-2 septate ; conidi-

ophores subhyaline, subcylindric, crowded, 12-15 x 3-5/a; conidia

hyaline, obtuse, cylindric, 13-19 x 4-6.5/a.

On living leaves of Salix lucida. University of Wisconsin Arbo¬

retum, Madison, Dane County, Wisconsin, U.S.A., September 4,

1955.

The zonate banding of alternate dark and somewhat lighter

brown is very pronounced and characteristic in the larger spots,

some of which do not show any acervuli. In this connection it is

interesting that the specimen in the Wisconsin Herbarium of Fungi

Columbiani No. 3872, issued as Septogloeum salicinum (Peck)

Sacc. appears to bear sterile C. lucidae lesions with Septoria sali-

cina Peck included within the boundaries of the larger spots.

Although subcuticular, the acervuli are very firmly seated on the

epidermis and there is nothing of the superficial saprophytic Col¬

letotrichum about C. lucidae. The straight, rigid, cylindric conidia

are not of the type ordinarily encountered in Colletotrichum, but

in other respects the fungus seems a characteristic representative

of the genus.

Sphaceloma murrayae Jenkins & Grodsinsky on Salix lucida.

Sauk Co., Parfrey’s Glen, August 23. On Salix nigra. Dane Co.,

Madison, September 2. On Salix discolor, S. interior. Dane Co.,

Madison, September 8.

Cladosporium coreopsidis sp. nov.

Maculis nullis ; conidiophoris amphigenis, non-fasciculatis,

obscuro-brunneis, fere rectis vel subtortuosis, prope geniculatis

supra, basibus non inflatis, 30-65 x 3.5-4.5/a, 2-3 septatis; conidiis

catenulatis, fusoideis vel angusto-fusoideis, levibus, pallidis fumoso-

brunneis, 13-20 x 3.5-4/a, 1-septatis vel continuis.

1956]

Greene — Wisconsin Parasitic Fungi. XXII

191

No distinct spots; conidiophores amphigenous, arising individu¬

ally and not in fascicles, dark brown, almost straight to subflexuous,

closely geniculate above, base not enlarged, 30-65 x 3.5-4.5/x, 2-3

septate; conidia catenulate, fusoid or narrow-fusoid, smooth, pale

smoky brown, 13-20 x 3.5-4/a, 1 -septate or continuous.

On living leaves of Coreopsis palmata. University of Wisconsin

Arboretum, Madison, Dane County, Wisconsin, U.S.A., June 27,

1955.

A somewhat similar undetermined Cladosporium on Coreopsis

which, however, differed in important characters, particularly in

having much shorter spores, was mentioned in my Notes XX

(Trans. Wis. Acad. Sci. 43:171. 1954). The present fungus is well-

developed and many host plants were infected. The most notice¬

able effect on the host is a pronounced stunting with suppression

of flowering on the infected stalks. Healthy Coreopsis palmata

clumps are normally very floriferous, with a terminal flower on all

or almost all the stems. The conidiophores bear many closely

crowded spore scars near their tips and the geniculation often is

not very pronounced. The origin of the phores is not obvious in

free-hand sections, but they do not appear deep-seated.

Cercospora alni Chupp & Greene was described as a new spe¬

cies on Alnus crispa (Farlowia 1:580. 1944). S. J. Hughes (Can.

Jour. Bot. 31 :571. 1953) points out that on the basis of the descrip¬

tion this is unquestionably Passalora bacilligera Mont. & Fr. Com¬

parison of the Wisconsin specimen with authentic European speci¬

mens shows that Hughes is correct and the name Cercospora alni

is a synonym.

Passalora robiniae (Shear) Hughes replaces Fusicladium

robiniae Shear as the name for this fungus occurring in Wisconsin

and elsewhere on Robinia pseudo-acacia. Hughes (Can. Jour. Bot.

31:572. 1953) regards an inflated basal cell of the conidium as the

best criterion distinguishing Passalora from Cladosporium. Hughes

also transfers Fusicladium depressum, occurring on various Umbel-

liferae, to Passalora, but to this writer, basing his opinion on a

number of the many specimens in the Wisconsin Herbarium, the

shift does not seem justified, in view of the extreme variability

noted.

Cercospora ithacensis Chupp on Geranium maculatum. Wis¬

consin specimens on G. maculatum, hitherto regarded as being

C. geranii Kell & Sw. are considered as distinct by Chupp and

described as a new species in his “Monograph of Cercospora”,

p. 241.

Cercospora pteleae Wint. on Ptelea trifoliata. Green Co., near

Juda, August 2.

AN UNPUBLISHED MANUSCRIPT OF E. A. BIRGE ON THE

TEMPERATURE OF LAKE MENDOTA; PART I

John C. Neess and William W. Bunge, Jr.

Departments of Zoology and Geography , University of Wisconsin

INTRODUCTION

Edward A. Birge’s career as a limnologist opened with some

studies on the anatomy and taxonomy of the Cladocera which he

began at Harvard while he was a graduate student and which

he continued later, after he arrived at Madison and became in¬

stalled as a member of the faculty of the University of Wisconsin.

In the years before 1900 his interest moved rapidly from the struc¬

ture and classification of these animals as mere crustaceans to their

ecology as representatives of the zooplankton community in Lake

Mendota, and thence to the more purely physical and chemical

qualities of the whole environment of the zooplankton community.

Before the close of that career he had contributed richly and widely

to the study of lakes in its many various aspects; his affection

remained, however, primarily attached to physical considerations,

and the investigations in which he retained throughout his life

the greatest personal interest were of heat and light and their

interrelations.

While studying the behavior of the Cladocera in Lake Mendota

Birge began assembling information for two great monographs on

physical limnology. One of these was a study of the gases dis¬

solved in lake water, and is familiar as the famous “Dissolved

Gases” paper of Birge and Juday, published in 1911 in Bulletin

Number 22 of the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Sur¬

vey. The other was a study of temperature and heat distribution

in lakes that seems never to have been finished.

In 1894, along with his sampling of the zooplankton in Lake

Mendota, Birge began taking water temperatures. The results must

have interested him considerably, for he accelerated his collection

of temperature data in each subsequent year, so that by 1899 he

had assembled some 25,000 individual readings (according to his

own estimate in an unpublished manuscript written in 1899 ; see

below) . He persisted in making regular and frequent observations

of temperature until about 1916, then continued to make them, in

smaller quantity, until about 1931, by which time his attention had

been largely displaced to the lakes of northern Wisconsin.

193

194 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

Taken all together, these temperature records represent prob¬

ably the most elaborate set in existence for a single lake. Particu¬

larly during the period 1895-1916, observations were made through¬

out the entire year, not just during the warmer months; they were

made at several points on the lake’s surface and at all depths. In

some years, temperatures were taken twice daily at all stations on

every day during the open season safe for a small boat. On occa¬

sion, the records included also temperatures taken at several depths

in the mud, temperatures within the ice-layer, observations of ice-

thickness and of other phenomena relating to water temperature.

Birge was helped substantially in making these observations by

many individuals, most of whose names now seem to be lost; he

was helped also by the invention, in 1895, of the first electrical

resistance thermometer that could be used practically in the field

(the “thermophone” of Warren and Whipple, described by these

authors in 1895).

Small parts of this vast collection of temperatures have been

used from time to time in publications (see particularly Juday,

1940), but no complete study of the temperature regime in Lake

Mendota has ever appeared in print. Most of the collection has

remained in the original fieldbooks or in partly summarized form

among the papers left by Birge in the Department of Zoology.

Birge himself had apparently very early decided that he would

write an extended monograph describing all aspects of the thermics

of Lake Mendota, including descriptions of the temperature cycles,

the heat content, the annual and diurnal heat budgets, the me¬

chanics of heat distribution, etc., and he had apparently planned

also to make this part of a still larger comparative study of similar

phenomena in a large group of lakes. In a short note published by

Science in 1913 (describing very briefly the program in which he

was engaged at that time of making determinations of the depth

of penetration of solar energy into lake water: see below), he re¬

marks in passing: “This work is still in progress and when com¬

pleted will be incorporated in a general report on the temperatures

of Wisconsin lakes.” Although no such “general report” has been

published, it was nevertheless at least partly written, and it is from

several uncompleted manuscripts of it, left by Birge, that we have

prepared the following paper.

The first manuscript of this sort was begun apparently in 1899,

and took as its point of departure the body of temperature data

gathered from Lake Mendota between 1894 and 1899. It contains

a careful summary of temperature conditions in the lake, but noth¬

ing more than cursory mention of such topics as heat budget or

heat distribution; it refers also to temperature measurements made

in several other lakes, all in southeastern Wisconsin. The manu-

1956] Neess & Bunge - — Lake Mendota Temperature 195

script is roughly typed and heavily annotated by Birge in ink ; data

for years through 1905 have been added to some of the tables, and

a number of means have been recalculated to take these correc¬

tions into consideration. Seemingly even by 1905 Birge was unsatis¬

fied with this version; he used it however as the skeleton for a

second.

The second manuscript, which is also the most recent we have

been able to find, was prepared in 1916, or at least is based only

upon data accumulated up to that time; it contains reference to

all information available in 1916, including what had been used in

the earlier manuscript, and was thus apparently meant to super¬

sede it. It is much longer than the first, with not only a detailed

resume of general temperature conditions but also discussions in

extenso of many other topics — the heat budgets, the distribution of

heat by sun and wind, diurnal changes in heat-content, etc. — in

which data from many other lakes, in Wisconsin and elsewhere,

are used comparatively. This version had reached essentially fin¬

ished form: there is a draft apparently prepared by a secretary,

with very few amendations by hand, and an incomplete carbon-copy.

We have divided the more recent manuscript into two parts, one

including only the temperature observations and a discussion based

upon them, making up together a description of the temperature

cycle alone. The other part is composed of several chapters of com¬

putation and discussion, all relative to the heat budgets or to the

vertical distribution of heat, and contains much additional mate¬

rial, data and discussion, for other lakes. Of these two parts, the

first is essentially finished, and provides a complete and cohesive

dissertation that could scarcely be improved, even by the inclusion

of more recent data.* The second is less well organized, and does

not contain, furthermore, any data as such that are not in the first

section, but simply computations based upon them.

The paper that follows is essentially the first part of the 1916

manuscript. The second section we have considered might remain

unpublished. It contains no data of its own, and the significant

generalizations and conclusions in it have all found their ways into

the literature elsewhere (in Birge, 1904, 1910a, 1910b, 1915 and

1916). It has perhaps a stronger flavor than any of the published

works, of Birge’s intense preoccupation with the comparative study

of heat-budgets that was eventually to prove to be so infertile (cf.

* If there have been systematic changes in the temperature regime of the lake since

1894 or 1916, which might invalidate some of Birge’s description as far as conditions

at the moment are concerned, his data would nevertheless be of considerable value

for comparative purposes because of their completeness. He had studied enough years

in detail so as to make it quite clear not only what conditions were in fact found in

any one year, but also what kind of variation might be expected in the normal course

of events from one. year to the next and to what extent ordinary variations in external

weather impress variations on the temperature regime of the lake.

196 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

Mortimer, 1956), but it does not enlarge in any important way

upon the contents of these other papers. The data in the first sec¬

tion, on the other hand, are of considerable interest in themselves.

In addition to the water temperatures, certain other data of a sort

that was in Birge’s time completely unique and that is at the

present still relatively rare in limnological literature appear and

are discussed in the first section, data, for example, on changes in

the thickness of the ice-layer through the winter, on temperature

distribution within the ice-layer and on temperature inversions be¬

neath the ice in late winter. It should perhaps be credited to Birge

that he became interested in some of these phenomena long before

his colleagues.

In preparing this version of the manuscript, we have followed

Birge’s own wording wherever the draft he left was found to be

complete. A few minor changes have been made : in some cases the

meanings of sentences have been clarified, and numerical entries

and the results of computations have been corrected where these

were found to be in error ; references to sections of the manuscript

not included here have been omitted. All substantial corrections

and editorial material have been given in numbered footnotes

rather than as unidentified alterations of Birge’s text. Many of the

figures had already been drawn in final form, and we have simply

used these as they were found, after verifying the numerical values ;

in other cases, we have redrawn figures or prepared missing ones

from the original data.

In addition to the exclusion of the second part of the 1916 manu¬

script, we have made one other substantial change in what appears

to have been Birge’s plan. A few of the sections of the 1899 manu¬

script have no counterparts in the later one. These are sections

including descriptions of the thermocline, its mode of formation,

its changes in dimension and its vertical displacements under the

influence of wind, and of the autumnal cooling period and the for¬

mation of ice. Apparently some sections containing discussion of

the thermocline were written for the 1916 manuscript, but only

fragments of them are now extant, and we have been unable to find

descriptions of the autumn period or of ice-formation belonging to

the later manuscript. It is not clear whether the later sections were

never written, or whether parts of them have simply been lost. In

order to keep the description of the annual temperature cycle com¬

plete, we have used several sections of the 1899 manuscript to fill

obvious vacancies in the 1916 version.

The most important difference between any two corresponding-

sections from the two manuscripts lies in the different quantities

of data available to support the generalizations stated in them, the

later version having an advantage over the earlier in this respect.

1956] Neess & Bunge — Lake Mendota Temperature 197

In order to make it quite clear from which of the two manuscripts

each section has been taken, we have placed a date, 1899 or 1916,

opposite its title.

The original material from which this paper has been prepared,

along with all other documents assembled at the same time from

among the papers having to do with limnological work and left by

Birge in the Department of Zoology, have been collected into the

nucleus of a library of data referring chiefly to Lake Mendota. The

collection is housed in the library of the Wisconsin State Historical

Society at Madison, where it may be consulted. Material now in

this collection includes all of the fleldbooks of Birge and his collabo¬

rators (containing the entire original assemblage of temperature

readings), all drafts of the manuscripts mentioned above, a number

of charts and figures belonging to these manuscripts, along with

tabular summaries of data in the fleldbooks. There are also several,

variously complete or incomplete, hand- or typewritten discussions

of a number of topics related to temperature (the thermocline, the

work of the wind in distributing heat, the penetration of solar

energy into lake- water, etc.) which may have formed either the

beginning drafts of later-published papers on these subjects, or

were perhaps intended to be chapters in the larger work alluded

to. It has been impossible, of course, to give in the following paper

all of the original temperature data that might at some time prove

of use to those who will continue to carry out investigations in

Lake Mendota ; they are, however, for the most part in good order

and available for consultation, as noted above.

One other manuscript has been placed in the collection along

with the material described above. This is entitled “Experiments

on Diathermancy of Water” and ought to be mentioned here, if

with nothing more than mere antiquarian interest as excuse. As

Birge accumulated information on temperature he became almost

at once preoccupied with the mechanisms of heat distribution. In

1899, the same year in which the first draft of this temperature

paper was written, he requested of Professor B. Snow, of the De¬

partment of Physics, that a senior student be assigned the problem

of investigating the absorption of solar energy by water. And so

it came to pass that in that year the student, F. W. Axley, gathered

the first experimental information for Birge on a subject that was

to remain his greatest single interest and to occupy him almost

literally to his dying day, the penetration of sunlight into lake

water. Axley worked only with distilled water, using a thermopile.

The matter was again taken up in 1904 when another student, A. G.

Worthing, increased the collection of data, using the same instru¬

ment, more carefully distilled water and some unfiltered water from

Lake Mendota. In 1899, meanwhile, Birge had himself begun study-

198 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

ing light penetration in the lake with a vacuum-covered black-bulb

thermometer (a technique he learned from Forel, 1895), and in

1900 Chancey Juday made determinations in several other lakes.

The manuscript in question, which seems to have been prepared in

1904, summarizes the information collected by these four, a sort of

prologue to the long series of papers that appeared later (Birge

and Juday, 1929a, 1929b, 1930, 1931, 1932) and ended with one of

the last published works of Birge’s life (James and Birge, 1938).

But this version was not published, perhaps for the same rea¬

sons that caused Birge to withhold all of his papers on thermics.

Seen from any vantage-point, the subject of temperature and

energy-content in lakes is vast and complicated; Birge, to whom

the accumulation of data was the most important of the several

facets of scientific activity generally, probably felt that any report

was incomplete so long as there was a visible means for improving

the available collection of facts.

One is tempted to believe also that there was another reason,

that he had in mind an even larger project than any that have

been described above. It does not seem at all unlikely, in view of

the vast amount of particular information collected from the lakes

of northern Wisconsin during later years and never used, that he

would at some time have liked to produce a great monograph in

regional limnology, a comparative study undertaking to describe

in detail all of the fresh waters of Wisconsin. During his last

years, even up to within a few days of his death, he kept always

before him on his desk in the Biology Building sheets of paper on

which he had arranged alphabetically lists of all the lakes of the

state, county by county, which he methodically checked and

rearranged many times over. A catalog from which one then

could strike out work accomplished and so see what remained to be

done? But even two lives would not have been time enough.

I LAKE MENDOTA (1916)

The physiography and hydrography of Lake Mendota are fully

described in other bulletins issued by this [Wisconsin Geological

and Natural History] Survey and the descriptions will not be re¬

peated here. (See Fenneman, 1910, pp. 37-59; Juday, 1914, pp.

11-19.)

The position of the Washburn Observatory, which lies near the

shore of the lake, about 200 m. (600 ft.) south of its margin, has

been exactly determined. It lies in lat. 43° 4' 37" N. ; long. 89° 24'

28" W. In all general computations, such as those concerning the

sun's radiation, the latitude of the lake has been taken as 43°. It is

about 259 m. (849 ft.) above the sea.

HYDROGRAPHIC DATA FOR LAKE MENDOTA

1956] Neess & Bunge — Lake Mendota Temperature

199

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200 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

The lake occupies a depression which is an old river valley en¬

larged and perhaps deepened by the ice of the latest glacial inva¬

sion. This depression has been tilled in its deepest parts with fine

blue clay and superjacent lake deposits to a depth of 30m.-40 m.,

above which lies the water whose maximum depth is 24 m.-25 m.

The more important hydrographic data are given in the accom¬

panying table (Table 1-1) .

Figure 1. Map of Lake Mendota, showing stations and transect on which obser¬

vations have been made (see text). Depths of contours are in meters.

The regular temperature observations have been taken at two

different stations. Those previous to 1899 were in the south basin

of the lake at the point marked J on the map (Fig. 1). The tem¬

perature of the water in the central basin was taken 1-3 times a

week in order to keep track of the warming and cooling of the

deeper strata. The regular observations of 1899 and later years

were made in the central basin at the point marked I on the map.

In all years when regular observations were made a buoy was

anchored in the lake, to which the boat was attached during the

1956] Neess & Bunge — Lake Mendota Temperature 201

observations. The readings of any season were, therefore, made at

the same spot.

In all years series of observations were made at different points

of the lake for purposes of comparison, and in 1911, 1912, 1913,

and 1914 observations were regularly made at 10-12 stations in

order to compare the results obtained at station I with the mean of

those from more numerous stations. These are indicated by letters

on the map. Starting with a reading near shore at the boathouse

(A) the boat went to B , C, etc. From E it went to H and then came

back to G, F, I, and J in order, and so returned to A again, when

the final reading was made. The effect of this was to give six sta¬

tions, spaced at about equal intervals, on the N-S axis of the lake,

and four on the E-W axis. As the east end of this last line would

have ended at Maple Bluff, readings were taken both to the north

and to the south of this point near the outer limit of water deep

enough to include most or all of the thermocline. In all series the

temperature of the shoal water close to the shore was taken on the

north and the south side of the lake and in the earlier series the

same was done on the northeast bay, near C and in the west bay,

near H. But it soon appeared that these last two readings added

little knowledge and they were omitted in order to save the addi¬

tional distance and time which they required. From four to five

hours were usually needed to make the entire circuit.1

Variations in the Level of the Lake (1916)

The level of the lake is controlled by a dam which raises the

water about 1.2 m. (4 ft.). It is, therefore, possible to lower the

lake to that extent below its normal level. This is never done, how¬

ever, and the level of the lake does not ordinarily vary during the

open season more than one-fourth meter on each side of the mean.

In computations for temperature no allowance has been made for

this variation. The heat budget is stated in calories per sq. cm. of

surface, and its amount depends on the computed mean depth of

the lake and of its several strata. The mean depth, however, changes

very little with ordinary changes of level, since the area increases

or decreases in a ratio not dissimilar to that of the depth. For

minutely exact results more exact computations would be needed,

but the observations at hand do not call for more exact mathematical

treatment than they have received.

Transparency (1916)

Lake Mendota has in general a low transparency. The turbidity

is mainly biological and is due to the amount of plankton suspended

in the water. Sometimes, though rarely, violent rains in summer

1 The “thermophone” was used to measure all temperatures from 1895 onwards. Ed.

202 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [VoL 45

cause mechanical turbidity of the water, and more often melted

snow causes a similar turbidity in winter.

The transparency has not been regularly read during the ice-

period. During all the years of temperature observation the trans¬

parency has been observed occasionally with Secchfs disc and dur¬

ing four years it was read at all temperature observations during

the open season.

The disc used is of metal enameled in white. It is 10 cm. in diam¬

eter. Its readings have been carefully compared with larger discs

of 20 cm., 50 cm., and 75 cm. diameter, and its determinations are

regularly about 10% smaller than those of the larger discs. This

correction has been made in stating the results.

TABLE 1-2

TRANSPARENCY OF LAKE MENDOTA DURING THE OPEN SEASON, STATED

IN TERMS OF STANDARD SECCHI’S DISC

* April 15-30

fChiefly in Dec. 1-15

Table 1-2 shows the results from these observations. In general

the transparency for the warmer season— April-October, inclu¬

sive-lies between two and three meters. The maximum observed

is 4.7 m., the minimum 1.0 m. The minima come during periods of

excessive development of plankton. The lowest reading- — 1.0 m. —

was made on April 20, 1916, at a time when there was an enormous

growth of a minute species of the diatom Stephanodiscus . In this

year there was a period of about a week when the transparency

hardly exceeded 1.0 m.

The maxima of transparency— during the warm season— come

when large crops of algae, especially diatoms, are settling to the

bottom and when, therefore, the surface water is sparsely popu¬

lated until a new growth comes up. At such periods the transpar¬

ency regularly exceeds 4 m. Two such periods have been noted in

1956] Neess & Bunge — Lake Mendota Temperature 203

May during five years, four in June (4 years), none in July (4

years), three in August (4 years), none in September (4 years).

The absence of such periods in July is noteworthy, as also is their

frequent occurrence in August and their long continuance then,

raising the average transparency of that month to the highest of

the seven months, April-October.

The rise of the fall growth of diatoms in September usually pre¬

vents the appearance of any exceptionally great transparency in

that month, and the same may be said of October.

In November and December the algae usually decline in number

and the transparency becomes greater. This condition is by no

means uniform. In December, 1913, there was an enormous growth

of Anabaena and similar growths have taken place in other years.

In 1916 the average transparency in December was below that in

November (3.1 m. and 3.3 m. respectively).

During the ice-period the water usually clears up. The highest

transparency noted was 7.5 m. on February 17, 1914. A rapid thaw,

however, which carries large quantities of snow water into the

lake, may reduce the transparency below 1.0 m. Such water spreads

out under the ice as a relatively thin layer of very turbid water

and the suspended particles are very slow to settle.

Lakes Monona and Waubesa lie below Lake Mendota and in the

same chain. The color of their water is substantially identical with

that of Mendota. In both lakes the transparency is apt to be very

low in summer, often below 1.0 m., due to enormous growths of

blue-green algae. Both lakes, however, are frequently very trans¬

parent in the spring, as transparency goes in Wisconsin lakes.

Lake Waubesa has shown in May a transparency of 8.8 m. and

Lake Monona one of 9.5 in June. These are among the highest

transparencies observed in Wisconsin. This condition was due in

both cases to great swarms of Daphnia pulex , which ate up the

plankton algae. Similar phenomena have never2 been seen in Lake

Mendota, in which D. pulex occurs, but never in great abundance.

The maximum transparency observed in Monona in June is much

greater than anything seen in Mendota, even in winter.

II THE CLIMATE OF MADISON (1916)

A fairly complete account of the climate of Madison has been

given by Bartlett (1905). This account will not be repeated; only

such facts will be noted as are of importance in the heat budget of

the lake. All data come from the records of the station of the

2 In more recent times this same phenomenon has occurred in Lake Mendota, a

result of heavy populations of both D. pulex and D. longispina , particularly the latter.

Ed.

204 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

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1956] Neess & Bunge — Lake Mendota Temperature

205

206 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

TABLE II-l

CLIMATE DATA FOR MADISON, WISCONSIN

United States Weather Bureau at Madison. This is in one of the

buildings of the University of Wisconsin, about 200 m. (600 ft.)

from the lake, and the instruments are at an elevation of about

40 m. (130 ft.) above the lake.1

The data for temperature begin in 1853 but observations were

not continuous until 1869. In earlier years they were irregularly

gathered in the several months, July and August having the smallest

number of years, 53 and 52 respectively ; March and April have 60

years, and the rest 56 to 59. The record of precipitation is con¬

tinuous since 1869, and irregular in earlier years back to 1855.

About 55 years are included in the means. The records for wind

cover 36-38 years, back from the present time. Those for cloud are

based on eye observations every two hours beginning in 1905. The

sunshine records begin in October, 1904.

Air Temperatures (1916)

The records are based on observations from 1853-1864 and

1869-1916.

The annual mean temperature of Madison is 7.4° ; the maximum

was 9.8° in 1878; the minimum, 5.6° in 1885. The mean annual

precipitation in rain or melted snow is 789.2 mm. (31.71 in.) ; the

maximum, 1343.9 mm. (52.91 in.) in 1881 ; the minimum, 342.6 mm.

(13.49 in.) in 1895.

The preceding table (Table II— 1 ) shows the data for the several

months.

1 The station of the Weather Bureau has, since this was written, been moved from

the campus to Truax Field, the Madison municipal airport, immediately northeast of

Lake Mendota. Ed.

1956] Neess & Bunge — Lake Mendota Temperature

207

Fig. 2 shows the curve of normal air temperature as com¬

pared with the temperature of the lake. In constructing this curve

the monthly means are platted and connected by a smooth curve.

From this curve the normal daily temperatures are taken and these

are used as the standard for comparison below. In Fig. 3 the

normal curve is compared with the mean temperatures of the years

employed in the study of the lake (1895-1915), and also with the

mean of the five years, 1911-15, used in the study of the supply of

solar energy. The month is divided into four quar tiles, as explained

Figure 2. Mean and surface water temperatures in Lake Mendota compared

with “normal” air temperature (see text).

for the observations on the temperature of the lake, and the mean

of the 12-15 quartiles is platted in its proper place. The mean

curves, especially that of the longer period, are in fair agreement

with the normal, so close that in general the mean lake tempera¬

tures are probably substantially normal. At one point of the mean

curves, however, there is a notable departure from the normal

curve, which is registered in the temperature of the lake. This is in

the three weeks beginning July 15, just at the maximum of the

normal curve. Here the temperatures are much below normal. The

difference comes almost wholly from the years 1911-15, as the dia¬

gram shows. This abnormality has had its effect on the temperature

of the surface of the lake, as may be seen from Figs. 16, 17, 18, 19

208 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

and 20. At the most, the surface temperature of the lake was

lowered 0.3°-0.4° and it is doubtful whether any appreciable effect

was produced on the general temperature of the water.

The diurnal movement of air temperature is shown in Fig. 4.

These curves are platted from the observations during the ten years

1906-1915, a period too short to yield perfectly smooth curves. In

Figure 3. “Normal” air temperature at Madison, Wisconsin, compared with

mean quarter-month air temperatures for particular periods during which

observations or computations have been made.

the data of the curve for April the first seven days of the month

are omitted, the record beginning at the mean date on which the

lake is freed from ice. The diagrams show the range of daily tem¬

perature and the form of the diurnal curve, which is at its mini¬

mum about sunrise and reaches its maximum in the third hour

after noon.

An interesting relation of water and air is shown by the line

indicating the mean temperature of the surface of the lake for

1956] Neess & Bunge— Lake Mendota Temperature

209

Figure 4. Diurnal variation in air temperature at Madison, Wisconsin, by

month. Mean monthly air temperatures (-o-) are shown and also mean

monthly temperatures of the surface water of the lake (dotted line).

M/^ec

Figure 5. Mean wind velocity at Madison, Wisconsin, by month.

210 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

Figure 6. Diurnal variation in wind velocity (in meters per second) at Madi¬

son, Wisconsin, by month. Mean monthly wind velocity is inciated by the sym¬

bol -o-.

1956] Neess & Bunge — Lake Mendota Temperature 211

each month. In April the temperature of the air is below that of

the lake from about 12 :30 to 6 :30 a.m. and the maximum difference

is about 1.2°. The difference is 1.0°, or more, for about 2.5 hours.

The mean temperature of the air is 2.2° above that of the lake. It is

plain that the mean loss of heat from the lake to the air must be

very small under such conditions. In May the air is below the lake

from about 10 p.m. to 8 a.m., and the maximum difference is 3.2°.

The mean temperature of the air is above that of the lake, though

the difference is smaller than in April, being 1.6°. In the last dia¬

gram — that for September — the temperature of the air is above

that of the water for only about 5 hours, beginning just before

noon, and the mean air temperature is 3.2° below that of the water.

In October and later the highest point of the daily curve is below

the water temperature.

Wind (1916)

The mean velocity and direction of the wind are shown in Table

II— 1. The results are based on observations for 36-38 years, differ¬

ing in the several months. The results are shown in Fig. 5. It

appears that the warming period of the lake (April-August) is

one of rapidly decreasing wind velocity. The wind is at a maximum

in April (11.6 mi. per hour; 5.12 m. per sec.) during which time

the lake gains heat most rapidly. The velocity falls rapidly through

May and June, then declines a little to July, and almost imper¬

ceptibly to August (8 mi. per hour; 3.61 m. per sec.) when it is less

than 70% as great as in April. During the period April 16-30 the

mean velocity, as derived from a smooth curve drawn through the

monthly means, is about 5.18 m. per sec., and in the second half of

May about 4.45 m. per sec. The influence of such winds on the lake

would be as 100:88:74 respectively. During this period, therefore,

the influence of the wind in warming the lake is at a maximum, the

thermal resistance to mixture of the water is low, and the gains

of heat by the lake are correspondingly large, both absolutely and

in re'ation to the heat supply and to gains later in the season.2

If the influence of the wind in mixing the water of the lake is

proportional to the square of its velocity, the effect in April is more

than twice as great in July and August. The relations would be as

follows :

2 Birge’s marginal notation opposite this statement (“No”) suggests that he was not

certain about the quantitative relations given between wind-velocity and rate of mix¬

ing. According to unpublished information kindly supplied by Professor Reid A. Bryson

of the Department of Meteorology, University of Wisconsin, wind-stress is approxi¬

mately proportional to the square of velocity at velocities above about 10 mi. per

hour. Ed.

212 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

The decreased viscosity of the water, as it warms, would partly

compensate for this reduction in efficiency due to increased velocity.

The diurnal movement of the wind for the months April-

September, as derived from a ten-year mean, is shown in Fig. 6.

These diagrams show that the minimum velocity is near sunrise,

that the maximum comes about 2 or 3 p.m. and that from this point

there is a rapid decline to about sunset, followed by a small recov¬

ery and a further decline to sunrise. This relation of the wind is

not without influence on the distribution of heat. The maximum

velocity of the wind coincides, in general, with the maximum deliv¬

ery of heat, and this relation tends to neutralize the mixing effect

of the wind. At night when the surface of the lake is cooling and

when, therefore, wind mixture of the water could most readily be

effected, the velocity of the wind is least. In May, for example, the

hourly influence of the wind at night would be only about 55% of

its effect in the middle of the day.2

The diurnal movement of the air also affects the time of maxi¬

mum temperature of the lake’s surface. In a general way, the daily

maximum of sun and wind come together, and, therefore, evapora¬

tion, cooling, and mixing are at a maximum and are tending to keep

down the temperature of the surface when the sun is hottest. As

the afternoon passes the wind falls rapidly and the declining heat

of the sun is kept in the surface strata of the water. This undoubt¬

edly brings the maximum surface temperature later in the day

than that of the air. Continuous records extending over a consider¬

able time would be needed to establish the relation quantitatively

and such records have never been made.

It would be interesting to attempt to correlate the distribution of

heat through the lake in any year with the wind. But such attempts

do not lead to any definite results. The details of the distribution of

heat depend not so much on the mean amount of wind as on the

violence, duration, and direction of specific storms. Not only so, but

the temperature condition of the lake at the time of high wind is an

important factor in the result, as is also the temperature of the air.

A violent, hot, south wind following a period of bright, calm

weather may have very little effect on the general temperature of

the water. A north wind, with cool, bright weather, may distribute

a great amount of heat to deep water. If the curves of air and water

are followed in Figs. 9 to 12, it will be seen that, in general, a

fall of temperature of air in April or May does not cause a fall

in the temperature of the water, although that of the surface de¬

clines. On the contrary, the curve of gain of temperature may rise,

unchecked by the depression in the air. This is because the cool

waves of spring are usually accompanied by fresh north wind and

bright sun and the gains by the rapid distribution of heat by the

1956] Neess & Bunge — Lake Mendota Temperature 213

wind often exceed the losses due to low temperature. Indeed, the

total gains of heat by the water during such a period may easily

exceed those of a warm calm period.

Sunshine and Clouds (1916)

The amount of sunshine and cloud have been determined in two

ways : first, by eye observations of the percent of cloudiness of the

sky, taken at two-hour intervals during the day; second, by the

amount of sunshine as registered by the Marvin recorder.3 These

two methods do not agree. The mean percent of cloudiness is always

greater than 100 minus the percent of sunshine, as is shown by

Table II— 1.

There are two chief reasons for this relation : first, in case of a

sky partly covered by scattered clouds the area near the horizon

appears more completely covered than is the fact, and thus the

percent of cloud is rated too high. A sky of this sort with an aver¬

age of 50% cloud would give much more than 50% of sunshine

during the middle hours of the day. Second, the Marvin recorder

registers sunshine not only when the sky is clear, but also when

the haze or clouds are thin enough to allow the sun to cast a dis¬

tinct shadow. Thus a day in which the eye reports that the sky is

entirely overcast may record much sunshine by the Marvin

instrument.

The mean annual cloudiness, as determined by the eye, is 57 % ;

the mean sunshine by the recorder is 53%, indicating a mean cloudi¬

ness of 47% by this method. In this matter the Marvin recorder

gives the more accurate information, so far as its bearing on re¬

ceipts of solar radiation is concerned. It will not do at all to assume

that clouds cut off 57 % of the sunshine. Such results are quite too

low. On the other hand there is a close correspondence between the

results of the Marvin recorder and those of the Callendar4 recorder.

The Marvin instrument gives nearly 25% more sunshine than

would be inferred from the eye estimates. The discrepancy is still

greater if the middle hours of the day are considered, in which

most of the sunshine is received. Bartlett (1905, p. 3) gives the

cloudiness at 2 p.m. as 58% as the result of observations for 26

years. The 10-year mean for 2 p.m. by the Marvin instrument is

72% of sun or 28% of cloud, or less than one-half of the eye esti¬

mates. The years in the two means are not the same but each series

is long enough to give a fair average result.

If the amount of cloud determined by eye is compared with the

quantity of heat received from the sun on the same day, there will

3 Formerly a standard instrument used by the United States Weather Bureau ; it un¬

essentially a double air-thermometer. For description, see Middleton, 1941. Ed.

4 See: Kimball, H. H., Monthly Weather Review. 42(8) :474— 487. United States De¬

partment of Agriculture, Weather Bureau. U. S. Gov. Printing Office. August, 1914. Ed.

214 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

very frequently be found a marked absence of correlation. It is

plain that no trustworthy estimate of quantity of heat received

from the sun can be made by estimating the amount delivered by

the sun from a clear sky, deducting the percentage corresponding

to the cloudiness, and adding, for the diffuse energy of cloudy

periods, say 40% of the direct energy for the same time.

Figure 7. Percentage of potential sunshine at Madison, Wisconsin, by hour

and month (see text).

The percentage of sunshine derived from a ten-year mean is

shown in Fig. 7. The time is too short to permit very accurate

curves. The mean sunshine for each hour of each month is platted

at the center of the allotted space and the contours are drawn as

well as possible. The curves for 35% might have been inserted in

the corners of the diagram but the Marvin recorder is not reliable

close to sunrise and sunset and it was not worth while to follow

the matter so far.

One of the striking facts in the chart is the rapid rise of the

percentage of sun at noon from about 48% in December to 60%

shortly after February 1. Then follows a very slow rise, reaching

1956] Neess & Bunge— Lake Mendota Temperature

215

65% about April 255 and 70% just before June 1. Then follows a

rapid rise to 80% about the solstice and this condition continues

for a month. The central hours of the day, therefore, in April and

May have about the same percentage of sun. This fact finds ex¬

pression in the relatively small increase of the receipts of solar

radiation in May as compared with April, and also in the renewed

and rapid rise of solar radiation in June (see Table II— 2) . It is

necessary here only to call attention to the fact that the percent of

sunshine is greatest at those hours of the day when the quantity of

radiation is greatest; also that the percent of sunshine is greatest

in those months when the sun’s altitude is highest. Both facts tend

to accentuate the difference between the amount of solar radiation

delivered in mid-summer and that received earlier or later. Taken

in connection with the monthly and the diurnal variation in wind

they help to account for the rapid decrease in the percent of the

solar radiation absorbed by the lake as the season passes on from

April to mid-summer.

TABLE 1 1-2

SOLAR RADIATION RECEIVED AT THE LAKE SURFACE, IN CALORIES PER

SQUARE CENTIMETER PER DAY

April i . 372

ii . 414

iii . 442

iv . 449

May i . 446

ii . 460

iii . 447

iv . 472

June i . 512

ii . 537

iii. . 549

iv . 551

July i . 551

ii . 541

iii. . . 510

481

Transparency of the Air0 (1916)

The numbers in this column (See Table II— 1 ) give the transpar¬

ency of the air or its coefficient of transmission. They show the

mean percent of the radiation from the sun in the zenith which

would reach the earth in the absence of cloud. The difference be¬

tween the several numbers and 100 equals the percent of loss suf¬

fered by the sun’s radiations in passing through the air under the

same conditions. It is equal to the amount of radiation cut off by

the air, by invisible water vapor and by dust or other similar

suspended particles.

The months of the year fall into two sharply marked sets, those

with high and those with low coefficient of transmission. The first

5 Apparently March 25 is meant here. Ed.

6 A handwritten addition to the manuscript, perhaps therefore in less finished form

than other sections. Ed.

216 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

includes the period N ovember-March, inclusive, in which the mean

transmission is above .825 and below .850. These are the months

when the ground is wet or covered with snow, so that dust is at a

minimum and also months of low temperature, so that there is only

a small quantity of water vapor in the air. The conditions in the

period May-September, inclusive, are the reverse as to dust and

water vapor and the transmission is much lower, above .720 and

below .760. April and October are in some sense intermediate in

this respect but much nearer to the months with low transmission.

This difference in transparency is reflected in the quantity of

solar radiation delivered to the surface of the lake during these

two periods. The mean elevation of the sun may be determined for

each hour of the day in each month, and also the mean number of

calories delivered during the same hour when the sun shines as in¬

dicated by the Marvin recorder. If the transparency of the air were

equal throughout the year the number of calories received by the

lake during each sunshine hour would be a function of the sun’s

altitude. In fact, however, if a diagram is constructed in which the

mean number of calories received in each sunshine hour of each

month is plotted against the mean altitude of the sun in the same

hours, the results will arrange themselves into two curves. The

amount of radiation received per hour from November 1 to April 1

is always higher than that received at an equal altitude of the sun

during the summer months. The results for April and October fall

in general between the two curves. The relation between the alti¬

tude of the sun and the number of calories delivered is surprisingly

close, when one considers the rather crude principle on which the

Marvin recorder operates in recording sunshine.

Ill THE ANNUAL TEMPERATURE CYCLE

“Average” Temperature of the Lake (1899)

Two meanings may be given to the expression “average tempera¬

ture”. The phrase may mean, first, the average temperature of a

column of water in the deepest part of the lake ; or, second, it may

mean the temperature which the water of the lake would assume

if it were thoroughly mingled. Where the lake is nearly or quite

homothermous, there is little or no difference between the averages

obtained in these two ways, and during late fall, winter and early

spring they may be considered as practically identical. When, how¬

ever, the surface layers become warm so that they have a tempera¬

ture decidedly higher than that of the subjacent water, the differ¬

ence between the two expressions increases and may become very

considerable. If the sides of the lake were vertical the two averages

would still remain the same, but since the upper strata of water

1956] Neess & Bunge — Lake Mendota Temperature 217

are much greater in volume as well as higher in temperature than

those below, the two expressions may become quite different. For

example, in the second week of July, 1897, the average tempera¬

ture of the column of water was 17.43°, while the average tempera¬

ture obtained by mingling the water of the lake, taking the average

temperature by five-meter layers, was 19.97°, a difference of 2.54°.

In the second week of August, the results were 17.88° and 20.30°,

a difference of 2.42°. In 1898, the temperature for the fourth week

in July was 17.63° and 20.09° and for the first week in September,

17.82° and 20.35° respectively. These were the maximum differences

for the two years.

In general, by “average temperature” in what follows is meant

the average temperature of a column of water at the deepest part

of the lake. This is a much more significant figure for general use

than the other, since the average temperature reached by mingling

the water will vary greatly in different lakes with the amount of

shoal water surrounding the deeper portions of the lake. Still fur¬

ther, this result can be obtained only in lakes of which a careful

hydrographic survey has been made, so that the cubic contents of

the different strata can be determined with reasonable accuracy,

while the temperature of the column of water can be readily deter¬

mined without such survey.

Spring (1916)

With the departure of the ice the water is exposed directly to the

full influence of the sun’s rays. The temperature is below that of

maximum density and the incident heat is easily and rapidly dis¬

tributed through the whole depth of the lake, and since distribu¬

tion of heat is rapid, little is used in evaporation. The same may be

said of losses to the air, since the mean temperature of the air is

above that of the water. The lake, therefore, warms rapidly up to

the temperature of 4.0°. This requires an average gain of about

1.4°, or more than 1700 cal. per sq. cm. of surface. The records of

15 seasons (See Table III— 1 ) show that 10.7 days after the open¬

ing are needed to secure this amount of heat. In these 15 years the

mean date of opening was April 5, so that the lake reached the tem¬

perature of 4.0° on April 15. In the computations of gains of heat,

etc., it has been assumed that the average date for the temperature

of 4.0° is the middle of April and that the gains of heat which

constitute the summer heat-income begin at that time.

In 1899 the water on April 19, one day after the departure of

the ice, was at 4.1°, so that it must practically have reached 4.0°

on the preceding day. In that year, however, the bays and much of

the shallow water were free from ice for some 5 days before the

opening and doubtless absorbed much heat. In 1911 the lake opened

LAKE MENDOTA: SPRING TEMPERATURES, ETC.

218 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

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O' O' O' o o o o ■

00 00 00 O' O' O' O' O' O' O' O' O' O' O' O' ^

1956] Neess & Bunge— -Lake Mendota Temperature 219

March 20 and the water reached 4.0° on April 13, or after 24 days.

The temperature of the water rose from 2.8° at opening to 3.4° on

March 25 ; remained about stationary for a week of cloudy, fairly

warm weather, then fell to 2.8° on April 7, under the influence of

cold and stormy weather, and then rose again. This is the only

year in which such marked alternations occurred, but in 1907 there

were 17 days (March 24-April 10) between opening and reaching

4.0°. In 1910 the lake opened March 26 and reached 4.0° on

March 31, a gain of 1.4° in 5 days, or at the rate of 387 cal. per day,

the most rapid gain on record.

The slowest average gain was 61 cal. per day for 24 days, omit¬

ting 1899 when the lake had reached 4.0° before opening. The mean

gain was about 170 cal. per day, if each day’s gain is given equal

weight. If equal weight is given to each year, the mean daily gain

is 186 cal. It will be seen later that these gains are smaller than

those of the lake in the second half of April. There is one obvious

reason for this. The ice of the lake is apt to break up during a

warm period and some of the days following the opening are, there¬

fore, pretty sure to lie in colder and stormy weather, such as is

likely to follow a warm period in March or early April.

The Open Season (1916)

The mean length of the open season of Lake Mendota is 255 days,

from April 7 to December 18. The story of the temperature changes

during this period is found in the various tables and diagrams. The

central facts are shown in the diagram Fig. 2. In this diagram

the mean temperature of the water at the freezing and the open¬

ing of the lake is platted at the mean dates on which the ice forms

and disappears. For the open season the mean temperature of each

quarter month is platted in its proper place and a smooth curve is

drawn through the points thus determined. The curve, represent¬

ing the mean temperature of the water, starts at about 0.6° at the

time of freezing, rises slowly and regularly, reaching 2.0° about

March 15. During the rest of the ice period it rises more rapidly,

reaching 2.6° at the date of opening. The curve crosses the line of

4.0° about April 16, and returns to the same temperature about

December 1. It reaches a maximum of 19.77° about August 8, and

the rise and fall are almost exactly symmetrical curves about an

axis drawn through this date. At no point does the curve in rising

or falling depart more than a day or two from the corresponding-

date on the other side. The exactness of this correspondence is due

no doubt in part to the relations of area and depth of the lake to

its temperature. In a smaller lake the maximum would come earlier

in the season, and in a larger and deeper one the maximum might

220 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

Figure 8. Comparison of the approach to the maximum mean lake tempera¬

ture by curves of a) quarter-month mean temperatures (solid line) and b)

mean temperatures at uniform intervals from the day of maximum mean tem¬

perature regardless of the date on which this is reached (dotted line).

Ppgr<?c*s C,

Z6

Z4

%Z

20

Id

16

14

a

10

6

4

2

O

-2

-4

-3

Figure 9. Temperatures in Lake Mendota during the open season of 1895

(April 8 to January 5, 1896).

Apr. M&y June July Aug' S&pt. Oct . Nov. P<?c.

1956] Neess & Bunge — Lake Mendota Temperature 221

come a month later. In either case the symmetry of the curve would

not be so marked.

The mean maximum temperature of the water is 19.77° as de¬

rived from the averages of the quarter months. This, however, is

not the mean of the annual maxima, since these come at various

dates, ranging from July 3 to September 1. The mean of these

maxima is 20.15° and the mean date for this maximum is about

August 16, say, the middle of August. A curve may be platted,

starting from this maximum and showing on one side the average

approach to the maximum by weekly intervals and on the other

the decline. Fig. 8 shows the resulting curve. It is by no means

so symmetrical as the mean curve, since the rise of temperature is

slower than the decline. During the two months preceding the maxi¬

mum the total rise is 3.90°, and two months after the maximum the

temperature has fallen 5.35°. This result would be expected, since

the date of the maximum is nearly two months after the solstice.

A smooth curve may be drawn through the points thus estab¬

lished, but although such a curve fits fairly well at the ends of the

series it lies above all the points near the maximum, if it passes

through the latter point. This indicates that, in general, the maxi¬

mum is reached by a short, rapid gain of heat — a spurt following a

period of slow gain and itself followed by a period of even more

rapid loss of heat. In other words, the annual maximum ordinarily

comes at a time when a warm wave allows the temperature of the

epilimnion to come to its highest point.

It is to be noted that the curve as thus platted does not show the

relatively flat top which the mean temperature curve displays. The

latter curve is above the temperature of 19° and below 20° for

nearly two months; the former curve crosses the line of 19° 3.5

weeks before the maximum, and recrosses it a little more than two

weeks after the maximum.

Examination of Figs. 9 to 22 will show the great difference dis¬

played by the different years in the rise and fall of temperature.

The most noteworthy of the individual peculiarities are indicated

in the appearance of the figures themselves and need not be repeated

here. Fig. 23 shows the departure of each quarter month period

from the mean of that period. Each year has its own symbol but in

certain cases the departure was identical and space for all symbols

could not be found in the diagram. Yet it will be possible for any

one who is curious in such matters to follow the course of the sev¬

eral years through the diagram. This is not the purpose of the fig¬

ure, whose lesson comes from its general aspect and not from its

details. In the last week of March the average departure of tem¬

perature is less than 1.0° on each side of the mean and the total

range of variation hardly exceeds 2.5°. The departures rapidly in-

222 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

crease during April and May, covering in May a maximum range

of over 6.5°. This fact is due to the great variations in the rate of

warming of the lake in the several seasons, caused by difference in

occurrence, length, and vigor of the several warm and cold periods

of the weather. The departures decrease and during the month of

9<?g,r&<?s C.

Figure 10. Temperatures in Lake Mendota during the open season of 1896

(April 5 to December 24).

August they lie mostly within the distance of 1.0° on each side of

the mean. It is this fact which makes it possible to determine the

approximate heat budget of a lake from temperatures taken in

August. This uniformity depends, on the one hand, on the great

supply of solar heat during July, as compared with the amount

absorbed by the lake. On the other hand, it depends on the balance

between daily receipts and losses of heat during August. Either or

1956] Neess & Bunge— Lake Mendota Temperature

223

p<?gr<?es C.

Figure 11. Temperatures in Lake Mendota during the open season of 1897

(April 10 to December 17).

224 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

both of these fundamental conditions may be seriously affected by

exceptional weather, but the average condition recurs with surpris¬

ing regularity, as the diagram shows.

After the decline of temperature has fairly set in during Sep¬

tember the rate of decline varies in different years, and with this

Pfgfpps C.

lt>\

14

12

10

15

10

14

12

10

S

0

4

2

0

- 2

- 4

-6

Apr. Mzy Juno July

Figure 12. Temperatures in Lake

(March 27 to December 8).

Aufy 5ept< Oct . Nov. V<pc.

Mendota during the open season of 1898

variation the departures from the mean increase, reaching a maxi¬

mum in late October or early November. The range in autumn is

not so great as in spring, the range of variation being below 6.0°.

As the late fall comes on and the lake approaches winter condi¬

tions, the departures from the mean become smaller until in

December they hardly exceed those of March or August.

1956] Neess & Bunge — Lake Mendota Temperature

225

Thus the water of the lake starts in the spring with temperatures

closely similar in different years ; it warms irregularly and at very

different rates ; but has reached in August of all years temperatures

which are very much alike. From this uniformity the temperature

falls irregularly during autumn but in December of all years has

come back to very similar heat conditions.

'P&2/0QS C.

26

24

22

20

13

16

14

n

10

3

6

4

2

0

-x

-4

-6

- 8

Figure 13. Temperatures in Lake Mendota during the open season of 1906

(April 8 to December 20).

Surface Temperatures (1916)

The general course of surface temperature is shown in Fig.

2. This is, of course, zero during the ice period of 110 days. It

rises practically instantly to that of the mean temperature of the

water as the wind blows the ice away and the waves crumble it

into loose crystals. Then follows a rapid and almost uniform rise

Apr May June July Aug, Srpt. Oct. Nov.

226 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

during April, May, and the first half of June, until the temperature

of 20.0° has been reached. During this time the mean temperature

of the air is above that of the surface. The difference between air

and surface is constantly becoming smaller and consequently the

pp^rpos C.

Apr. May Ja no July Augjs Oci Nov. J>pc.

Figure 14. Temperatures in Lake Mendota during the open season of 1909

(April 7 to December 18).

nocturnal losses to the air are growing ; but the supply of heat from

the sun is also increasing and no noteworthy slowing of gains is

found until the mean temperature of the surface rises above that

of the air. This crossing of the temperature curves for air and sur¬

face comes just before the middle of June and almost immediately

1956] Neess & Bunge— Lake Mendota Temperature

227

thereafter the rate of increase of temperature slows down. The

mean weekly maximum of 24.3° is reached not far from July 23,

about a week after the air maximum. This is, at least, the indica¬

tion of the curves. The actual means of the surface at this place

show irregularities, due to the exceptional weather conditions of

the years during which the lake was studied (see Part I) .

Figure 15. Temperatures in Lake Mendota during the open season of 1910

(March 26 to December 9).

The temperature then falls, at first slowly, declining about 2.0°

during August; then more rapidly, losing some 4.0° during Septem¬

ber. About 3.0° are lost in the next two weeks, and about the middle

of October the water becomes homothermous throughout its depth.

In periods of cooling during autumn the surface must be colder

than the subjacent water; on calm, bright days it is warmer. But

the differences are very small in general and they tend to neutralize

228 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

each other in the mean. Resulting differences are quite too small to

show on the diagram.

In general, therefore, Lake Mendota has an autumnal period of

full circulation of the water, extending from Oct. 15 to Dec. 1,

when the temperature passes 4.0° and the period of inverse strati¬

fication begins. The inverse stratification, however, is little more

Vpforoe $ C

Figure 16. Temperatures in Lake Mendota during the open season of 1911

(March 20 to December 28).

than nominal in Lake Mendota until the lake is frozen. The depth of

the water is not great, the difference in density of the cooling water

is small, and the winds are high. There is consequently little evi¬

dence of inverse stratification until the mean temperature of the

water declines to nearly 1.0°. The lake cools irregularly and inverse

stratification may appear during a warm period but the next cold

day with high wind obliterates it.

1956] Neess & Bunge — Lake Menclota Temperature

229

It is worthwhile to note the relation of the mean temperature of

the air to that of the surface, as shown in Fig. 2. Air and sur¬

face mount together during April and May, gradually approach¬

ing each other and finally crossing near the middle of June. Both

continue to rise, the air more slowly, so that at the maximum it is

about 1.5° below the surface. This difference increases to 2.0° early

fip&rpps C.

- — r

Apr. Mc\y Tut)P July Aufy Be pi* Oct. A/ov. Vcc.

Figure 17. Temperatures in Lake Mendota during1 the open season of 1912

(April 13 to December 24).

in August; to 3.5° by the first of September; it is about 5.0° the

first of October, nearly 6.0° the first of November, and about 6.25°

by December 1. Thus there is a progressive widening of the differ¬

ence between lake and air, growing rapidly at first, then more

slowly, and remaining nearly stationary after the difference has

risen to 6.0°.

Thus, in spite of the declining amount of solar radiation which

the lake receives as the autumn advances, the temperature of the

230 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

lake does not fall so rapidly as that of the air, and the losses of the

lake in heat do not increase as the difference between air and sur¬

face widens. The chief cause for this fact doubtless lies in the de¬

creasing use of heat in evaporating water as the temperature of

lake and air fall. The losses of the lake to the air must rise as the

difference in temperature increases, but the total losses of the lake

do not increase proportionally.

Apr Moy Tunv July Ao ^ Oc / Mov. T>ec. Ton.

Figure 18. Temperatures in Lake Mendota during the open season of 1913

(March 27 to January 12, 1914).

The relations between temperatures of air and surface are

shown in detail in Figs. 9 to 22 and the appearances of these dia¬

grams call attention to the more striking phenomena. Two things

may be mentioned here. The numerous warm periods of autumn

seem often to have very little effect in checking the decline of the

temperature of the water, so that the curve of the water is far

more regular than that of the air. There is far less correlation be¬

tween the air and surface during autumn than during spring and

1956] Neess & Bunge — Lake Mendota Temperature

231

Jhfrrpps C-

26>

14

n

20

te

16

14

12

10

&

6

4

2

o

-X

-4

-6

- 8

-10

-12

-14

App. M&y June Jb/y JS@p{.

Figure 19. Temperatures in Lake Mendota during

(April 1 to December 15).

Oci, Mq v. jbhc

the open season of 1914

232 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

summer. In spring, and especially in summer, the surface follows

the air pretty regularly, though always with smaller range and

with a decided lag which sometimes obscures the relation. But in

autumn no such close relation is seen. This is partly due to the

greater mass of water to be affected after the lake has become

homothermous, partly also to the increased evaporation of warm

ypfrws C.

Figure 20. Temperatures in Lake Mendota during the open season of 1915

(April 9 to December 15).

periods which uses up more heat, and thus prevents a corresponding

rise of surface temperature.

A second fact to be noted is the unfavorable effect of a very high

surface temperature on the heat budget of the lake. This was espe¬

cially noteworthy in 1910, when the surface rose above 27.0° in

June and remained above 24.0° until the middle of August. Mean¬

while the mean temperature of the water rose very slowly and

remained low in spite of the extremely hot surface strata. This

condition persisted until the declining sun and warmth of late

1956] Neess & Bunge— Lake Mendota Temperature

233

August ushered in the autumnal losses of heat. This is the best

illustration of the difficulty with which a lake recovers from a heat-

debauch. The similar conditions of July in 1916 came on later and

although the effects were similar, they were not so plainly registered

in the mean temperature of the water.

Figure 21. Mean temperatures in Lake Mendota for the period 1895 to 1915

inclusive, computed at quarter-month intervals.

The summer heat-increase is due to a great wave of heat which,

starting at the surface of the lake, is propagated to the deeper

water. The wave passes down very rapidly at first and its effects

quickly reach the bottom at the depth of 23 m.-24 m. during April

and early May. But soon the progress of the wave is slowed; the

rate of penetration of the water is lessened ; the successive isolines

reach the bottom after long delay, or not at all. The successive

stages of the heat wave appear at the surface during late May and

234 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

Dpc&roos C-

Figure 22. Temperatures in Lake Mendota during the open season of 1916

(April 8 to December 15).

1956] Neess & Bunge — Lake Mendota Temperature 235

June nearly as rapidly as at earlier dates. They penetrate the upper

meters of the water almost as rapidly, but their progress is soon

checked, and at depths increasingly smaller as the temperature

rises. The upper isolines, therefore, run for a time nearly parallel

to each other and more nearly horizontally than vertically. The

upper region of the lake, the zone of permanent rapid penetration

of heat, constitutes the epilimnion; the underlying zone where the

isolines run almost horizontally is the thermocline (or mesolimnion)

which grades off below into the hypolimnion.

As the temperature of the surface falls, the epilimnion cools and

becomes thicker ; the successive isolines disappear from the thermo¬

cline and it slowly sinks in the lake. By late September the epilim-

Figure 23. Departures of quarter-month mean temperatures in the various

years studied from the general mean for the same period. Individual years

are not identified (see text).

nion is over 15 m. thick and the thermocline, which earlier con¬

tained 5°-8°, is reduced to l°-2°. Its final disappearance and the

restoration of the homothermous condition comes with some storm

or high wind of early or middle October.

If the isolines of Fig. 24 are examined in detail, increasing

lag of their penetration of the water will become apparent. The

temperature of 4.0° appears at the bottom about three days after

it appears at the surface, that of 8.0° requires nearly 12 days to

reach the bottom, that of 11.0° needs nearly three weeks, while

12.0°, after passing down as rapidly as 11.0° for the first 14 m., is

checked there and requires six weeks for the remaining 9 m. The

reason for this delay obviously lies in the increasing energy of the

sun, in the increasing temperature of the surface, and the increas¬

ing thermal resistance of the water to mixture by the wind, coupled

with the decreasing energy of the wind as the season advances.

236 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

The isoline of 13.0° reaches the depth of 9 m. about a week after

appearing at the surface; in the following month it sinks about

6.5 m. ; it requires .2.5 months more to descent to 20 m. The re¬

mainder of the descent is more rapid, under the influence of the

winds of late September and early October. The other isolines do

not reach the bottom, but are removed from the thermocline as the

epilimnion cools. The rounded curve in which the slowly sinking

isoline meets the nearly vertical line with which it goes out to the

Figure 24. Mean distribution of temperature in Lake Mendota during the

open season, based upon data from 1895 to 1916 inclusive.

-4 , . • ■

surface is due to averaging the positions of the degree in question

for a series of years. In a diagram representing any one year the

isoline would go on sinking until the whole mass of water above it

had fallen to its temperature and would show at the close a nearly

vertical line sharply intersecting it.

The temperature of the lake falls from about 13.0° at the middle

of October to 2.0° about Dec. 10. All of the isolines are nearly ver¬

tical, but not quite so. The fall of temperature of the surface as in¬

dicated by weekly means regularly lags a day or two behind that of

the bottom. The surface is frequently found one or two tenths of a

degree above the bottom and rarely below it. This is due to the fact

1956] Neess & Bunge— Lake Mendota Temperature

237

that, during the cooling period the chilled water does not ordinarily

sink in situ but is transported by the wind to one side of the lake,

cooling as it goes and returning along the bottom. It is also due to

the process by which water chilled at night in the shallows below

the temperature of the lake water may sink and flow down to the

bottom of the basin without any definite aid of the wind.

It will be noticed that there is no evidence of marked inverse

stratification during the period shown on the diagram. Its absence

is due to the small depth of the lake. Water 150 m -200 m. in depth

would keep a considerable stratum at the bottom which fell but

litt7e below 4.0°. No Wisconsin lake belongs to this class, though no

doubt Green Lake and Lake Geneva show more indication of inverse

stratification in early winter.

(To be continued in Volume 46)

LITERATURE CITED IN PART I

Bartlett, J. L. 1905. The climate of Madison, Wisconsin. Monthly Weather

Rev 33(12) :l-8.

Birge, E. A. 1904. The thermoeline and its biological significance. Trans .

Amer . Micro sc, Soc 25:5-32.

- . 1910a. On the evidence of temperature seiches. Trans, Wis. Acad . ScL,

Arts & Lett., 16:1005-1016.

- - . 1910b. An unregarded factor in lake temperatures. Ibid., 16:989-1004.

- . 1913. Absorption of the sun’s energy by lakes. Science , 38:702-704.

- . 1915. The heat budgets of American and European lakes. Trans. Wis.

Acad . Sci., Arts & Lett., 18:166-213.

— - . 1916. The work of the wind in warming a lake. Ibid., 18:341-391.

- , and C. Juday. 1929a. Penetration of solar radiation into lakes as

measured by the thermopile. Trans. Amer . Geophys . Union, Ninth Ann.

Meeting: 61-76.

- , and - - . 1929b. Transmission of solar radiation by the waters of

inland lakes, Trans . Wis. Acad. Sci., Arts & Lett., 24:509-580.

- and — - - . 1930. A second report on solar radiation and inland lakes.

Ibid., 25:285-335.

- — , and — - - . 1931. A third report on solar radiation and inland lakes.

Ibid., 26:383-425.

- , and - — . 1932. Solar radiation and inland lakes. Fourth report.

Observations of 1931. Ibid., 27:523-562.

Fenneman, N. M. 1910. On the lakes of southeastern Wisconsin. Wis. Geol.

and Nat. Hist . Surv. Bull. 8, pp. xv + 178. (originally issued in 1902)

Forel, F. A. 1895.- Le Leman: monographic limnologique. II. Lausanne.

F. Rouge et Cie. pp. vi + 651.

James, H. R. and E. A. Birge. 1938. A laboratory study of the absorption of

light by lake waters. Trans. Wis. Acad. Sci., Arts & Lett., 31:1-154.

Juday, C. 1914. The inland lakes of Wisconsin II. The hydrography and

morphometry of the lakes. Wis. Geol. and Nat. Hist . Surv. Bull. 27, pp. xv

+ 137.

- . 1940. The annual energy budget of an inland lake. Ecology, 21 : 438-450.

238 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 45

Middleton, W. E. K. 1941. Meteorological Instruments. Toronto. Univ. Toronto

Press, pp. 184.

Mortimer, C. H. 1956. E. A. Birge, an explorer of lakes, in: Sellery, G. C.,

E. A. Birge, a Memoir, Madison, XJniv. Wisconsin Press, 1956, pp. vii +

221. pp. 165-211.

Warren, H. E. and G. C. Whipple. 1895. The thermophone, a new instrument

for obtaining the temperature of a distant or inaccessible place, and some

observations on the temperature of surface waters. Amer. Meteorol. Jour.,

12(2) : 35-50.

TRANSACTIONS

OF THE

WISCONSIN ACADEMY

OF

SCIENCES, ARTS AND LETTERS

VOL. XL VI

NATURAE SPECIES RATIOQUE

MADISON, WISCONSIN

1957

OFFICERS OF THE WISCONSIN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES,

ARTS AND LETTERS

President

Rev. Raymond H. Reis, S. J., Marquette University, Milwaukee

Vice-President (Sciences)

Alphonse L. Heim, 1611 N. 33rd St., Milwaukee

Vice-President (Arts)

Dion Henderson, Associated Press, Milwaukee

Vice-President (Letters)

William E. Sieker, 119 Monona Ave., Madison

Secretary-Treasurer

Francis D. Hole, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Librarian

Walter E. Scott, 1721 Hickory Drive, Madison

Council

The President Past Presidents:

Paul W. Bout well

The Vice-Presidents A. W. Schorger

H. A. Schuette

The Secretary-Treasurer L. E. Noland

Otto L. Kowalke

The Librarian W. C. McKern

E. L. Bolender

Katherine G. Nelson

C. L. Fluke

Ralph N. Buckstaff

Joseph G. Baier, Jr.

Stephen F. Darling

Committees

Publications :

The President, ex officio

The Secretary, ex officio

James A. Larsen, Editor,

Transactions

Membership :

Harold Goder, Chairman

Berenice Cooper

Otto L. Kowalke

Frederick I. Tietze

The Secretary, ex officio

Representatives on the Council of the A.A.A.S.

James C. Perry, Marquette University

John W. Thomson, University of Wisconsin

Chairman, Junior Academy of Science

John W. Thomson, University of Wisconsin

Editor, Wisconsin Academy Review

Walter E. Scott, Madison

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

A Nine-Year Study of Fall Waterfowl Migration on University Bay,

Madison, Wisconsin; Part II. S. Tenison Dillon ................. 1

An Unpublished Manuscript of E. A. Birge on the Temperature of Lake

Mendota; Part II. John C. Neess and William W. Bunge, Jr.. .... . 31

Preliminary Reports on the Flora of Wisconsin, No. 38, Rubiaceae —

Madder Family. Emil K. Urban and Hugh H. Iltis .............. 91

Preliminary Reports on the Flora of Wisconsin. No. 39. Phrymaceae —

Lopseed Family. Hugh H. Iltis .................................. 105

Preliminary Reports on the Flora of Wisconsin. No. 40. Asclepiadaceae —

Milkweed Family, Gottlieb K. Noamesi and Hugh H. Iltis. ....... 107

Preliminary Reports on the Flora of Wisconsin. No. 41. Labiatae — Mint

Family. Robert C, Koeppen ..................................... 115

Notes on Wisconsin Parasitic Fungi; XXIII. H. C. Greene ............. 141

The Livelihoods in 1880 and in 1956 in the Town of Liberty Grove, Door

County, Wisconsin. Otto L. Kowalke ............................ 159

Printing and Journalism in the Novels of William Dean Howells. B. A.

Sokoloff ...................................................... 165

“The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” as Stylized Epic. Karl Kroeber. .... 179

Henry Ainsworth, a Founding Father of Congregationalism and Pioneer

Translator of the Bible. .Samuel A. Ives ......................... 189

“The Visionary Gleam” and “Spots of Time” — a Study of the Psychology-

Philosophy of William Wordsworth. Ralph Alan McCanse. ....... 201

Adolphe Thiers and the Rise of Bonapartism. Jack Alden Clarke. ..... 213

Tennyson at Cambridge: A Poet’s Introduction to the Sciences. Frederick

L Tietze ....................................................... 221

The Vegetation of Dodge County, Wisconsin. Herbert Neuensch wander 233

Diapause, and the Embryo of the Saratoga Spittlebug. Ronald L. Giese

and Louis Wilson .............................................. 255

A Study of the Male Genitalia of the Mel an os tom i ni (Diptera-Syrpliidae).

C. L. Fluke .................................................... 261

The Control of the Growth of Algae with CMU. George P. Fitzgerald. . . 281

The Decomposition Kinetics of 2,3,5-Triphenyl- ( 2H ) -Tetrazolium Hydrox¬

ide. Samuel Weiner ............................................ 295

A Study of Leg Length Variations in the Wood Frog, Rana Sylvatica Le

Conte. Howard K. Suzuki ...................................... 299

The Effectiveness of Expanded Aluminum Foil in Preventing Rabbit

Damage. Robert A. McCabe and Lloyd B. Keith ................. 305

The Transactions welcomes sound original articles in the various fields of science

and scholarship by members of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters.

Manuscripts should be addressed to James A. Larsen, Observatory Hill Office Building,

University of Wisconsin, Madison 6, Wisconsin. Manuscripts should be double-spaced

throughout, and should have the address to which proofs are to be sent typed in the

upper left-hand corner of the first page. Manuscripts for consideration should be in

the hands of the editor by June to permit publication of the Transactions within the

year,

.

■

-i

•\ ■ .

TRANSACTIONS

OF THE

WISCONSIN ACADEMY

OF

SCIENCES, ARTS AND LETTERS

VOL. XLVI

NATURAE SPECIES RATIOQUE

-■ if .

MADISON, WISCONSIN

1957

The publication date of Volume 46 is

January 31, 1958

A NINE-YEAR STUDY OF FALL WATERFOWL MIGRATION1

ON UNIVERSITY BAY, MADISON, WISCONSIN

S. Tenison Dillon

PART IF

Migration Chronology

The average chronology of the fall waterfowl flight through

University Bay for the years 1947-1954 inclusive is given in

Figure 3. Data from 1946 are not included as they could not be

broken down into weekly periods. The time intervals chosen follow

those established by Jahn (1949). In order to include his data, it

was necessary that I fit the remaining data to these periods. The

initial period is nine days instead of a week in order to include the

earliest starting date of this series (Jahn, 1949). The chronology

is expressed as the per cent of the total flight per observation day

plotted over a period of time that includes all the observations of

any given year. Curves are presented for the Mallard and Black

Duck, other dabbling ducks, Buffle-head, Ring-necked Duck, other

diving ducks and Coot. The Mallard and Black Duck are considered

together because of their ecological and numerical similarities on

the Bay. The Ring-necked Duck, although ecologically similar to the

dabbling ducks, is a diving duck that is “common” on the Bay and

is an early migrant. The Buffle-head is also “common” on the Bay

but migrates relatively late in the season. The Coot is treated sepa¬

rately because of its ecological and numerical independence on the

Bay.

These curves show that a few individuals of at least five species

of waterfowl are usually present on the Bay throughout the 80-day

average observation period. The greater number of waterfowl are

on the Bay from mid-October to late November during which time

most species attain maximum numbers. The most persistent users

of the Bay are Mallards and Black Ducks. The curve (Figure 3)

shows what is apparently an extended migration period during six

weeks of which high population levels are maintained. This par¬

tially reflects an actual population phenomenon, but it is also partly

the result of combining eight years of data. This is shown in Figure

4 where we see that in only two of the four years involved (1951

and 1954) do the annual chronology curves approximate the eight-

year-average curve.

1 Journal Paper No. 33, University of Wisconsin Arboretum,

2 Continued from Volume 45.

1

9

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

I believe this trend toward an extended period of high population

levels is the result of Mallards and Black Ducks remaining on the

Bay once they have arrived. Burger (1954) gives evidence for what

he believes to be a “local breeding population” of these species. He

describes a site near the mouth of University Creek where “what

MALLARD & BLACK DUCK (3,196) O - O

OTHER DABBLING DUCKS (587) ®~- ®

OCT. I NOV. 5 DEC. 3

Figure 3. Eight-year average, 1947-1954, of the fall waterfowl flight through

University Bay, Madison, Wisconsin. The total flight per observation day is

given in parentheses.

was apparently a resident group of Blacks” were regularly found.

He goes on to say: “Forty-five birds were observed here the first

day and between 32 and 60 Blacks used the area in the same way

and at the same times until well into November.” With respect to

Mallards at this location, Burger states: “From October 2 to

November 27 a group of some 40 Mallards used this protected cove,

1957]

Dillon — University Bay Fowl II

3

Ll.

o

OCT ! NOV. 5 DEC. 3

Figure 4. Chronology of the fall migration of the Mallard and Black Duck

through University Bay, Madison, Wisconsin. The total flight per observation

day is given in parentheses.

roosting on the shore and resting in the same area. The consistent

numbers and a characteristically high, number of males indicate

that this was a resident group. In addition the flock behaved as a

unit . . A similar group of ducks was also mentioned by Dzubin

(1953).

Mallards and Black Ducks breed in the vicinity of the Bay. Nests

have been found and broods observed by a number of people. It is

4 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

very doubtful, however, that this “resident” group of eighty to one

hundred Mallards and Black Ducks is made up of breeding pairs

and their young. R. A. McCabe has told me of seeing at least six

different broods on the Bay during June and July of 1952. This

would place the breeding population at about a dozen ducks. J. J.

tr

UJ

o

UJ

OCT. I NOV. 5 DEC. 3

Figure 5. Chronology of the fall migration of the Coot through University

Bay, Madison, Wisconsin. The total flight per observation day is given in

parentheses.

Hickey has informed me that he has never seen more than about

twenty Mallards and Black Ducks on the Bay during July and

August. Since Burger’s first counts were made on October 2, it

seems likely that his “local breeding population” was well padded

with migrants which had acquired a familiarity with the area and

a “taste” for the food provided in the neighboring corn field. Re¬

gardless of their migratory status, it is probable that these ducks

1957]

Dillon — University Bay Fowl II

5

OCT. I NOV. 5 DEC. 3

Figure 6. Chronology of the fall migration of the Ring-necked Duck through

University Bay, Madison, Wisconsin. The total flight per observation day is

given in parentheses.

would act as decoys to others of their kind, and, under the protec¬

tion of the refuge, impart to them their “feeling of security” with

the result that these newcomers would, themselves, be inclined to

remain on the Bay. In this way the trend toward an extended

period of high population levels in these species might be estab¬

lished.

The eight-year average migrational chronology for other dab¬

bling ducks (largely Baldpate, Gadwall and Shoveller) is similar

to that for the Mallard and Black Duck except that these species

6 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

do not usually maintain high population levels on the Bay for as

long a time as do the Mallards and Black Ducks (Figure 3). They

do not stubble to the near-by cornfield and usually leave the Bay

when skim-ice begins to form.

Figure 7. Chronology of the fall migration of the Buffle-head through Univer¬

sity Bay, Madison, Wisconsin. The total flight per observation day is given in

parentheses.

Coots are even more numerous on the Bay than are Mallards and

Black Ducks, comprising about fifty-six per cent of the total num¬

ber of waterfowl observed during this study. The chronology of

their fall migration through the Bay is quite regular (Figure 5),

more so than that of any other single species. This seems to support

the statement of Murphy (1948) to the effect that migration [in

1957] Dillon- — University Bay Fowl II 7

OCT. I NOV. 5 DEC. 3

Figure 8. Chronology of the fall migration of other diving ducks (Redhead,

Scaup sp., Canvas-back and American Golden-eye) through University Bay,

Madison, Wisconsin. The total flight per observation day is given in paren¬

theses.

birds] has become so thoroughly keyed to the seasons that the cab

endar, not conditions of food or temperature marks arrival and

departure.

Among the diving ducks on University Bay, the Ring-necked

Duck is usually the first to attain maximum numbers in the fall

(Figure 3). The chronology of its main migration, however, is

often much more rapid than the eight-year-average curve indicates

8 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

(Figure 6) . Maximum numbers are usually reached in late October.

They are apparently maintained only a few days before these ducks

leave the Bay. A late-season population increase is indicated for

this species in Figure 3. This suggests that a final flight of Ring¬

necked Ducks is to be expected on the Bay just prior to the freeze-

up. The last-week increase of the eight-year-average curve, how¬

ever, is the result of an extremely late migration peak in 1948 (239

Ring-necked Ducks observed during the week of December 18-24,

representing 46 per cent of that year’s total flight for that species)

and is not characteristic of the general migration pattern of this

species. This is also indicated in Figure 6.

The main flight of the Buffle-head appears on University Bay

relatively late in the season (Figure 3). It is usually not as late as

that of the American Golden-eye. Buffle-heads are normally first

seen on the Bay during the third week of October. They attain

maximum numbers during the last half of November after a popu¬

lation build-up that may be gradual or rather erratic (Figure 7).

The population decline prior to the formation of ice is similar to its

increase, although somewhat more rapid. During the observation

periods of 1951, 1952 and 1953, 2,400 Buffle-head were counted on

the Bay while only one was identified on Lake Mendota by aerial

surveyors (Tables 3 and 4). Observations on University Bay will

apparently provide a better estimate of the fall Buffle-head flight

through the Madison area than the aerial surveys.

The migration of “other diving ducks” through University Bay

(Figure 3) is made up largely of flights of Redheads, Scaup sp.,

Canvas-back and American Golden-eye. A few individuals of one j

or more of these species are usually present on the Bay throughout

the 80-day average observation period. Migratory flights of these

ducks may be expected any time between mid-October and mid-

December (Figure 8) , but the average trend is toward a population

peak in early November. The earlier flights are usually made up of

Redheads and Scaup sp. while the American Golden-eye is promi¬

nent among those ducks remaining on the Bay until the freeze-up.

The marked late-season population increase shown in Figures 3 and

8 is largely the result of 1,634 Canvas-back recorded by Burger

(1954) on December 12, 1954, and of 184 American Golden-eye

recorded by Kiel (1948) on December 13, 1948. Such late-season

flights, however, are not uncommon for this group of ducks. For

example, Kiel (1948) noted 106 Scaup sp. on the Bay on December

24 when the greatest number he reported on anv one day prior to

this since December 1 had been seven. Dillon (1952) reported 224 |

American Golden-eye on December 12, which was the population

peak of that species on the Bay for that year. In the case of this

species, early freezes which eliminate observation days have con-

1957]

Dillon — University Bay Fowl II

9

siderable effect in “reducing” an annual population. This has been

discussed by Kiel (1948) and Burger (1954) .

Considering the chronologies of Figure 3, we see that the aver¬

age, 42-day Wisconsin waterfowl season (1947-1954) includes the

periods of high population levels in nearly all the species or groups

OCT. I NOV. 5 DEC. 3

Figure 9A. Four-year average, 1951-1954, of the fall waterfowl flight through

University Bay and three Madison-area lakes (Mendota, Waubesa and

Kegonsa). The total flight per observation day is given in parentheses.

of species represented. Possible exceptions are the Buffle-head and

American Golden-eye. These ducks, while not rejected, are probably

not preferred by most Wisconsin gunners. There is also the indica¬

tion that an additional week in November would increase the

harvest of Mallards and Black Ducks.

The average chronology of the fall waterfowl flight through both

University Bay and the “three lakes” for the years 1951-1954 in-

iO Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

OCT. | NQ,V. 5 DEC. 3

Figure 9B.

elusive is given in Figures 9A, B and C. Curves are presented for

the Mallard and Black Duck, Coot and other dabbling ducks which

consist largely of Baldpate, Gadwall and Blue-winged Teal. Among

the diving ducks, the Ring-necked Ducks, Scaup sp. and Canvas-

back are singled out for special attention. This was done because

these were the most numerous species common to both areas. The

“other diving ducks” category consists largely of Redheads, Buffle-

head, American Golden-eye and, in the case of the “three lakes”,

unidentified diving ducks.

1957]

Dillon — -University Bay Fowl II

11

Two things should be apparent upon examining Figures 9A, B

and C with reference to Figure 3. One is that comparable curves

in both the four- and eight-year average chronologies for Univer¬

sity Bay (Mallard, Black Duck, Coot, Ring-necked Duck and other

dabbling ducks) are similar in shape and position relative to the

axes of ordination and abscissas. This at least indicates some de¬

gree of interyear consistency in the fall flights of the species in¬

volved. The species in which this is best represented is the Coot

(Figure 5). We have, however, seen how individual years can differ

from an average (Figures 4, 6, 7 and 8) .

The second point is that the four-year curves for the “three

lakes” show marked fluctuations which, in many cases, depart radi¬

cally from the University Bay curves. We can compare these curves

only in general terms because of the ecological differences in the

areas and because, in fitting the “three lakes” data to the Bay time

intervals, the weeks of November 27 to December 3 and December

11 to 17 were not represented at all. The position of the curves,

therefore, during these weeks is not known. This makes it possible

to define late November and December migration peaks on the

“three lakes” only to the nearest two or three weeks.

These fluctuations, since they reflect the presence or absence of

waterfowl on certain observation days, must depend upon move¬

ments both local and migratory. Migratory movements might be

correlated with weather conditions along the migration routes.

12 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

Local movements may be influenced by local weather conditions or

disturbance factors such as fishing and pleasure boating. These

latter factors become so important on the Bay that it is possible to

place only limited interpretations upon population fluctuations

within any one season. There seem to be, however, species differ¬

ences in susceptibility to these disturbances. The diving ducks are

apparently affected to a greater extent than the Mallard, Black

Duck or Coot. I do not believe these disturbance factors are nearly

so important on the “three lakes” where major population fluctua¬

tions are probably due largely to the arrival and departure of

migrants. The possible effects of weather on migratory movements

will be presented later. I will now attempt to point out some gen¬

eral relationships between the waterfowl populations of the “three

lakes” and University Bay using Figures 9A, B and C.

In previous statements I have referred to the waterfowl “popu¬

lations” of the “three lakes” and the Bay largely as a matter of

convenience. Actually, I do not believe they constitute separate

populations, at least in the sense that they migrate independently

of one another. I can visualize the waterfowl relationship between

University Bay and Lake Mendota as being represented by a one¬

fingered glove into which pebbles of two different sizes are poured.

The smaller pebbles will first occupy the finger slot and then the

body of the glove. The larger pebbles will occupy the finger slot

only under pressure. Individuals of a flight of waterfowl arriving

in the Madison area would seek resting sites according to their

ecological preferences, perhaps through a process of random

searching, or as influenced by the presence of local post-breeding

populations. Such a “resident group” has been described for Uni¬

versity Bay. I have no information concerning similar groups on

lakes Waubesa and Kegonsa but, considering the development of

their shorelines, I would not expect breeding waterfowl to be as

numerous there as within the University Bay Game Refuge.

Under these conditions it would be expected that dabbling ducks

would attain maximum numbers on University Bay before such

numbers were attained on the “three lakes”, while just the opposite

would be true of the diving ducks. This is, in general, true. The

four-year average chronologies (Figures 9 A, B and C) show that

Mallards and Black Ducks and other dabbling ducks reach maxi¬

mum or nearly maximum numbers on the Bay several weeks before

they reach such numbers on the “three lakes”. Scaup sp., Canvas-

back and other diving ducks, on the other hand, attain maximum

numbers first on the “three lakes” and then on the Bay. The limita¬

tions in locating “three lakes” migration peaks make precise yearly

comparisons impossible. The early peak in Scaup sp. on University

Bay (Figure 9B, October 16-22) is the result of 493 being recorded

1957]

Dillon — University Bay Fowl II

13

OCT. I NOV. 5 DEC. 3

Figure 10A. Chronology of the fall migration of the Ring-necked Duck

through University Bay and three Madison-area lakes (Mendota, Waubesa

and Kegonsa). The total flight per observation day is given in parentheses.

during this period in 1954. The largest number of Scaup tallied

during this week in any of the other three years was twenty-five.

The late-season peak of Canvas-back on the Bay (Figure 9C, De¬

cember 11-17) has been discussed previously. The Ring-necked

Duck, although classified as a diving duck, fits into this picture of

segregation upon arrival more as a dabbling duck. This is shown

in Figures 10A and B where we see that maximum numbers are

14 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

usually attained first on the Bay and then on the “three lakes.”

This is not surprising considering the many ecological character¬

istics linking the Ring-necked Duck with the dabbling ducks. The

Coot does not conform to either pattern outlined above. Its average

chronology curve (Figure 9A) indicates that population maxima

G_

O

u.

50 74

2-8 9- 15 16-22 23-29 6-12 13-19 20-26 4-10 11-17 18-24

OCT. I NOV. 5 DEC. 3

Figure 10B.

are reached at about the same time on the “three lakes” and the

Bay. Actually there seems to be no set pattern. High populations

may be attained first on the Bay and then the lakes or vice-versa

(Figures 11A and B). This is not surprising since the Coot can

feed successfully in the open waters of the lakes or in the shallower

bays.

The tendency for the Mallard and Black Duck to maintain high

population levels on the Bay while their numbers are still increas-

1957]

Dillon— University Bay Fowl II

15

ing on the “three lakes" (Figure 9A) suggests the operation of

some mechanism which limits the numbers of these species on the

Bay. Otherwise, why do not the Mallards and Black Ducks continue

to increase on the Bay until food supplies are exhausted or, more

OCT. I NOV. 5 DEC. 3

Figure.IIA. Chronology of the fall migration of the Coot through University

Bay and three Madison-area lakes (Mendota, Waubesa and Kegonsa). The

total flight per observation day is given in parentheses.

to the point, why do they not continue to increase until there are

no more new arrivals to swell their ranks, since they are making

use of a food supply that is renewed each time manure is spread on

the nearby cornfield? Actually there is little numerical evidence

that “capacity" numbers of these species have been reached on the

Bay during this study. This is indicated by the considerable annual

16 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

variation shown in Table 3. A cumulative total 13,057 Mallards and

Black Ducks used the Bay in 1953. This is considerably more than

used the Bay during any of the other eight falls with the exception

of 1949 when 12,530 were tallied. The increase in this case is

slightly less than 4 per cent which indicates that the 1953 Mallard

and Black Duck population may have approached “capacity’’ num¬

bers on the Bay. Perhaps there are other factors that keep this

population below that dictated by available food supplies. These

SEPT. 22 OCT. 30 NOV. 27

2-8 9-15 16-22 23-29 6-12 13-19 20-26 4-10 11-17 18-24

OCT. I NOV. 5 DEC. 3

Figure 11B.

could be various physical features of the area or, perhaps, some

aspects of human activity. Finally, the food supply may be the

limiting factor, but this seems unlikely since considerable corn is

supplied them both through harvest waste and the periodic spread¬

ing of manure as fertilizer.

The relationship between the average hunting season for 1951

through 1954 (October 5-November 26) and the average waterfowl

flight through University Bay and the “three lakes” for the same

period is shown in Figures 9A, B and C. In general, the span of the

hunting season has included the periods of high population num¬

bers of most of the species involved. Exceptions would be late

1957]

Dillon — University Bay Fowl II

17

migrants such as the Buffle-head and American Golden-eye as well

as occasional late flights of other diving ducks. More important,

however, is the indication that the harvest of the Mallard could be

increased by allowing more shooting days in late November. Wis¬

consin waterfowl kill statistics for 1954 (Jahn, 1955) show that

the Mallard is certainly one of the most important if not the most

important species to Wisconsin duck hunters.

Many phenomena have been correlated with bird migration both

spring and fall. For example: the photoperiod (Rowan, 1946), food

supply (Rowan, 1947), temperature (Lincoln, 1950), barometric

pressure (Dennis, 1954) and fat deposition and pituitary activity

(Wolfson, 1945). Farner (1950) concludes that bird migration has

a “multiple origin” : the “disposition to migrate” involves a num¬

ber of physiological mechanisms that may or may not be triggered

by the external environment. In view of the diverse correlations

mentioned above, Farner’s stand seems to be a logical one to take

at this time.

Much evidence has been gathered linking bird migration to rising

temperatures in the spring (Lincoln, op. cit.; Cooke, 1913; Dennis,

op. cit.) and the movement of cold fronts in the fall (Bennett,

1952), so that it now appears probable that temperature actually

exerts a “triggering” influence. Acting upon this assumption, I

have presented the chronology of the fall waterfowl flight through

the “three lakes” and University Bay for 1951, 1952, 1953 and 1954

together with daily minimum temperature calculated as two-day-

average deviations from the monthly mean minimum temperature

(Figures 12A, B, C and D). Curves are shown for all dabbling

ducks and all diving ducks, excluding the Canvas-back. Canvas-

backs are excluded because, in all years except 1954, they were

present on the Bay in too few numbers per observation day to allow

the construction of a meaningful curve. The abnormalities of the

1954 fall Canvas-back flight through the Bay have already been

discussed. Since this species could not be included in the University

Bay curves, I excluded it also from the “three lakes” curves.

Daily minimum temperature records were obtained from the

U. S. Department of Commerce Weather Station at North Hall on

the campus of the University of Wisconsin. In the spring of 1953

this station was moved to Truax Airport a few miles east of its

former location. In addition, I consulted daily weather charts of

the United States and southern Canada published by the U. S.

Department of Commerce Weather Bureau, Washington, D. C. The

purpose of these investigations was to explore any obvious correla¬

tions between the fall migration of waterfowl through the Madison

area and weather conditions from the origin of the migratory

18 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

SEPTEMBER

ro

CM

O

ro

' CM

CD ,

CM _

OCTOBER

o

cn

T~

o

CM

T

NOVEMBER DECEMBER

OCT. I

NOV. 5

DEC. 3

Figure 12A. Chronology of the fall migration of dabbling and diving ducks

(excluding Canvas-back) through University Bay and three Madison-area

lakes (Mendota, Waubesa and Kegonsa) in relation to daily minimum temper¬

ature at Madison (shown as two-day-average deviations from the mean

monthly minimum temperature). The total flight per observation day is given

in parentheses.

flights, presumably the breeding and molting grounds of the species

involved, to the lakes of south-central Wisconsin.

The breeding and molting grounds of the majority of the water-

fowl passing through the Madison area in fall migration are in the

prairie provinces of Canada : Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba

(Aldrich et al , 1949). Exceptions to this would be the Black Duck,

1957]

Dillon— -University Bay Fowl II

19

Buffle-head, American Golden-eye and Ring-necked Duck which

breed either farther north or to the east. Because of the physio¬

graphic configuration of the state therein and distribution of wet¬

lands (Mann et al. 1955), these ducks migrate into south-central

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

o

i r

NOVEMBER

_ o

DECEMBER

po ^ 2

cn

cm _L

AVG. MIN.

temp ra

OCT. I

2-8 9-15 16-22 23-29

6-12 13-19 20-26

4-10 11-17 18-24

NOV. 5

Figure 12 B.

DEC. 3

Wisconsin from the northeast. Nevertheless, it is the movement of

storms, cold fronts and freezing temperatures from the northwest

across western Canada that brings these migrants to the Madison

area (assuming weather to be responsible) .

An examination of Figures 12 A, B, C and D shows that in nearly

every instance major peaks of waterfowl numbers were attained

20 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER

OCT. i NOV. 5 DEC. 3

Figure 12C.

on the “three lakes” and the Bay either during or immediately after

sharp declines in local minimum temperature. Thus in 1951

(Figure 12 A) high numbers of both dabbling and diving ducks

were either reached or were being rapidly approached during the

week of November 6-12. This was immediately after a period in

which the daily minimum temperature dropped from 30° to 4° F.

On University Bay, dabbling ducks attained maximum numbers

some two weeks before this when daily minimum temperatures

were dropping from 44° to 30° F. A similar situation occurred in

1957]

Dillon— University Bay Fowl II

21

1953 (Figure 12C) when diving ducks reached their highest popu¬

lation levels on the Bay during the week of October 23-29. At this

time daily minima were dropping from 43° to 31° F. Dabbling duck

populations peaked from November 20-26 as daily minimum tem¬

peratures decreased from 46° to 17° F.

OCT. I NOV 5 DEC. 3

Figure 12D.

Other examples could be cited from any of the four years in¬

volved, some not so striking, perhaps, as the two given, but all

indicating a definite correlation between the arrival of waterfowl

flights in the Madison area and periods of decreasing local mini¬

mum temperature.

22 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

My examination of daily weather charts revealed a similar corre¬

lation between these flights and the movement of cold fronts, fol¬

lowed by freezing temperatures, across western Canada and into

the Midwest. This agrees with the findings of Bennett (op. cit.)

who studied the fall migration of birds through the Chicago area

from 1946 through 1950. Bennett, however, found a correlation

between the arrival of migration waves and “strong NW to N

winds” in association with the cold fronts. I found no obvious cor¬

relation of this nature. The arrival of Mallards and Black Ducks in

the Madison area was frequently associated with the presence of

storm tracts moving east across southern Canada or into the Mid¬

west from the Southwest. These storms were usually associated

with low pressure areas, freezing temperatures and rain.

University Bay as a Refuge

In the preceding sections of this paper I have attempted to

describe the University Bay Game Refuge and to show how and

when it is used by waterfowl. I have further shown what species

of waterfowl may be expected and in what numbers. It now re¬

mains to comment upon the effectiveness of this area as a local

waterfowl refuge.

Leopold (1933) has defined a game refuge as “. . . an area closed

to hunting in order that its excess population may flow out and

restock surrounding areas.” According to Wisconsin Conservation

Commission Order Gr-520, Rev. 2, this is essentially the purpose

for which the University Bay Game Refuge was established. The

question is, then, to what extent is this refuge fulfilling its purpose?

It has been shown that most species of waterfowl using the Bay

usually attain high population levels there during the hunting sea¬

son (Figures 3 and 9 A, B and C). It is impossible to tell to what

degree these ducks “restock surrounding areas” without making

use of some method of marking and noting their recovery in hunt¬

ers’ bags. There are, however, other criteria which may be used to

evaluate the usefulness of the area.

In discussing the management of small areas as waterfowl

refuges, Pirnie (1940) has established the following objectives:

1) Aids to Birds (food and protection) .

a) loafing and refuge from hunting.

b) safe feeding and special feeds.

2) Benefits to Humans (education and recreation).

These objectives stem largely from Pirnie’s work at W intergreen

Lake sanctuary near Battle Creek, Michigan, which contains thirty

acres of water and six hundred acres of woodlot and fields. Since

1957]

Dillon — University Bay Fowl II

23

it is near a larger body of water, it has many physical character¬

istics similar to the University Bay Refuge.

The Bay refuge possesses most of the above mentioned criteria.

It offers adequate loafing spots at the mouth of University Creek

and at the drainage inlet. There is complete protection from shoot¬

ing within the refuge boundaries. The ducks can feed safely on the

Bay or in the nearby cornfield. The periodic spreading of manure

provides special feed to those species that stubble feed. The water-

fowl using the Bay have access to larger bodies of water which

Pirnie (op, cit .) considers almost as important a consideration as

food. These “landing fields” provide food and rest for the water-

fowl when they leave the refuge. What the University Bay refuge

does not provide is protection from disturbance other than hunting.

Traffic on University Bay Drive is heavy. Cars park in lots along

its length from which people watch the activities on the Bay. Fish¬

ermen use the Bay well into November. A bathing beach at the

south end of the gravel bar is open to the public until late Septem¬

ber. The outing facilities on Picnic Point are used by numerous

students and townsfolk. The varsity crew even makes use of the

outer Bay in rowing drills. In this respect, the area is more like a

park than a refuge. The main disturbance to the waterfowl, how¬

ever, is caused by fishermen, many of whom persistently use the

Bay until late November and, as I have mentioned earlier, it is the

diving duck segment of the waterfowl population that is most sus¬

ceptible to these disturbances.

Bellrose (1954) has discussed the relationship between the size

of a refuge and its effectiveness. He has shown that, where hunting

is allowed up to the refuge boundary, the larger areas are usually

more effective in holding waterfowl than smaller ones. However,

where the surrounding land is closed to hunting, small areas can

be important, as for example, 314-acre McGinnis slough just out¬

side of Chicago. He also states that protected ponds as small as

thirty acres have attracted and held several thousand Mallards.

Bellrose (ibid,) has pointed out that small refuges can be more

valuable per unit of area than large ones because of the ability of

ducks (primarily Mallards and Black Ducks) to feed over a much

greater area than that covered by the refuge itself. Band returns

have shown this “feeding radius” to be about twenty-five or thirty

miles. I do not believe this phenomenon greatly increases the effec¬

tiveness of the University Bay refuge for here the Mallards and

Black Ducks stubble feed on the refuge itself.

The Bay and human activity has been discussed thus far only

from a negative point of view. There is, however, an important

positive aspect which will have considerable bearing upon future

Bay-use policy. Salyer (1945) has stated that one of the most

24 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

important permanent values of a refuge is its function as a field

laboratory. While it is not a field laboratory for experimental

waterfowl research, the Bay is certainly important to the Univer¬

sity of Wisconsin. Studies I have referred to in the first sections

of this paper have shown its contributions to limnological research.

Besides using the Bay as a site for a project in wildlife manage¬

ment techniques, the Department of Forestry and Wildlife Manage¬

ment makes use of the refuge area for field research and various

class exercises. The Bay provides a field demonstration in the

growth of aquatic plant communities useful to the Botany Depart¬

ment, as well as being a source of laboratory material. A number

of zoology classes visit the area. For example, it is the site of a

spring project similar to the one upon which this paper is based;

it is ideally located for ornithology field trips and is also used for

mammalogy demonstrations and field exercises. Classes in elemen¬

tary zoology and integrated liberal studies make field trips to the

area. It is also a source of zoology laboratory material and provides

a unique field demonstration for classes in ecology, since the Bay

contains one of the few marsh remnants on the lake. Its north and

south shores, being protected and unprotected from wave action

respectively, also provide interesting ecological comparisons.

Limited use is also made of the Bay by Madison civic groups.

It is a regular observation area of the Madison Audubon Society

on their annual Christmas and May-day bird counts. Boy scouts

have also visited the area in fulfilling various merit badge require¬

ments.

All of these uses must be considered in formulating an integrated

plan for the future use of University Bay and the refuge land

around it. The land belongs to the University of Wisconsin which

is feeling the pinch of expansion. If the Bay is to be preserved,

therefore, academic values must be stressed. For this reason I do

not believe its full potentialities as a waterfowl refuge will ever be

realized, but its use as an outdoor area by the University and the

city of Madison is increasing each year.

Acknowledgments

I would like to acknowledge the assistance of Albert Gallistel

and staff of the University of Wisconsin Office of Physical Plant

Planning for information concerning the acquisition of land around

University Bay, of F. W. Duffee of the Department of Agricultural

Engineering for facts dealing with land use and development, and

of A. C. Breitenbach of Madison for details concerning the history

of hunting and trapping on the Bay.

J. R. Smith and L. R. Jahn of the Wisconsin Conservation

Department contributed data on the establishment of the Univer-

1957]

Dillon— -University Bay Fowl II

25

sity Bay Game Refuge and waterfowl populations on the “three

lakes" respectively, for which I am grateful,

I am indebted to J. D. Andrews of the Virginia Fisheries Labo¬

ratory, Gloucester, Virginia for permission to use material from

his Ph.D. thesis at the University of Wisconsin (personal letter of

April 1, 1955) and to J, F. Linduska of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife

Service, Washington, D, C., for permission to publish some of the

Service's survey data (personal letter of May 25, 1955),

The staff of the Meteorological Office, North Hall, University of

Wisconsin and James Zimmerman, ILS Technical Assistant, Uni¬

versity of Wisconsin, kindly granted me permission to make use of

daily weather maps in their possession.

I am further indebted to J. W. Thomson of the Department of

Botany and J. T. Emlen and J. C. Neess of the Department of

Zoology, University of Wisconsin, for information concerning aca¬

demic uses of the Bay and to Mrs. R. A. Walker, president, Madi¬

son Audubon Society for information on civic uses of the area.

Finally I would like to express my appreciation to R. A. McCabe

and J. J. Hickey of the Department of Forestry and Wildlife Man¬

agement, University of Wisconsin, for assistance in all phases of

this study.

Summary

The purpose of this paper is an evaluation of University Bay as

a local waterfowl refuge through a consolidation and evaluation of

nine-years' observations on fall waterfowl migration.

Observations were made every 2.6 days over an 80-day average

annual observation period extending from September 29 through

December 17 for the nine years 1946=1954. Additional data gath¬

ered by aerial surveys over Lakes Mendota, Kegonsa and Waubesa

were contributed by the Wisconsin Conservation Department.

These surveys were conducted once every 9.4 days over a 66-day

average annual observation period extending from September 25

through November 29 for the years 1951=1954, inclusive.

Twenty-three species of waterfowl were seen on the Bay at some

time during the field periods of this study. Of these, 11 species were

considered “common." These were : Mallard, Black Duck, Baldpate,

Gadwall, Shoveller, Ring-necked Duck, Scaup sp., Canvas-back,

Buffle-head, American Golden-eye and Coot.

A cumulative total of 258,506 ducks and Coots was recorded on

the Bay during this study. This represents a rate of use of the

180-acre body of water of approximately 360 ducks and Coots per

day of the average annual observation period per year. The Coot

was the most numerous species on the Bay representing about 56

per cent of the total.

26 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

Population data indicate a trend toward an annual increase in

the number of waterfowl using the Bay. The average annual rate

of increase for the nine years was 29 per cent. This trend was also

evident in the aerial survey data. An examination of Audubon

Field Notes fall migration records and U. S. Fish and Wildlife

Service data indicates that these increases may be due to actual

increases in the Mississippi Flyway waterfowl population. There

is also some evidence that they may be due to local ecological

changes of a temporary nature.

Chronologically, at least five species of waterfowl are repre¬

sented on the Bay throughout the average annual observation

period. The greater number are present from mid-October to late

November during which time most species attain maximum num¬

bers. The most persistent users of the Bay are Mallards and Black

Ducks. They exhibit what is apparently an extended migration

period with high population levels maintained for about six weeks.

Indications are that individuals of these species remain on the Bay,

taking advantage of the opportunity to stubble feed in a nearby

cornfield, instead of leaving after a short stay. Diving ducks are

not as well represented numerically on the Bay as are the dabbling

ducks. They are apparently more susceptible to disturbance factors.

In general, dabbling ducks attain maximum population numbers

on the Bay before they do on the “three lakes.” The opposite is

usually true of diving ducks. This is most consistently demonstrated

in the Mallard and Black Duck, which suggests the operation of a

mechanism that limits the “carrying capacity” of the Bay for these

species. The limiting factor (s) is (are) not known. There is little

evidence, however, that the Bay could not have held more indi¬

viduals of these species during any year of this study.

Aerial and ground survey data show that the Wisconsin water-

fowl season has usually embraced the periods of maximum water-

fowl populations in the Madison area. Possible exceptions are the

Buffle-head, American Golden-eye and occasional late flights of

other diving ducks. There is also the indication that additional

hunting days in November might increase the local harvest of

Mallards and Black Ducks.

A correlation apparently exists between the chronology of the

fall waterfowl flight through the Madison area and fluctuations in

local daily minimum temperature. Population increases were noted

during or immediately after periods of decreasing minimum tem¬

peratures. An examination of daily weather maps showed a similar

correlation between the movement of migrant waterfowl into the

Madison area and the progress of cold fronts, freezing tempera¬

tures and storm tracts across southern Canada and into the Mid¬

west.

1957]

Dillon — University Bay Fowl II

27

The University Bay refuge fulfills most of the physical and func¬

tional requirements of a refuge. It is, however, subjected to such

intense use by University and civic interests in academic and recre¬

ational activities that its maximum potentialities as a waterfowl

refuge will probably never be realized. This is in keeping with the

necessity of putting the area to its greatest overall use.

Appendix A

SCIENTIFIC AND COMMON NAMES OF WATERFOWL

MENTIONED IN TEXT

Family Anatidae

Subfamily Anserinae

Tribe Anserini

Branta canadensis, Canada Goose

Anser caerulescens, Blue Goose, Snow Goose

Cygnus columbianus, Whistling Swan

Subfamily Anatinae

Tribe Anatini

Anas acuta, Pintail

Anas crecca, Green-winged Teal

Anas rubripes, Black Duck

Anas platyrhyncos, Mallard

Anas strepera, Gadwall

Anas americana, Baldpate

Anas discors, Blue-winged Teal

Anas clypeata, Shoveller

Tribe Ay thy ini

Aythya valisineria, Canvas-back

Aythya americana, Redhead

Aythya collaris, Ring-necked Duck

Aythya affinis, Lesser Scaup

Aythya marila, Greater Scaup

Tribe Cairihini

Aix sponsa, Wood Duck

Tribe Mergini

Melanitta nigra, American Scoter

Melanitta perspicillata, Surf Scoter

Melanitta fusca, White-winged Scoter

Clangula hyemalis, Old-squaw

Bucephala clangula, American Golden-eye

28 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

Bucephala albeola, Buffle-head

Mergus cucullatus, Hooded Merganser

Mergus serrator, Red-breasted Merganser

Mergus merganser , American Merganser

Tribe Oxyurini

Oxyura jamaicensis , Ruddy Duck

Family Rallidae

Fulica a. americana, Coot

Appendix B

SCIENTIFIC AND COMMON NAMES OF INVERTEBRATE

ANIMALS MENTIONED IN TEXT

Phylum Annelida

Class Oligochaeta

Genus Limnodrilus

Tubifex

Class Hirudinea

Phylum Gastropoda

Order Amphipoda

Genus Hyallela

Order Decapoda

Order Odonata

Genus Hydrachna

Limnesia

Genus Leptocella

Leptocerus

Genus Caenis

Genus Chaoborus

Genus Hydra

Genus Planer ia

Genus Sialis

Genus Tendipes

aquatic earthworms

leeches

snails

scuds or sideswimmers

shrimp

dragonfly

mater mites

caddis fly

may fly

phantom midge

jelly fish

flatworms

fishfly

midges

Appendix C

SCIENTIFIC AND COMMON NAMES OF PLANTS

MENTIONED IN TEXT

Anacharis canadensis , waterweed

Calamagrostis canadensis, wiregrass

Ceratophyllum demersum, coontail

Chara sp., muskgrass

Fagopyrum sp., buckwheat

1957]

Dillon— University Bay Fowl II

29

Heteranthea dubia , mud plantain

Lenina sp., duckweed

Myriophyllum exalbescens , water milfoil

Najas flexilis , bushy pondweed

Nelumho lutea, American lotus

Nymphaea tuberosa , white water lily

Phelum sp., timothy

Poa compressa , wiregrass

Potamogeton americanus ( nodosus ), knotty pondweed

P. amplifolius (ilinoensis)

P. angustifolius , large-leaf pondweed

P. crispus , curly-leafed pondweed

P. natans , floating brownleaf

P. pectinatus, sago pondweed

P. praelongus, whitestem pondweed

P. Richardsonii , clasping-leaf pondweed

P. zosterif ormis , fiat-stem pondweed

Ranunculus sp,, crowfoot

gate sp,, willow

Scirpus acutus , hard-stem bulrush

Sparganium sp., bur reed

Typha sp., cattail

Utricularia vulgaris , b'ladderwort

Vallisneria americana (spiralis), wild celery

Zannichella palustris , horned pondweed

Zen mays, corn

Literature Cited

Aldrich, John W. and others. 1949. Migration of Some North American

Waterfowl. C7. N. Dept, of Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Special

Scientific Report (Wildlife) No. 1. 48 pp.

Bellrose, Frank C. 1954. Value of Waterfowl Refuges in Illinois. Jour. Wildh

Mgmt. 18(2) :160-169.

Bennett, Holly Reed. 1952. Fall Migration of Birds at Chicago. Wilson Bull .

64(4) : 197-220.

Cooke, Wells W. 1913. The Relation of Bird Migration to the Weather. Auk.

30(2) : 205-221.

Dennis, John V. 1954. Meteorological Analysis of Occurrence of Grounded

Migrants at Smith Point, Texas, April 17-May 17, 1951. Wilson Bull.

66(2) : 102— 111.

Farmer, Donald S. 1950. The Annual Stimulus for Migration. Condor. 52(3) :

104-122.

Jahn, Laurence R. 1955. 1954 Waterfowl Hunting Season Checks. Wis. Wildl.

Research. 14(1) : 47-71.

Leopold, Aldo. 1933. Game Management . Charles Scribners’ Sons. N. Y.

481 pp.

Lincoln F. C. 1950. Migration of Birds . U. S. Dept, of Interior Fish and

Wildlife Circular 16. 102 pp.

30 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

Mann, Grady E. 1955. Wetlands Inventory of Wisconsin. U. S. Dept, of

Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Office of River Basin Studies, Minne¬

apolis, Minn. Appendix A, p. 13 and Fig. 3C.

Murphy, Robert Cushman. 1948. Migration: a Brief Consideration of Cur¬

rent Knowledge. New Zealand Jour. Sci. and Technology. 29(5) : 233-239.

Pirnie, Miles D. 1940. Small Area Management for Waterfowl. Trans. North

American Wildlife Conference 5:387-391.

Rowan, William. 1946. Experiments in Bird Migration. Trans. Royal Society

of Canada. 3rd series, sec. 5. 40:123-135.

- . 1947. Migration of Birds. Encyclopedia Brittanica, Inc. Chicago. 3:

633-636.

Salyer, J. Clark, II. 1945. The Permanent Values of Refuges in Waterfowl

Management. Trans. North American Wildlife Conference 10:43-47.

Wolfson, Albert. 1945. The Role of the Pituitary, Fat Deposition and Body

Weight in Bird Migration. Condor. 47(2) :95-127.

Unpublished Reports Cited in Text on File at the Department of

Forestry and Wildlife Management, University of Wisconsin

Burger, George V. 1954. The 1954 University Bay Waterfowl Counts.

Dillon, S. T. 1952. Migrational Trends and Sex Ratios in University Bay

Waterfowl.

Dzubin, Alexander. 1953. Fall Migration Numbers and Sex Ratios of Water-

fowl Utilizing University Bay, Lake Mendota.

Jahn, Laurence R. 1949. Fall Migration and Sex Ratios of Waterfowl at

University Bay, 1949.

Kiel, William H., Jr. 1948. Fall Migration and Sex Ratios of Waterfowl,

University Bay, 1948.

AN UNPUBLISHED MANUSCRIPT OF E. A. BIRGE ON THE

TEMPERATURE OF LAKE MENDOTA; PART IP

John C. Neess and William W. Bunge, Jr.

Departments of Zoology and Geography , University of Wisconsin

Surface Maxima (1916)

The temperature observations have been taken with reference

to ascertaining the maximum temperature of the lake rather than

that of the surface. They have, therefore, been taken commonly

later in the day than the hour of maximum surface temperature.

The highest temperature recorded is 34.3° on July 29, 1916, 1 :45

p.m. It is hardly probable that a temperature essentially higher

has ever been present in the lake. This was the highest of a series

taken during a perfectly calm afternoon at the close of a long hot

period. The maximum air temperature on that day was 38.5°, while

the maximum air temperature recorded in 57 years is 40.0°. The

sun shone until 4:15 p.m. and the surface at another station at 4 :30

read 33.4°. In taking these readings the bulb of a standard ther¬

mometer was laid horizontally just below the surface. Under the

conditions of sun, air and wind, the temperature recorded depends

on the thickness of the stratum of water affecting the instrument.

The recorded temperature is that of a stratum about 1 cm. thick.

Doubtless the upper half of that stratum was decidedly warmer

than the record. A Negretti and Zambra thermometer, whose bulb

extended 5-7 cm. below the surface, gave a reading of 33.0° instead

of 34.3°.

Other high readings taken with the Negretti and Zambra ther¬

mometer are as follows :

27.6°, 1909, June 30, 12:00 noon

32.1 , 1910, June 30, 4:00 p.m.

29.0 , 1911, June 23, 4:30 p.m.

27.6 , 1912, June 29, 2:15 p.m.

29.9 , 1913, June 29, 3:30 p.m.

28.8 , 1914, July 11, 3:00 p.m.

Very probably a reading as high as that of 1916 could have been

found in 1910, and possibly in 1913. In no other year of the list,

however, is it probable that the surface would have registered

above 30.0° if read with a Negretti and Zambra thermometer.

1 Continued from Volume 45.

31

32 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

During nine years it is possible to state the number of days on

which the surface rose above 25.0°. In 1915 this temperature was

not reached at all. In 1916 the surface remained above 25.0° from

July 10 to August 12, 33 days, by far the longest period on record.

It is possible, though hardly probable, that in the early hours of

certain mornings in this period the surface fell a little below 25.0°.

The numbers of days on which the surface reached 25.0° in the

various months are given here :

Average Maximum Year of Maximum

June . . 3.1 10 1910, 1911

July . 15.0 24 1916

August . 5.6 18 1916

September . 0.4 2 1912

In each case the minimum number of days is zero. Probably a

longer series would give a higher maximum number of days to

September. The surface reached 25.0° in only two years of the nine.

Diurnal Variations of Surface Temperature (1916)

Temperature observations were taken twice a day during most

of the open season of three years: 1897, 1898, 1911. The observa¬

tions were made early in the morning, usually about six o’clock,

and in the late afternoon, 4-6 o’clock. The morning observations

would be close to the minimum, but the afternoon observations

would often be too late for the maximum. The daily range of tem¬

perature based on these readings, therefore, would tend to be too

small. Yet as the days on which observations were missed would

be the stormy and cold days, during which the surface would fall

during the day, and as all the calm days of maximum change would

be included, the mean is probably not far wrong.

It is also true that the maximum surface temperature depends

very largely on the wind. If the day is calm and bright the maxi¬

mum may persist until near sunset. On numerous occasions in 1911,

1912, and 1913, when readings were made at some ten stations in

the lake during the afternoon, the late afternoon readings were as

high or higher than those made earlier, if the afternoon was calm.

If there was a breeze, there was little change as the hours passed,

A change from calm to breeze causes an instant and considerable

decline of temperature, even if the breeze is very light. Such a

change, for example, caused a fall in the surface from 26.5° to

24.8° between 4:30 and 5:45 p.m. on September 13, 1897. The

following table shows the results of the observations in the several

years,

1957] Neess & Bunge — Lake Mendota Temperature II

33

TABLE 1 1 1-2

DIURNAL CHANGES OF SURFACE TEMPERATURE

(Differences between Morning- and Afternoon Readings), 1897, 1898 and 1911

There is little use in trying to establish a mean daily variation

of the surface for April or early May, unless simultaneous obser¬

vations can be taken at several points of the lake so as to secure a

mean for each observation. The temperature at the center of the

lake varies with the changes in direction and velocity of wind far

more than it does later in the season when the epilimnion has been

formed. Thus on April 27, 1911, the temperature in the limnetic

region ranged at six stations from 6.6° to 10.3°. A shift of wind

might easily have caused the surface at the first station to indicate

a rise of 3.0°, or more, during the night. On April 19, 1913, the

range was from 5.6° to 6.8° in deep water, rising to 8.3° in water

2-5 m. deep.

Similar, though less marked, differences may be found on any

calm day in summer. Local breezes disturb the surface at one place

and leave it calm in another, and considerable differences are thus

occasioned. But these affect the water to a very slight depth. In the

spring many of these differences are due to relatively large masses

of water transported by the wind. Vertical stratification is still

weak and the warm water may be on one side of the lake and the

cooler water on the other. Under such conditions there may be

accumulated a huge mass of warm water to be spread over the lake

when the wind falls or changes. Such conditions are impossible

after the thermocline is fairly established.

Diurnal variations of surface are not noted after October 1. Dur¬

ing October, 1897 and 1898, pairs of observations were made on 45

34 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

days, showing an average rise of 0,16° during the day and a fall

of 0.34° during the night. Inclusion of all the days would have

shown a much smaller rise by day and a greater fall by night. After

mid-October the days are few and exceptional when the passage of

the day shows any observable rise of temperature of the lake’s

surface.

Depth of Penetration of Surface Temperature (1916)

No accurate measurement can be made of the depth to which the

lake cools by night or warms by day. The wind has so much effect

as to obscure other causes unless a very long series of observations

can be used. If observations are made every morning and afternoon

there is, however, no difficulty in stating the depth at which the

surface temperature in the morning lay on the preceding after¬

noon, or, by comparing the morning and afternoon observations of

the same day, to ascertain the depth to which the surface tempera¬

ture of the morning has moved down during the day. This distance,

however, does not necessarily mean the depth to which the lake has

warmed or cooled, since oscillations of the water or currents may

either increase or diminish this distance at the place of observation,

quite independently of any change of temperature.

The following table (Table III— 3 ) shows the facts for June, July

and August during the years 1897, 1898 and 1911, in which obser¬

vations were regularly made twice a day.

The mean of all cases, 240 for night and 241 for day, shows an

apparent nocturnal cooling through 4.5 m. and an apparent diurnal

warming through 4.1 m.

TABLE 1 1 1-3

VERTICAL MOVEMENT OF SURFACE TEMPERATURE

The range of movement varies greatly. It is greatest in days or

nights of much wind and small changes of temperature when a

stratum 10-18 m. thick may apparently rise or fall 0. 1-0.3 degrees.

It is least in calm, hot weather when the range of movement may

be only 1-3 m., and its thermal extent may be considerable. A

month which shows a large movement, like August, 1917, has many

1957] Neess & Bunge— Lake Mendota Temperature II 35

cases of the first sort. One with a small mean movement, like June,

1911, has many cases of the second kind.

The above table is not to be interpreted as giving the zone within

which the diurnal variations in temperature take place. Nor does

it show the depth to which the sun's influence penetrates. It is not

Figure 25. Distribution of temperature in Lake Mendota during1 the open

season of 1895.

true either that the mean temperature curve for the morning obser¬

vations would show a straight line to the depth indicated by the

table. It shows only the facts stated, i.e., the mean diurnal move¬

ment of the surface temperature, downward during the day and

upward during the night. Perhaps its chief value is to show that

this movement has no relation either to the establishment of the

thermocline or to the depth below the surface of the lake at which

it lies.

36 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

The Summer Season (1916)

It may be said in general that the summer conditions of Lake

Mendota are established when the weekly mean of surface tempera¬

ture rises to 20° and that they continue so long as the surface

remains above 20°. If this period is taken from the diagrams (Figs.

9 through 22) its mean length from the observations of 13 years

Figure 26. Distribution of temperature in Lake Mendota during the open

season of 1896.

is 95 days, June 4 to September 17. The shortest period was 67 days

in 1915, June 20 to August 26. In this year a cold wave in late

August carried the surface temperature below 20.0°. But it re¬

mained between 19.5° and 20.0° until September 20, so that prac¬

tically the summer conditions did not end till that date.

The longest period was 114 days in 1911, June 1 to September 21.

This was also the earliest date for the surface to reach 20.0°. The

1957] Neess & Bunge — Lake Mendota Temperature II 37

latest date was July 8 in 1917, after a June and early July whose

temperatures were as low as the lowest record.

The earliest date for recrossing of the 20.0° line was in 1915, as

stated above ; the latest, September 27, in 1895.

Summer Temperatures and the Thermocline (1899)

A direct stratification of temperature necessarily prevails, in

general, in a lake during the open season from the time that the

Figure 27. Distribution of temperature in Lake Mendota during the open

season of 1897.

water has reached 4° in the spring until it has cooled to the same

temperature in the autumn. The water of any given stratum has a

higher temperature than the water of any stratum situated below

it. The distribution of the fall of temperature through a column of

water may, however, be either approximately equal or extremely

unequal. The distribution depends upon several factors, among

38 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

which may be mentioned: (1) the distribution of solar radiation,

(2) the transparency of the water, (3) the effect of the wind as

modified by the area, depth, and shape of the lake. In bodies of

water which are large enough and deep enough to be called lakes,

the direct action of the sun on strata below the immediate surface

is so much less than that of the wind that its effects are almost

Figure 28. Distribution of temperature in Lake Men dot a during the open

season of 1898.

entirely obscured in the average of a number of readings extending

over any considerable time.

The distribution of heat through the water is, therefore, pri¬

marily due to the action of the wind. It follows that in a lake like

Mendota, which has a comparatively large area and small depth,

the warmth received from the sun will ordinarily be rapidly dis¬

tributed and to considerable depths, and that the temperature of

the bottom water will follow that of the surface during the early

spring. Examination of the diagrams showing the movement of the

1957] Neess & Bunge— Lake Mendota Temperature II 39

temperature during the open seasons of 1895 through 1898 (Figs,

25, 26, 27 and 28) and of those showing weekly temperature aver-

ages for the four years (Figs. 29 and 30) plainly discloses this

fact. In the diagram in Fig. 30 (1898) the bottom temperature

closely follows that of the surface through April and the first week

in May. At that time the surface had reached a weekly average of

Figure 29. Temperatures in Lake Mendota during 1895 and 1896.

Figure 30. Temperatures in Lake Mendota during 1897 and 1898.

8.5° and the bottom an average of 7.6°, a difference of less than a

degree, which was uniformly distributed through the entire depth.

After the first week in May, however, the surface gained rapidly in

temperature as compared with the bottom (see also Fig. 28). The

average for the second week in May was, at the surface, 12.2°, a

rise of 3.7°, while the bottom temperature had risen less than 1°.

The temperature difference was, however, distributed with approx-

40 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

imate uniformity. During the following week the bottom water rose

in temperature about 0.6° and after that date increased very

slowly, since between the third week in June and the last week in

August the temperature rose only from 9.1° to 10.7°. During the

period the vertical distribution of temperature became progres¬

sively unequal. An inspection of the temperature curves (Fig. 28)

shows that nothing which can fairly be called a thermocline

appeared until the second week in June, and that at this time the

phenomenon was only slightly marked. After the third week in

June, however, a thermocline was established beginning at a depth

of about 6 m. and from this date until the last of September it was

constantly present, its upper surface sinking in that time about

8 m., from about 6 m. to 14 m. In 1897 (Fig. 27) the thermocline

was not established at so early a date, since it could hardly be

regarded as fairly present before the first week in July, and the

same date may be given for its establishment in 1896 (Fig. 26).

These dates may be given as those marking the establishment of

what may be called a permanent thermocline, as determined by the

weekly averages. If, however, the presence of a stratum of water

in which the temperature falls rapidly be taken as indicating a

thermocline, such phenomena are present temporarily at a much

earlier date and quite frequently. For example, on May 16, 1898 at

noon the temperatures were as follows :

Surface 12.6°

9 m. 11.0

10 m. 9.9

11 m. 9.8

22 m. 8.7

At this time there was obviously a slight thermocline between 9

and 10 m. On May 23, the temperatures were as follows :

At this date there was obviously a marked thermocline between

13 and 14 m. At numerous dates subsequent to this similar phe¬

nomena were observed, of which some further examples are given

here :

1957] Neess & Bunge — Lake Mendota Temperature II 41

5 and 6 m.) (fall of 1.5° between

7 and 8 m.)

Their explanation is quite simple. The thermocline marks the depth

to which the wind has distributed the warmth of the surface water,

and on the dates of these observations the warmth had been dis¬

tributed to the depth named. Later, under the action of the wind,

the distribution went on still further, and the warmth was more

or less completely distributed to the bottom of the lake.

During the early part of any season, a temporary thermocline

of this sort may be formed at any depth between the surface and

the bottom of such a lake as Mendota, If in the early spring there

occurs, as not infrequently happens, a period of several days of

warm and relatively calm weather, such a temporary thermocline

may be formed, which may actually affect the weekly averages. For

example, the diagram in Fig. 26 shows that between the first and

second weeks of May, 1896 a thermocline began to be formed at

about the depth of 16 m., and the diagram in Fig. 2 shows that in

the following year a similar temporary thermocline was formed,

whose effects were visible in the averages of the second and third

weeks of May, and whose top lay at about 8 m. below the surface.

In both of these cases, the thermocline was practically obliterated

and the distribution of temperature became once more nearly

uniform through the lake.

The Thermocline of Lake Mendota (1899)

It is a difficult matter to determine exactly the thickness of the

stratum which should be included in the thermocline. There is

ordinarily no trouble in limiting it at the top, but at the bottom it

passes off gradually so that no sharp line marks its lower limit.

If it is arbitrarily limited to the region where the rate of descent

of temperature equals or exceeds 1° per m., its thickness, as deter¬

mined from the weekly averages, is from 3 to 4 meters, as may be

seen from Figs. 25, 26, 27 and 28. In a lake like Mendota, however,

these averages mean comparatively little, since the thermocline is

continually varying in thickness as well as in position. The iso¬

therms are alternately pressed together and drawn apart by the

action of the wind. This is shown very well in Fig. 31, which gives

42 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

the daily observations from July 27 to August 6, 1898. The ther-

mocline during this period remained at about the same level, but

an inspection of the diagram will show that its thickness varied

very greatly. On the afternoon of July 30, the thermocline was

nearly 6 m. thick, while on the morning of August 5 it was hardly

more than 2 m. in thickness. The same facts are shown in Fig. 32,

which shows in a much more striking way the influence of the

wind, both in changing the level of the thermocline and in alter¬

nately approximating and separating the isotherms. Changes of

dOLY AUGUST

Figure 31. Daily temperature observations in Lake Mendota, July 27 to

August 6, 1898. Diagram shows the depth at which particular temperatures

lay at each observation.

this sort are occurring to greater or less degree all of the time and

the level of the isotherms and their distance from each other are

subject to hourly change within narrow limits and to much greater

changes under the influence of exceptionally strong winds.

It is obvious that the position of the upper surface of the ther¬

mocline is subject to great variations. Those variations are wholly

irregular and dependent upon the meteorological conditions. Fig.

32 shows one of the most conspicuous of these variations, the upper

surface of the thermocline sinking more than 7 m. in 24 hours

under the influence of the wind, and rising more than 4 m. in the

course of the following 12 hours. These oscillations are, of course,

wholly irregular, and, while the average range could readily be

stated, the figures have little or no significance on account of the

irregularity of the fluctuations.2 During a period of quiet weather

a At this point in his career, Birge apparently did not consider the possibility that

changes in the position of the thermocline might be periodic, and might be related to

1957] Neess & Bunge — Lake Mendota Temperature II 43

the thermocline may remain at about the same level for several

weeks, while if the wind is violent its level may oscillate greatly

within the course of a few hours. No oscillation has been noted

greater than that shown in Fig. 32.

The isotherms included within the thermocline vary somewhat

from year to year and vary also with the time of year. During the

early part of the summer, when the epilimnion3 is gaining heat,

Figure 32. Daily temperature observations in Lake Mendota, July 19 to July

24, 1898. Diagram shows the depth at which particular temperatures lay at

each observation.

additional isotherms are being drawn into the thermocline. During

the later part of the season, as the epilimnion cools, these isotherms

are, of course, removed, and at the same time the lower isotherms

former, rather than immediate, wind-stresses. Later, he doggedly refused to recognize

the existence of seiches (cf. Birge, 1910). It is most unfortunate that no sections of

the 1916 manuscripts have been found describing oscillations of the thermocline. None

of the data adduced by him in this section (prepared in 1899) actually suggest periodic

oscillations in Lake Mendota, and, so far as we have been able to discover, neither

did any of the data then available to him. This was not true, however, in 1916 (see

Mortimer, 1956), and it would be interesting to see if the opinions expressed in the

(1910) critique of Wedderburn’s description of a seiche in Loch Ness had undergone

any modification. Ed.

3 Throughout the 1899 manuscript, Birge used the terms “superthermocline” and

“subthermocline” for epilimnion and hypolimnion. We have made the substitution so

that the terminology would be uniform in the two versions. Ed.

44 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

may be brought into the bottom of the thermocline. Fig. 25 and

those following show in general the range of temperature in the

thermocline during summer, which is about as follows :

1895— 15° to 21° or 22° = 6° to 7°

1896— 17° or 18° to 22° or 23° = 4° to 6°

1897— 15° to 21° or 22° = 6° to 7°

1898— 14° to 22° or 23° = 8° to 9°

The number of degrees included in the thermocline ranges,

therefore, from 5° or 6° to 9° or even 10°, varying in different

years and also varying with the time of year. If the temperature

of the hypolimnion is low, as in 1898, more degrees will be included

in the thermocline than if it is high, as was the case in 1896. The

course of the spring warming has, therefore, a considerable influ¬

ence on the range of the thermocline, since the epilimnion reaches

about the same temperature in every year.

The figures given above show the average number of degrees

included in the thermocline, but this number is subject to irregular

variations somewhat parallel to those in the level of the thermo¬

cline. These variations can readily be seen from Fig. 32. In the

readings of July 24 the thermocline can hardly be said to begin

until the isotherm 19° has been reached, while on July 22 and 23

the thermocline plainly begins at the isotherm 23°. Similar changes

go on at the bottom of the thermocline, as can be seen from the

same diagram. The isotherm 15° is usually included within the

thermocline, but on the morning of July 22 it belongs plainly to

the transition stratum. It follows, therefore, that the thermocline

is continually varying in the number of degrees which belong to it,

as well as in thickness. The greatest number of degrees noted has

been 9.

The maximum decline of temperature per meter within the

thermocline is also subject to great variations. The average maxi¬

mum, as shown from the weekly averages, only exceeds 3° by a

very little. The maximum, as taken from single observations, is,

of course, much greater than this. The greatest decline noted dur¬

ing the regular observations was on July 26, 1897, where there was

a fall of 8.7° between 11 m. and 12 m. and of 7,8° from 11 m. to

11.5 m. On July 11, 1900, the temperature at 11 m. was 21°, falling

to 13.5° at 11.5 m. and to 12° at 12 m. The wind was strong from

the north at this time. On numerous occasions in all years a decline

of from 6° to 7.5° has been noted in a single meter. Undoubtedly

somewhat higher figures than these could have been obtained by

careful watching of opportunity. These readings were taken at the

regular place of observation. Undoubtedly greater decline could be

found nearer shore or in bays, etc.

1957] Neess & Bunge — Lake Mendota Temperature II 45

It should be noted that the great oscillations of temperature at

certain levels, as shown by the diagrams that give the diurnal

observations, do not involve a correspondingly great range in the

level of the thermocline. If Fig. 31 is examined it will be seen that

the level of the thermocline does not vary as much as would be

expected from the great oscillations of temperature shown at the

10-meter level during the same time. For example, the temperature

at 10 m. fell 6.3° during August 3, but the level of the upper sur¬

face of the thermocline shifted during that time less than half a

meter. During the following nights the temperature at the 10-meter

level rose 5.6° ; the level of the thermocline shifted less than a

meter. In the night of August 4 the temperature fell 4.8° at the

10-meter level but the top of the thermocline shifted only a few

centimeters.

From what has been said, it will be plain that no diurnal oscilla¬

tions of the thermocline can be observed which are dependent on

the action of the sun or on cooling at night. The amount of the

sun’s energy which would reach the upper level of the thermocline

— say 8 to 10 m. — is so small in Lake Mendota that no appreciable

diurnal effect would be expected from the sun’s action at that depth,

nor would the cooling at night in the early part of the season ex¬

tend so far as the thermocline. As herein explained, the effects of

the diurnal warming and cooling are probably not manifest below

an average depth of 5 m. and therefore take place altogether in

the epilimnion during summer. Even if it were theoretically pos¬

sible that there should be a rise of the thermocline during the day,

caused by the action of the sun, the oscillations which are caused

by the wind are so great, rapid and irregular that the effect of the

sun, if present at all, would be entirely obscured.

The upper level of the thermocline moves downward during the

summer. At first, during the latter part of June and early part of

July, somewhat rapidly, and during the remainder of July and until

the latter part of August, much more slowly. This average down¬

ward movement is generally very constant in the weekly averages

in spite of irregular and often great fluctuations. Occasionally the

upper level of the thermocline rises as compared with the preceding

week, as shown in the third week of July, 1896. Such a rise very

rarely affects the entire thermocline, although one or two isotherms

are frequently raised or lowered in this way by the action of the

wind. The average downward movement of the thermocline depends

on two factors: 1. the energy of the wind and 2. the temperature

relations of the epilimnion. If the temperature of the epilimnion is

rising, it is much more difficult for the wind to affect the level of

the thermocline than is the case if the temperature of the epilim¬

nion is falling. In the former case, there is a more or less rapid

46 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

warming in the epilimnion which may extend to its bottom. The

number of degrees included in the thermocline is therefore increas¬

ing, and there is also an increase of the resistance which the ther¬

mal stratification of the water offers to mechanical mixture. When

the temperature of the epilimnion is falling, no such thermal re¬

sistance is presented to the mixture of the water of the epilimnion

with the upper layers of the thermocline, and the mixture goes on

much more rapidly.

The rate of descent of the thermocline varies, therefore, very

greatly in different years. In 1896, for instance, its downward

movement from the latter part of June to early September was

rapid and fairly constant (Fig. 26). Its descent was somewhat

checked by the two periods — one in July and one in August — when

the temperature of the surface water reached 25° or more. In 1898,

on the other hand, the movement of the thermocline from the first

week in July to the last week in August was very small. The iso¬

therm 20° lay at 9.2 m. at the first-named date, and at 10.2 m. on

the last; the entire downward movement in seven weeks was only

one meter. In 1897 and 1895 the rate of movement was intermediate

between that of 1896 and 1898. In all cases the thermocline showed

a rapid downward movement in September, together with a de¬

crease in the number of degrees included within it, both phenomena

due to the cooling of the water. This autumnal downward move¬

ment varies greatly in rapidity in different years, according to the

rate at which the lake cools and the amount of stormy weather in

September. In 1897 the downward movement, as shown by the iso¬

therm 15°, was fairly uniform until into October. In 1896, on the

other hand, the rapid downward movement began early in Sep¬

tember, the isotherm 16° sinking more than 6 meters during that

month. In this matter also, the temperature of the bottom water

makes a considerable difference. If this temperature is low, the

thermal resistance offered to the sinking of the thermocline is cor¬

respondingly great, and the surface water must fall to a lower

temperature before it can be mixed with that at the bottom. This

was the case in 1897 and 1898, while in 1895 and 1896, when the j

bottom temperature was relatively high, the sinking of the thermo¬

cline during September was correspondingly rapid.

The rapidity with which the thermocline descends during the

early autumn will depend on three factors: (1) the amount of

wind, and especially on the storms of the summer and early

autumn, (2) the rate at which the upper water cools, (3) the tem¬

perature of the water below the thermocline and at the bottom of

the lake. Nothing need be said by way of explanation of the first

two factors. The influence of the third factor is also obvious. The

temperature at the bottom of the lake may vary in different years <

1957] Neess & Bunge — - Lake Mendota Temperature II 47

as much as 5°, say from 10° to 15°. If the bottom temperature is

low, the thermal resistance offered to the sinking of the thermocline

under the action of the wind will be correspondingly great, and the

temperature of the upper water must fall correspondingly before

the wind is able to mix it with the water of the bottom. Under these

circumstances, the descent of the thermocline will be retarded and

the homothermous condition of the lake will come on relatively late

in the season. If, however, the temperature at the bottom during

the summer is 15°, or anywhere near that, the temperature of the

upper water will need sink only a little below 20° before the action

of a strong wind will be sufficient to bring about a homothermous

condition. The temperature of 20° is likely to be reached in the

early part of September and under these circumstances the descent

of the thermocline in the middle and latter part of that month will

be correspondingly rapid. It is perhaps possible that direct insola¬

tion plays a part in the descent of the thermocline in lakes whose

waters are more transparent than those of Lake Mendota, or in

which the thermocline lies nearer to the surface, though I do not

see very clear proof of this. It is not at all probable, however, that

the sun aids in the descent of the thermocline in Lake Mendota.

At all events, any action which it may have is entirely obscured by

that of the wind.

The descent of the thermocline, which in the diagrams depends

on the weekly averages, seems fairly uniform, but is really very

far from regular. The rise of temperature at the 10 m. level for

instance, is dependent on occasional large oscillations of tempera¬

ture rather than upon anything like a steady gain ; after each set

of oscillations the temperature never returns to the level which it

had before the disturbance took place. This rise in average tem¬

perature at the 10-meter level means, of course, a corresponding

lowering of the thermocline and it is easy to see that the thermo¬

cline may remain almost stationary for several weeks and then may

suddenly descend for a considerable distance. Such a rapid descent

is seen in the interval between the first week in August and the

first week in September, 1898, where all the isotherms below 20°

sank nearly a meter in one week, or through a distance greater than

that through which they had moved in the course of the preceding

seven weeks. Something of the same sort is seen in the latter part

of August, 1896, as compared with the preceding weeks.

According to the observations made on Lake Mendota, the upper

surface of the thermocline is quite irregular. Ule (1898, p. 49)

describes this surface as being convex. According to him, the sun

warms the shallow water at the margin of the lake to the bottom,

so that the marginal water at a given depth reaches a higher tem¬

perature than the deeper water in the middle of the lake. The cold

48 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

water, therefore, rises as a sort of mound or hill in the middle of

the lake, and from this elevation horizontal streams of water flow

toward the margins of the lake in order to equalize the vertical

distribution of temperature. Corresponding warm currents flow

inward from the margin.

On 24 different days during 1897 observations were made on

Lake Mendota at a series of buoys anchored at various distances

from the shore and extending from the depth of 10 m. to 19 m.

When the observations were begun, the upper surface of the ther-

mocline was at a depth of about 10 m. No such phenomenon as that

described by Ule was detected on any occasion. The upper surface

of the thermocline moved up and down on the shore, as it does in

Figure 33. Distribution of temperatures across the basin of Lake Mendota,

July 9, 1898. The location of this profile is shown in Fig’. 1.

the open water, and with a somewhat greater range of motion. No

convexity, however, such as described by Ule, could be detected.

The thermocline in Lake Mendota lies at such a depth that the

effect of the sun is lost before it is reached at the depth of 10 m.,

so that no such convexity of the upper surface would be expected

in this lake. Ule’s phenomenon, however, can be found in the shal¬

lower water of the lake, as shown by the profile diagram for July 9,

1898 (Fig. 33; location of transect shown on Fig. 1). At about

three o’clock in the afternoon of that day the water in the shallow !

bay on the north side of the lake had a temperature of 23.8° at the

surface and 23.7° at the bottom, about 2 meters below. A little

farther out, at a depth of 3.5 m., the surface temperature was

23.5°, the bottom temperature 22.0°. The distribution of the tem¬

perature was that described by Ule, but at a depth so small that no

effect on the thermocline could result from it. Inspection of the

diagram will show that the phenomenon did not extend into deeper

water. I fail to find any observation of Ule’s which proves that the

1957] Neess & Bunge — Lake Mendota Temperature II 49

surface of the thermocline has the shape assigned to it, and while

the action of the sun would tend to produce the result assigned, I

am sure that in all the lakes which I have investigated the thermo¬

cline lies so far below the surface that these effects would be imper¬

ceptible at that depth. Hergesell, Langenbeck, and Rudolph (1892,

p. 173) find no such convexity of the upper surface of the thermo¬

cline. Thoulet (1894, pp. 578-579) shows this surface substantially

as I find it in Lake Mendota, but his section of Longemer presents

a surface of the thermocline much more irregular than my obser¬

vations would indicate. Since, however, his observations — 58 in

number— were taken at different times on three days and irregu¬

larly distributed through the space covered by the observations,

it is hardly possible that they accurately represent the surface at

any one time. Undoubtedly, the surface of the thermocline fluctu¬

ated from hour to hour, as is the case in Lake Mendota.

Ule (1898, p. 61) finds that the temperature of the bottom of the

thermocline is that of the spring-water which enters the lake. This

is obviously not the case in Lake Mendota, nor would such a rela¬

tion be expected since the amount of water thus supplied is infini¬

tesimal in comparison to the cubic contents of the lake. The summer

temperature of Merrill’s Springs, by far the largest which flow into

the lake, is 9.2° and deep wells in this region range from about

8.5° to 10°. Since the water at the bottom of the lake ordinarily

reaches a temperature decidedly higher than the upper limit of the

temperature of the spring water, it is obvious that the bottom of

the thermocline has no relation to this temperature. This relation

may obtain in certain lakes but in all cases it must depend on the

relation of the amount of ground-water entering the lake to the

volume of the lake and also on the depth at which the ground

water enters.

The Hypolimnion (1899)

Lake Mendota has no stratum in which the temperature remains

constant. Not only is the bottom temperature far above that of

water at maximum density, but in the deepest part of the lake the

temperature may fluctuate at brief intervals over a range of sev¬

eral tenths of a degree. The rise of temperature in the bottom water

may be brought about in two ways :

1. by mixture with the surface.

2. by mixture with a higher and a warmer stratum of water

at some distance below the surface.

The first kind of warming happens occasionally during the

spring and has been discussed in connection with the spring warm¬

ing of the lake. The second method is going on all of the time. As

50 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

the warm water near the surface of the lake is driven from side

to side by the changing action of the wind, the surface of the cooler

strata below must necessarily change to adapt themselves to the

varying thickness of the epilimnion. This change of level neces¬

sarily causes currents in the thermocline and lower strata, whose

general direction is horizontal, but which result in slow mingling

of the strata in which the currents occur. These currents are so

feeble that they cannot overcome to any considerable extent the

thermal stratification, but they are sufficiently strong to mingle

adjacent strata.

Such currents are necessarily most vigorous in the thermocline

and immediately below it, and they gradually die out in force as

the depth increases. They extend, however, to a much greater depth

than can be found in Lake Mendota. In the Weissensee, for ex¬

ample, Grissinger (1892) found a constant temperature at 40 m.

and below, but a temperature which varied at the depth of 85 m.

The Weissensee has an area of 6.6 sq. km., although its great

length (11.9 km.) enables the wind to exert a powerful influence

on it. In Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, whose area is 22.3 sq. km., I

have found fluctuations of temperature at the bottom (43 m.) ; in

Rainbow Lake similar variations are found at a depth of 25 m.,

although the total area of the lake is less than 1 sq. km. In Lake

Mendota at a depth of 23 m. variations of temperature may occur

from day to day amounting to as much as 0.4°.

Wherever such variations occur, the temperature of the water

is sure to rise. It might be thought possible that these currents

would simply mix the water of the hypolimnion, causing a rise of

temperature in the lower part of this stratum, but a fall in the

higher regions. Such, however, is not the case. The same wind

which sets up these currents causes also a mingling of the lower

strata of the epilimnion with the upper part of the thermocline.

There is, therefore, a constant gain of temperature from the sur¬

face of the lake downward, and the whole body of water is gradu¬

ally warmed by a more or less complete mingling of each stratum

with the warmer stratum above it. This process goes on with con¬

siderable rapidity when the thermocline is first established and

when the isotherms included in it are relatively few. In the middle

of summer, when the thermocline has been carried downward to a

greater depth and has become concentrated, the thermal resistance

which it offers to these currents becomes greater and the effect of :

the currents in the hypolimnion becomes much smaller, so that

there may be a midsummer period of several weeks during which

the average bottom temperatures do not change perceptibly. For

example, from the first of July to the last of August, 1898, the

bottom temperatures rose only 0.3°. Tf, however, the bottom tern-

1957] Neess & Bunge— Lake Mendota Temperature II

51

peratures at the opening of the summer are lower, a very much

greater rise is possible. In 1899, for example, the temperature of

the bottom water at the middle of July was only 9.6°, and by the

25th of August it had gained 0.6°.

Temperatures at the Bottom (1916)

The bottom temperature, as measured on the central plain of the

lake, at 22-24 m., has a mean in late August of 12.5°. The lowest

temperature has been 9.9° in 1909, the highest 14.8° in 1896. The

highest temperature is nearly a degree above the next highest,

18.8° in 1915. The next to the lowest is 10.7° in 1898. All the others

reach 12.0°, or more.

The bottom temperature of Lake Mendota is peculiarly con¬

nected with the accidents of the weather rather than with its larger

features. The heat is very rapidly distributed through the 24 m.

of water until the temperature of 4° has been passed, and no

notable slowing of distribution is found until that of 6° has been

reached. But in general, after this the rise of the bottom comes

very irregularly. Its nature may be well seen in Fig. 19, which

shows in detail the story for 1914. The bottom temperature on

April 15 was 4.4° and it rose pretty steadily until April 30, when

it stood at 6.1°. On May 1 came a high north wind and on May 2

the bottom stood at 6.8° and at 7.2° on May 3. It remained between

7.6° and 7.5° until May 11, when another cold, high wind brought

it up to 9.1°, after which its rise was slow and steady, to 10.0° on

about May 30 and to 10.6° by July 1.

Fig. 34 shows the results of daily observations made in 1899.

In that year the main rise occurred on April 28, May 2 and May

12-14. In these three periods came the rise from 4° to 10° or over,

while the period from May 22 to July 1 added little more than a

degree to the bottom temperature. In this diagram, the period

April. MAY (JUNE (JULY

10'

10*

O’

Figure 34. Temperatures of surface and bottom water, spring and summer,

1899.

52 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Aids and Letters [Vol. 46

April 20-28 is especially instructive. In the earlier days of this

period the surface rose rapidly from 4° to 12.8° while the bottom

was not affected. Then followed a cold and windy period in which

the surface fell to 5.7° and the bottom rose to 5.2°, which was fol¬

lowed in turn by another departure and another approach on a

higher level early in May. On May 15 the surface was 11.8° and

the bottom 11.0°; but the latter temperature was not permanently

established.

In general, then, the bottom water makes its great gains of heat

during two or three cold, windy periods, chiefly found in April and

May, but occasionally in June. During the first week of June, 1917,

the bottom temperature rose nearly 2.0°, but such great gains at

so late a date are exceptional.

No exact rule can be stated as to the conditions of surface or air

temperature, wind and sun which will bring about one of the

sudden rises here noted. The factors are numerous and they both

aid and hinder the distribution of heat. The length of time that the

more vigorous part of the wind lasts is an important factor. Free

mixture of upper and bottom water may almost occur and yet the

bottom water settle back with little change. A few hours, or even

a few minutes more of wind might have made an important differ¬

ence in the result. A degree more or less in the surface tempera¬

ture, under given conditions of wind and air temperature, may in

similar way determine whether a cool wave will notably affect the

distribution of heat or will have little influence.

There is, therefore, in Lake Mendota a period of circulation of

the water in the spring, but the circulation is much less complete

than in autumn except during the period when the general tempera¬

ture of the water is below 4.0°. After this temperature has been

passed, the surface constantly tends to depart from the bottom and

the conditions shown by the diagram of 1899 are sure to recur.

During warm periods the temperature of the surface rises while

that of the bottom remains stationary. During the following cool

period the temperature of the surface declines, much of the heat of

the upper water is distributed through the lake, and the tempera¬

ture of the bottom rises nearly to that of the surface. But prac¬

tically, a completely homothermous condition is never reached in

the sense in which that word may be fairly applied to the lake in

autumn. If seeming exceptions occur in the observations, they are j

shown to be temporary, due to the action of the wind, and dis¬

appear as soon as the normal stratification of the water returns.

The general temperature of the bottom water, then, is due to

the accidents of weather, which bring about large increases of

temperature in a day or two. On the number and extent of these j,

events depend the main points in the story of the bottom tempera-

1957] Neess & Bunge — Lake Mendota Temperature II 53

tures. But besides these great and sudden rises there is a slow and

fairly steady rise of the bottom water from week to week. The

mean chart (Fig. 21) shows that the bottom reaches 11.0° about

June 1 but does not get to 12.0° until about July 11, and more than

2.5 months are needed to add another degree. Indeed, the mean

temperature of 13.0° is only reached just before the rapid rise,

when the lake “turns over” in the autumn. This slow and fairly

steady rise amounts to a little less than an average daily gain of

0.03° in June, slowing to about 0.016° in July, and declining to

almost nothing in August. It is due to the slow mixture of bottom

water with that above it, under the influence of currents and oscil¬

lations due to wind. It is greatest in June because the thermocline

is then not fairly established and the wind can more readily affect

the mass of the water. It slows in July and August, when the effect

of the thermocline is at a maximum and the velocity of the wind

is least. But oscillations of the water are always going on, some

caused directly by the action of wind on the surface water, others,

both regular and irregular, indirectly due to wind. All of them

create differential movements of the different strata of water and

thus slowly mix the warm upper strata with those immediately

below. This action is most vigorous at the thermocline, but it con¬

tinues more slowly and less effectively even to the bottom of the

lake, and thus brings about a slow addition to the warmth of the

bottom water.

The effect of these oscillations is also seen in constantly recorded

changes in bottom temperature. The same temperature is rarely

found in successive observations at the same station. Variations of

0.1°-0.2° are common even in midsummer and later and those of

0.3°-0.5° occasionally appear. These are due to the currents in the

deeper water, which constantly bring new water to the point of

observation. The currents are caused directly or indirectly by wind,

and may be fairly regular in their movement (temperature seiches)

[sic] or, more often in Lake Mendota, they are irregular. In any

case they bring along the bottom at any point of regular observa¬

tion water from different levels of the lake, and therefore of differ¬

ent temperature. Not only so, but in a lake whose bottom like that

of Mendota shows a large nearly flat area in the middle, the iso¬

therms of the deeper water do not run horizontally. The area of

the coldest water, in the bottom meter or two, is always smaller

than would be expected from the map. Mixture with warmer water

is constantly going on around the edges of this coldest portion,

under the influence of oscillation of the water, and its area is thus

being reduced. As the wind and currents shift, this coldest water

is moved about on the bottom plain, causing irregular oscillations

in the bottom temperatures.

54 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

These variations in bottom temperatures appear in the numerous

sets of observations made on single afternoons of 1911 to 1914 at

different stations of the lake. On September 16, 1911, the bottom

at station H gave 12.8° at 22 m. while station I gave 12.2° at

23.5 m. and 12.6° at 20 m. On June 13, 1911, station I gave 12.8°,

which was 0.2° above the reading at H at 22 m. On September 21,

1912, exactly the same readings were made. On July 21, 1912, the

bottom at 23.5 m. was 0.1° above that at 22 m. Numerous similar

observations could be recorded.

Thus the observed temperatures of the bottom in the deepest

water are subject to constant change, and this change may be

greater than is likely to come from a tilting of the isotherms under

the influence of the wind. This also occurs and can readily be

assigned to its proper cause. But even during calm periods the

temperature of the bottom may oscillate, though by a greater range

than the difference between the temperature at 20 m. and that of

the bottom at the point of observation, 3.5-4 m. deeper. Such varia¬

tions occur when the observations in the thermocline show that

there are no general oscillation of the lower water, which are even

near this vertical magnitude, so that it is impossible that water

from the 18- or 20-meter level should be carried down to 23 m.

or deeper.

The difference in temperature between surface and bottom varies

much in different years. The mean maximum difference derived

from the weekly means of 16 years is 13.4° ; the greatest found is

16.4° in 1916, July 4; the least is 9.3° in 1915, June 3. If the lowest-

observed bottom temperature at the maximum temperature of the

water (9.9°) is subtracted from the highest mean weekly surface

temperature (29.4°) the difference is 19.6°, which may be taken

as the greatest possible difference so far as these observations go.

The greatest difference found in a single observation is 20.3°

(33.4° — 13.1°) on July 29, 1916. The lowest possible difference

from the weekly means, computed by subtracting the greatest

bottom temperature found in summer from the smallest maximum

surface temperature is 8.0° (22.8° — 14.8°). In general, therefore,

we may say that the probable maximum “spread” of temperature

in the lake is 11.0° to 16.0°, with no marked tendency to concen¬

trate near the mean, about 12.5°, that the possible minimum

“spread” is about 8.0°, though none has been observed below 9.3°,

and that the possible maximum is about 20.0°, though none has

been observed above 16.4°. The “spread” of single series has risen

above 20.0° on one occasion and to 19.7° on another, June 30, 1910.

The week of maximum difference is ordinarily in July and coin¬

cides with the week of maximum surface temperature. At this time

of year the surface varies much more than the bottom and a hot

1957] Neess & Bunge — Lake Mendota Temperature II 55

wind causes it to warm rapidly. In three years of the sixteen on

record the maximum difference has come in the last week of June;

those in July have been distributed as follows : July 1, 2 ; 2, 5 ; 3, 1 ;

4, 5.

Fig. 24, which gives the mean temperature chart of the lake,

shows a rapid descent of the 13.0° isoline in September, indicating

a rapid warming of the bottom water at that time. The same fact

is indicated in the other figures. The bottom temperature, after a

long period of very slow increase, rises rapidly at the end to meet

the declining surface temperature. This sudden rise usually

measures a degree or more. It is due to the overturning of the lake

under effect of the fall gales. Since these are periods of rapidly

falling temperature for the water in general, the maximum point

reached by the bottom is not likely to be recorded. The observations

give the result at the close of the overturn, not the highest point

reached during the process.

There is not much to say of the bottom temperature during the

fall homothermous period. In general, it sinks with the surface,

though on the whole slightly faster. An exact agreement of surface

and bottom is not commonly found during this period; surface

temperatures below those of the bottom are also rare except on cold

and calm days; very commonly the surface is 0.1°-0.2° above the

bottom, even in the early morning. This condition is ordinarily due

to the wind. The surface water is blown across the lake, cooling as

it goes; it sinks on the lee side of the lake and returns along the

bottom. After a hard blow, the lee side of the lake may be occupied

by the colder water and the isotherms, dividing this water from

the warmer, may run at a steep angle rather than nearly horizon¬

tally. After such a blow the lake returns to normal stratification

with the colder water at the bottom.

A second and somewhat different method of securing colder

bottom water is also possible. The shallower water may cool by

radiation on calm clear nights. If such a night is followed by a

bright day with light south breeze, the warmer surface water from

the middle of the lake will be blown into Catfish Bay and will over¬

ride the colder water of its shallows without mixing with it. This

water will then sink along the bottom until it reaches the deepest

part of the lake. This process of “interning” a mass of colder water

was traced in detail on one occasion, and no doubt happens not

infrequently. It must occur in summer also but its effects can be

traced only when the water is cooled below the temperature of the

bottom and, therefore, does not mingle with water at intermediate

depths.

Thus it happens, from various causes, that the water at the

bottom of the deepest part of the lake, during the period of fall

56 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts arid, Letters [Vol. 46

circulation ordinarily shows a temperature below that which the j

upper water at the same place has reached. This result is brought

about in spite of the fact that the lake loses its heat by way of the

surface.

Autumn (1899) 4

In a deep lake no line can be drawn between the summer and the

autumn conditions of temperature. In such a lake the bottom tem¬

peratures are so low that the water does not become homothermous

until late in November, not very long before the time of freezing.

But in a lake so large and so shallow in proportion to its area as is

Lake Mendota, the thermocline often reaches the bottom quite early

in the autumn, and while the average temperature of the water is

still high. There is, therefore, a period of considerable length be¬

tween the time when the thermocline reaches the bottom and the

date of freezing. During this time the lake is usually not exactly

homothermous, but the differences between the top and bottom do

not exceed a few tenths of a degree, so that we may speak of an

autumnal homothermous period even more accurately than of a

similar period in the spring.

The date on which the lake becomes homothermous varies greatly

in different years and the temperature of the water at this time

varies correspondingly. Several factors determine this date. Among

these may be mentioned (1) the temperature of the surface water :

during the summer, (2) the temperature of the bottom water,

(3) the rate of cooling of the water during September and October

and (4) the amount and the direction of the wind during the early j

autumn.

The first of these factors is the least important. The temperature

of the surface water in the latter part of September is not widely

different in different years. The temperature of the surface on the 1

last day of September varied from 16° to 20° in the years 1895- ;

1900. The lowest temperatures, 16°-17°, were found in 1895 and

1896. In these years the temperature on the 26th and 27th of the

month was 19°-20°, so that the variation of surface temperature 1

in the latter part of September is really less than appears from

temperatures taken on the last day of the month.

The bottom temperatures are more variable. Temperatures taken

in the deepest water of the lake about the middle of August — the i

date that best represents summer conditions — are as follows :

1895_13.80 1898—10.9

1896— 14.6 1899—12.1 (July 18)

1897— 11.6 1900—10.2

4 This section was corrected by band to include data obtained in 1900. Ed.

1957] Neess & Bunge — Lake Mendota Temperature II 57

No temperatures were taken in the late summer and autumn

of 1899.

It will be noticed that the temperatures in 1895 and 1896 were

decidedly higher than in any of the following years and that the

cooling during the latter part of September was also more rapid

in these years (cf. Fig. 29). The surface and bottom temperatures,

therefore, approached within 2° or 3° of each other at the latter

part of the month. In fact, the approach was nearer, since there is

a slow increase of the bottom temperature during the month of

September. As a result of this mutual approach, the thermocline

moved downward rapidly in the cold storms which in these years

marked the last few days of September, and during these storms

or in the days immediately following them, the lake became approx¬

imately homothermous at a temperature of about 16°. The follow¬

ing tables will show the facts in more detail :

1895 September 27 October 4

Surface . . . . 19.3° 16,5°

Bottom . 18.6 16.3

1896 September 20 October 1 October 3

Surface . . . . . 17.2 15.8 15.1

Bottom . 14.9 15.0 15.0+

The bottom temperatures, as given above, represent the highest

temperatures observed during the years in question. In 1897 there

was no such sudden fall of temperature in late September, as was

the case in the two preceding years, and while the thermocline

moved down to a depth of 14 m. by the end of September, it re¬

mained near that depth for some weeks and it was only on October

23 that the lake became substantially homothermous. At this time

the temperature at the surface was 14.9° and the bottom 14.6°.

This was the highest temperature which was found at the bottom

during this year and indicated a rise of 3° from the bottom tem¬

perature at midsummer. In 1898 the thermocline reached about the

same depth in late September as in the preceding year, and the

subsequent equalizing of temperature went on much as in 1897,

but the homothermous condition was reached at a lower tempera¬

ture. On October 19 the surface and bottom temperatures were

13.8° and 13.5° respectively, the latter being the highest tempera¬

ture observed during the year. It is not probable that any com¬

pletely homothermous condition was reached until some days later,

as warm days followed and it was not until the 27th, after the

weather had turned cold, that surface and bottom temperatures of

10.6° and 10.4° were found. In 1900 the fall of temperature was

even slower than in any of the preceding years and the bottom

temperatures were also lower. As a result, the homothermous con-

58 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46 j

dition was not reached until well into November. The highest bot¬

tom temperatures were reached on November 2, when surface and

bottom showed 14.5° and 18.9° respectively, and a week later a

completely homothermous condition was found on November 9

with a temperature of 11.0°.

Thus the beginning of the homothermous period in Lake Men-

dota has varied nearly five weeks, from a date approximately the

first of October to the opening of the second week in November,

and the temperature at which the homothermous condition has been

reached has varied from nearly 17° to about 14°.

It will be observed that the homothermous condition has not been

reached in several of the years until the bottom temperature had

fallen considerably below the maximum which it reached. This is

due to the fact that these figures probably represent only in part

an accurate statement of the facts. The wind has so much influence

on Lake Mendota, shifting the warmer water from side to side of

the lake, that observations taken at any given point will frequently

show a small difference in temperature between the top and bottom,

while observations taken at another point, where the influence of

the wind is different, might show a homothermous condition. At the

same time, since the bottom water of the lake is warming and

warming somewhat rapidly during the time when the homother¬

mous condition is approaching, and since this warming depends on

the progressive mixture of the bottom water, not with that of the

surface but with that of the strata immediately above it, it is obvi¬

ous that the homothermous condition of the lake and the maximum

temperature of the bottom water would only coincide when the

latter was brought about during a gale so violent as to overturn

the entire mass of water of the lake. This condition was practically

reached in 1895 and 1896, but not in any of the succeeding years.

The existence of a long period in the later years, during which

there was only a slight difference of temperature between top and

bottom, depended upon the fact that during these days or weeks

there was no wind of sufficient intensity to bring about a complete

overturning of the water. The overturning probably happened only

after the entire mass of water had cooled below the temperature

of the bottom and an inverse stratification was present. It is obvi¬

ous that the accidents of wind and weather must make the process

of equalization of temperature very different in different years.

After the lake has become practically homothermous, the tem¬

perature continues to fall at a rate varying with the conditions of

the weather. The surface and bottom of the lake are nearly equal in

temperature and it is very rare that an inverse stratification is

found during the day. The action of the sun ordinarily causes the

1957] Neess & Bunge — Lake Mendota Temperature II

59

surface strata to be slightly warmer than those at the bottom. Dur¬

ing the night the stratification becomes inverse, although differ¬

ences between top and bottom rarely exceed 0.2° or 0.3°.

The following table gives the approximate date when the lake

reaches the temperature of 4° :

Date when 4°

Year was reached Lake froze Temperature

1895 . . . . . November 25 December 14 1.2°

1896 ...................... November 25 December 21 1.4

1897 ...................... November 28 December 17 0.5

1898 . . . . November 25 December 9 0.15

1900 . . . December 6 December 26 0.6

The preceding table shows that from 14 to 27 days may elapse

between the dates when the lake reaches the temperature of

approximately 4°, and the date of freezing. During this time the

thermal stratification is necessarily inverted, as the surface water

becomes lighter as it cools. The difference, however, between the

top and bottom continues small, the lower water falling in tempera¬

ture nearly as rapidly as that near the surface. The maximum dif¬

ferences between the surface and bottom found during this period

are as follows:

1895— 1.0° 1898—1.0

1896— 2.2 1900—0.7

1897— 1.3

The deeper water of the lake and the shallow water near the

edge sometimes show noteworthy differences in temperature. On

numerous occasions, differences ranging from 0.2° to 1.0° have

been found during November and December between the tempera¬

ture of the surface at the regular observing stations and that found

in perhaps one meter of water at the pier at the boathouse. If tem¬

peratures are taken in the very shallow water at the edge, still

more considerable differences may be found, as is seen by the

following observations made November 23, 1898 :

Depth of Temperature

Water of Surface

18 m. . . 4.9°

10 m . . . . . . . 4.9

5 m . . . . . 4.9

3 m . . . . 3.1

0.2 m. . . . 0.6

It frequently happens that the lake freezes at the edge while the

temperature is still considerably above freezing in the open lake.

On November 29, 1898, the morning was calm and cold; the surface

temperature in water 18 m. deep was 4.45°. In water 5 m. deep the

60 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

surface was 3.6°, and nearer shore where the water was 1 m. deep

a surface temperature of 0.8° was found. At the shore tempera¬

tures of 0.1° and 0.2° were observed at the surface and 2.2° at the

bottom, and a thin film of ice soon formed, extending out far

beyond the position of the 5 m. contour. This endured, however,

but a few hours.

NOV.

DEC.

Figure 35. Temperatures of surface and bottom water, November and Decem¬

ber, 1898.

Since the whole body of water in Lake Mendota cools at so uni¬

form a rate, it is obvious that there can be no barre thermique

formed, as described by Forel for Lake Leman (1895, p. 377).

The accompanying figure (Fig. 35) shows the relation of surface

and bottom temperatures in Lake Mendota during the latter part

of November and December, 1898. It will be seen that the inverse

thermal stratification began on November 25, but that the differ¬

ence between surface and bottom was ordinarily only a small frac¬

tion of a degree. The rise of temperature after freezing, both at the

1957] Neess & Bunge — Lake Mendota Temperature II

61

surface and bottom, is plainly visible and will be discussed in con¬

nection with winter temperatures.

It is not impossible, theoretically, that the water of a lake should

reach, in whole or in great part, a temperature of 0°, but it is very

improbable that such a low temperature should actually occur

before the lake froze. When the temperature has fallen below 1°,

ice forms on the lake if the air is cool, even during considerable

wind. If there is wind enough to cause the waves to break, the

bubbles of foam thus formed freeze and make nuclei around which

collect spicules of ice, and there are thus formed cakes of ice vary¬

ing from a few inches to several feet in diameter, which are driven

before the wind and accumulate on the leeward side of the lake.

Under favorable conditions a mile or more of water in Lake Men¬

dota may be covered by these cakes and occasionally the lake closes

almost entirely during such a wind, the closure being completed as

the wind is falling. Still more easily does freezing occur if no wind

blows. In either case the rate of conduction in water is so slow that

the layer at a temperature of zero would be very thin. If, however,

a water temperature of 0° is not reached before the lake freezes,

it will not be reached later, since it is not conceivable that the loss

of heat by conduction and radiation should be greater than, or even

equal to, the gain which is received from the sun. It should be

noted, however, that the temperature of the water near the ice is

very close to 0°. This can easily be demonstrated by cutting a hole

through the ice and leaving it for a day or more, until the water,

disturbed by filling the hole, has regained its normal temperature.

It will be found under these circumstances that the water in the

hole has a temperature little or not at all exceeding 0°, but that a

few centimeters below the ice the temperature is usually 0.6° to

1.0°. The thermophone is by no means an instrument well-adapted

for finding the temperature of very thin strata of water. Yet it has

been usual to find temperatures of 0.1 to 0.2° when the coil was

just below the ice. Temperatures between 0.0 and 0.1° were regu¬

larly found in the water standing in the hole cut in the ice.

The rapid rise of temperature in the water immediately below

the ice has often been remarked by different observers and Lake

Mendota always shows it. On a February 15, for example, the

temperature of the water in a hole cut in the ice was less than 0.1°.

When the bottom of the thermophone coil was on a level with the

lower surface of the ice it was 0.1°. Lowering the coil about 5 cm.

gave a temperature of 0.2°. Upon lowering it 15 cm. more the tem¬

perature rose to 1.2°. Thus in a stratum not exceeding 15 cm. in

thickness, the temperature rose more than 1°. Beyond this point

it rose more slowly until at 1.5 m. below the surface the tempera-

62 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

ture was 2°. This rapid rise is not difficult to explain even though

the temperature of the water at the time of the freezing of the lake

may have been close to zero. When the ice has reached any consid¬

erable thickness, very little, if any, of the energy of the ultra red

rays succeeds in penetrating it and reaching the water below. The

warming of the water is due entirely to the energy of the visible

portion of the spectrum. This, however, will penetrate the water to

a considerable depth and will be converted into heat by a consider¬

able thickness of the upper strata of the water. The heat will not

be communicated in essentially greater degree to the stratum of

water immediately below the ice than to an equally thick stratum

situated several centimeters lower down. Thus, part of the heat

communicated to the water by the sun is so placed that it will not

be lost by contact with the ice, and as the conductivity of water is

exceedingly small, it is not surprising that the temperature of the

water rises rapidly from 0° at the ice to a temperature of 1° or

more within the distance of a few centimeters. It is obvious also

that if, under these circumstances, a hole is cut through the ice

and the water allowed to rush in and fill it, the surface temperature

thus obtained will be at least a considerable fraction of a degree

above 0°, and it is not at all surprising that when temperatures

are measured in this way it is impossible to obtain readings in the

neighborhood of 0°. It appears to me that this effect of the sun

shining through the ice and warming the water is a sufficient

explanation of all the facts observed in connection with surface

temperatures in winter, and that while further observation will

undoubtedly disclose many interesting details, there are no serious

problems to be solved regarding the temperature of the water just

below the ice.

Two other matters remain to be discussed: First, in what way

is the cooling of the lake affected after the temperature has fallen

to 4°? Lake Mendota remains open for a very considerable length

of time after this temperature has been reached, as is shown by

the following table:

1894 — November 14, 7.4°; December 3, 2.0°. Lake froze December 28.

1895 — November 23, 4.9°; 27, 3.2°. Lake froze December 20; 21 days.

1896 — November 22, 4.4°. Lake froze December 21; 25 days.

1897 — November 27, 4.1°. Lake froze December 16; 19 days.

1898 — November 24, 4.8°; 26, 3.6°. Lake froze December 8; 13 days.

During this period, varying from 13 days to more than a month,

the lake is cooling and ordinarily cools by 2 or 3° or even more.

All the observations made on Lake Mendota show that during this

time the temperature is nearly uniform from top to bottom. A calm

day will show differences of a few tenths of a degree between sur¬

face and bottom, but even no very strong wind is needed to obliter-

1957] Neess & Bunge — Lake Mendota Temperature II

63

ate these differences. This fact of approximate uniformity of

temperature shows that the wind is able to create currents in the

lake extending to its bottom. It is unnecessary, therefore, to

assume, with Forel (1880), 5 that the conductivity of water has

been underestimated by physicists. Richter’s argument that the

cooling cannot depend upon the action of the wind (1897, p. 49),

since the thermocline is not disturbed by the strongest wind at a

depth of 8 to 10 m., does not apply to water in which there is no

thermal stratification to resist the action of the wind. All the tem¬

perature phenomena of Lake Mendota show that the action of the

wind during fall and spring extends to the bottom of the lake.

All other lakes of Wisconsin, including Green Lake, the deepest

in the state with a maximum depth of over 70 m., show similar

phenomena.

5 Birge here is making- much out of some more innocent remarks of Forel, whose

attention had been drawn in 1879 to a paper by Buchanan (1879) in which it was

demonstrated from temperature soundings in Loch Lomond and Linlithgow Loch that

the temperature of the bottom water of lakes in winter could fall well below 4°. In

1880 Forel hinlself obtained three winter temperature profiles, two in Lac de Morat

and one in the Zurichsee, which he compared with Buchanan’s data in several essays

published in 1880. In one of these (1880a) he makes the following comment: “Ces

experiences [of Buchanan] ont un grand interet en montrant que la conductibilite de

l’eau pour la chaleur est bien plus important que 1’on ne pouvait le supposer, ou, pour

etre plus prudent, que la propagation du froid descend bien plus bas que l’on ne le

croyait : . . .”, and then concludes the essay with: “II ne nous reste d’action efficace

que la propagation de la chaleur de bas en haut, par conductibilite ou conduction, les

couches inferieures livrant leur chaleur aux couches superieures, refroidies elles-memes

par rayonnement et par contact avec l’air. Les recherches classiques de Despretz ont

demontre cette conductibilite dans des vases d’exp§rience ; 1’observation de la propa¬

gation de la chaleur dans les lacs la prouvera d’une maniere bien plus grandiose.

“J’ajouterai que c’est a cette conductibilite, et uniquement a elle, qu’il faut attribuer

la phenomSne d’egalisation de la temperature que j’ai d§crit . . . ; dans les quarante

jours qui ont separe mes deux sondages du lac de Morat, la difference de temperature

entre les couches superieures et les couches inferieures a diminue ; la chaleur s’est

done propag6e verticalement, de bas en haut, et cela dans un vase ferme de toutes

parts, ou il n’y a pu avoir ni courants thermiques ni courants mScaniques, mais

seulement conduction.

“En resume, je ne vois pour expliquer les faits constates de la distribution ther-

mique dans les lacs de Morat et de Zurich, que trois actions possibles :

a) convection thermique, circulation de Buchanan ;

b ) convection mecanique, circulation causee par les vents ;

c) conduction de la chaleur.

“Ces trois actions se sont probablement combin§es ensemble ; j’attribue la plus

grande part a la troisi§me, puis a la seconde, la premiere de ces actions ayant l’effet

le plus faible.”

Birge’s view apparently is that Forel, clinging to this argument, would be forced

eventually to assume that the thermal conductivity of water had been underestimated.

On the other hand, Forel himself was by no means quite certain of the mechanism

he proposed. In another essay (1880b), discussing precisely the same data (his own

soundings in Lac de Morat and Zurichsee and Buchanan’s information from the Scot¬

tish lochs), he concludes: “Cette penetration du froid dans les couches superieures a

lieu tres graduellement et progressivernent. La courbe que 1’on peut tirer de mes

chiffres du lac de Zurich ne presente ni sauts ni saccades ; elle est tout a fait analogue

aux courbes du rechauffement superficiel d’un lac en ete. Cela suffit, me semble-t-il,

pour ecarter la supposition que la refroidissement, que penetre aussi profondement,

ait lieu ou bien par voie de convection thermique ou bien par melange mecanique sous

Faction des vagues et des courants, . . F

“Faut-il attribuer cette penetration du froid a des phenomenes de conductibilite ou

a des phenomenes de radiation, soit de Feau elle-meme, soit du sol a travers l’eau?

Les experiences ne me donnent pas d’§lements pour repondre A cette question.’’ Ed,

64 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

A second matter is the rise of temperature in the water toward

the bottom of the lake and in the mud. During the winter, the

temperature, as shown when the coil of the thermophone is resting

in the mud, is higher than that of the water immediately above;

the difference in temperature is at a maximum in the early part of

the winter, almost or quite vanishing just before the lake opens in

the spring. The maximum differences observed have been slightly

more than one degree, but ordinarily a rise of 0.4° to 0.8° is found

in passing to the mud from the water close to the bottom. The

amount of rise in the stratum is shown by Fig. 86.

deptu-metlrs

o 'O Cp n

Figure 36. Temperatures in the mud and in the lower water on several dates

during winter. Profiles were obtained at stations at varying depths.

The cause of this rise of temperatures is mainly the heat of the

earth. This warmth must be communicated to the water in two

principal ways : first by conduction, second by the passage into the

lake of ground water. Which of these two methods is the more

efficient in producing the rise of temperature it is impossible to

state. It is a fact that on any steep slopes and any small elevations

of the bottom, the difference of temperature is absent or is less

than in the hollows and in the deeper water of the lake.This, how¬

ever, would be true in whatever way the rise of temperature was

produced. The gain of heat to the lake from this source is extremely

small and quite insignificant in comparison to the gain which is

made from the sun.

It is also possible that part of this warming of the bottom water

is due in part to the action of the sun at the edge of the lake. The

water lying, say, a half-meter below the ice in shoal water and

1957] Neess & Bunge — Lake Mendota Temperature II 65

receiving warmth from the sun, might flow down along the bottom

in consequence of its greater density, and thus cause an accumula¬

tion of warmer water in the deeper parts of the lake. There is nc

direct proof that such a flow takes place, although it must occur

so long as the bottom water is colder than 4° C. It is obviously

impossible to distinguish between water thus warmed and flowing

along the bottom and the warmer ground water entering the bottom

of the lake. To a flow of warmed water, induced in some way, must

be due part of the rise in temperature of the lower water, which

is always present in winter.

A third point of some little interest may be noted. In 1898 a

somewhat rapid rise of temperature was found in the bottom water

during the days immediately succeeding the closing of the lake. The

water at 16 m. rose in temperature from 0.25° on December 9 to

0.9° on December 15, and at 18 m., from 0.8° to 1.2° in the same

time, rising more rapidly than the water near the surface and hence

not by heat received from the sun. It was found also that in going

to the northwestern part of the lake one found the temperature of

the bottom to rise, the maximum difference in going across the lake

being about 0.5° at the depth of 17 m.

This rise of temperature in the bottom water immediately fol¬

lowing freezing and this difference between the southern and

northern sides of the lake, are doubtless due to the wind. Immedi¬

ately preceding the freezing there was a moderate northwest wind

with low temperature. This wind both cooled the water and carried

the cold water to the southeastern part of the lake. Thus there

arose a difference in temperature; the water of the windward side

of the lake was warmer than that on the leeward, or south side.

After the lake had frozen, the warmer water on the northern shore

flowed along the bottom toward the south under the influence of

gravity, displacing the colder and lighter water.

One other phenomenon attending the freezing of lakes has

attracted a good deal of attention and has not yet met with any

satisfactory explanation. This is the presence of unfrozen areas in

the surface of the lake which often remain open for a considerable

length of time after the freezing of the lake as a whole. Almost

every season such areas are found in Lake Mendota. The places

where they appear differ in different seasons and the unfrozen

areas vary greatly in extent. In 1898, a space of this kind remained

open December 8-16. When observed on the 17th, the ice over this

area was about 3 cm. in thickness, while that adjacent to it was

20 cm. thick. The new ice covered a space several hundred meters

in length and with a maximum width of perhaps 100 m. The open¬

ing had evidently been formed by the moving of the first ice under

the influence of the wind, thus leaving a space which had remained

66 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

unfrozen for a week. The popular explanation of such a phenome¬

non is that springs below the surface keep the water warm. This,

however, is not the case. Were this true, the unfrozen areas would

appear year after year in the same situation, which is very far

from the fact. Moreover, considerable springs rarely occur in the

depths of a lake. The question was carefully investigated with the

thermophone in 1898, and no difference in temperature, either at

the surface or at the bottom of the water could be found between

this open area and the water elsewhere in the lake.

Forel (1898) discusses in detail these open spaces in the ice of

Lake Joux, and considers the various explanations which have been

proposed for them. He rejects in turn, and with good reason, the

connections of these open spaces with springs, with brooks, or with

the action of the wind, and also with the possible presence of oil

on the surface of the water. The only explanation which he can

suggest as a possibility is the disturbance of the water by the large

flocks of wild ducks. This explanation he repeats in a later work

(1901, p. 129). Since no wild fowl are found in Lake Mendota dur¬

ing the winter season, the maintenance of these open spaces by

duck-power is an impossibility here.

I suppose that the true explanation lies in the facts which have

already been adduced regarding the warming of the lake by the

sun as soon as the surface is covered with ice. The energy of the

sun transmitted through the thin ice covering by far the greater

part of the lake, warms the subjacent water and by lateral currents

the water in the open space is kept so warm that it does not freeze

for a considerable length of time. Wind undoubtedly aids in keeping

the hole open, partly by mixing the surface water with that imme¬

diately below, and partly also, by setting up lateral currents which

carry the surface water away from the opening and replace it by

warmer water drawn from below the ice. In 1898 the water below

the ice rose on the average something more than 0.5° between the

9th and 16th of December, the time during which the unfrozen

area was present.

Winter Temperatures (1916) 6

The winter period is that during which the lake is covered with

ice. The length of this period varies greatly as will be seen from

the various tables given herewith. The data were compiled by the

station of the U. S. Weather Bureau.

The dates of closing and opening are as follows :

This section was corrected by hand to include some data obtained later than 1916.

1957] Neess & Bunge— Lake Mendota Temperature II 67

By the “longest possible” ice period is meant the time between

the earliest recorded closing of the lake and the latest recorded

opening.7

Thus a sixty years’ record shows that 112 days is the mean

length of the ice period. It must be understood that the length of

this period is not capable of very precise determination. The lake

may freeze around the edge and remain open for some days in the

center. On the relative size of this open water will depend the

decision as to the date of closing. The lake often freezes over and

opens again before it finally closes, sometimes remaining frozen

for a week or more before the temporary covering of ice disap¬

pears. There is no current in the lake under the ice and its opening

in the spring is due to wind.8 Large floes of ice often remain for

some days after the ice moves. Whether under these conditions the

lake shall be called open is again a question of judgment. Ordi¬

narily, however, there is no difficulty in deciding on the date and

no difference of judgment would be likely to cause a difference so

great as one day in the mean length of the ice period.

The ice period therefore varies from two months to more than

five months, averaging about 3.7 months.

The time between the earliest recorded closing and the latest

recorded opening is 162 days, only one day longer than the longest

period on record, that of 1880-1881. The late opening in that year

was due to the enormous snowfall of the late winter, the largest on

record. The period between the latest closing and the earliest open¬

ing is 52 days, 9 days shorter than the shortest period on record,

that of 1877-1878. The ice periods have been distributed as follows,

with regard to length :

7 These remarks apply to the period up to about 1916. Information on all subsequent

years is available from the United States Weather Bureau, and has been referred to

in more recent publications on Lake Mendota. Ed.

8 This is not strictly true. Although there have been no publications which include

observations of currents in Lake Mendota during the winter, some unpublished data

are on file in the Department of Meteorology of the University of Wisconsin, and may

also be found in the collection of data referred to in the introduction. Ed.

68 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

Number of

Length, days Periods

61 . . . . . . . . 1

75 . . 1

78 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

81-90 . . . . . . . . . 5

91-100 . . 10

101-110 . . . . . . 11

111-120 . . . . 8

121-130 . . 14

131-140 . . . . . . . . 4

141 . . 1

142 . 1

149 . 1

161 . . . 1

It appears that about 75 per cent of the periods lie between 90

and 120 days, and that within these limits they are almost evenly

distributed. Eight periods are shorter than 90 days and eight are

longer than 120.

Water Temperatures During the Winter (1916)

Regular observations have been made of water temperature

during 13 winters. There is necessarily a time at the closing of the

lake when observations cannot be made and another similar period

at its opening. The length of this period varies in different years.

The accompanying table (Table III— 4) shows the date of closing in

the several years and the dates of observations next preceding and

following.

TABLE 1 1 1-4

OBSERVATIONS AT CLOSING OF THE LAKE

1957] Neess & Bunge — Lake Mendota Temperature II 69

In the winter of 1906-1907 observations were started late. In

the other years they were made as early as the thickness of the

ice and the state of the weather would permit. The average time

elapsing between the closing of the lake and the first observation

was 2.7 days, if 1907 be omitted. The average time between the last

observation in open water and the closing of the lake was about the

same, 2.6 days. In general, therefore, the freezing of the lake inter¬

rupts observation for about 5 or 6 days, if care is being taken to

secure them.

TABLE 1 1 1-5

OBSERVATIONS AT OPENING OF THE LAKE

Table III— 5 shows the same facts for the opening of the lake.

Omitting 1898, in which the spring temperatures were not closely

followed, there were from 2 to 9 days preceding the opening in

which no temperatures were taken ; the average was about 6 days.

In general, there is nearly a week during which the ice is unsafe.

On the other hand, it has been possible in 6 years to secure tem¬

peratures on the date of the opening of the lake and in 5 more

years on the day following.

It has been possible, therefore, to secure records of temperature

at a date so soon after the formation of the ice that no appreciable

change has taken place, and so soon after the disappearance of the

ice that no warming of the water has occurred.

70 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

Mean Temperature at Closing (1916)

The following- table (Table II 1-6) gives the temperature at the

closing and opening of the lake.

TABLE III— 6

TEMPERATURE OF LAKE MENDOTA AT CLOSING AND OPENING

In addition to these winters, observations were made in three

earlier years with the following result :

Temperature Temperature

Season at Closing at Opening

1894- 5 . . . 0.50° 2.50°

1895- 6 . . . . . . . . 1.35 3.00

1896- 7 . . . . . 0.45 2.40

In these winters observations were not made so frequently and

they are not used in the general discussion. They would not essen¬

tially alter the general situation shown by the other years. It

appears that the water of the lake has a mean temperature of about

0.60° at the time of freezing, ranging from slightly above 1.00°

(or perhaps as high as 1.35°) to less than 0.10°.

The lowest temperature was found on December 29, 1911, the

lake having frozen the day before. The readings on that day at

station I and station II9 were as follows :

Depth, m. 0 5, 10 15 17 20 22 23 mud

Station I ............. 0.00° 0.00° 0.00° 0.00+° 0.10° ... ... ... 0.50°

Station II ............. 0.00 0.00 0.08 0.18 . . . 0.20 0.24 0.50 0.90

0 These are the stations marked J and I respectively on the map in Fig'. 1. Ed.

1957] Neess & Bunge — Lake Mendota Temperature II 71

These readings were taken both with a Negretti and Zambra deep-

sea thermometer and with a thermophone. Both instruments were

compared on the same day with a standard thermometer in melting

snow and correction is made for their slight errors.

On the same date readings made at two other stations in the

main lake showed the same conditions. A series taken in West Bay

near station [G or H]10 showed warmer water there, the mean

being 0.35 °. If all the water in the lake had been mixed its tempera¬

ture might have been as high as 0.15°; The temperature of the

upper 10 m. for probably three-fourths of the area of the lake was

barely above zero. It is not likely that a lower temperature at

freezing will be found than that of 1911.

The temperatures at opening are all between 2° and 3°, except

that of 1899 in which year the temperature was slightly above 4°.

In this year the lake did not open until April 18, more than a week

later than in any other year in which observations were made. This

partly explains the high temperature, but not fully, since the gain

of heat was rapid and steady throughout the winter, exceeding in

this particular any other year. The mean temperature at the date

of opening is close to 2.60° so that the average gain of heat to the

water during the ice period may be placed at about 2°.

The amount of this gain has, apparently, no close correlation

with the length of the ice period. If the exceptional year 1898-1899

be omitted, the average gain was less in the years when the ice

period was longer than the mean, than it was in the years with a

shorter ice period. The greatest daily gain next to that of 1898-

1899 was in the year with the shortest period. It should be added

that in 1898-1899 the temperature of water from 3 m. to 20 m.

was below 3.5°. The higher mean temperature was due to a super¬

heated surface stratum below the ice.

The total gain of heat measured in small calories per square

centimeter of the surface of the lake has averaged almost exactly

2500 cal. The season of 1898-1899 was, however, very exceptional,

and if it is omitted, the mean of the rest is about 2300 cal The

same result would be reached if the three earlier seasons were in¬

cluded. The range is from 1750 cal to 2780 cal or to 4540 cal. in

1898-1899. The mean daily gain is 24 cal. or 23 if 1898-1899 is

omitted.

Gain of Heat During the Ice Period (1916)

*In Table III— 7 are shown the mean temperatures of the water

for several days during the wintfer as derived from more significant

observations. In general, the gains of temperature are fairly steady

through the winter. There remain during the winter slow currents

10 The original is uncertain. Ed.

72 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

TABLE 1 1 1-7

WINTER TEMPERATURES OF LAKE MENDOTA ON SEVERAL DATES

in the water [sic] which cause variations of temperature at the

point of observation. If distinct loss of heat appears, this is due to

a thaw which brings cold water into the lake from melting snow.

Stationary periods may or may not have the same explanation. In

almost all years there is a more rapid rise toward the end of the

ice period (say, in March) than at any earlier time. This is due to

the increasing effect of the sun. The means as given in this table

are not quite fair since the lake was not always frozen on January

1, and therefore not at its minimum, and sometimes was open

before April 1 and therefore had been gaining more heat than if

it had been still covered with ice. If these years are omitted the

mean temperatures and gains are as follows :

Date Jan. 1 15 Feb. 1 15 Mar. 1 15 Apr. 1

Mean temperature . . 0.74° 0.92° 1.20° 1.43° 1.62° 1.94° 2.37°

Gain, degrees C. . . . . ... 0.18 0.28 0.23 0.19 0.32 0.43 .

Gain, -calories/cm.2/

day ............ . ... 15 21 19 16 26 33

The slowing of gain during February is no doubt due to the influ¬

ence of the “February thaw" to which is to be attributed a decline

of temperature in each of ten years, and a slowing of gains in

others. The increased gains of March are due to the increased

influence of the sun.

There is always an inverted stratification of the lake during the

ice-period. The water in contact with the ice has a temperature of

0° ; there is then a rapid rise to a temperature, usually about 0.5°,

1957] Neess & Bunge — Lake Mendota Temperature II 73

shortly after freezing takes place, then a slow rise until within a

couple of meters of the bottom. In this bottom stratum the tempera¬

ture of the water suddenly rises often as much as 0.5° to 0.8°.

This programme is more or less modified by the condition of the

weather at the time of freezing. If there has been but little wind

the temperature gradient is steeper than if the water has been

chilled by the wind. The average rise between the water at 1 m.

and close to the bottom at the first winter observation of 12 years

has been 0.72°, ranging from 0° to 1.50°. The temperature at 1 m.

has been 0.42 with substantially no rise to 5 m. ; at 15 m. the mean

temperature has been 0.65 and close to the bottom 1.14°.

As soon as the lake closes the temperature of the water begins

to rise. If freezing has been preceded by wind the colder water has

been blown to the south side of the lake and there is a rise during

the first few days at the center of the lake, due to this water’s

assuming the normal stratification. This change involves neither

gain nor loss of heat.

The water loses substantially no heat through the surface during

the ice period. Any effect of cold is seen in the thickening of the ice

and not in the cooling of the subjacent water.11 On the contrary,

the water gains heat from three sources: (1) directly from the

bottom of the lake, (2) from incoming water and (3) from the sun.

These sources of heat will be discussed later. This effect is two¬

fold: (1) a slowly moving current of warmed water flows down

from the edges and sides of the lake along the bottom and accumu¬

lates in the deeper water; (2) the water below the ice is warmed,

becomes denser and sinks, thus distributing the heat. Thus there

begins, as soon as the lake is frozen, a fairly steady process of

warming the water. This is more rapid toward the bottom, less

rapid near the surface. It goes on more rapidly if the ice is free

from snow. It is deterred or set back by the entry of cold snow¬

water resulting from thaws. But on the whole it progresses steadily,

as is shown by the rise of the mean temperature.

Figs. 37 and 38 show the temperature of the water at 5 m. and

at 15 m. during 12 winters. In the figures the mean temperature

at the time of freezing is platted at the mean date of freezing and

the temperatures on January 1, 15, etc. are shown and connected

by lines. The mean results show that the water at 15 m. gains at

first more rapidly and later less rapidly than at 5 m. The difference

at freezing between 5 m. and 15 m. is about 0.20° ; by February 15

this has risen to more than 0.50° ; by March 15 it has fallen again

to about 0.25°.

11 It is apparent that this statement is not entirely correct. Turbulent mixing be¬

neath the ice could transport heat from the water-column to the under surface of the

ice. Birge was apparently very uncertain about the nature of currents under the ice.

Ed.

74 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

Figure 37. Winter temperatures at a depth of 5 meters. Data for 12 winters

(see text).

Figure 38. Winter temperatures at a depth of 15 meters. Data for 12 winters

(see text).

1957] Neess & Bunge — Lake Mendota Temperature II 75

If the general course of the lines in Fig. 39 is followed, the same

general conclusion is seen. In Fig. 37 (5 m.) the lines in a few

cases rise steadily through the winter from the time of freezing.

In more cases, however, they run nearly horizontally until Febru¬

ary 1, thereafter rising rapidly. The lines in Fig. 38 (15 m.) show

a more rapid rise at first and a decided check in February and early

March.

DEC. JAN.. FEB- MAR.

Figure 39. Mean temperature during the winter at depths of 5 and 15 meters.

The movement of temperatures at 10 m. is intermediate between

that at 5 m. and that at 15 m. The story at 20 m. would be that of

15 m. on a larger scale. But 20 m. is so near the bottom that in

many observations the reading fell in the zone of warmed water

next the mud; consequently, its mean rate of rise cannot be com¬

puted accurately.

IV Characteristics of the Ice Layer

Absorption of the Sun’s Energy by Snow and Ice (1916)

The absorption of energy by ice may be briefly disposed of. Ice

absorbs energy in practically the same way as water, if the ice is

clear. If it contains air bubbles or inclusions of snow or is becom¬

ing crystalline from sun-dissection it may absorb amounts greater

than an equivalent thickness of water.

Observations on Lake Mendota on December 28, 1912 showed

37.3 percent of the sun’s energy remaining below 7.2 cm. of ice.

It must be remembered that the path of the rays in the ice is longer

76 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

than the thickness of the ice. Readings were taken at noon, but the

sun is low in January and February. On January 17, 1913 there

was found 18.5 percent below 25 cm. of ice. On February 13 there

remained about 3.8 percent below 40 cm. of ice and on February

17, 1913, nearly 7.0 percent was found below 43 cm. of ice. In the

later readings, drifting snow and traces of snow in the upper layers

of ice made the results variable, but altogether they show that ice

behaves toward light in a way essentially similar to water, a result

which would naturally be expected.

A good deal of work has been done on the absorption of the sun’s

energy by snow. In the first construction of the sun machine12 two

receivers were made for it, as it was expected to take readings

alternately from a receiver in the water and one in the air. This

proved to be unnecessary, but the receiver intended for use in the

air has been employed in observations on snow. It is in the form

of a large watch and contains 20 thermal couples arranged pre¬

cisely as in the sun machine. The glass cover over the thermal

couples is flat, as in the original form of the sun machine. No

allowance for reflection need, however, be made, as the instrument

was always placed perpendicular to the sun’s rays. The readings

were taken with the regular galvanometer of the sun machine.

A box was used to contain the snow, about 25 cm. by 20 cm. Its

sides were made of several removable frames, 1, 2 or 3 cm. thick.

Thus any depth of snow from 1 cm. to 10 cm. could be used. The

receiver was cooled to the temperature of the snow and placed on

the bottom of the box, which was filled with snow put in loosely

and consolidated by shaking and tapping but not by pressure. The

surface was scraped off level with the top of the box and exposed

to the sun with the surface normal to the rays. The box was alter¬

nately covered and exposed to the sun, and the deflection of the

galvanometer noted. Then, removing a frame from the box, one or

more centimeters of snow were scraped off and the exposures re¬

peated. Thus the effect of any desired thickness of snow could be

studied. The full effect of the sun on the receiver was read at least

twice during the series, and usually more often.

As would be expected, absorption of energy by snow is variable.

The size of the grains and the compactness of the mass make de¬

cided differences. Still further, no standard compactness can be

used in observing, since any manipulation of the snow breaks up

the flakes or aggregates them. The attempt was made to have the

snow as nearly as possible in its natural condition.

12 Birge here refers to the electrical pyrlimnometer described in : Birge, E. A. A

second report on limnological apparatus. Trans. Wis. Acad. Sci., Arts & Lett. 20:533-

652, 1922, Ed.

1957]

Neess & Bunge — Lake Mendota Temperature II

77

TABLE IV-1

TRANSMISSION THROUGH SNOW, AS PERCENT OF INCIDENT RADIATION

78 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

The results of several observations are shown in Table IV-1. It

appears that only about 1 percent of the incident energy gets

through a layer of snow 5 cm. thick. With this thickness the trans¬

mission varied from 2.50 percent to 0.46 percent. The transmission

rapidly increased as the covering of snow became thinner, and from

12.0 percent to 22.0 percent are transmitted by 1 cm. of snow, aver¬

aging about 14.5 percent. Fig. 40 shows the average curve of

transmission as derived from the observations.

Besides these observations, numerous others have been made

with less care, but with results entirely concordant. In some cases

a glass bottom was put into the snow-box and the regular receiver

of the sun machine was used. In this case the thermal couples would

be some 4 cm. or 5 cm. below the snow. But the results obtained

were within the limits of the series obtained with the other

receiver.

Readings have been made through layers of drifted snow so

compact that they could be sliced into shape and handled. These

showed a smaller transmission, but not greatly less.

It is obvious that the rays of light which reach the glass cover

of the receiver through a layer of snow have been so often reflected

and refracted that they reach the glass at all angles. There is no

doubt loss at this surface by reflection, and a higher percentage of

transmission would be shown if the thermal couples could be used

without a cover. But the condition which the instrument offers is

closely similar to that which the lake presents, where the snow is

separated from the water by a layer of ice.

It is obvious from these results that even a thin layer of snow

cuts off a very large part of the sun’s rays. One centimeter cuts off

85 per cent of the energy and so moderate an amount of snow on

the ice as 5 cm. or 6 cm. must practically absorb all of the sun’s

energy.

It must be remembered in this connection that not a little diffuse

light gets through even a considerable thickness of snow. The light

of the full moon is by no means inconsiderable but it represents

less than --rn\AA of the energy of the sun.

150,000

Insolation Below the Ice (1916)

In the spring the sun’s rays penetrate the ice and deliver con¬

siderable amounts of heat to the subjacent water. In the last days

of the ice period so much heat is delivered as to warm a stratum

of the water below the ice far above the ordinary temperatures.

This may happen when the ice is from 20 cm. to 35 cm. thick. The

first case seen in Lake Mendota is that in which the highest ob¬

served temperature was reached. This was on April 12, 1898 when

1957] Neess & Bunge - — Lake Mendota Temperature II

79

Figure 40. Mean transmission of sunlight through snow.

80 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

the ice was 35 cm. thick and the temperatures were as follows (See

also Fig. 41) :

1957] Neess & Bunge— Lake Mendota Temperature II 81

A similar condition existed on April 11 when the maximum tem¬

perature was at the same depth, but no reading was made higher

than 6.0 °. These observations were taken with the thermophone

in its older form and represent the temperature of a stratum of

water 6 cm. thick, corresponding to the form of the immersed coil.

Doubtless the maximum exceeded 7.0° on April 12.

The most careful study of this phenomenon was made in 1901

when the observations continued for several days and even after

the ice had begun to move. The results given in Figs. 42 and 43

are selected from a much larger number obtained on the days noted.

The temperatures below the ice are not essentially different from

those of 1898. The remarkable fact is that the situation should

persist after the ice had moved, and even in spite of a gentle breeze

which raised wavelets several centimeters high.

The length of time during which this superheated stratum may

be found varies much. In 1901 it was not present on March 25 but

was noted from March 28 until April 4 and no doubt was present

until the lake opened on April 10 and 11. In 1906 it appeared some

time between March 8 and March 15. It was last observed on April

3 and should have continued until April 9 when the ice moved out.

This period at the shortest would be 24 days (March 15-April 9)

and might easily be four weeks in length. Temperatures rose to

6.1° at 50 cm., 6.0° at 75 cm., falling to 3.0° at 100 cm.

It is not always easy to observe this action of the sun. It comes

on as the ice is becoming weak and if decay is proceeding rapidly

near shore it may be impossible to get out to the firmer ice beyond

for some time before the ice breaks up. If the thaw comes with

cloud and warm rain the superheated stratum may be little devel¬

oped or not at all. Probably, however, continuous study, if that

were possible, would show that it is always present. It was observed

in 1909, 1910, 1915, 1916, besides the three years noted above. In

none of these years were temperatures found above 6.4°. In several

years when it was expected it was not found.

The height to which temperatures below the ice may rise is extra¬

ordinary and their persistence when established is also surprising.

Here is a condition of unstable stratification, colder and denser

strata superposed on warmer and lighter, and with steep tempera¬

ture gradients. The latter in 1898, amounted to 1.8° in 15 cm,

(5.0°-6.8°), in 1901 to 1.0° in 10 cm. (4.5-5. 5°) and 1.9° in about

20 cm. (4.0-5.90). Under such conditions we should expect to find

rapid thermal convection currents promptly established so that

temperatures above 4.0° would be quickly equalized. But such is

not the case, as is shown by the figures. There is a partial equaliza¬

tion during the night, but a very slow one. More surprising still

was the persistence of unstable stratification in open water in 1906.

DEPTH - METERS

82 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

1957] Neess & Bunge — Lake Mendota Temperature II

88

It is not easy to assign a definite cause for this slow response to

apparent changes in density. Probably there are present more than

one factor. A partial cause is the reluctance of diffusion currents

to start in quiet water with the small changes of density at tem¬

peratures near 4.0°, and a contributing cause may also be the

smaller density of the water immediately below the ice. This is

water derived from melting snow and ice and so should have less

salt in solution than the normal lake water. This relation of density

has never been proved but it is made probable by the way in which

Figure 43. Temperatures beneath the ice, April 3 and 4, 1901.

the turbid water after a thaw spreads out in a thin layer beneath

the ice, often to distances of a kilometer or more from shore. But

if this explanation is accepted, we can hardly believe at the same

time that turbidity causes an increase of density such as will set

up convection currents. It is also not easy to see how changes of

density of this sort should recur at such depths and in such pro¬

portions as to neutralize the effects of changes of temperature.

Thickness of the Ice (1916)

No detailed observations have been made on the growth of the

ice or on its thickness. Both are subject to great variations, depend¬

ing not only on the temperatures of the particular winter but also

on the amount of snow and on the amount of wind that accompanies

84 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

or follows snow storms. A mean rate of growth or a standard

minimum thickness are difficult to determine and have very little

meaning.

The thickest ice which we have recorded was found in 1899. In

that year the ice in February gave a thickness of 68 cm -74 cm.

and on March 7 it measured 70 cm. In 1912 it measured 66 cm.

and in 1917, 68 cm .-70 cm. In 1911 no thickness was observed

greater than 40 cm. Usually a thickness of 50 cm. or more is

reached.

The mean temperature of the air for the month of January, 1912,

was —17.2° and for the following 13 days of February it was

— 15.7°. For more than six weeks beginning January 1st the mean

temperature of the air was about —16.8° and at no time during

the period did the air rise above zero. In this winter the lake froze

on December 28. On January 2 the ice was 10 cm. thick; on Janu¬

ary 14 it had increased to 36 cm. ; on January 23 it was 52 cm., on

February 8, 66.4 cm. and 66 cm. on February 28. It reached a maxi¬

mum of 69 cm. on March 8. The increase above 66 cm. was due to

additions to the upper surface of the ice. Thus the longest period

of extreme cold weather on record at Madison added about 56 cm.

to the thickness of the ice, increasing it from 10 cm. to 66 cm. Dur¬

ing this six-week period, the precipitation was small, being only

equal to less than 21 mm. of melted snow, less than one-third of

the average amount. The snow, therefore, gave but little protection

to the ice.

In 1901 the late Dr. E. R. Buckley, then connected with this

[Wisconsin Geological and Natural History] Survey, published a

paper on ice ramparts.13 In this paper Dr. Buckley discussed not

only the formation of ice ramparts, but also the expansion and

fracturing of the ice. His paper gives several plates showing frac¬

tures, etc. in the ice. It was in the winter referred to in this paper

that the ice reached the thickness of 74 cm. No greater thickness

has been measured during our work on the lake. This partial study

is the only one that has been made on the subject.14 Dr. Buckley

intended to continue it, but left the Survey and the state during

the same year.

Temperature of the Ice (1916)

In anticipation of Dr. Buckley’s further work on the ice, the

Survey had made a thermometer for ascertaining ice temperatures.

This instrument had a stem some 85 cm. long, covered by a wooden

33 Buckley, E. R. Trans. Wis. Acad. Sci., Arts & Lett. 13 (1) :141-162. 1900 (pub¬

lished 1901). A discussion by C. R. Van Hise is included. Ed.

14 See : Bunge, W. W. and Reid A. Bryson. Ice on Wisconsin lakes, Part I. Rept.

No. 13 to the University of Wisconsin Lake Investigations Committee. 1956. (mimeogr.,

no pagination). Ed.

1957] Neess & Bunge — Lake Mendota Temperature II

85

case about 2 cm. in diameter. This case at once protected the stem

from accident and guarded against sudden changes of temperature.

The wooden stem ended in a steel cup which was screwed in the

end of the stem. The cup was filled with mercury and in this mer-

^ AIR TEMPERATURES NOT AVAILABLE

O

AIR TEMP. MR TEMP, AIR TEMP. A/P TEMP.

air temperature:

Figure 44. Temperatures within the ice-layer on various dates during the

winter of 1902-1903. Associated air-temperatures are also shown.

cury rested the bulb of the thermometer. Thus the bulb could be

brought into close thermal contact with the ice.

In the winter of 1903 observations were made with this instru¬

ment by Mr. Warren D. Smith, then a graduate student at the

University of Wisconsin. Holes of different depths were bored into

the ice by means of a long-stemmed auger, of such diameter that

86 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

the wooden case of the thermometer could just slip into them. Thus

the temperatures of the ice could be determined at different dis¬

tances from the surface. The work was not an easy one nor was

the instrument suited to give very precise results. It is impossible

to make close contact with different strata of ice so that the ob¬

server is sure that his instrument records the exact temperature

of that stratum. The results must therefore be regarded as approx¬

imate only, but they are not without value, especially since no other

observations of the kind have come to my notice. The results ob¬

tained are given in Fig. 44 ; from them, the following general con¬

clusions may be drawn :

1. The temperature of the surface of the ice is not essentially

different from that of the air, if this is below zero.

2. The temperature of the bottom of the ice is, of course, zero.

3. In general, the temperature curve between the surface and a

point near the bottom of the ice is approximately a straight line.

4. During a cold period when the ice is increasing in thickness,

the temperature near the bottom of the ice is considerably below

zero (see diagram for January 7 and for February 19). In other

conditions, the prolongation of the gradient of the curve will meet

the zero line at the bottom of the ice.

5. The sun has a considerable diurnal effect in warming the ice,

even at low air temperatures. A diurnal increase of 7° or more is

recorded at the surface, and of 5° or more at 20 cm. below the

surface.

6. The effect of the sun extends throughout the entire thickness

of the ice, even when this is 50-60 cm.

7. In periods of warming, the surface of the ice may be warmer

than the strata at a greater depth (see diagram for January 20

and February 1) .

Change In Thickness of the Ice (1916)

The ice differs much in thickness in different winters, varying

with the severity of the weather and with the amount of snow.

There is ordinarily a rapid increase after freezing which extends

through January, a stationary period during February, followed by

a reduction in thickness during March, slow at first but becoming

more rapid.

The mean maximum thickness obtained during 12 winters was

50 cm. The greatest thickness was in 1895-1896 (75 cm.) and in

1899 (74 cm.). The least was in 1912-1913 when only 30 cm. were

found. In only 4 of the 12 winters did the ice record 50 cm. and in

only 2 was it less than 40 cm. Fig. 45 shows the measurements of

1957] Neess & Bunge— Lake Mendota Temperature II 87

the ice as taken in several winters. In each winter three periods are

well marked, that of increase of thickness, a stationary condition

during February and part of March, and a decrease in thickness.

Thawing of the Ice (1916)

In 1912 a study was made of the rate of melting of the ice. A

hole was bored into the ice and a stick of wood inserted into it. The

top of this stick constituted the fixed point. About it was banked

snow at first, and later excelsior and burlap in order to prevent

Figure 45. Thickness of the ice-layer at various dates during several winters.

Years are as follows: 1-1898-99: 11—1900-01; III— 1902-03; IV— 1911-12;

V— 1912-13; VI— 1913-14; VII— 1914-15; VIII— 1915-16; IX— 1916-17.

melting of the ice around it. Some 2.5 m. from this stick small holes

were cut through the ice. By means of a straight-edge level and

calibrated rod, the vertical distance was measured from the top of

the stick to the upper and under surfaces of the ice at the holes.

The results are shown in Fig. 46. The ice was some 54 cm. thick

when the experiment began on March 28 and did not change

essentially until after April 2. There was noted on that date, an

apparent downward movement of both surfaces, as compared with

March 29. But this was probably apparent only, and the condi¬

tion was doubtless the same on that date as earlier. Then followed

a rapid thaw, so that on the 6th of April, the thickness was re¬

duced to about 24 cm., a loss of 80 cm. Of this loss about 1 cm.

apparently came from melting from the bottom of the ice and 29

88 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

cm. from the top. Two days later the thickness was reduced to

about 20 cm,, the loss being almost wholly from the top. By this

time the ice had become wholly converted into crystals and was

unsafe. Besides, the weight of unmelted ice about the stick that

formed the fixed point became too great for the weakened ice to

support and it began to sink. The experiment was therefore closed.

Figure 46. Location of the upper and lower surfaces of the ice-layer, April,

1912.

So far as one observation warrants conclusions, the melting of

the ice takes place practically from the upper surface, very slightly

if at all from the lower surface.

In each year the general story of the melting of the ice is similar

to that of 1912 with variations such as naturally follow from the

weather. Every year the ice becomes converted into crystals which

extend throughout the entire thickness of the ice, and are wholly

loosened from each other before the ice breaks up. It is possible to

go out on the ice even after the crystals are loosened if they are still

over 20 cm. long. But as they shorten by melting at the top, the ice

1957] Neess & Bunge— Lake Mendota Temperature II

89

rapidly becomes unsafe and may lie for days in this condition,

waiting for a strong wind to shatter the remaining adhesion of the

crystals.

The ice melts first in the shallow water of the edge of the lake

and in bays, giving the wind and waves an opportunity to attack

the ice. Sometimes the ice is partly broken up and is moved apart

in large floes. In other years it remains substantially entire until

a strong hot south wind breaks it up, completely and finally into a

mush of crystals which rapidly melt, attacked on all sides by the

warm water as soon as they fall apart.

Literature Cited in Part II

Birge, E. A. 1910. On the evidence of temperature seiches. Trans . Wis. Acad .

Sci., Arts & Lett 16:1005-1016.

Buchanan, J. Y. 1379. On the freezing of lakes. Nature. 19:412-414.

Forel, F. A. 1880a. Temperatures lacustres: recherches sur la temperature du

lac Leman et d’autres lacs d?eau douce. Arch . des Sciences Phys . et Natur .

(Geneve). Ser. 3. 4:89-106.

— - . 1380b. La temperature des lacs geles. Comptes Rendus de VAcad . des

Sciences (Paris). 40:322-324.

- — . 1895. Le Leman i Monographic Limnologique. IL Lausanne. F. Rouge

et Cie. pp. vi + 651.

- 1898. Les flaques d’eau libre dans la glace des lacs geles. Bull, de la

Soc . Vaudoise des Sciences Natur. 34:272-278.

- . 1901. Handbuch der Seenkunde. Biblioth. Geogr. Handbiicher, F.

Ratzel, Ed. Stuttgart. Verb J. Engelhorn. pp. 249.

Grissinger, K. 1892. Untersuchungen uber die Tiefen- und Temperaturver-

haltnisse des Weissensees in Karnten. Petermann’s Mitt. (Gotha). 38:

153-158.

Hergesell, PL, R. Langembeck and E. Rudolph. 1892. Die Seen der Sudvo-

gesen. Geol. AbhandL aus d. Reichsldnden (Elsass-Lothringen ) . 1:121-184.

Mortimer, C. H. 1956. E. A. Birge, an explorer of lakes, in: Sellery, G. C.,

E . A. Birge , a Memoir , Madison, IJniv. of Wisconsin Press, 1956, pp. vii

+ 221. pp. 165-211.

Richter, E. 1897. Seestudien. Penck’s Geogr. AbhandL (Wien). 6:1-72.

Thoulet, J. 1894. Contribution a Fetude des lacs des Vosges. Bull . de la Soc.

de Geogr. (Paris). Ser. 7. 15:557-604.

Ule, W. 1893. Beitrag zur physikalischen Erforsehung der Baltischen Seen.

Forsch . zur Deutsch. Landes- und Volkskunde. 11 : 21-61.

PRELIMINARY REPORTS ON THE FLORA OF WISCONSIN.

NO. 38. RUBIACEAE— MADDER FAMILY

Emil K. Urban1 and Hugh H. Iltis2

Herbarium of the University of Wisconsin

The following notes and maps are based on specimens in the

herbaria of the University of Wisconsin at Madison, the Milwaukee

Public Museum, the University of Minnesota, and the Chicago

Natural History Museum. A dot represents the actual locality

where a specimen was collected, the triangles county records with¬

out definite location.3

Grateful acknowledgement is made to Albert M. Fuller, curator

of the Milwaukee Public Museum herbarium, and to Gerald B.

Ownbey, curator of the University of Minnesota herbarium, for the

loan of their Wisconsin Rubiaceae, to E. E. Terrell of Guilford

College, North Carolina, for critical advice and checking of certain

identifications in Houstonia , and to James Zimmerman and John

Thomson, both of the University of Wisconsin, for reading the

manuscript and for helpful suggestions.

Key to the Genera of Rubiaceae in Wisconsin

A. Leaves opposite (or rarely in 3’s in Cephalanthus) , greatly exceeding

the stipules.

B. Flowers terminal, stalked, cymose or in heads, the stipules incon¬

spicuous.

C. Shrubs with woody stems; flowers and fruits in dense globose heads,

the peduncles 3-8 cm. long; leaves lanceolate to ovate or oblong,

8-15 cm. wide ................................... 1. Cephalanthus

CC. Small herbs; flowers in cymes or pairs or solitary; leaves 0.2-2. 5 cm.

wide.

D. Plants creeping, with evergreen, round ovate, truncate or cordate,

peti.oled leaves; fruit a red berry composed of the fused ovaries

and hypanthia of the paired, whitish flowers ........ 2. Mitchella

DD. Plants erect, or ascending; leaves not evergreen, ovate, oblong, or

lanceolate; fruit a dry capsule splitting length-wise at maturity;

flowers singly on terminal peduncles or in terminal cymes, blue,

lilac, or rarely whitish ........................... 3. Houstonia

BB. Flowers in axillary glomerules, sessile or subsessile; herbs with con¬

spicuous bristle-like, filiform stipules ................... 4. Diodia

1 Dept, of Zoology, Univ. of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas.

3 Curator of the Herbarium, Dept, of Botany, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, Wise.

3 Many of the specimens on which this report is based were collected on field trips

supported by grants from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.

91

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

1957]

Urban & litis — Preliminary Report 38

93

A A. Leaves whorled, 4-8 at a node (i.e. the stipules foliaceous and like the

leaves) .

E. Flowers in terminal heads, subtended by an involucre of about 8 lan¬

ceolate leaves fused at the base; sepals triangular ....... 5. Sherardia

EE. Flowers in open panicles or cymes without an involucre; sepals obsolete

or lacking . . . . . . 6. Galium

1. CEPHALANTHUS L.

1. G. OCCiDENTALis L. Buttonbush. Map 1.

Woody shrubs of wet, low places, such as marshes, swamps,

sloughs, open roadside ditches, and margins of ponds, streams and

rivers, sometimes in deciduous river bottom woods, widespread

throughout the southern counties, especially along the Wisconsin

and Mississippi Rivers, and locally northward ; flowering from late

June through August.

2. MITCHELLA L.

2. M. repens L. Partridge Berry. Map 2.

Throughout most of Wisconsin, except in the southwestern

corner of the state; in various habitats, of both moist and dry

deciduous woods, such as maple-oak, maple-basswood-yellow birch,

beech, and maple-hemlock, in pine woods (P. strobus), often in rich

woods in ravines, occasionally on the edge of tamarack (Larix) and

white cedar (Thuja) swamps, and on sandstone cliffs and outcrops;

flowering from May through July.

The flowers in this species are of two types, either with long-

exserted styles and very short-filamented stamens, or with long-

exserted stamens and short, included styles. Of the flowering speci¬

mens we studied, about 60% were of the former, the remainder

of the latter type.

3. HOUSTONIA L.

Key to Species

a. Annual (or rarely perennial ?) ; stems slender, 6-16 cm. tall; flowers

singly on long peduncles, sky-blue to white, with yellow centers, the corolla

salverform; stamens included; southern Wisconsin . . 1. H. caerulea

aa. Perennial; stems firm, 8-23 cm. tall; flowers short-pediceled, several in

each cyme, light purple throughout, rarely white; corolla funnelform;

stamens exserted . . . . . . . . . 2. H. longifolia

l. H. caerulea L. Bluets, Innocence. Map 3.

In moist meadows, fields, and open woods in the southeastern

counties, northward to Dane County; flowering from late April to

June.

94 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

2. H. LONGIFOLIA Gaertn. Map 4.

Houstonia purpurea var. longifolia (Gaertn.) Gray.

Widespread in the state, particularly abundant in the central

plain or lowland (of Cambrian sandstones; Martin, 1932), in the

sandy areas of Glacial Lake Wisconsin in the central part of the

state, lacking, with few exceptions, from most of the area of the

pre-Cambrian rocks in north-central Wisconsin and from the south¬

eastern corner of the state; occurring in a great variety of acid

habitats: on dry, often sandy woods and cliffs, in jack pine-aspen,

on juniper glades (e.g. Observatory Hill, Marquette Co. — a quart¬

zite monadnock), in mesic and sandy prairies, sedge meadows, open

sandy fields, and rarely in tamarack swamps. According to Dr.

E. E. Terrell (personal communication), this is the only species of

the H. purpurea complex occurring in Wisconsin; flowering from

early June through August (October).

4. DIODIA L.

4. D. teres Walt. var. setifera Fern, and Grisc. Button weed.

Map 3.

Occurring in Wisconsin only on the old sandy river terraces of

the Wisconsin River north of Arena in Iowa County, where it is

locally abundant; flowering from July through September.

5. SHERARDIA L.

5. S. arvensis L. Field-Madder.

Introduced from Eurasia ; collected once in a sandy field in She¬

boygan County, July 1903, by Chas. Goessl.

6. GALIUM L.

A. Fruit or ovary more or less bristly or hairy, the hairs often hooked at

the tip.

B. Principal leaves in whorls of 5-8, the blades cuspidate at the apex;

stems, when mature, weak and reclining; stem angles, leaf margins,

and midrib (beneath) more or less scabrous.

C. Leaves 2-4 mm. broad, about 10 times as long, iinear-oblanceolate,

usually in whorls of 6-8; cilia on leaf margins divergent or retrorse;

stems harshly retrorse-scabrous ; annual . 1. G. aparine

CC. Leaves 5-12 mm. broad, 2-4 times as long, elliptic, usually in whorls

of 6, the midrib on the under side strongly retrorse scabrous; cilia

on leaf margins ascending; stems essentially glabrous or with few to

many divergent or slightly retrorse scabrous hairs; perennial . .

. . . . . . . 2. G. triflorum

BB. Principal leaves in 4’s, the blades pointed to blunt at the apex, not

cuspidate; stems erect or ascending, not retrorsely scabrous on the

angles.

1957]

Urban & litis — Preliminary Report 38

95

D. Inflorescences in compact, many-flowered panicles; flowers showy,

white, pediceled . . . . • . . 3. G. boreale

DD. Inflorescences open, each of the few peduncles with 2-4 (-5), distant,

unilateral, sessile, greenish or purplish flowers.

E. Leaves ovate to oblong, usually widest toward the middle, broadly

acute to obtuse; major stem leaves 24-42 (-52) mm. long; corolla

greenish, hairy outside ........................ 4. G. circaezans

EE. Leaves lanceolate, broadest near the base, acute to acuminate;

major stem leaves (38-) 45-72 mm. long; corolla yellowish to pur¬

plish, glabrous outside ....................... 5. G. lanceolatum

AA. Fruit or ovary glabrous or tuberculate, not bristly or hairy.

F. Flowers yellow, in rather dense showy panicles ; stems minutely puberu-

lent, erect; leaves linear, mostly in whorls of 8; introduced species,

rare in Wisconsin . . . . . . . 6. G. verum

FF. Flowers white.

G. Stems erect or strongly ascending; neither leaves nor stems re-

trorsely scabrous, rarely rough to touch; leaves with 3 nerves, in

whorls of 4; common native species . . . 3. G. boreale

GG. Stems usually slender and weak, either erect, loosely ascending, re¬

clining on or supported by other plants, often ± matted, the leaves or

stems either glabrous or scabrous.

H. Leaves acute or broadly acuminate, sharply bristle-tipped or

mucronate (the bristle sometimes very small), 5-9 at a node.

I. Leaves with smooth or usually upwardly scabrous margins,

(5-)6(-9) at a node, linear-elliptic, 2-3 mm. wide; stems smooth

or minutely scabrous, less than 4 dm. high; slender, clustered

plants of woods . . . 7. G. concinnum

II. Margin of leaves and stems retrorse-scabrous ; leaves (5-) 6 at a

node, oblanceolate to obovate, 3-6 mm. wide; very rough, rather

rank perennials of wet habitats . . 8. G. asprellum

HH. Leaves obtuse or rounded at tip, without a sharp terminal point

or bristle, 4-5 (-6) at a node; plants of wet or damp habitats.

J. Corolla 4-lobed, 2-4 mm. in diam. at an thesis, the lobes longer

than wide; nodes, under magnification, more or less conspicuously

hairy, the hairs (cilia) on the leaf-margin never sharply retrorse,

but more or less divergent, and essentially at right angles to the

margin.

K. Leaves 3-6 mm. wide, 10-22 mm. long, divergent to ascending,

flat; mature carpels each 2-3 mm. in diam. ... 9. G. obtusum

KK. Leaves 1-2 mm. wide, 5-10 (-15) mm. long, often (with age)

reflexed and with down-rolled margins; mature carpels each

1.0-1. 7 mm. in diam . . . . 10. G. labradoricum

JJ. Corollas predominantly 3-lobed (occasionally an individual flower

4-lobed), 0.8-1. 5 (-2.2) mm. in diam. at anthesis, the lobes tri¬

angular and about as long as wide; nodes glabrous or essentially

so; hairs on leaf margin (not upper surface) retrorse.

L. Pedicels (6-) 10-20 mm. long, very slender, when mature

curved at the tip, minutely scabrous; flowers 1-2 at a node, or

in 3’s when at the tip of a branch, 1.0-1. 5 mm. in diam. ......

. . . 11. G. trifidum

96 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

LL. Pedicels 1-5 (-8) mm. long, stiff and usually straight, glabrous.

M. Flowers and fruits chiefly in 2’s and 3’s at the end of short

lateral branches, the fruiting pedicels of about equal length,

strongly diverging, 2-5 mm. long (or 1-2 longer pedicels

occasionally in the axils of the leaves of the main stem) ;

larger leaves 10-15 mm. long; flowers 1. 4-2.0 mm. in diam.,

common . . . . 12. G. tinctorium

MM. Flowers and fruits usually 1-2 in the axils of the leaves,

the pedicels l-4(-?) mm. long, or 2 (rarely 3) at the end

of lateral branches, with one flower usually subsessile and

one on a much longer pedicel; plants mat-forming, usually

very leafy with very short internodes, the leaves small,

5-10 mm. long; flowers 0. 7-1.1 mm. in diam., rare .

. 13. G. brevipes

1. G. aparine L. Cleavers, Goosegrass. Map 5.

In shady, rich woods (e.g. mature, undisturbed Acer saccharum

woods at Spring Grove; Abraham’s Woods, Albany, both Green Co.,

there giving every appearance of being indigenous), thickets, along

roadsides, under hedges and in dumps, etc., often weedy, through¬

out all of the southern counties, and only locally northward, being

apparently sharply delimited by climatic factors related to tem¬

perature. Isotherms corresponding roughly to the northern limit

of this species include the ones of the 44° F. mean annual tempera¬

ture (Martin, 1932), the average number of days without frost (i.e.

130), and the first killing frost of the fall on Sept. 30 (U.S.D.A.,

1941).

G. aparine is a winter-annual, the 2-8" long autumn shoots

common in late September and early October. Their dark green

leaves, bristly above, differ in appearance from the spring shoots :

they are shorter and broader, and occur 6 at a node throughout,

whereas the spring leaves are long and slender, and occur usually

8 per node.

The fact that this is a winter-annual might possibly explain its

peculiar distribution. Since the plant has very slender roots and no

storage organs whatever, it would evidently be dependent solely on

photosynthesis to survive the winter. As a result of lower tempera¬

tures, the more persistent snows of Northern Wisconsin would pre¬

vent sunshine reaching the leaves for months and therefore plant

survival would be difficult.

2. G. triflorum Michx. Sweet-scented Bedstraw. Map 6.

Widely distributed and very common throughout the state in rich

low or mesic woods and thickets; flowering from June to August.

Similar to G. aparine , but a perennial with stems not very rough

to the touch or smooth, much broader elliptic leaves always in

whorls of 6, and much smaller fruits.

1957]

Urban & litis — Preliminary Report 38

97

3. G. BOREALE L. ssp. septentrionalis (Roem. and Schult.) litis.

Northern Bedstraw. Map 7.

Galium septentrionalis Roem. and Schult. Syst. Veg. 3 :253. 1818.

Galium boreale L. of all American authors, including its varie¬

ties, not G. boreale L. sensu stricto (G.b. ssp. boreale), which is

Eurasian.

A very common species, the white flowers often showy, which

occurs in low and mesic prairies, southern and northern hardwood

forests and in a variety of other habitats, showing its best growth

in those that are open.

In Wisconsin, as elsewhere, this species is very variable. (Leyen-

decker 1941a). Fernald (1950), under G. boreale (sensu lato),

classifies the varieties using names originally applied to their Euro¬

pean homologues in ssp. boreale:1

a. Fruit hairy.

b. Fruit covered with long straight hairs ....... . “Var. boreale (typical) ”

bb. Fruit covered with short appressed or incurving hairs . . .

................................................ “Var. intermedium ”

aa. Fruit glabrous or glabrate . “Var. hyssopif olium'

“G. boreale (typical) ”. Mostly in the western part of the state,

in oak openings and less mesic woods” (Terrell, 1954).

“Var. intermedium DC.” Distributed quite commonly through¬

out most of the state except the northcentral area of pre-cambrian

rocks, “in prairies, oak openings, and roadsides” (Terrell, l.c.) . This

appears to us to be by far the most common form.

“Var. hyssopif olium (Hoffm.) DC.” Sparsely distributed mainly

in the southern half of the state apparently “growing in all habi¬

tats” (Terrell l.c.) .

Terrell (l.c.), who studied the variability of this species in Wis¬

consin, showed that the varieties intergrade strongly and that here

they are of little taxonomic value. A cursory examination of the

herbarium specimens collected in Wisconsin shows that between

the glabrous (25 collections) and the hairy extremes (27 collec¬

tions) there are all possible intermediate types (92 collections).

4. G. circeazans Michx. var. hypomalacum Fern. Wild Licorice.

Map 8.

Very locally distributed through the southern counties in rich

woods; flowering from June through July.

' The junior author recently pointed out (litis, 1957) that the nomenclature and

typification of the varieties of ssp. septentrionalis presents great difficulties, as the

whereabouts of the type of G-. septentrionalis ( G . boreale Pursh, non L. ) is not known.

Urschler’s (1955) assumption that G. septentrionale is equivalent to the long-haired

“G. boreale var. typicum Fernald” is unwarranted by the inadequate description of

Roemer and Schultes, and it is impossible to say at present to which of the two

pubescence forms the type belongs. The types, not only of G. septentrionalis , but also

of the Japanese and Russian varieties of this complex, will have to be studied before

this problem can be solvec},

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

"GALIUM CIRCAEZANS

VAR. HYPOMALACUM Fern,

1957]

Urban & litis — Preliminary Report 88

99

5. G. LANCEOLATUM Torr. Wild Licorice. Map 9.

Rather uncommon and local, occurring in dry or moist rich

woods; flowering in June and July.

Closely related to G. circaezans, with which it may grow (e.g. in

Parfrey’s Glen, Sauk Co.), but differing in addition to the vegeta¬

tive characters of the key by being nearly glabrous, G. circaezans

being more or less pubescent. Some collections of these two species

are nearly indistinguishable as far as leaf shape is concerned.

6. G. verum L. Yellowr Bedstraw. Map 10.

Introduced from Eurasia, in dry fields and roadsides; flowering

from June to early September.

7. G. CONCINNUM T. & G. Pretty Bedstraw; Shining Bedstraw.

Map 11.

A delicate species common and characteristic in dry woods and

thickets throughout most of the southern counties and locally

northward ; flowering from June to early August. The leaves occur

most commonly in whorls of 6, though an occasional specimen ( e.g.

litis 59 U9) has 7-9 leaves at some of the nodes of the main stem.

8. G. asprellum Michx. Rough Bedstraw. Map 12.

In low grounds, moist rich woods, swamps, wet prairies and

sedge meadows, and damp thickets, widespread and common

throughout all the counties of the state; flowering from June

through August.

Easily recognized by the 6 relatively broad leaves per node, its

roughness (leaf margin cilia retrorse!) and large size, some plants

trailing for almost two yards over surrounding vegetation.

9. G. OBTUSUM Bigel. var. ramosum Gleason. Stiff Marsh Bedstraw.

Map 13.

In moist ground, such as low woods, swamps, low prairies and

wet shores, locally throughout the southern half of the state, north

to Barron, Clark, and Brown Counties ; flowering from late May to

July.

The 4-lobed corolla, hairy nodes, glabrous stems (very rarely

scabrous), scabrous midribs, cilia on leaf margins which ascend or

are at right angles to the rather broad blades, and the large fruits

identify this plant. In herbarium material the leaves are commonly

ascending, whereas in the closely related G. labradoricum the leaves

are reflexed.

10. G. labradoricum Wieg. Labrador Marsh Bedstraw. Map 14.

Locally abundant in low prairies and sedge meadows, mossy

thickets and moist woods, in Wisconsin close to the southwestern

100

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

1957]

Urban & litis — Preliminary Report 38

101

edge of its range (cf. map in litis, 1957) ; flowering from late May

to early August.

This and the following three species are of similar habit and

habitat and are often distinguishable only with difficulty. G. labra-

doricum is the most easily recognizable taxon of this group by

having consistently A-lobed corollas, (2.0-)3.0(-4.0) mm. in diam.

at anthesis, rather strongly deflexed small leaves, often inrolled on

drying, and a pubescence that is similar to the closely related G.

obtusum, i.e., short straight, rather soft hairs on the nodes, leaf

margin, and rarely on the midrib, that diverge at essentially right

angles to the leaf margin, with the latter therefore not retrorsely

scabrous. The top surface of the leaf is quite glabrous. Contrary to

Gleason (1952) and Fernald (1950) the stems in the Wisconsin

material, as well as that of other states, are almost always minutely

and retrorsely scabrous on the angles, particularly in the older,

lower portions. Galium labradoricum flowers earlier than the next

three species.

11. G. trifidum L. Small Bedstraw. Map 15.

Locally abundant in swamps, wet shores, sedge meadows, etc.,

often occurring together with closely allied species such as G. tinc-

torium and G. brevipes as well as with G. labradoricum; flowering

from late July to early September. See comments following

species 13.

12. G. TINCTORIUM L. Map 16.

G. claytoni Michx.

In marsh lands, swamps, sedge meadows and other damp places,

quite common throughout most of Wisconsin; flowering from June

to early September. See comments following species 13.

13. G. BREVIPES Fern, and Wieg. Map 17.

This species, which prefers calcareous swamps, wet shores,

mossy swales behind dunes along Lake Michigan, and boggy soils,

is rare in Wisconsin (cf. map and comments in litis, 1957) ; flower¬

ing from June to September.

NOTES ON G. TRIFIDUM, G. TINCTORIUM AND

G. BREVIPES

As has been pointed out by Wiegand (1897), these are very

closely related taxa; Hulten (1949: 1439) states that despite much

work by several authors “to the clarification of . . . (this) . . . com¬

plex question . . . the conditions within the group are far from

clear, and a new treatment ... is highly desirable. To what extent

. . . (these) . . . are really well defined species, or should sooner be

102 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

regarded as races with transitions joining them, does not at present

seem to be clear.”

In Wisconsin, at least, these entities appear to be reasonably

distinct, though mainly on rather small, quantitative characters.

Two species (G. tinctorium, G. trifidum) are quite common and

readily distinguishable in the field (which is not always true of

herbarium material). The junior author has seen them growing

side by side (e.g. South of Portage, Columbia County), in exactly

the same habitat and in great abundance, without any intermedi¬

ates whatever, so that it would appear that they are genetically

isolated. Aside from the key characters (long, curved, slender,

scabrous pedicels), G. trifidum in the field is a more slender¬

stemmed plant with longer internodes and fewer, generally nar¬

rower leaves, which on the main stems, though usually in 4’s, may

occur in 5’s and 6’s at a node, but not as frequently as in G. tinc¬

torium. The leaves, furthermore, have rather distantly spaced mar¬

ginal hairs (usually 5 or less per mm.), while in G. tinctorium the

leaf margin is densely scabrous (6-10 hairs per mm. or more),

with the hair bases sometimes almost touching. The flowers of

G. trifidum are smaller (by about 0.5 mm.), while the fruits appear

to be somewhat larger than those of G. tinctorium (cf. Gleason

(1952) , who states the reverse !) .

Galium tinctorium, on the other hand, can be told by the many

short lateral branches, each bearing terminally 2-3 strongly diver¬

gent (each by ca. 90°) short, stiff, glabrous pedicels of about equal

length; only occasionally does one find single, long pedicels in the

axils of the main stem, which, in contrast to those of G. trifidum,

are straight and glabrous.

The rare Galium brevipes, a northern taxon occurring in Wis¬

consin in habitats with cool summers, appears to us to be most

closely allied to G. tinctorium. In northeastern Minnesota the two

species appear to intergrade. Therefore, it is possible that G.

brevipes may well be nothing but a subarctic or a depauperate

form of G. tinctorium, differing from it mainly in the weaker stems

and smaller size, in the tendency to form intricately branched mats

(though this appears to be true of all three species depending on

whether they grow in tall grass or in the open on moss) , and in the

shorter pedicels and branch internodes (5-15 mm. long on lateral

branches). The fruits are either solitary or in 2’s in the axils of

the main stem leaves on up to 6 mm. long pedicels, or are borne

terminally, either on short lateral branches or at the end of a main

shoot. These terminal fruits are usually in 2’s (rarely l’s or 3’s)

of which one is nearly sessile while the other is on a 2-5 mm. long

pedicel much surpassing the first. In plants of this species one does

1957]

Urban & litis— Preliminary Report 38

103

occasionally find a fruit with a 10 min, long “pedicel” simulating

G. trifidum . However, on closer examination this “pedicel” will

have a scar near the fruit, the place where a subtending leaf has

fallen off — the pedicel therefore is to be measured from the scar to

the fruit; what is beneath the scar is a lateral branch.

The flowers of G . brevipes are usually much smaller than either

those of the other two species, though of exactly the same shape.

While the scabrosity is a little less pronounced, all Wisconsin sped-

mens are scabrous on the stem, the lower half of the midrib and

usually on the leaf margin (except in very young leaves) .

The junior author, in company with Robert Koeppen, has found

G . brevipes growing in abundance, side by side with G. trifidum ,

in a mossy, moist swale behind the first dune of Lake Michigan,

east of Cedar Grove, Sheboygan County, No intermediates were

found, and in the field the slenderness of G. trifidum made a dis¬

tinction from the more robust G. brevipes easy. It may be worth

noting, that, despite statements in floras (e.g. Gleason, 1952),

G. brevipes has the principal leaves in 5’s and 6Js, except in depau¬

perate shoots.

Without flowers and fruits (i.e., without good material) it is

impossible , in our estimation, to separate the 3 species of this group

by vegetative characters . The apparent vegetative differences men¬

tioned in manuals may be trends that would lend themselves to

statistical analysis but cannot be used in keys. The junior author

has at present plants of all three species growing in the Botany

Department greenhouse, the sterile, young shoots of which are

indistinguishable from one another.

NOTES REGARDING GALIUM BRANDEGEI A. GRAY

Gleason (1952) considers G. brevipes identical with G. brandegei ,

the latter a species described from the western mountains. It seems

to us that the material we have seen of the latter is not identical

with G. brevipes as it occurs in Wisconsin. G. brandegei seems to

be a much smaller, less branched species, with much larger fruits,

and generally more glabrous stems and leaves (though Fernald's

“glabrous throughout” does not always hold true— e.g., Rydberg

& Carlton 7629 (MIN) from Utah, which has quite scabrous

stems) .

An over-all monographic study of this complex is badly needed,

since the taxa discussed above, while distinct in Wisconsin, appear

to intergrade in other parts of their range, particularly in the

Rocky Mountains and the Western United States, where, further¬

more, they do not resemble our plants too closely.

104 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

GALIUM PALUSTRE L. IN WISCONSIN?

Fernald (1950) and Gleason (1952) report this species in Wis¬

consin. However, after comparing all specimens available to us,

none were found to have the distinguishing characters of G.

yalustre: excavated fruit, dichotomous cymes, pedicels horizontally

spreading, scabrous stem angles, and the characteristic long inter¬

nodes. Jones and Fuller (1955) do not list the species for Illinois.

There are no specimens of G. palustre from Wisconsin in the Gray

Herbarium (personal letter of Reed Rollins).

Bibliography

Fernald, M. L. 1950. Gray's Manual of Botany. Ed. 8. New York. pp. 1318-

1330.

Gleason, Henry A. 1952. The New Britton and Brown Illustrated Flora of

the Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada . New York. 3:274-

290.

Hulten, E. 1949. Flora of Alaska and Yukon. Lund. pp. 1433-1441.

Iltis, Hugh H. 1957. Distributional and Nomenclatorial Notes on Galium.

Rliodora 59:38-43. fig. 1.

Jones, George N. and George D. Fuller. 1955. Vascular Plants of Illinois.

Springfield, Illinois, pp. 443-448.

Leyendecker, P. J. Jr. 1941a. The Variations in Galium triflorum and

G. boreale. Iowa State College Journ. of Sci. 15:179-181.

- . 1941b. A Taxonomic Study of the Genus Galium in Iowa. Proc. Iowa

Acad. Sci . 47:101-113.

Love, A. and D. Love. 1954. Cytotaxonomic Studies on the Northern Bed-

straws. Am. Midi. Nat. 52:88-105.

Martin, L. 1932. Physical Geography of Wisconsin, ed. 2. Madison, p. 14.

Terrell, Edward Everett. 1954. Morphological Variation in Galium boreale

and its Relation to the Habitat. Summaries of Doctoral Dissertations — -

the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin. 14:70-71.

U.S.D.A. 1941. Climate and Man. Yearbook of Agriculture. 1941:1197-8.

Urschler, I. 1955. Die Fruchtbehaarung des Galium septentrionale Roem. &

Schult. Phyton 6:48-56.

Wiegand, K. 1897. Galium trifidum and its North American Allies. Bull. Torr.

Bot. Club 24:389-403.

PRELIMINARY REPORTS ON THE FLORA OF WISCONSIN.

NO. 39. PHRYMACEAE— LOPSEED FAMILY

Hugh FI. Iltis

Herbarium of the University of Wisconsin

The following notes and maps are based on specimens in the

herbaria of the University of Wisconsin at Madison, the Milwaukee

Public Museum, and the University of Minnesota. A large dot rep¬

resents the actual locality where a specimen was collected, a small

dot a sight record made by ecologists of the University of Wiscon¬

sin. For the use of their files, I express my appreciation.

1. PHRYMA

1. PHRYMA LEPTOSTACHYA L. Lopseed. Map 18.

Shady, moist, deciduous woods, Hemlock- and Pine-Hardwoods,

Southern Hardwoods, and Oak Openings, throughout Wisconsin,

especially common in the southern half of the state; flowering in

July, and fruiting from end of July through October.

105

PRELIMINARY REPORTS ON THE FLORA OF WISCONSIN.

NO. 40. ASCLEPIADACEAE— MILKWEED FAMILY

Gottlieb K. Noamesi and Hugh H. Iltis

Herbarium of the University of Wisconsin

The nomenclature and arrangement of taxonomic units follow

“The North American species of Asclepias” by R. E. Woodson, Jr.

(1954), except for A. lanuginosa Nutt., where Jones’ (1955)

treatment is used.

The maps and habitat notes were compiled from material in the

herbaria of the Universities of Wisconsin and Minnesota, and of

the Milwaukee Public Museum; to their curators, Gerald B. Own-

bey and Albert M. Fuller, our thanks are due for the loan of speci¬

mens. A limited amount of field work was carried out during the

summer of 1956. 1

Works useful in writing the keys included, in addition to Wood¬

son’s (1954) monograph, Deam’s “Flora of Indiana” (1940), and

Nicolson and Russell, “The Genus Asclepias in Iowa” (1955).

Grateful acknowledgement is made to James H. Zimmerman for

his criticisms and suggestions regarding the keys.

Key to Genera

a. Stem erect or ascending, not climbing; inflorescences umbellate; flowers

with a crown of 5 hoods, the petals reflexed ................ I. Asclepias

aa. Stem twining; inflorescences cymose; flowers with a 5-lobed disc between

the corona and the petals, these rotate, dark purple ; rare, introduced ....

...................................................... II. Cynanchum

I ASCLEPIAS L. MILKWEED

Key to Species

A. Orifice of hoods appressed at apex to antherhead; hoods without any

horns, subequal or shorter than antherhead; flowers greenish-yellow;

leaves linear-lanceolate to lanceolate or oblong, 5-25 (-35) mm. wide.

(Subgenus Acer ales') .

B. Inflorescence terminal and solitary on each stem; stems and underside

of leaves more or less densely pilose, the hairs divergent, 1-3 mm. long;

stems 10-20 (-25) cm. tall . . . . . 13. A. lanuginosa

BB. Inflorescence lateral 2-13 (rarely one) on each stem; stems and leaves

pubescent, glabrescent or glabrous, the hairs appressed, 1 mm. or less

long; stems (15-) 30-75 cm. tall.

1 Many of the specimens on which this report is based were collected on field trips

supported by grants from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.

107

108 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

C, Leaves few, (10-) 15-25 (-30) on each stem, linear lanceolate to

lanceolate or ovate-oblong, (8-) 12-26 (-35) mm. wide; pubescence

of soft, crisp hairs; corona sessile ................ 12. A. viridiflora

CC. Leaves many, 30-80 (rarely fewer) on each stem, linear to linear-

lanceolate, 5-14 mm. wide; pubescence of short, rough hairs; corona

short-stalked . . . 11. A. hirtella

AA. Hoods freely open above, each with a horn within, the hood equal to or

longer than the antherhead (shorter sometimes in No. 4) ; flowers of

various colors; leaves various, 2-100 mm. wide.

D. Leaves narrowly linear, 2 mm. or less wide, chiefly whorled in 3’s or

4’s, with a few alternate; flowers whitish-green to very pale yellow.

................................................. 2. A. verticillata

DD. Leaves 10 mm. or more wide, alternate or opposite.

E. Leaves all opposite.

F. Leaves glabrous beneath ( subglabrous with a few scattered hairs

in No. 4, or along veins in No. 1).

G. Inflorescence terminal and solitary, the peduncle (usually) much

surpassing uppermost leaf.

H. Horns much surpassing hoods; leaves deeply cordate at base,

obtuse to rounded or emarginate at apex* broadly ovate or

oblong, with crisped and undulate margins . .

. . . . . . 5. A. amplexicaulis

HH. Horns inclosed in hoods; leaves with truncate to rounded

base, not clasping the apex acute, ovate to lanceolate, with

flat margins . . . . . . 8. A. meadii

GG. Inflorescences 2-many, lateral and terminal, if solitary and ter¬

minal, the peduncle shorter than the uppermost leaf.

I. Leaves subsessile; horns enclosed in hoods; flowers purple. ....

. . . . . 9. A. sullivantii

II. Leaves petioled; horns surpassing hoods..

J. Flowers white, in several scattered, lax umbels; leaves

broadly elliptic, long-acuminate at both ends ; plants of woods.

. . . . . . 4. A. exaltata

JJ. Flowers pink, the many umbells forming a dense terminal

showy corymb; leaves lanceolate, acute to truncate at base;

plants of wet, open places . . 1. A. incarnata

FF. Leaves densely and finely pubescent beneath.

K. Flower yellow or greenish; plants small, 15-40 (-55) cm. high;

leaves small, 3-8 cm. long, 2-5 cm. wide . 6. A. ovalifolia

KK. Flowers purplish or white; plants large, 50-100 cm. high;

leaves large, 10-23 cm. long, 5-9 cm. wide.

L. Flowers dark to light purple; leaves broadly ovate to oblong-

elliptic, obtuse to rounded at base; inflorescences dense.

M. Hoods (when spread out) with triangular marginal auricle;

petals pubescent outside; uppermost inflorescence lateral.

.......................................... 7. A. syriaca

MM. Hoods without sharp triangular lobe, only broader in the

middle; petals glabrous outside; uppermost inflorescence

terminal ........................... 10. A. purpurascens

LL. Flowers white (flushed with green or purple) ; leaves broadly

elliptic, strongly attenuated to the base from near the middle.

Inflorescences lax ........................... 4. A. exaltata

EE. Leaves below inflorescence alternate; flowers orange; hoods up to

two times longer than the antherhead; inflorescence of several ter¬

minal umbels . . 3. A. tuberosa

1957]

Noamesi and litis — Preliminary Report 1*0

109

SUBGENUS I. ASCLEPIAS

1. A. incarnata L, Swamp Milkweed. Map 1.

Represented in Wisconsin by subspecies incarnata.

Small pinkish-purple flowers, arranged in a somewhat flat-topped

inflorescence of many umbels which are borne at the tips of the

many branches. A beautiful showy species of open, wet places such

as swamps, shore of lakes and rivers, often in alluvial soil, common

throughout the state. Flowering from mid- June to mid-August.

2. A. VERTICILLATA L. Map 2.

Leaves linear-filiform. Flowers whitish, small, 3 mm. across. A

very distinct species of dry sandy soils and dry prairies, often

weedy on roadsides and pastures, found in the southern half of the

state. Flowering from July to early September.

3. A. tuberosa L. Butterfly-weed. Map 3.

Represented in Wisconsin, according to Woodson (1954), by sub¬

species interior Woods., with cordate leaf bases, and by subspecies

terminalis Woods, with truncate or rounded leaf bases, the former

more common in southern parts of the state, the latter more

common in the northern portions.

A beautiful orange-flowered species of sandy soil, open fields, and

roadsides, particularly common in the sandy areas in central Wis¬

consin. Flowering from mid-June through August. Small dots in

Map 3 represent sight records by J. W. Thomson.

4. A. EXALTATA L. Map 4.

A. phytolaccoides Pursh.

Stem relatively stout, simple, glabrous. Leaves large, thin, long-

pointed at both ends. Inflorescences lax. Flowers white, on pedicels

as long or longer than the peduncle.

Found in moist or dry woods, roadside thickets and open fields.

Flowering from mid- June to mid- July.

5. A. amplexicaulis Sm. Map 5.

Distinguished by the thick, glaucous leaves, deeply cordate at

base and often crimped on the margin. Flowers dull greenish-

purple, in lax inflorescences usually borne on long terminal

peduncles (occasional abnormal specimens have almost sessile

umbels) .

On sandy roadsides, abandoned fields, sandstone ridges, sandy

open oak woods, and sandy prairies. Flowering from mid- June to

mid-July.

110 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

1957] Noamesi and litis — Preliminary Report UO 111

6. A. OVALIFOLIA Dene. Map 6.

Slender, 2-6 dm. high; leaves in 3-7 pairs, short petioled, oval,

ovate or broadly lanceolate, tapering to a blunt or subacute apex,

soft-downy beneath. Sometimes resembling A. purpurascens, but

differing by the yellowish-greenish flowers, and the smaller size

of the plant.

Found on prairies, along sandy roadsides, and in sandy wood¬

lands. Flowering from early June to mid- July.

7. A. syriaca L. Common Milkweed or Silkweed. Map 7.

Stem coarse, up to 2 m. high, puberulent to pubescent above;

leaves lance-oblong to broadly oval. The numerous (50-100), light

to dark purple flowers, in each of the several umbels, form globose

heads.

A common weed in the southern half of the state, found in

prairies, sandy fields, roadside, damp meadows and swamps.

Flowering from early June to early August.

8. A. meadii Torr. Map 8, cross.

This species is very rare, both in the state and throughout its

range in the north-central states. Only two specimens have been

collected in Wisconsin, one from near Lancaster, Grant Co., in 1879

(which has been reported on by its collector, E. L. Greene (1898),

as coming from “a piece of wild land.”). At the University of Wis¬

consin herbarium a photograph (ex Gray Herbarium) of this speci¬

men shows another Wisconsin collection of A. meadii on the same

sheet, the latter, however, with insufficient data.

On the basis of its range, Fernald (1925: 317) considered A.

meadii one of several species that may have survived the Pleisto¬

cene glaciations in the “Driftless Area” of Wisconsin and adjoining

states. However, only one collection is definitely known from this

area, namely the one cited above. In the rest of its range (cf.

Woodson 1954: 110, fig. 44) about half of the records come from

glaciated territory, while the remainder come from unglaciated

territory south of the Glacial border, in Missouri and Kansas. This

distribution, as well as the nature of the habitat (“Dry upland

prairies and chert-lime glades”, (Woodson, loc. cit. ) ) , suggests a

southwestern origin, with an evolution and dispersal center per¬

haps in the ancient Ozarkian uplands, and a subsequent post-glacial

northward migration.

9. A. SULLIVANTII Engelm. Map 8, dots.

Rather stout, 6-9 dm. tall, glabrous. Leaves on very short

petioles not more than 1.5 dm. long, truncate or rounded at base

(not cordate), oblong to oblong-elliptic. Similar to A. syriaca, but

112 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

ASCLEPI AS SULLI VANT 1 1 Engelm.

ASCLEPI AS H1RTELLA (Pennell) Woods

113

1957] Noamesi and litis — Preliminary Report 40

differing by having looser inflorescences and by being glabrous

throughout.

A rather rare species of Southern Wisconsin, growing in low

prairies and along railroads. Flowering in July.

10. A. PURPURASCENS L. Purple Milkweed. Map 9.

Very similar to A. syriaca, but having usually darker purple

flowers with petals glabrous outside, and usually somewhat nar¬

rower, more acute leaves.

An uncommon prairie species, found along roads in ditches and

hedges, and along railroad relic prairies. Flowering from mid- June

to mid-July.

SUBGENUS 11. ACERATES (Ell.) Woods.

11. A. HIRTELLA (Pennell) Woodson. Map 10.

Acerates hirtella Pennell.

A cerates floridana of American authors, not of Lamarck.

Leaves many and crowded, very narrow, scabrous. Inflorescences

often more than 3, occasionally as many as 8.

An uncommon species of roadsides, sandy ground, prairie, and

wet meadows, mainly in the central part of the state. Flowering in

July and August.

12. A. VIRIDIFLORA Raf. Map 11.

Acerates viridiflora (Raf.) Pursh.

Similar to A. hirtella, but with fewer, often broader, leaves and

rarely with more than 3 inflorescences.

In sandy and mesic, relic prairies along railroads, “goat prairies”

and dry hillsides, sometimes with limestone outcroppings, and

pastures. Flowering from early June to late August.

13. A. LANUGINOSA Nutt. Map 12.

Asclepias nuttalliana Torr.

Acerates monocephala Lapham ex Gray.

Acerates lanuginosa (Nutt.) Dene.

Low, generally pilose, with clustered stems. Inflorescences soli¬

tary and terminal, sessile or subsessile.

A rare species in Wisconsin, found in dry, gravelly and sandy

prairies, hill-prairies, along railroads, and in sand flats near the

Wisconsin River. Flowering from late May to July.

The type of Acerates monocephala Lapham ex. A. Gray (Man.

Bot. Northern U. S. 1858, p. 704) came from “Prairies of Wiscon¬

sin.” Authentic material, collected or annotated by Lapham, is in

the University of Wisconsin Herbarium.

114 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

II. CYNANCHUM

Represented in Wisconsin by one species:

14. C. nigrum (L.) Pers.

Stem twining; leaves opposite; juice not milky; flowers axillary,

blooming in June. Fruit fusiform lanceolate, smooth, ripe in July.

Introduced from Europe. Collected twice at Potosi, Grant County,

in 1913 and 1926.

Bibliography

Deam, C. C. 1940. Flora of Indiana. Indiana Dept, of Conservation, Indian¬

apolis.

Fernald, M. L. 1950. Gray’s Manual of Botany. Ed. 8. American Book Co.,

New York, N. Y.

- . 1925. Persistance of plants in unglaciated areas of boreal America.

Mem. Am. Acad. Arts. Sci. XV :237-242.

Gray, A. 1858. Manual of Botany of the Northern United States. Ivison &

Phinney, New York.

Jones, G. N. and G. D. Fuller. 1955. Vascular plants of Illinois. University

of Illinois Press, Urbana.

Nicolson, D. and N. H. Russell. 1955. The genus Asclepias in Iowa. Iowa

Academy of Science 62:211-215.

Woodson, R. E., Jr. 1947. Some dynamics of leaf variation in Asclepias

tuberosa. Ann. Missouri Bot. Garden 34:353-432.

- . 1954. The North American species of Asclepias L. Ann. Missouri Bot.

Garden 41:1-211.

PRELIMINARY REPORTS ON THE FLORA OF WISCONSIN.

NO. 41. LABIATAE— MINT FAMILY

Robert C. Koeppen

Herbarium of the University of Wisconsin

The distribution of the Labiatae of Wisconsin, their habitats and

dates of flowering, were compiled from specimens and field notes

in the herbaria of the University of Wisconsin (WIS), the Mil¬

waukee Public Museum (MIL), and the University of Minnesota

(MINN). Other sources of information are cited in the text. The

symbols used on the distribution maps to designate the exact locali¬

ties where collections were made are given in the text; circles

around these symbols indicate a county record without specific

locality.1 Nomenclature and phylogenetic sequence of genera follows

that of the New Britton and Brown Illustrated Flora (Gleason,

1952), excepting the genera Physostegia and Draco cephalum,

where Gray's Manual of Botany, Ed. 8 (Fernald, 1950) was used.

In the text, references are given to pertinent monographic studies.

Grateful acknowledgment is due to Gerald B. Ownbey, curator

of the herbarium of the University of Minnesota, and Albert M.

Fuller, curator of the herbarium of the Milwaukee Public Museum,

who were kind enough to provide the use of their herbarium facili¬

ties for this study; to John W. Thomson whose constructive criti¬

cism of the final draft was exceedingly helpful; and especially to

Hugh H. litis for his assistance and advice in the preparation of

this report as well as for his critical reading of the manuscript.

Labiatae of Wisconsin

Annual or perennial herbs (Wisconsin members) with square

stems, usually producing aromatic oils; leaves opposite, estipulate,

simple, mostly serrate but in some entire to lobed; inflorescence

composed of axillary cymes that form 1 or more apparent whorls

(verticils) or the flowers solitary in each axil (Scutellaria, Physo¬

stegia), the primary axis often with shortened internodes, the

verticils then appearing as a continuous spike or head; flowers

perfect; calyx persistent, typically 5-lobed, often 2-lipped (bila¬

biate), with 5-15 conspicuous nerves; corolla sympetalous, 5-lobed,

bilabiate (nearly regular in Mentha and Ly copus) ; stamens 2 or 4,

epipetalous, with the anterior pair usually longer (didynamous) ;

1 Many of the specimens on which this report is based were collected on field trips

supported by grants from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.

115

116 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and ' Letters [Vol. 46

pistil 1; ovary superior, 4-lobed but 2 carpellate, the single style

gynobasic, arising between the 4 lobes, shortly 2-branched; fruit

of 4 nutlets, usually separating at maturity.

Key to Genera

a. Calyx with a distinct protuberance on the back of the upper lip; flowers

blue . . . . . . 4. Scutellaria

a. Calyx without any protuberance on the back of the upper lip.

b. Corolla appearing one-lipped, the upper lip either very short, or its lobes

appearing laterally on the margins of the lower lip; corolla large, 10-18

mm. long.

c. Flowers in definite terminal racemes, the bracts linear, much reduced;

leaves with definite petioles, lanceolate to ovate, serrate; corolla pink,

split on the upper side . 2. Teucrium

c. Flowers in the axils of large foliage-like bracts; leaves mostly sessile,

spatulate ; teeth rounded ; corolla deep blue, upper lip very short, but

not split . . . . . . . 1. Ajuga

b. Corolla two lipped or regular, large or small.

d. Stamens 2.

e. Lower lip of corolla fringed; inflorescence a terminal panicle; flowers

yellow, lemon scented . . 27. Collinsonia

e. Lower lip of corolla lobed or entire, not fringed; inflorescences axil¬

lary or terminal racemes or heads.

f. Calyx regular or nearly so, its lobes essentially all alike.

g. Corolla less than 5 mm. long, nearly regular, white; plants not

aromatic . 25. Lycopus

g. Corolla 15-50 mm. long, strongly bilabiate, lavender, yellow, or

crimson, rarely white; plants strongly aromatic.. 16. Monarda

f. Calyx irregular, bilabiate.

h. Flowers axillary, 6 mm. or less long, in loose few-flowered ver¬

ticils subtended by ordinary foliage leaves; base of calyx gibbous

on lower side . . . 18. Hedeoma

h. Flowers terminal, 6-20 mm. long, in racemes or heads, the brac-

teal leaves much reduced in size; base of calyx not gibbous,

i. Verticils with less than 12 flowers; more than 5 verticils in

each inflorescence . 15. Salvia

i. Verticils with numerous flowers; 1-5 verticils in each inflo¬

rescence . . . 17. Blephelia

d. Stamens 4-

j. Calyx lobes with stiff, bristle-like, spiny tops.

k. Leaves palmately veined and palmately lobed. ..... 13. Leonurus

k. Leaves pinnately veined, serrate . . 11. Galeopsis

j. Calyx lobes neither stiff nor spiny, usually with acuminate but flexible

tips.

l. Flowers axillary, subtended by ordinary or only slightly reduced

foliage leaves; internodes of inflorescence not markedly shorter

than those of the stem.

m. Leaves entire.

n. Calyx regular, the lobes equal ; corolla barely exceeding calyx

lobes; stems pubescent . . . 3. Isanthus

n. Calyx irregular, the lobes unequal; corolla exceeding calyx

lobes by at least 3 mm.; stems glabrous . 19. Calamintha

1957]

Koeppen — Preliminary Report U1

117

m. Leaves serrate or crenate.

o. Leaves broadly ovate to reniform, at least one-half times as

broad as long.

p. Flowers white or reddish-purple, sessile; upper lip of

corolla strongly concave; plants ascending or erect .

. . . . . 12. Lamium

p. Flowers blue, distinctly pedicelled; upper lip of corolla not

strongly concave; plants creeping . . 7. Glecoma

o. Leaves lanceolate, oblanceolate, or oblong, more than twice as

long as broad.

q. Flowers large, about 25 mm. long; calyx and corolla strongly

bilabiate . . . 8. Dracocephalum

q. Flowers small, 7 mm. or less long; calyx and corolla nearly

regular . . . . . . . 26. Mentha

1. Flowers in terminal spikes, racemes, or heads; if verticils sub¬

tended by foliose bracts, then the bracts reduced in size; internodes

of inflorescence shortened,

r. Leaves entire.

s. Principal leaves 10-40 mm. wide, the petioles 10 mm. or more

long; flowers usually blue-violet . . . 9. Prunella

s. Principal leaves 10 mm. or less wide, sessile (long attenuate

to the base in No. 20) or with petioles less than 5 mm. long,

t. Flowers whitish, in many small, dense, globose heads at the

tips of branchlets, normally none at lower nodes .

. 24. Pycnanthemum

t. Flowers blue or purple, in dense or loose racemes, the inflo¬

rescence at least somewhat elongate.

u. Leaves 5-10 mm. long, usually elliptic; calyx 3-4 mm.

long; corolla purple . . . . . 23. Thymus

u. Leaves 10-30 mm. long, linear, lanceolate, or oblanceolate;

calyx 6-8 mm. long; corolla bluish or white,

v. Corolla dark blue, about 10 mm. long; plants perennial

from a woody rhizome . . . . . 22. Hyssopus

v. Corolla pale pink-purple to white, 5—7 mm. long; plants

annual . 20. Satureja

r. Leaves serrate or crenate.

w. Stamens ascending along the upper lip of the corolla, or

straight; none of the calyx lobes banner-like, nor with decur¬

rent edges.

x. Flowers singly in the axil of each bracteal leaf, 15-30 mm.

long, with 2 flowers at a node . . 10. Physostegia

x. Flowers 2 — many in the axil of each bracteal leaf, less than

15 mm. long, with at least 4 flowers at a node,

y. Inflorescences secund, very dense, terminal mostly on the

lateral branches . . . . 28. Elsholtzia

y. Inflorescences terete.

z. Flowers small, the calyx less than 4 mm. long; corolla

nearly regular, its lobes about equal; plants strongly

aromatic . . . . . . 26. Mentha

z. Flowers larger, the calyx 4 mm. or more long; corolla

bilabiate, its lobes unequal; plants aromatic or odorless,

aa. Bracts of verticils all setaceous, about 10 mm. long,

hirsute; flowers in a dense, subglobose, terminal,

head-like glomerule, or in vigorous plants, with 2

glomerules in the upper most axils 21. Clinopodium

118 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

aa. Bracts of verticils ovate or lanceolate, if setaceous,

neither long nor hirsute; flowers not in head-like

glomerules.

bb. Inflorescence a long, few-flowered spike; flowers

all sessile, 6-8 at a node ; internodes clearly

visible . . . 14. Stachys.

bb. Inflorescence many-flowered, more or less compact;

flowers both pedicellate and pedunculate; inter¬

nodes rarely visible (except in No. 6).

cc. Stamens long-exserted from the corolla; plants

large, often more than 70 cm. tall. .5. Agastache.

cc. Stamens included or only barely exserted from

corolla; plants usually less than 70 cm. tall,

dd. Flowers whitish ; plants canescent throughout,

strongly aromatic; leaves crenate-dentate, the

teeth obtuse; calyx nearly regular. .6. Nepeta .

dd. Flowers bluish; plants glabrous to sparingly

pubescent, not strongly aromatic; calyx

strongly bilabiate.

ee. Leaves obscurely toothed or some of them

entire ; bracts broadly ovate, ciliate . . .

. . . . . 9. Prunella.

ee. Leaves sharply serrate; bracts lanceolate,

toothed, the teeth ending in short awns ....

. . . 8. Dracocephalum.

w. Stamens deflexed along the lower lip of the corolla; upper lip

of calyx banner-like, its edges decurrent along the calyx tube

. . . . . 29. Ocimum.

1. AJUGA L. Bugle

1. A. genevensis L. Erect Bugle. Map 1.

Introduced from Europe and occasionally escaping from gardens.

Apparently established in Waukesha County. Flowering mid-May

thru June.

Ajuga r epens L. has been reported for Wisconsin by Fernald

(1950), but none of the Wisconsin collections examined for this

study had stolons, triangular-ovate calyx lobes, or approached the

glabrescence of that species.

2. TEUCRIUM L. Germander; Wood Sage

[McClintock and Epling. A Revision of Teucrium in the New

World. Brittonia 5 :491-510. 1946.]

1. T. CANADENSE L.

Gleason (1952) recognizes three varieties of T. canadense. The

two varieties occurring in Wisconsin are not clearly defined. How¬

ever, most plants can be assigned to one variety or the other on

the basis of calyx and stem pubescence.

1957]

Koeppen — Preliminary Report J+l

119

a. Calyx and stem pubescence of short (0.5 mm. or less), curly, felt-like,

typically eglandular, hairs ............. la. T. canadense var. virginicwm.

a. Calyx and stem pubescence with at least some longer (1.0 mm.), spreading

or only archingly recurved, typically glandular, hairs . . .

. . . . . . lb. T. canadense var. occidentale.

la. T. CANADENSE L. var. virgxnicum (L.) Eaton. Map 2, dots.

Distributed mostly in the southern portion of the state, extend¬

ing northward to Polk, Lincoln, and Marinette Counties. Common

in rich low woods, on creek banks, lake shores, and moist places;

occasionally on drier sites, as sandy roadsides, limestone outcrops,

prairies, and dry woods. Flowering early June thru August.

lb. T. CANADENSE L. var. occidentale (Gray) McClintock &

Epling. Map 2, crosses.

T. occidentale Gray.

Mostly in the southern portion of the state, extending northward

to Burnett, Forest, and Door Counties. Habitat and flowering times

as in No. la.

3. ISANTHUS Michx. False Pennyroyal

1. I. brag hiatus (L.) BSP. Map 3.

I. brachiatus (L.) BSP. var. linearis Fassett, Rhodora 35:388,

1933.

Locally common in southern Wisconsin on quartzite, limestone,

or granite outcrops, and sandy or gravelly slopes, pastures, and

stream banks. Flowering end of July thru mid-September.

Fassett described var. linearis as a northern variety of the

species. Examinations of herbarium specimens reveal that small,

narrow-leaved plants are not uncommon in the Eastern United

States, and that within a single population (e.g. W. Rutland, Ver¬

mont, W. W. Eglleston s. n. (WIS) ; “Pinnacle Point”, Barry

County, Missouri, Moore & litis 533 (WIS) ) both robust plants

with wide, 3-nerved leaves as well as depauperate plants with

narrow, 1-nerved leaves may be found. This form, therefore, does

not seem to deserve formal taxonomic recognition.

4. SCUTELLARIA L. Skullcap

[Epling. American Species of Scutellaria. Univ. Calif. Publ. Bot.

20:1-146. 1942.]

a. Plants with moniliform rhizomes; leaves 2 cm. long or less, entire or sub¬

entire; plants 10-20 cm. tall.

b. Plant obviously pubescent; usually some of the leaves sparingly toothed.

Under the lens: upper stems and leaves with copious spreading hairs and

longer capitate glands . 1. S', parvula.

120 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

1957]

Koeppen — Preliminary Report Jfl

121

b. Plants subglabrous ; leaves usually entire, often revolute. Under the lens:

upper stem (at least on angles) and leaves with short ascending hairs,

eglandular . . . . 2. S. leonardi.

a. Plants with filiform rhizomes, stolons, or slender tap roots; larger leaves

more than 2 cm. long, toothed; plants commonly 30 cm. tall or more.

c. Petioles short, 1-3 mm. long; leaves mostly broadly lanceolate to oblong,

crenulate . . . . . . . . . . 3. S. galericulata.

c. Petioles 10 mm. long or longer; leaves deltoid-ovate to ovate-cordate,

crenate to serrate.

d. Largest flowers 10-23 mm. long; racemes terminal or subterminal;

leaves broadly ovate-cordate, 6-12 cm. long, 3. 5-9. 2 cm. broad, crenate-

serrate; stem from a narrow taproot-like base; plants softly pilose

throughout . . . 4. S. ovata subsp. versicolor.

d. Largest flowers 6-9 mm. long; racemes usually axillary, secund; leaves

deltoid-ovate, 3-7 cm. long, 2. 0-3. 5 cm. broad, coarsely serrate; stems

from filiform rhizomes; plants with ascending hairs, at least on the

stem angles . . . . 5. S', lateriflora.

1. S. parvula Michx. Small Skullcap. Map 4.

Prairies, limestone ledges, creek-sides, and railroad embank¬

ments; not common in Wisconsin. Flowering in June. Very similar

to the next but with broader, more ovate leaves, and greater

pubescence.

2. S. leonardi Epl. Smooth Small Skullcap. Map 5.

S. parvula Michx. var. Leonardi (Epling) Fern.

Common in the southern half of the state on rocky bluffs and

outcrops of granite, limestone, and sandstone; in sandy places of

fields, pastures, steep prairies, and river bottoms, oak-openings and

jack pine woods; occurring northward to Burnett, Price, and She¬

boygan Counties. Flowering end of May thru July.

3. S. GALERICULATA L. Common Skullcap. Map 6.

S. epilobilif olia A. Hamilton.

Common throughout the state in swales, bogs, low meadows,

river bottoms, lakeshores, and other wet places. Flowering end of

May thru August.

4. S. OVATA Hill subsp. VERSICOLOR (Nutt.) Epling. Heart-leaved

Skullcap. Map 7.

S . ovata Hill var. versicolor (Nutt.) Fern.

Local on oak ridges, wooded slopes, and bluffs of southern Wis¬

consin; northward to Pierce and Milwaukee Counties. Flowering

from the end of June to the end of August.

5. S. LATERIFLORA L. Mad-Dog Skullcap. Map 8.

Common throughout the state on lakeshores, river banks, tama¬

rack bogs, marshes, low woods, and in roadside ditches. Flowering

mid-July to mid-September.

•»

122 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

1957]

Koeppen — Preliminary Report 41

123

5. AGASTACHE Clayton. Giant-Hyssop

[Lint and Epling. A Revision of Agastache. Am. Midi. Nat.

33:207-230. 1945.]

a. Under surface of leaves whitened with very short, dense, felt-like hairs;

upper surface glabrous; bracts pubescent, often violet tinged; calyx pubes¬

cent, the teeth violet tipped; corolla blue .............. 1. A. fo&niculum .

a. Under surface glabrous, or more often with spreading hairs, tomentose to

pilose; upper surface glabrous to pilose; bracts glabrous or minutely

pubescent, green or pinkish; calyx glabrate, the teeth green or reddish;

corolla rose, purple or yellow.

b. Calyx teeth triangular-lanceolate, acute to acuminate, about 2 mm. long,

often pinkish; bracts mostly abruptly acuminate to caudate, typically

pink colored at margins, glabrous or giabrescent ; corolla rose or purple;

stem often reddish ........................... 2, A. scrophulariae folia.

b. Calyx teeth ovate, acute to obtuse, about 1 mm. long, green; bracts acute

to acuminate, green, usually pubescent, with ciliolate margins; corolla

yellow; stem green ................................. 3. A . nepetoides.

1. A. FOENICULUM (Pursh) Kuntze. Blue or Fragrant Giant-

Hyssop. Map 9.

Sandy fields, prairies, pine barrens, and waste places of the

northwestern counties. The Oneida and Dane County collections,

which come from outside the main range of the species, were made

on railroad embankments. Flowering mid- July to mid-October.

According to Lint and Epling (1945) this species reaches its

eastern limit in Wisconsin. A collection cited by them (J. J. Davis

§m. Lewis, Wis., Aug, 1, 1924. (WIS, MIL) ) has calyces, leaves,

and pubescence intermediate between those of A. foeniculum and

A, scrophulariae folia and may be of hybrid origin (“X” on

Map 9.).

2. A. SCROPHULARIAEFOLIA (Willd.) Kuntze. Purple or Figwort

Giant-Hyssop. Map 10.

Open woods southwest of the Northwest to Southeast climatic

"tension” zone. Flowering mid- July thru September.

3. A. nepetoides (L.) Kuntze. Yellow or Catnip Giant-Hyssop.

Map 11.

Open wooded areas. Not common in Wisconsin. Flowering end of

J uly to mid-September.

6. NEPETA L Catnip

1. N. cataria L. Map 12.

Native of Europe, introduced into herb gardens, and now thor¬

oughly naturalized and widespread in weedy pastures, yards, fence

rows, roadsides, railroad embankments, open woods, and stream

banks throughout the state. Flowering early June to early October.

124 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

1957]

Koeppen— Preliminary Report 41

125

7. GLECOMA L. Ground Ivy; Gill-Over-The Ground ;

Creeping-Charlie

1. G. hederacea L. Two varieties are found in Wisconsin.

Nepeta hederacea BSP.

Nepeta Glechoma Benth.

a. Corolla 15-23 mm. long; leaves green. ... la. G. hederacea var. hederacea .

a. Corolla 9-15 mm. long; leaves often reddish . . . . .

...................................... lb. G. hederacea var. parviflora .

la. G. HEDERACEA L. var. HEDERACEA. Map 13, crosses.

Naturalized from Europe. Not widespread in Wisconsin. Flower¬

ing early May thru June.

lb. G. HEDERACEA L. var. PARVIFLORA (Benth.) Druce. Map 13,

dots.

G. hederacea L. var. micrantha Moricand.

Nepeta hederacea BSP. var. parviflora Druce.

Naturalized from Europe, common and widespread in Wisconsin

around habitations. Flowering early May thru June.

This species forms extensive patches on moist shady soil under

trees and around buildings, often becoming a nuisance.

8. DRACOCEPHALXJM L. Dragonhead

a. Inflorescence compact and dense; flowers subtended by bracts; corolla

scarcely exceeding the calyx ......................... 1. D. parviflorum.

a. Inflorescence elongate and open; flowers subtended by ordinary foliage

leaves; corolla much exceeding the calyx ............... 2. D. moldavica.

1. D. parviflorum Nutt. American Dragonhead. Map 14, dots.

Moldavica parviflora (Nutt.) Britt.

In open habitats, not common, throughout Wisconsin. Flowering

mid- June thru July.

2. D. moldavica L. Moldavian Dragonhead or Balm. Map 14,

crosses.

Moldavica punctata Moench.

Introduced from central Europe. Flowering June to October

(Fernald, 1950).

Of the four Wisconsin collections (WIS), the most recent is a

1914 collection from Sheboygan marked “Hort.”; the two collec¬

tions from St. Croix County were made in 1861, the Racine County

one in 1859. No further information is given on the latter three

sheets. Quite possibly all these specimens came from herb gardens.

126 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

[Vol. 46

9. PRUNELLA L. Self-Heal; Heal-All

1. P. vulgaris L. Two varieties are recognized in Wisconsin.

a. Stems decumbent or creeping1, 10-30 cm. long; leaves ovate .

. . . . . . la. P. vulgaris var. vulgaris .

a. Stems erect or strongly ascending, 30-60 cm. long; leaves lanceolate . !

. . . . . . . . lb. P. vulgaris var. lanceolata. j

la. P. VULGARIS L. var. VULGARIS. Map 15, crosses.

Introduced from Europe, rare in Wisconsin, found mostly in

lawns. Flowering end of June thru September.

lb. P. VULGARIS L. var. lanceolata (Bart.) Fern. Map 15, dots.

Common throughout the state on sandy prairies, fields, yards,

pastures, and roadsides, and in woodlands of all kinds. Flowering

end of June thru September.

10. PHYSOSTEGIA Benth. False Dragonhead;

Obedient Plant

1. P. formosior Lunell. Map 16.

Dracocephalum formosius (Lunell) Rydb.

P. speciosa var. glabri flora Fassett.

Locally abundant in low lands throughout the state; as lake,

river, and stream banks, sedge meadows, marshes, swales, and

flood-plain forests. Flowering from the end of July to early October.

The Wisconsin specimens have been variously grouped as to

species, but following McClintock’s 1947 unpublished study of this

genus, as revealed by her annotations in the University of Wiscon¬

sin Herbarium (as Dracocephalum formosius) , there is only one

taxon in the state.

A very showy species, frequently cultivated in flower gardens.

The name obedient plant is derived from the tendency of the corolla

to remain in whatever position it is placed.

11. GALEOPSIS L. Hemp-Nettle

a. Stem hispid, the nodes swollen ; leaves ovate, coarsely serrate . ]

. . . . . . . . . . 1. G. tetrahit.

a. Stem finely recurved pubescent, the nodes not swollen; leaves linear to :

lanceolate, shallowly serrate to entire . 2. G. ladanum.

1. G. TETRAHIT L.

Two varieties are found in Wisconsin.

a. Leaf bases rounded; corolla about 22 mm. long, the lower lobe truncate )

. . . . la. G. tetrahit var. tetrahit.

a. Leaf bases cuneate; corolla about 15 mm. long, the lower lobe emarginate ?

. . . . . . . lb. G. tetrahit var. bifida.

1957]

Koeppen- — Preliminary Report hi

127

la. G. tetrahit L. var. tetrahit. Map 17, crosses.

Collected near rivers and lakes, not common. Flowering mid-

July to September.

lb. G. tetrahit L. var. bifida (Roenn.) LeJ. and Court. Map 17,

dots.

In low waste places and pastures, occasionally in woods; the

more abundant variety in Wisconsin. Flowering early July thru

September.

2. G. ladanum L. var. angustifglia Wallr. Red Hemp-Nettle.

Map 17, circle.

Our one collection is from Calumet County : considerable colonies

within a mile south of Potter, Aug. 26, 1922, H. C, Benke 3602

(MIL).

12. LAMIUM L. Dead-Nettle

a. Upper leaves sessile and clasping, lower leaves long petioled ; corolla 12-18

mm. long, the upper lip 3-5 mm. long ................ 1. L. amplexicaule.

a. All leaves petioled.

b. Corolla 8-15 mm. long, the upper lip 3-5 mm. long; leaves deep green or

purplish, upper ones densely crowded ................ 2. L. purpureum.

b. Corolla 20-25 mm. long, the upper lip 7-11 mm. long; leaves often with a

pale blotch along the midrib, none of them crowded .... 3. L. maeulatum. .

1. L. amplexicaule L. Henbit Map 18, dots.

Roadsides, railroad embankments, and waste places of Sheboy¬

gan, Milwaukee, and Racine Counties. A common weed in the

southern states, but not persistent in Wisconsin. Flowering March

to November (Gleason, 1952), in Wisconsin probably June to

September.

2. L. PURPUREUM L. Purple Dead-Nettle. Map 18, cross.

A single waif collected in the city of Sheboygan, June 1878, by

/. J. Brown s: n. (WIS) .

3. L. maculatum L. Variegated Dead Nettle. Map 18, circles.

Native of Eurasia, occasionally escaping from cultivation. Col¬

lected to date only from Grant, Wood, Manitowoc, and Rock

Counties. Wisconsin collections flowering July thru August.

13. LEONURUS L. Motherwort

1. L. CARDIACA L. Map 19.

Open woods, pastures, river bottoms, and waste places. Native of

central Asia, introduced in herb gardens and freely escaping

throughout Wisconsin, but more common in the southern half of

the state. Flowering end of May thru September.

128 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

1957]

Koeppen — Preliminary Report 41

129

14. STACHYS L. Hedge-Nettle

[Epling. Preliminary Revision of American Stachys. Fedde Repert.

Spec. Nov. Beih. 80:79-81. 1934.]

The pubescence characters of the species of this genus, in Wis¬

consin, exhibit a tendency to intergrade, especially on the upper

stem. Some specimens of the glabrous S. tenuifolia have hispid

hairs on the upper stem angles, as in S . hispida. Individuals of

S. hispida may be found with hairs on the sides as well as the

angles of the upper stem, as in S . palustris. Following the available

literature, three species are found within the state.

a. Plants glabrous, occasionally subglabrous above; leaf petioles 8-25 mm.

long . . . . . . . 1. S', tenuifolia.

a. Plants pubescent, at least on the stem angles; leaves sessile or with petioles

up to 10 mm. long.

b. Stems hispid on the angles only; leaves with petioles up to 10 mm. long

. . . . . . . . . 2. S. hispida .

b. Stems pubescent on the sides, as well as the angles; leaves sessile or

subsessile . . . . . . 3. S', palustris.

1. S. TENUIFOLIA Willd. Map 20.

Occasionally on the Wisconsin River bottoms, or in moist weedy

pastures, mostly in the southwestern portion of the state. Flower¬

ing end of July to early September.

2. S. hispida Pursh. Map 21.

Common throughout the state on lake shores, river and stream

banks, in marshes, bogs, low fields, and moist woods. Flowering

end of June to mid-September.

3. S. PALUSTRIS L. Map 22.

Common throughout Wisconsin in moist places, as marshes, bogs,

river bottoms, lake shores, ditches, and low pastures. Flowering

from the end of June thru the end of September.

Fernald (1950) recognizes nine varieties of this species, Gleason

(1952) narrows them to three. It is exceedingly difficult to fit many

of the Wisconsin specimens into any of these groupings. Epling

(1934, p. 63) states that Wisconsin and Minnesota are the meeting

grounds for eastern and western forms and reports numerous

intermediates. In view of this observation, and the limited scope of

this report, it seems best to treat the Wisconsin plants as part of a

S. palustris complex and not try to force them into varietal

“pigeon-holes”.

130 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

15. SALVIA L. Sage

a. Principal leaves 4-12 mm. wide, linear to lanceolate, entire or subentire

. . . . 1. S. reflexa.

a. Principal leaves 20-60 mm. wide, ovate-lanceolate to ovate oblong, crenate.

b. Leaves mostly basal, long petioled; corolla 15-20 mm. long .............

. . . . . . . . . . . . 2. S, pratensis.

b. Leaves cauline, short petioled to sessile; corolla 9-12 mm. long .

. . . . . . . . . 3. S. nemorosa.

1. S. reflexa Hornem. Map 23, dots.

Very local on limestone outcrops or dry fields and prairies in the

southern part of the state, northward to Buffalo, Fond du Lac, and

Sheboygan Counties. Flowering early July to mid-October.

2. S. pratensis L. Meadow Sage. Map 23, circles.

Native of Europe, reportedly thoroughly established along the

T. M. E. R. & L. right-of-way and the adjacent pasture south of

State Highway 20, Rochester, Racine County ; not persistent north¬

ward. Flowering June to August (Gleason, 1952).

3. S. NEMOROSA L. Map 23, crosses.

S. sylvestris L.

Native of Europe, occasionally escaping into fields, pastures and

along railroad tracks, where it is reported as locally abundant.

Flowering May to July.

16. MONARDA L. Horse Mint; Wild Bergamot

[McClintock & Epling. A Review of the Genus Monarda.

Univ. Calif. Publ. Bot. 20:147-194. 1942.]

a. Stamens and style clearly exserted beyond the upper lip of the corolla;

heads terminal, solitary (occasionally two) ; corolla lilac, white or scarlet.

b. Corolla lavender (rarely white), 15-27 mm. long, the upper lip densely

pubescent, bearded at the tip . . . 1. M. fistulosa.

b. Corolla bright scarlet, 30-50 mm. long, glabrous or sparingly pubescent,

not bearded . . . . . . . . 2. M. didyma.

a. Stamens and style largely contained within the upper lip of the corolla;

heads two or more, forming an interrupted spike; corolla yellowish with

purple spots . . 3. M. punctata subsp. villicaulis.

1. M. FISTULOSA L. Wild Bergamot. Map 24.

M. fistulosa L. var. mollis (L.) Benth.

Common throughout the state, on dry prairies, pastures, road¬

sides, railroad embankments, oak-openings, and pine barrens.

Flowering end of June to early September,

1957] Koeppen — Preliminary Report U1 131

The pubescence is variable and three types may be recognized:

plants with only short recurved hairs, plants with only long spread¬

ing hairs, and intermediates having both kinds. Some taxonomists

have given varietal rank to each of these pubescence types, but

McClintock & Epling (1942) do not recognize them as varieties.

In Wisconsin, the form with only long spreading hairs is rare.

Plants with only short recurved hairs are found more commonly in

the southern counties, while those with mixed pubescence are more

common northward. White flowered plants (forma albescens

Farw.) occur sporadically.

2. M. didyma L. Oswego Tea ; Bee Balm. Map 25, crosses.

Native of New York, Pennsylvania, and southward on the Appa¬

lachian Mountains to Tennessee (McClintock & Epling, 1942: 160,

Fig. 4) ; introduced in flower gardens in Wisconsin and occasion¬

ally escaping on moist roadsides. Flowering July to September

(Gleason, 1952).

3. M. punctata L. subsp. villicaulis Penn. Horsemint. Map 25,

dots.

A plant of open, dry, sandy soil, especially common on prairies,

oak openings, jack pine stands, sandstone outcrops, roadsides,

sandy beaches, and abandoned fields, mostly in the southern half

of Wisconsin. Flowering end of June to mid-September.

17. BLEPHILIA Raf.

a. Internodes with long spreading hairs; leaves ovate, sharply serrate, with

petioles 1-2 cm. long; bracts linear-subulate to lanceolate, green, shorter

than the calyx; lower calyx lobes not reaching the sinuses of the upper lip

. . . 1. B. hirsuta.

a. Internodes with short recurved hairs ; leaves lanceolate to ovate, entire or

minutely serrulate, the upper ones of flowering stems sessile or subsessile;

outer bracts ovate, acuminate to caudate, often purplish, as long as the

calyx; lower calyx lobes extending beyond the sinuses of the upper lip

. . . . . 2. B. ciliata.

1. B. hirsuta (Pursh) Benth. Wood-Mint. Map 26.

Rich woods throughout the state, but nowhere abundant. Flower¬

ing early- July to early-September.

2. B. ciliata (L.) Benth. Map 27.

Low places in open woods, prairies, and meadows. Confined

largely to the southeastern portion of the state. Flowering end of

May thru mid-August.

132 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

1957]

Koeppen — Preliminary Report J+l

138

18. HEDEOMA Pers.

[Epling & Stewart. A Revision of Hedeoma. Fedde Repert.

Spec. Nov. Beih. 115:1-49. 1939.]

a. Leaves lanceolate, the principal ones distinctly petiolate, and usually ser¬

rate; upper calyx teeth without cilia . . . 1. H. pulegioides.

a. Leaves linear, sessile, entire; all calyx teeth ciliate . . 2. H. hispida.

1. H. pulegioides (L.) Pers. American Pennyroyal. Map 28.

Locally common in sandy soil of pastures, open woods, and road¬

sides: La Crosse County to Sheboygan County and southward.

Flowering mid- July thru August.

2. H. hispida Pursh. Rough Pennyroyal. Map 29.

Dry sandy or gravelly soil of prairies, pastures, roadsides, and

waste places throughout the state, especially common southward.

Flowering mid-May to early August.

19. CALAMINTHA Moench. Calamint

[DeWolf. Notes on Cultivated Labiates. Baileya 3^:148-150. 1954.]

1. C. glabella (Michx.) Benth. var. angustifolia (Torr.)

DeWolf. Slender Calamint or Bed’s-foot. Map 30.

Satureja glabella (Michx.) Briq. var. angustifolia (Torr.)

Svenson.

Satureja arkansana (Nutt.) Briq.

Open limestone outcrops along beaches and ravines, or in cal¬

careous meadows. Locally abundant in Door, Racine, and Kenosha

Counties on Niagara Dolomite. The isolated Vernon County collec¬

tion, beyond the general range of the species, is likewise within an

area of limestones. Flowering end of July to early October.

20. SATUREJA L. Savory

[DeWolf. Notes on Cultivated Labiates. Baileya 33 : 143-150. 1954.]

1. S. hortensis L. Summer Savory. No map.

Native of Europe; introduced in herb gardens and occasionally

escaping on roadsides. Two collections from Wisconsin : Sheboygan

County, Town of Rhine, August 1903, Chas. Goessl s. n. (WIS) ;

Ozaukee County, Port Washington, August 9, 1887, F. Runge 772

(MIL). Flowering July to September (Gleason, 1952).

For Satureja glabella and S. arkansana see Calamint ha; for

S. vulgaris see Clinopodium.

134 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

1957]

Koeppen — Preliminary Report

135

21. CLINOPODIUM L. Basil

[DeWolf. Notes on Cultivated Labiates. Baileya 33:145-150. 1954.]

1. C. VULGARE L. Wild Basil. Map 31.

Satureja vulgaris (L.) Fritsch.

In damp places, especially low woods and along lake shores.

Flowering end of June thru September.

22. HYSSOPUS L. Hyssop

1. H. OFFICINALIS L. Map 32.

Native of Eurasia; occasionally escaping from herb gardens. In

sandy soils of old fields, roadsides, and waste places. Not common.

Flowering July to October (Gleason, 1952) .

23. THYMUS L. Thyme

1. T. SERPYLLUM L. Wild Thyme. No map.

Gleason (1952, 3:178) reports this species “Native of Europe;

commonly cultivated for ornament . . .”. The only Wisconsin col¬

lection is from a lawn at Arcadia in Trempealeau County, July 27,

1954, Comm. F. V. Burcalow s. n. (WIS) .

24. PYCNANTHEMUM Michx. Mountain Mint; Basil

[Grant & Epling. A Study of Pycnanthemum. Univ. Calif. Publ.

Bot. 20:195-240. 1943.]

a. Stem glabrous throughout; leaves glabrous, the lower with one or two pairs

of lateral veins, all arising near the base . 1. P. flexuosum.

a. Stem pubescent on the angles; leaves scabrous, at least on the margins, the

lower usually with four pairs of lateral veins, the terminal pair arising

near the middle . . . . . . . 2. P. virginianum.

1. P. FLEXUOSUM (Walt.) BSP. Map 23, crosses.

Native of the eastern and southern United States, in Wisconsin

apparently adventive, with small colonies occurring sporadically

along beaches, roadsides, or railroad embankments. Flowering July

to September (Fernald, 1950).

2. P. virginianum (L.) Durand & Jackson. Map 33, dots.

In low prairies, pastures, meadows, ditches, bog and marsh bor¬

ders, and occasionally in dry prairies or oak-pine woods, mostly in

the southern half of the state. Flowering from early July to mid-

September.

136 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

25. LYCOPUS L. Water Horehound

a. Calyx teeth narrowly triangular, sharply acuminate, clearly exceeding the

mature nutlets.

b. Lower leaves petioled, usually laciniate; stem not tuberous; ridge of

nutlets entire, conspicuous on all three dorsal angles. . 1. L. americanus.

b. All leaves sessile, serrate; stem often with an elongate tuber; ridge of

nutlet shallowly undulate, the apical ridge scarcely evident. . 2. L. asper.

a. Calyx teeth broadly triangular, obtuse or barely acute, not, or scarcely,

exceeding the mature nutlets.

c. Top of nutlet with many sharp, prominent, tubercles, the side margins

usually more or less undulate, the upper half of the dorsal surface rough,

the top surface of the 4 nutlets flat: corolla lobes erect, stamens included;

leaf margins from the lowest tooth to the stem always concave; main

stem usually not tuberous, but the stolons often with tubers. Plants

robust, usually large . 3. L. virginicus.

c. Top of nutlet with about 3-5 shallow, rounded tubercles, the side margins

entire or essentially so, the dorsal surface smooth, the top surface of the

4 nutlets concave; corolla lobes spreading', the stamens exserted; leaf

margins from the lowest tooth to the stem tvpically convex or straight,

sometimes concave: main stem as well as the stolons tuberous. Plants

slender, often small . . . 4. L. uniflorus.

1. L. AMERICANUS Muhl. Map 34.

Common along lake shores, stream banks, river bottoms, marsh

borders, wet prairies, bogs, and any low moist ground throughout

the state. Flowering early July through August.

2. L. asper Greene. Map 35, crosses.

A western species, occasionally adventive in Wisconsin along

railroad tracks and Lake Michigan harbors. Flowering July and

August (Fernald, 1950).

3. L. virginicus L. Map 35, dots.

Uncommon throughout the state; occurring mostly in wooded

river bottoms. Flowering July to October (Fernald, 1950).

This species is frequently confused with the next.

4. L. UNIFLORUS Michx. Map 36.

Common on lake shores, stream and river banks, damp fields and

meadows, tamarack bogs, cedar swamps, and low woodlands

throughout Wisconsin. Flowering mid-July to mid-September.

26. MENTHA L. Mint

a. Flowers in axillary verticils separated by internodes of normal length.

b. Calyx pubescent throughout . . . . . 1. M. arvensis.

b. Calyx glabrous, or pubescent in the upper half only.

c. Leaves subtending verticils noticeably reduced in size.. 2. M. cardiaca .

c. Leaves subtending verticils not noticeably reduced in size .

. . . . . . . . . 3. M. gentilis.

1957]

Koeppen— Preliminary Report 41

137

a. Flowers in terminal spikes or heads, the internodes greatly shortened.

d. Infloresence a globose head of 1-3 verticils; calyx glabrous .

. . . . . 4. M. citrata.

d. Inflorescence spike-like, composed of several to many verticils; calyx, or

at least the lobes, pilose.

e. Principal leaves sessile, or with short petioles less than 3 mm. long.

f. Leaves glabrous or nearly so . . . 5. M. spicata.

f. Leaves densely pubescent, especially beneath.

g. Leaves oblong-lanceolate, 2-3 times as long as wide . . .

. . . . . . . . 6. M. longifolia.

g. Leaves ovate, less than twice as long as wide.

h. Spike slender (excluding corollas, 5 mm. in diameter), tail-like

in age ; leaves strongly rugose, crenate-dentate .

. . . . 7. M. rotundifolia .

h. Spike thicker (excluding corollas, 7 mm. in diameter) ; leaves

not strongly rugose, coarsely open-dentate . . 8. M. alopecuroides .

e. Principal leaves on elongate petioles . . 9. M. piperita.

1. M. ARVENSIS L.

Two varieties are distinguishable in Wisconsin.

a. Stem pubescent with recurved hairs mostly less than 1 mm. long .

. . . . . . . . la. M. arvensis var. villosa.

a. Stem villous with mostly spreading hairs 1 mm. or more long .

. . . . lb. M. arvensis var. lanata.

la. M. ARVENSIS L. var. villosa Benth. Map 37, dots.

Common on lake, river, and stream banks, swamps, bogs, and

low lands throughout Wisconsin. Flowering end of June to mid-

September. This and the following are the only native taxa.

lb. M. arvensis L. var. lanata Piper. Map 37, diamonds.

Widely distributed throughout the state; habitats and flowering

time the same as number la.

2. M. cardiaca Baker. Map 38, dots.

Mostly in the southern part of the state, on lake shores, stream

banks, and river bottoms. Introduced from Europe and occasionally

escaping from cultivation. Flowering end of July to the end of

September.

Gleason (1952, 3:187) states that this species may have arisen

by hybridization between M. arvensis and M. spicata.

3. M. gentilis L. Map 38, circle.

Introduced from Europe ; our one specimen collected at Prentice,

Aug. 20, 1915, Chas. Goessls. n. (WIS).

Considered to have originated by hybridization between M.

arvensis and M. spicata , (Gleason, 1952, 3 :186) .

138 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

1957]

Koeppen — Preliminary Report 41

139

4. M. CITRATA Ehrh. Map 38, cross.

Introduced from Europe. One specimen collected at Hustler,

Sept. 2, 1925, J. H. Mueller s. n. (WIS) .

Considered to have originated by hybridization between M. aqua-

tica and M. spicata (Gleason, 1952, 3 :187) .

5. M. spicata L. Spearmint. Map 39, dots.

Native of Europe; commonly cultivated and occasionally escap¬

ing, Reported from roadside ditches and creek banks, mostly in the

southern half of the state. Flowering mid- July to mid-September.

6. M. longifolia L. Map 38, triangle.

Native of Eurasia; three specimens (MIL) collected at Grafton,

Ozaukee County, September 2, 1908.

7. M. ROTUNDIFOLIA (L.) Huds. No map.

Native of southern Europe; cultivated in herb gardens. The

single Wisconsin collection (MIL) is from a garden at Sheboygan.

This species is frequently confused with the next.

8. M. alopecuroides Hull. Woolly Mint. Map 39, crosses.

Introduced from Europe; collected in Trempealeau, La Crosse,

Dane, and Milwaukee Counties, from roadsides and vacant lots.

Flowering early August thru September.

9. M. piperita L. Peppermint. Map 39, circles.

Introduced from Europe; frequently cultivated and occasionally

escaping along damp roadsides, in bogs, and low meadows. Flower¬

ing early August to mid-September.

Considered to have originated by hybridization between M. aqua -

tica and M. spicata (Gleason, 1952, 3 :188) .

27. COLLINSONIA L. Horse-Balm ; Stoneroot ; Richweed

1. C. canadensis L. Map 40.

One of the rarest of the native Wisconsin mints. The two collec¬

tions (WIS) are: Sauk County, valley of the Wisconsin River near

Baraboo, August 1865, Hale (?) s. n.; Walworth County, summit

of hill, rich woods east of Uniontown (T-2N ; R-17E ; S-30) , August

31, 1940, J. W. Thomson s. n.

Beam (1940) shows this species to be common in Indiana; Jones

and Fuller (1955) list it for only seven counties, considering it

rare in Illinois.

140 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

28. ELSHOLTZIA WlLLD.

I. E. ciliata (Thunb.) Hylander. No map.

Native of Asia; Gleason (1952) reports it established from

Quebec to Massachusetts.

The only Wisconsin collection is from a roadside camping area

at the north end of Devils Lake State Park, November 2, 1946,

J. H. Zimmerman 1587 (WIS) .

29. OCIMUM L. Basil

1. 0. basilicum L. No map.

Native of tropical Asia and Africa; rarely escaping from herb

gardens. The single Wisconsin collection is from a roadside colony

near Mount Horeb, September 15, 1958, J. W. Thomson s. n.

(WIS). This small colony is known to have persisted for 2 years.

Literature Cited

Deam, C. C. 1940. Flora of Indiana. Indiana Dept, of Conservation, Indian¬

apolis.

DeWolf, G. P. 1954. Notes on cultivated Labiates. Baileya 2:143-150.

Epling, C. 1934. Preliminary revision of American Stachys. Fedde Repert.

Spec. Nov. Beih. 80:79-81.

- . 1942. American species of Scutellaria. Univ. Calif. Publ. Bot. 20:1-146.

- and W. Stewart. 1939. A revision of Hedeoma. Fedde Repert. Spec.

Nov. Beih. 115:1-49.

Fernald, M. L. 1950. Gray's Manual of Botany, Ed. 8. American Book Co.,

New York.

Gleason, H. A. 1952. The New Britton and Brown Illustrated Flora. Lan¬

caster Press, Lancaster.

Grant, E. and C. Epling. 1943. A study of Pycnanthemum. Univ. Calif. Publ.

Bot. 20:195-240.

Jones, G. N. and G. D. Fuller. 1955. Vascular Plants of Illinois. Univ. of

Illinois Press, Urbana.

Lint, H. and C. Epling. 1945. A revision of Agastache. Am. Midi . Nat. 33:

207-230.

McClintock, E. and C. Epling. 1942. A review of the genus Monarda. Univ.

Calif. Publ. Bot. 20:147-194.

- and - . 1946. A revision of Teucrium. Brittonia 5:491-510.

NOTES ON WISCONSIN PARASITIC FUNGI. XXIII

H. C. Greene

Department of Botany , University of Wisconsin, Madison

The collections of fungi referred to in this publication were,

unless otherwise noted, made during the season of 1956.

Peronospora stigmaticola Raunk. was observed in fair abun¬

dance on flowers of Mentha arvensis var. canadensis in the Univer¬

sity of Wisconsin Arboretum at Madison in August. The fungus is

not confined to the stigmas, but occurs commonly on the petals as

well, and rather rarely on the stamens.

Undetermined powdery mildews have been collected on the fol¬

lowing hosts: Potentilla palustris, Rocky Arbor Roadside Park,

Juneau Co., July 24; Galium triflorum, Madison, Dane Co., October

21, 1955; Aster lindleyanus , Drummond, Bayfield Co., September

12; Silphium laciniatum X terebinthinaceum, Madison, Dane Co.,

October 1 ; Artemisia caudata, Wisconsin Point, Superior, Douglas

Co., September 11; Arctium minus, Madison, Dane Co., October 25,

1955; Hieracium aurantiacum, Augusta, Eau Claire Co., Septem¬

ber 10.

Pyrola elliptica, collected in the University of Wisconsin Arbo¬

retum at Madison, July 30, bears a sphaeriaceous Ascomycete

which I have been unable to determine as to genus. The erumpent

perithecia on dark brown, rounded areas on the leaves are amphi-

genous, mostly epiphyllous, blackish-brown, gregarious, subglobose,

ca. 100-200/a diam. The asci measured are from 36-42 x 8-10/*,

clavate. Ascospores are limoniform or subfusoid, hyaline, continu¬

ous, 10-12 x 4-5 fi. Material held for 96 hours in a moist chamber

failed to mature further, insofar as any production of septa in the

spores was concerned.

Aecidium avocensis Cummins & Greene on Callirhoe triangulata

and Puccinia avocensis Cummins & Greene on Stipa spartea were

described in these Notes XX (Trans. Wis. Acad. Sci. 43:176-177.

1954) from the same station near Avoca in Iowa Co. On the basis

of what is known of the mallow-££ipa rust complex it seems more

than probable that the two are but life stages of a single rust.

Unfortunately, this has not so far been demonstrated. Attempts

have been made to infect plants of Stipa in the field in the Univer¬

sity of Wisconsin Arboretum at Madison, and in the greenhouse of

the Botany Department at Madison with negative results. Infected,

overwintered Stipa leaves were suspended over greenhouse-grown

141

142 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

seedlings of Callirhoe, under seemingly favorable conditions of

temperature and humidity, and mature plants of Callirhoe growing

in the University Arboretum were mulched with rusted Stipa

leaves, but no infection occurred in either case.

Puccxnxa tomipara Trel. on Bromus ciliatus was based on Wis¬

consin material collected by Pammel near La Crosse (Trans. Wis.

Acad. Sci. 6:127. 1885). The teliospores are remarkable in being

multicellular and muriform, with vertical as well as horizontal

septa. Arthur, on the basis of aecial infections carried out by W. P.

Fraser (Mycologia 11:129-188. 1919), concludes that P. tomipara

is but a manifestation of P. rubigo-vera. G. B. Cummins, however,

tells me that he considers P. tomipara as probably a valid species,

and an examination of Fraser’s article shows that he too thought

this, since urediospores from P . tomipara failed to infect Elymus,

Agropyron and Hordeum. Trelease’s specimen is in the herbarium

of the National Fungus Collections, but specimens on Bromus cili¬

atus in the Wisconsin Herbarium collected at Racine in 1899 and

1903, and at Madison in 1943 and 1945 unquestionably are P.

tomipara. Other specimens on Bromus in our herbarium appear to

be P. ruhigo-vera.

Phyllosticta sp. occurs on still green leaves of Adiantum

pedatum collected near Dane, Dane Co., October 4, 1955. The sooty

pycnidia are scattered to gregarious, causing no spotting of the

leaf. They are subglobose, approx. 75-125/* diam., with a well-

marked ostiole. The conidia are hyaline, rod-shaped, 4-6 x 1.5/*.

Perhaps the precursor of an ascomycetous stage.

Phyllosticta sp. was collected May 5, 1955 on leaves of Ery-

thronium alhidum at two stations in Green Co. (Trans. Wis. Acad.

Sci. 45:180. 1956). On May 31, 1956 similar but older material

was found in a large stand of the same host at Oakly, Green Co.

Many of the leaves were completely blackened by the fungus myce¬

lium. As mentioned in the earlier note, sections show only pycnidia

with no evidence of any incipient perfect stage. It seems probable

that the heavy mycelium and thick-walled pycnidia are sufficiently

resistant to survive until the next spring and, if necessary, produce

new conidia at that time to carry on the infection.

Phyllosticta sp. is present in small amount on leaves of Corylus \

americana collected in the New Glarus Woods Roadside Park,

Green Co., August 15. The pale brown spots, with narrow darker

border, are irregular, angled to orbicular, approx. 2-5 mm. diam.

The pycnidia are epiphyllous, blackish, subglobose, 75-100/* diam.,

and scattered. The conidia are hyaline, broadly ellipsoid to short-

cylindric, 4-7 x 3-3.5/*.

Phyllosticta sp. has been noted on broadly oval pale gray leaf

lesions, about 1 cm. diam., on Cornus rugosa , collected at Devils

1957] Greene — Wisconsin Parasitic Fungi XXI 1 1 143

Lake, Sauk Co., August 24. The epiphyllous pycnidia are scattered,

approaching superficial, variable in size, black, subglobose. Conidia

are subcylindric, broadly ellipsoid, or ovoid, hyaline, 4-7 x 2. 5-3. 5/*.

This is not far from Leptothyrium.

Rhyncophoma (?) sp. occurs on stems and leaves of Aster pilo-

sus collected at Madison, October 22. This seems to be better devel¬

oped material of a specimen on leaves of the same host which was

doubtfully referred to Septoria in my Notes XX (Trans. Wis. Acad.

Sci. 43:169. 1954). In the latter specimen the pycnidial beaks are

more strongly developed, particularly in the pycnidia on the stems.

The pycnidia are subglobose, about 75-140/* diam., the conidia

hyaline, subfusoid to cylindric, 12-18 x 3-3.5/*, uniformly 1-septate.

Perhaps parasitic, although it is not possible to be certain, since

the late-season material in hand has been frosted.

Cirsium discolor , collected at Madison, October 22, bears a

Pyrenochaeta- like didymosporous fungus on the hairy undersur¬

face of the leaves. The superficial pycnidia are globose, deep brown,

apically setose, about 200-300/* diam. The spores are hyaline,

cylindric, 11-18 x 3-4/*, 1-septate. As with similar phragmosporous

material on Cirsium muticum (Trans. Wis. Acad. Sci. 41:120. 1952)

there seems to be in this case no genus of the Hyalodidymae which

provides for such a form.

Asteroma ( ?) occurs on Acer negundo leaves collected at Tower

Hill State Park, Iowa Co., October 13, 1955. The radiate-dendritic

black mycelium is quite similar in appearance to that of Asteroma

ribicolum Ell. & Ev. There are no fruiting bodies present, so assign¬

ment to Asteroma must be tentative. Asteroma aceris Rob. & Desm.

has been reported on various species of Acer in Europe.

Stagonospora arenaria Sacc, on Oryzopsis racemosa , collected

in the New Glarus Woods Roadside Park, Green Co., August 15,

has some pycnidia which bear small, rod-shaped, hyaline micro¬

spores, about 3.5-5 x 1.5/*.

Stagonospora sp. occurs on Lactuca spicata , collected at Par-

frey’s Glen, Town of Merrimac, Sauk Co., August 24. The specimen

is rather scanty. The few lesions are rounded, dull brown, faintly

zonate, approx. 2-3 cm. diam. The pycnidia are zonately distrib¬

uted, medium brown, 125—150 /* diam. The conidia are hyaline, cylin¬

dric, obtuse, straight or slightly curved, mostly 3-, occasionally 1-,

2-, and 4-septate. The spots are reminiscent of those produced on

Lactuca by Phyllosticta mulgedii J. J. Davis.

Septoria sp. occurred in small amount on leaves of Lilium michi -

ganense collected at Madison, July 14. The pycnidia are epiphyllous

and gregarious on tan areas, brown, globose, small, about 75/*

diam., with prominent ostiole; spores hyaline, continuous, straight

144 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

or slightly curved, 15-25 x 1-1.5/*. I have found no report of

Septoria on Lilium.

Septoria pileae Thum. is a common parasite of Pilea pumila in

Wisconsin. The usually rather small pycnidia are on minute,

rounded, sharply defined, whitish spots. In mid-October 1955 plants

of Pilea pumila at Tower Hill State Park, Iowa Co., were noted

with large grayish blotches on the leaves. Evenly scattered over

the blotches were large, 150-200 /* diam., immature, black, globose,

subrostrate fruiting bodies which were thought to be probably

perithecia. Leaves were overwintered out-of-doors at Madison

until May 1956, when examination showed that the tvpical spores

of Septoria pileae had been produced in profusion within the fruit¬

ing bodies. Production of spores in the spring on sclerotoid bodies,

as an over-wintering device, has been noted in a number of cases

in the Moniliales, but this is my first experience with such a phe¬

nomenon in the Sphaeropsidales. It seems probable that such over¬

wintering, with or without development of an accompanying per¬

fect stage, is a common and highly effective means for perpetuation

of many fungi.

Septoria sp. was collected in small amount on Thlaspi arvense

at Juda, Green Co., May 31. This is close to Phleosvora, and quite

unlike Septoria thlaspii Greene (Farlowia 1:575. 1944) which has

much narrower spores. In the present specimen the spores are from

about 32-45 x 2,5-4/*, 1-3-septate, and except for being somewhat

larger are rather similar to those of S. lepidiicola Ell. & Mart, on

the closely related Lepidium.

Septoria sp. occurred on Desmodium nudiflorum , collected at

Parfrey’s Glen, Town of Merrimac, Sauk Co., August 24. The orbic¬

ular spots are .7-1 cm. diam., with tan centers and narrow brown¬

ish borders. The pycnidia are gregarious, yellow-brown, subglobose,

approx. 100-125/* diam. The spores are hyaline, faintly multi-

septate, tapered at both ends, from almost straight to strongly

crescent-curved, about 20-30 x 1.5/*. There seems to be no report of

Septoria on Desmodium.

Septoria (?) sp. is on leaves of Aralia hispida collected near

Mather, Juneau Co., July 24. The black, gregarious, almost super¬

ficial pycnidia are somewhat collapsed, hypophyllous on dark,

angled spots, strongly pseudoparenchymatous, about 115-125/*

diam. The spores are hyaline, acicular, flexuous, mostly continuous,

but some appearing faintly multiseptate, 55-75 x 1.5/*.

Septoria sp. is borne on sordid spots on leaves of Monarda fistu-

losa, collected by J. J. Davis near Mazomanie, Dane Co., June 12,

1931. The inconspicuous pycnidia are epiphyllous, innate to some¬

times rather prominent, 120-175 /* diam. The hyaline spores are

1957] Greene — Wisconsin Parasitic Fungi XXIII 145

extruded in cirrhi, are indistinctly sentate, mostly rather strongly

curved, 40-80 x 2.5-3/*. This may well be Septoria lophanthi Wint.,

judging from comparison with Wisconsin specimens on Agastache

scrophulariae folia and with Rabenhorst-Winter’s Fungi europaei

No. 2991 on Agastache nepetoides . Additional confirmatory mate¬

rial would be desirable for a more positive determination.

Septoria eupatopii Rob. & Desm. occurs in an interesting asso¬

ciation with Puccinia eleocharidis Arth. I on leaves of Eupatorium

perfoliatum , collected at Madison, August 11. The old, rounded rust

spots are encircled by a broad band of dead brown tissue studded

with numerous pycnidia of the Septoria . Non-rusted leaves of the

same plants also bear Septoria, but here it is on tiny cinereous

spots with a reddish border, one or two pycnidia per spot, and

seeming to behave as a vigorous parasite, whereas such parasitism

might seem doubtful where the fungus is adjacent to the old rust

sori. However, there seems little doubt that only a single Septoria

is concerned.

Septoria atropurpurea Peck, on various species of Aster and

Solidago, produces highly characteristic blackish-purple lesions on

some hosts, e g., Aster macrophyllus and A. laevis. Leaves of Aster

lindleyanus bearing these lesions were collected at Drummond, Bay-

field Co., September 12. Examination of the numerous “pycnidia”,

however, revealed no typical Septoria spores, but micro-conidia in

most and undifferentiated contents in others. As much as three

weeks previous there had been frosts in this area, and it seems

possible that low temperatures caused the fungus to produce over¬

wintering structures instead of typical pycnidia and spores.

Septoria sp. occurs on basal rosette leaves of Aster shortii, col¬

lected at Oakly, Green Co., October 16. The small, black pycnidia

are scattered on large, conspicuous, wedge-shaped tan lesions. The

spores are hyaline, mostly strongly curved or bent boomerang-like,

occasionally almost straight, continuous or indistinctly septate,

18-28 x 1. 5-2.5 ji. This does not seem to correspond with any of the

three species of Septoria reported on Aster shortii in Wisconsin,

particularly in the sort of lesion produced. However, it is a late-

season collection, following a couple of severe early frosts and may

thus possibly be an abnormal manifestation of one of these reported

species.

Septoria chrysanthemella Cav. and Septoria chrysanthemi

Allesch. are, judging from collections of Septoria made on Chrys¬

anthemum in Wisconsin and from specimens available for study in

the University of Wisconsin Herbarium, probably identical, repre¬

senting at most more or less distinct members of an intergrading

series.

146 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

Rhabdospora sp. occurred in an immature development on con¬

spicuous lesions on still-living stems of Erigeron annuus at Madi¬

son in October 1955. This material was overwintered out-of-doors

and brought in for examination in May 1956. The fruiting bodies

were still immature, so the stems were placed in a moist chamber

for 48 hours, when the fungus was found to have developed satis¬

factorily. The large black pycnidia are 200 /* or more in diam.,

noticeably erumpent, pseudoparenchymatous, with the ostiole out¬

lined by a ring of heavy, dark cells. The acicular, hyaline spores

are approx. 25-45 x 1-1.5 /*. Possibly parasitic in its early stage.

Sphaceloma sp., in scanty amount, was observed on leaves of

Cornus alternifolia at Madison, August 11. What relation, if any,

this bears to Elsinoe corni Jenkins & Bitancourt is uncertain. The

small spots are ashen with a reddish border, the conidiophores

hyaline, 10-12 x 3.5/*, the conidia hyaline, broadly ellipsoid or short-

cylindric, 2. 5-3. 5 x 4.5-7/*.

Sphaceloma sp., to judge from the characteristic scurfy lesions,

is associated with Septoria xylostei Sacc. & Wint. on Lonicera \

oblongifolia, collected September 11 at Riverside, Burnett Co. The

olivaceous fungus on cinereous lesions closely resembles other

species of Sphaceloma in gross appearance, but conidia could not be

found.

Ramularia magnusiana (Sacc.) Lind, on Trientalis borealis

(americana) , collected July 12 in Point Beach State Forest near

Two Rivers, Manitowoc Co., very closely corresponds to Saccardo’s

original description of the organism as Septocylindrium magnusi-

anum and also closely matches the figure of the same in Fungi ital.

del. No. 912, with almost obsolete basally inflated conidiophores,

and cylindric, 1-septate conidia 20-25 x 4/*. Davis (Trans. Wis.

Acad. Sci. 22:167. 1926), on the other hand, assigned a specimen

collected at Prentice, Price Co., to R. magnusiana that “bears

conidia that are seldom septate, 10-33 x l%-3/*, the shorter ones

fusoid. The conidiophores spring from scattered black tubercles

25-40/* in diameter and are mostly fuligenous tinted, 20-60 x 2-3/*

. . While this departs widely from the type it nevertheless

appears to be a variant of that parasite.”

Fusicladium (?) sp. occurred on leaves of Celtis occidentalis

collected at Tower Hill State Park, Iowa Co., October 13, 1955. The

fungus is epiphyllous on yellowish-brown orbicular spots which are

frequently confluent, involving large portions of the leaf. The

fascicles are gregarious in rounded groups of limited diam. on the

spots as a rule, but some occur on still green tissue adjacent to the

spots. There are mostly a dozen or so conidiophores per fascicle.

They are fuscous, septate, subclavate, often curved outward and

1957] Greene— Wisconsin Parasitic Fungi XXIII 147

upward from the base, approx. 40-60 x 5-6/*. The few conidia seen

were brownish, somewhat smoky, uniseptate, subfusoid, 23-26 x

6-7/a. I find no record of Fusicladium on Celtis , but the material in

hand, is not suitable for descriptive purposes.

Curvularia LUNATA (Wakker) Boedijn was reported as para¬

sitizing Poly gala verticillata in Wisconsin (Arner. Midi. Nat. 48 :53.

1952). J. A. Parmelee (Mycologia 48:558-67. 1956) in an article

on “The identification of the Curvularia parasite of Gladiolus ”

points out that Curvularia trifolii (Kauffm.) Boedijn has often

been confused with (7. lunata . He states that the most distinctive

feature of C. trifolii is the protruding hilum of the spore, as

opposed to an inserted hilum in C. lunata . It is evident that the

Wisconsin specimen must be referred to C. trifolii .

Cercospora mississippiensis Tracy & Earle on Smilax hispida

seems to be the only species of Cercospora collected up to now on

Smilax in Wisconsin, judging from the treatment in Chupp’s

“Monograph of Cercospora”. Reports of C. peter sii (B. & C.) Atk.

and C. smilacis Thum. must be discarded, the latter because of

probable misdetermination of the host.

Cercospora, so far not identified, was collected on Oenothera

biennis at Madison, August 19. The spots are rounded, 1.5-3 mm.

diam., sordid grayish, somewhat sunken, with elevated reddish

border; conidiophores amphigenous in loose tufts of 5-10 or a few

more, multiseptate, clear brown, somewhat lax and flexuous,

2-3-geniculate with conspicuous spore scars, 110-160 x 3.5-4.5/a;

conidia hyaline, narrowly obclavate, base truncate with noticeable

scar, 5-7-septate, about 50-100 x 3.5-4.5/a. Of the three species of

Cercospora listed in Chupp's monograph as occurring on Oenothera

none has conidiophores as long and the Wisconsin specimen differs

in other particulars as well.

Cercospora sp. occurred on Galeopsis tetrahit at Madison,

August 19. The spots are rounded, very small, .7-1.2 mm. diam.,

pale brown in center, with narrow, darkish-brown, elevated border ;

conidiophores 10-12 in small tufts, amphigenous, pale brown, sub-

flexuous, several-septate, mildly geniculate, with paler, somewhat

clavate tips, up to 190 x 4-5/a-; conidia hyaline, slender-obclavate,

base truncate, multiseptate, approx. 50-60 x 3-3.5/a. The material

is quite limited and insufficient for really thorough examination.

It seems possible that the phores observed had undergone some sec¬

ondary proliferation and may normally be shorter. Galeopsis is not

among the Labiatae listed as bearing species of Cercospora . In

grosser characters especially, the specimen bears points of resem¬

blance to Cercospora isanthi Ell. & Kell.

Cercospora sp. collected on Rudbeckia laciniata, at a station near

Juda, Green Co., October 11, 1955, matches C. tabacina Ell. & Ev.,

148 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

the only species reported on Rudbeckia, fairly well in microscopic

characteristics, but is very different in having the fruiting confined

to small, rounded, ashen spots, rather than in effuse patches of

indefinite extent. It seems probable that exogenous fungi like the

Cercosporae may be strongly affected in their development by the

relatively cold nights of fall, alternating with warm days, and that

this happened in the present case.

Eriomycopsis sp., so determined by S. J. Hughes of the Canadian

Science Service, has been collected in both 1955 and 1956 on living

leaves of Pedicularis lanceolata at Parfrey’s Glen, Town of Merri-

mac, Sauk Co. While parasitism is perhaps not certain, the very

fact that the organism has been found in successive years under

the same conditions would seem to indicate a definite relationship

between the fungus and the plant on which it is growing. It is

hypophyllous in effuse gray patches and there is no spotting and

only slight discoloration of the leaf tissue. The fungus seems to be

rather closely associated with the trichomes, tending to overrun

them. The conidiophores arise from a more or less superficial

mycelium and are quite irregular in their development, being fre¬

quently quite long, sometimes branched, flexuous to subgeniculate,

indistinctly septate, spore scars numerous, prominent, appearing

pedicellate, tending to be ranged for considerable distances along

the side of the phores. The subhyaline conidia are obclavate with

a conic base, often strongly curved, 50-100 x 4.5-7 n, 3-7-septate.

Alternaria sp. on fruiting heads of Anemone virginiana was

collected at Madison, October 21, 1955. It is evidently the same as

a collection on the heads of Anemone cylindrica, commented upon

in my Notes XVI (Amer. Midi. Nat. 48:747. 1952). Whether the

fungus is actively parasitic or not, the set of good seed has been

considerably reduced.

A phanerogamic specimen of Lycopus uniflorus, collected by

N. C. Fassett, September 26, 1936, on the shore of Mason Lake at

Briggsville, Adams Co., bears a Pyrenomycete on and in the inflo¬

rescence which has been almost completely metamorphosed by the

fungus. This organism is obviously parasitic and apparently highly

specific. The black, coriaceous perithecia are characteristic of the

Sphaeriaceae. The asci, unfortunately, are immature, but from

their overall aspect and dimensions it seems likely that this fungus

belongs to the Hyaloscoleciae. Paraphyses are numerous and con¬

spicuous.

Solidago nemoralis, collected at Madison, June 19, bears a

sphaeropsidaceous fungus, possibly parasitic, but so far not iden¬

tified to my satisfaction. It is hypophyllous on small, angled, pur¬

plish spots. The black, globose pycnidia are superficial, or nearly

so, about 100/x diam., rostrate, with the beak about 15-18 x 30-35 jm.

1957]

Greene — Wisconsin Parasitic Fungi XXIII

149

The hyaline scolecospores appear mostly 3-septate, are strongly

crescentic-curved, 21-30 x 2-2.5/a, tapered at the ends. Using the

beak as a diagnostic character, the fungus keys out to Cornularia

Sacc., but specimens available for comparison are coarse sapro¬

phytes on stems of woody plants, and quite unlike this.

Additional Hosts

The following hosts have not been previously recorded as bear¬

ing the fungi mentioned in Wisconsin.

Urophylctis pluriannulata (B. & C.) Farl. on Zizia aptera.

Waukesha Co., near Eagle, June 14.

Peronospora hydrophylli Waite on Ellisia nyctelea. Dane Co.,

Madison, May 15.

Sphaerotheca humuli (DC.) Burr, on Humulus americanus.

Green Co., near Belleville, August 3. An earlier report on Humulus

americanus appears actually to have been on H. japonicus, as

pointed out in my Notes XV (Amer. Midi. Nat. 48:44. 1952).

Sphaerotheca humuli var. fuliginea (Schl.) Salm. on Matri¬

caria matricarioides. Dane Co., Madison, October 21.

Microsphaera alni (Wallr.) Wint. on Syringa amurensis. Dane

Co., Madison, October 21, 1955. On Symphoricarpos occidentalis.

St. Croix Co., Baldwin, September 10, 1956. It appears that this

collection represents a mixture of M. alni and M. diffusa, the latter

previously reported on S. occidentalis.

Erysiphe polygoni DC. on Polygonum achoreum. Columbia Co.,

near Okee, October 3. Host determination based on the treatment

in the most recent edition of Britton & Brown. Not previously dif¬

ferentiated in these lists from Polygonum erectum. On Ranunculus

septentrionalis. Green Co., Oakly, October 16. On Delphinium

virescens. Dane Co., Madison, October 21. Coll. J. T. Curtis on

plants that had been transplanted in July 1956 from Trempealeau,

Trempealeau Co.

Erysiphe cichoracearum DC. on Ambrosia psilostachya. Eau

Claire Co., Eau Claire, September 10. On Matricaria matricari¬

oides. Dane Co., Madison, October 18.

Erysiphe galeopsidis DC. on Scutellaria lateriflora. Iowa Co.,

Tower Hill State Park, October 13, 1955. In my Notes VIII (Trans.

Wis. Acad. Sci. 38:227. 1946) I deleted E. galeopsidis as a parasite

of S. lateriflora because all specimens from Wisconsin so labeled

had the characteristic asci and mature spores of Erysiphe cichora¬

cearum DC. The present collection shows large, apparently fully

mature perithecia with golden-yellow contents, with asci poorly

defined or not evident, and no spores at all.

150 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

Parodiella perisporioides (B. & C.) Speg. on Desmodium cana-

dense. Waukesha Co., near Eagle, July 23, 1938. Coll. J. T. Curtis.

This material is in excellent maturity and confirms the presence of

this species in Wisconsin, concerning which the late J. J. Davis had

expressed doubts. Trelease (Trans. Wis. Acad. Sci. 6:10. 188?'

reported this tentatively on Desmodium acuminatum from La

Crosse and stated that the fruiting bodies were pycnidia rather

than perithecia. I have examined the Trelease specimen, now in the

Herbarium of the National Fungus Collections, and I failed to find

mature fruiting of any sort. In employing this name rather than

Parodiella grammodes (Kze.) Cke., as do Ellis and Everhart, I

have followed the usage of Theissen and Sydow in their discussion

of the genus Parodiella which is in Annal. Mycol. 15:125. 1917.

Mycosphaerella spleniata (C. & P.) House on overwintered

leaves of Quercus macrocarpa. Dane Co., Madison, May 17. The

occurrence of this species on Quercus bicolor has been discussed in

my Notes XXI (Trans. Wis. Acad. Sci. 44 :39. 1955) .

Rhytisma. salicinum (Pers.) Fr. on Salix humilis . Oneida Co.,

Minocqua, August 21, 1919. Coll. J. J. Davis. Inadvertently filed in

the herbarium under Rhytisma acerinum, where it was not noticed

until recently.

Melampsora abieti-caprearum Tub. II on Salix (cult. French

hybrid). Dane Co., Madison, September 3.

Puccinia atrofusga (Dudl. & Thomp.) Holw. I on Artemisia

serrata. Pepin Co., Sect. 32, Town of Albany, June 27. The first

report on A. serrata , although the rust has been collected on

numerous species of Artemisia farther west. Also the first collec¬

tion of aecial material in Wisconsin. Arthur determined a uredial-

telial specimen on Carex oligocarpa from Two Rivers, Manitowoc

Co., as P. atrofusca. It is of interest that the corresponding micro-

cyclic form, P. millefolii Fckl., has been collected on Artemisia

frigida at Stockholm, also in Pepin Co.

Puccinia helianthi Schw. II, III on Helianthus hirsutus . Dane

Co., Madison, August 20.

Ceratobasidium anceps (Bres. & Syd.) Jacks, on Sanguinaria

canadensis. Waukesha Co., near Big Bend, July 11. On Osmorhiza

claytoni. Vernon Co., Coon Valley, June 29.

Xenogloea eriophori (Bres.) Syd. on Scirpus rubrotinctus.

Juneau Co., near Union Center, June 27.

Prllicularia filamentosa (Pat.) Rogers on Hieracium longi -

pilum. Dane Co., Madison, August 17.

Phyllosticta quercus Sacc. & Speg. on Quercus ellipsoidalis .

Burnett Co., Crex Meadows near Grantsburg, September 11.

1957]

Greene — Wisconsin Parasitic Fungi XXIII

151

Phyllosticta virginiana (Ell. & Halst.) Seaver on Prunus

americana. Dunn Co., Falls City, September 10. The pycnidia are

mostly epiphyllous on this host.

Phyllosticta cacaliae H. C. Greene on Cacalia tuberosa X

ofriplici folia. Dane Co., Madison, August 13.

lhyllosticta favillensis H. C. Greene on Helianthus rigidus

( laeti floras ) . Dane Co., Madison, August 1. Hitherto collected only

on Silphium integrifolium . The fungus seems entirely character¬

istic, although on the narrow leaves of H. rigidus the spots are

smaller, with only one to a few pycnidia per spot.

Phyllosticta mulgedii J. J. Davis on Lactuca canadensis. Dane

Co., Madison, August 25, 1955.

Ascochyta equiseti (Desm.) Greene on Equisetum hyemale.

Sheboygan Co., Terry Andrae State Park, July 12.

Ascochyta compositarum J. J. Davis on Krigia biflora. Dane

Co., Madison, June 20. This is the small-spored form, once set aside

by Davis as var. parva, as discussed in my Notes X (Amer. Midi.

Nat. 39:449. 1948). The variety seems well-defined and perhaps

should be retained.

Darluca filum (Biv.) Cast, on Uromyces holwayi III on Lilium

michiganense. Dane Co., Madison, July 14.

Stagonospora simplicior Sacc. & Berl. f. andropogonis Sacc. on

Calamagrostis canadensis. Dane Co., Madison, August 9. Another

in the series discussed in my Notes XV (Amer. Midi. Nat. 48:51.

1952). On this host the quite characteristic spores are somewhat

larger than any others so far seen, running 40-55 x 12-15/x,

3-septate and 4-guttulate, broadly fusoid or subcylindric. The

pycnidia occur in great profusion on dead lower leaves of still

living host plants.

Stagonospora thaspii (Ell. & Ev.) Greene on Osmorhiza longi-

stylis. Rock Co., Leyden, May 31.

Septoria passerinii Sacc. (microsporous) on Cinna arundina-

cea. Iowa Co., Tower Hill State Park, October 13, 1955. Also on

Elrmus virginicus. Dane Co., near Belleville, September 13, 1952.

This specimen was erroneously determined as Selenophoma donacis

var. stomaticola (Trans. Wis. Acad. Sci. 43:175. 1954). A report

of Selenophoma everhartii on Hystrix patula (Trans. Wis. Acad.

Sci. 41 :124. 1952) appears also to have been based on microsporous

Septoria passerinii, previously listed on Hystrix in Wisconsin.

Septoria aquilegiae Penz. & Sacc. on Aquilegia falbellata var.

nana (hort. dwarf). Dane Co., Madison, September 3. Coll. J. T.

Curtis.

Septoria psilostega Ell. & Mart, on Galium concinnum. Sauk

Co., Parfrey’s Glen, Town of Merrimac, October 3,

152 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [VoL 46

Septoria cirsii Niessl on Carduus nutans . Walworth Co., near

Troy Center, June 14.

Septoria astericola Ell. & Ev. on Aster lucidulus . Dane Co.,

Madison, June 8. Assigned to this species largely on the basis of

the host. As I have stated in earlier notes, it seems quite likely that !

this species and Septoria fumosa Peck, usually considered to occur

on various species of Solidago , are not really distinct.

Septoria lactucicola Ell & Mart, on Lactuca floridana . Green

Co., New Glarus Woods Roadside Park, August 15. S. lactucicola

is separated from S. lactucae Pass, chiefly by the more sharply

defined lesions in the former, a distinction of dubious validity.

Selenophoma everhartii (Sacc. & Syd.) Sprague & Johns, on j

Aristida basiramea. Dunn Co., Falls City, September 10. Det. con¬

firmed by Sprague. Selenophoma donacis var. stomaticola was re¬

ported on both Aristida basiramea and A. tuberculosa in an earlier

publication, the determination being based on the quite robust

spores which seemed more in the range of S. donacis var. stomati-

cola than of S. everhartii. It is possible, however, that all are the

same.

Hainesia lythri (Desm.) Hoehn. on Oenothera biennis. Dane

Co., Madison, July 27.

Marssonina violae (Pass.) Magn. on Viola papilionacea . Dane «

Co., Madison, September 3. Coll. J. H. Zimmerman.

Leptothyrium similisporum (Ell. & Davis) Davis on Solidago

missouriensis. Iowa Co., near Muscoda, July 18; also near Falls \

City, Dunn Co., September 10.

Colletotrichum URTICAE H. C. Greene on Laportea canadensis . ‘

Vernon Co., Coon Valley, June 29. The tips of the setae are some¬

what more acute than in the type on Urtica, but otherwise the

specimen is very similar, including the characteristic straight

conidia.

Colletotrichum lagenarium (Pass.) Ell. & Halst. on Citrullus :

vulgaris . Monroe Co., Tomah, July 5, 1913. Coll. Reynolds. (From

collections of the Dept, of Plant Pathology, Univ. of Wis.)

Cylindrosporium artemisiae Dearn. & Barth, on Artemisia \

caudata. Douglas Co., Wisconsin Point, Superior, September 11.

Monochaetia discosioides (Ell. & Ev.) Sacc. on Rosa sp. Dane

Co., Madison, August 7, 1955. The rose is one of our native species,

but bore neither flowers nor fruit. Although perhaps only dubi¬

ously parasitic, the fungus is on well-defined rounded or wedge- i

shaped spots on otherwise apparently healthy leaflets.

Thielaviopsxs bascicola (B. & Br.) Ferraris on Panax quinque-

folium . Langlade Co., Antigo, August 1911. Coll. & det. J. Rosen-

1957] Greene — Wisconsin Parasitic Fungi XXII l 153

baum (From collections of the Dept, of Plant Pathology, Univ. of

Wis.).

Piricularia GRISEA (Cke.) Sacc. on Setaria verticillata. Dane

Co., Madison, August 19. This host evidently has considerable re¬

sistance, as it has often been examined on other occasions without

finding any fungus on it. The infection was quite light, although

the host was growing mingled with plants of Setaria viridis which

were heavily infected.

Cladosporium astericola J. J. Davis on Parthenium integri-

folium. Dane Co., Madison, August 10. Hitherto reported only on

Aster and Solidago. Infected plants of Solidago speciosa were

closely adjacent.

Cercospora muhlenbergiae Atk. on Muhlenbergia schreberi.

Sauk Co., Parfrey’s Glen, Town of Merrimac, October 3. Chupp

does not regard this as being a good Cercospora, but it is an entity,

and until it is placed elsewhere I so refer it.

Cercospora stomatica Ell. & Davis on Solidago graminifolia.

Green Co., near Albany, August 3.

Cercospora wisconsinensis Chupp & Greene on Prenanthes

crepidinea. Green Co., near Juda, August 15.

Tuberculina persicina (Ditm.) Sacc. on Tranzschelia thalictri

on Thalictrum dasycarpum. Dane Co., Madison, July 3. Not par¬

ticularly obvious, except for the characteristic purplish color, as

the fungus, instead of being elevated, is somewhat sunken or at

most level with the mouths of the host sori which are poorly devel¬

oped. Also on Puccinia liatridis I on Liatris pycnostachya. Wauke¬

sha Co., Saylesville, July 11.

Briosia ampelophaga Cav. on Vitis aestivalis. Sauk Co., Par¬

frey’s Glen, Town of Merrimac, August 24.

Additional Species

The fungi mentioned have not been previously reported as

occurring in the state of Wisconsin.

Mycosphaerella thaspiicola sp. nov.

Cercospora thaspiicola J. J. Davis. Trans. Wis. Acad. Sci. 24:291.

1929.

Cercospora cordatae Chupp & Greene. Trans. Wis. Acad. Sci. 36:

265. 1944.

Peritheciis hypophyllis, arete gregariis, nigris, globosis, ca. 105-

125/a diam. ; ascis tenuo-clavatis, ca. 50-60 x 10-12/*; ascosporis

hyalinis, septis mediis, fusoideis, 24.5-27.5 x 4.5-6/*.

Perithecia hypophyllous, closely gregarious, black, globose,

approx. 105-125/* diam. ; asci slender-clavate, approx. 50-60 x

154 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

10-12 ii ; ascospores hyaline, septum median, fusoid, 24.5-27.5 x

4. 5-6/4.

In September 1955 leaves of Zizia aurea in the University of

Wisconsin Arboretum at Madison were noted to be heavily infected

with Cercospora thaspiicola J. J. Davis. This fungus is produced

on characteristically diffuse, rather inconspicuous lesions on the

under sides of the leaves. A month later the lesions were re¬

examined and were found to be closely studded with immature,

black, globose structures which had developed in the tissue under

the old Cercospora fruiting. Many conidia and phores were still

present. On October 19, 1955 a number of these leaves were placed

in a screen cage and overwintered out-of-doors until May 15, 1956.

There seems no doubt as to the connection between the Cercospora

and the Mycosphaerella stages, for the overwintered leaves bear

not only mature perithecia, but closely associated with or on them

are numerous conidiophores and conidia of Cercospora thaspiicola.

The phenomenon of conidial production on fall-formed perithecium-

like bodies following overwintering is rather common, but I have

not hitherto in any other case detected simultaneous development

of a mature perfect stage. The Cercospora stage has also been

found in Wisconsin on Thaspium trifoliatum var. flavum (T.

aureum) and on Zizia apt era ( cor data).

Mycosphaerella chimaphilae (Ell. & Ev.) Hoehn. on Chima-

phila umbellata. Sauk Co., Parfrey’s Glen, Town of Merrimac,

August 24. This fungus has often been noted, but previous speci¬

mens have failed to show any mature asci and spores, which are

sparingly present in this material.

Elsinoe wisconsinensis sp. nov.

Maculis nullis; frondibus sordido-flavidis vel discoloris aliter;

stromatibus canis, crustaceo-convolutis, elevatis modice, crassitu-

dinibus usque 100/4 vel leviter amplius, plerumque parvis, rotun-

datis vel elongatis irregulariter, saepe confluentibus, amphigenis

et in petiolis et stipitibus; ascis loculatis, subglobosis, late ellip-

soideis vel ovoideis, ca. 15-25/4 diam., potius propinque irregular-

iterque in stromatibus ; ascosporis hyalinis, cylindraceis, 3-septatis,

10-12 x 4—4.5/* ; conidiophoris plerumque unicis in stromatibus,

hyalinis, simplicibus et continuis, rectis vel curvis leviter, apicibus

constrictis aliquoties, 10-17 x 2. 5-3. 5/4 ; conidiis hyalinis, ellip-

soideis vel ovoideis, 4-7 x 2. 5-3. 5/4.

Spots none; leaves becoming sordid yellowish or otherwise dis¬

colored ; stromata grayish, crustose-convolute, moderately elevated,

up to 100/x thick or slightly more, mostly rather small, irregularly

rounded or elongate in outline, often confluent, amphigenous and

on petioles and stems; asci loculate, subglobose, broadly ellipsoid

1957] Greene — Wisconsin Parasitic Fungi XXIII 155

or ovoid, approx. 15-25 /a diam., rather closely and irregularly dis¬

tributed throughout the stromata; ascospores hyaline, cylindric,

8-septate, 10-12 x 4-4.5/a ; conidiophores produced mostly singly

and rather sparingly over the stromatic surface, hyaline, simple

and continuous, straight or slightly curved, sometimes constricted

near tip, 10-17 x 2.5-3.5/a: conidia hyaline, ellipsoid or ovoid,

4-7 x 2.5-3.5/a.

On living leaves, petioles and stems of Desmodium illinoense.

Coll, at Madison, Dane County, Wisconsin, U. S. A., August 29,

1953. Other specimens are from near Brodhead, Green Co., Dela-

van, Walworth Co., and from Lafayette Co. near Platteville. A

specimen was collected at Exeter, Green Co., on a plant tentatively

identified as Desmodium canadense, but this is uncertain because

of the host immaturity. This fungus has been observed several

years consecutively at Madison and is probably widespread in

southern Wisconsin, where it was first collected in 1951 in Lafay¬

ette Co. (Trans. Wis. Acad. Sci. 41:122. 1952; 43:166. 1954).

The conidial phase, here designated as Sphaceloma wisconsin-

ensis, is quite transient. The delicate conidiophores arise singly, or

rarely in twos or threes, and are rather widely scattered, so that

relatively small numbers of conidia, which soon fall away, are pro¬

duced. A specimen collected at Madison, July 7, 1956, showed

conidia and phores particularly well and has been placed in the

herbarium.

As the stromata become older later in the season, the closely

compacted, rather thick-walled component hyphae become darker,

until eventually the stromata become dull black. The effect of the

infection on the host is sometimes quite striking, causing stunting

both in height and in leaf dimension, premature leaf-fall, and death

of the above-ground portion of the plant.

Ceratostomella ulmi Buisman on Ulmus americana. The Dutch

Elm Disease was first reported in Wisconsin July 6, 1956 at Beloit,

Rock Co., and soon after from Kenosha, Racine, Milwaukee and

Walworth counties. It seems probable that the disease will soon be

detected in all the southern tier of counties.

Phyllosticta molluginis Ell. & Halst. on Mollugo verticillata.

Columbia Co., near Lodi, July 25. Cercospora molluginis Halst. is

also present.

Phyllosticta allantospora Ell. & Ev. on Thlaspi arvense.

Rock Co., near Footville, May 10. This corresponds closely with

type material on Cakile edentula (americana) from the herbarium

of F. L. Stevens. Although in the description in North American

Flora the pycnidia are stated to be 100-110/a diam., I find them to

be about 150-200/a in both the type and the Wisconsin specimen.

156 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

It seems possible that Phyllosticta brassicicola McAlp. and P. allan-

tospora are identical. If so, the latter is the older name.

Phyllosticta hydrophylli sp. nov.

Maculis fuscis, centris pallidioribus, orbicularibus, .3-1.5 cm.

diam., saepe confluentibus ; pycnidiis pallido-brunneis, pellucidis,

immersis, sparsis, plerumque paucis in centris maculis, subglobosis

vel late ellipticis, 75-160//, plerumque ca. 100-125 // diam., ostiolatis;

conidiis hyalinis, bacilliformibus, 5-8 x 1.5-2 //.

Leaf spots blackish-brown, with somewhat paler centers, orbicu¬

lar, . 3-1.5 cm. diam., often confluent ; pycnidia pale brownish,

translucent, innate, scattered, mostly few in central parts of spots,

subglobose or broadly elliptic, 75-160//, mostly about 100-125//,

diam., ostiolate; conidia hyaline, bacilliform, 5-8 x 1.5-2/x.

On living leaves of Hydrophyllum appendiculatum. Coon Valley,

Vernon County, Wisconsin, U. S. A., June 29, 1956.

I have not discovered any previous reports of Phyllosticta on

Hydrophyllum . The spots are very conspicuous, one to several per

leaf, or where confluent sometimes involving almost the entire leaf.

The pycnidial wall is very thin, but entire, with a well-marked

ostiole.

Ascochyta ribicola sp. nov.

Maculis orbicularibus vel lobulatis, 4-8 mm., plerumque 5-7 mm.

diam., pallido-brunneis vel sordidis, cum marginibus angustis

fuscis, plusve minusve distincte zonatis; pycnidiis pallido-carneis,

muris tenuibus, sparsis vel gregariis, subglobosis, ca. 90-160//

diam.; conidiis hyalinis, septis mediis, brevo-cylindraceis vel sub-

fusoideis, 7-11 x 3-4.5//.

Leaf spots orbicular or somewhat lobed, 4-8 mm., mostly 5-7

mm. diam., tan or grayish with a narrow fuscous border, more or

less distinctly zonate; pycnidia pale flesh-colored, thin-walled, epi-

phyllous, scattered or gregarious, subglobose, approx. 90-160//

diam.; conidia hyaline, median septum, short-cylindric or subfu-

soid, 7-11 x 3-4.5//.

On living leaves of Ribes americanum. University of Wisconsin

Arboretum, Madison, Dane County, Wisconsin, U. S. A., July 7,

1956.

In my Notes XX (Trans. Wis. Acad. Sci. 43:178. 1954) I de¬

scribed Phyllosticta succinosa on Ribes americanum. Macroscopi-

cally this is quite suggestive of Ascochyta ribicola, but microscopi¬

cally the resemblance is much less evident and it is a question as

to whether the two are related. Re-examination of the type of

P. succinosa shows no septate spores, so far as observed, and the

size range barely overlaps (4-7 x 2.5-3// for P. succinosa) .

1957] Greene— Wisconsin Parasitic Fungi XXIII 157

Septorxa matricarxae Hollos on Matricaria matricarioides .

Jackson Co., City Point, July 24. Hollos described this species in

1910 on Matricaria discoidea , while Sydow, evidently overlooking

the Hollos name, applied the same name to a fungus on Matricaria

chamomilla (Annah MycoL 19:143. 1921). Hollos described the

pycnidia as being 100-130/a diam. and the conidia as 40-60 x 2-2.5/a,

while Sydow gives the pycnidia as 50-70/a diam. and the spores as

30-60 x 1-1.5 /a. My specimen is intermediate, suggesting that

Hollos’ and Sydow’s fungi may represent the extremes of a series.

Cylindrosporium vaccinii sp. nov.

Maculis fuscis, angulatis, 2-3 mm. diam., saepe confluentibus ;

acervulis epiphyllis, sparsis vel gregariis, ca. 40-70/a diam. ; conidio-

phores brevibus, 8-10 x 2.5-3/a, confertis ; conidiis hyalinis, flexuo-

sis, filiformibus, ca. 60-90 x 1.5-2/a, continuis.

Leaf spots sordid gray-brown, angled, 2-3 mm. diam., often con¬

fluent, acervuli epiphyllous, scattered to gregarious, approx. 40-70/a

diam.; conidiophores short, 8-10 x 2.5-3/a, crowded; conidia hya¬

line, flexuous, filiform, approx. 60-90 x 1.5-2/a, continuous.

On living leaves of Vaccinium canadense . Parfrey’s Glen, Town

of Merrimac, Sauk County, Wisconsin, U. S. A., August 24, 1956.

This seems a distinctive fungus and not one of the confusing

assemblage of Ramularias that have been reported on Vaccinium .

The spores sometimes appear faintly multiseptate, but are probably

all continuous. They are often tapered toward the apex. The

conidiophores are mostly crowded and compacted, but where ob¬

served free tend to be flask-shaped. I have found no reports of

Cylindrosporium on any Ericaceae.

Haplobasxmum thalictrx Erikss. on Thalictrum revolutum .

Manitowoc Co., Two Rivers, July 12. Det. by S. J. Hughes. This

corresponds closely with Sydow’s Mycotheca germanica No. 847.

Apparently the first report of occurrence in North America.

Ramularia cirsxi Allesch. on Cirsium arvense . Dane Co., Madi¬

son, August 25. This fungus was originally described on Cirsium

vulgare (lanceolatum) and a variety Cirsii-arv ensis C. Massal. was

later set aside. The differences between species and variety, as

described, would seem to fall within the range of what might be

expected in a specific entity and to scarcely warrant recognition.

Fusicladium saligiperdum (AIL & Tub.) Lind, on Salix adeno -

phylla . Manitowoc Co., Point Beach State Forest near Two Rivers,

July 12. An interesting specimen, in which the distinctive conidia

correspond identically with those of Sydow’s Mycotheca germanica

No. 2796, issued as this species.

Cercospora brassicicola P. Henn. on Brassica arv ensis. Dane

Co., Madison, August 16. The spores correspond to the figure and

158 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

description in Chupp’s “Monograph of Cercospora”, but the phores

seem more like those shown in some allied species, such as C. armo-

raciae Sacc. and C. barbareae (Sacc.) Chupp. It would seem that

we have here an intergrading series.

Cercospora tenuis Peck on Galium trifidum. Racine Co., Racine,

June 24, 1887, August 31, 1890, and Kenosha Co., July 10, 1898.

All collected by J. J. Davis and originally labeled Cercospora

punctoidea Ell. & Holw., later filed under Cercospora galii Ell. &

Holw., on the assumption that C. punctoidea is a synonym of the

latter. Chupp in his monograph states that this is incorrect and

that C. punctoidea is actually a synonym of C. tenuis, not hitherto

reported by that name from Wisconsin.

Cercospora eupatorii Peck on Eupatorium altissimum. Dane

Co., Madison, August 31. According to Chupp, this species is alone

among those known on Eupatorium in having well-defined spots.

The conidia are unusual in being tapered to an awl-like tip.

Cercospora oligoneuronis sp. nov.

Maculis obscuro-flavidis, immarginatis, angulosis, parvis, 1-3

mm. longis, fasciis 4-8 cauliculis divergentibus, hypophyllis ; conid-

iophoris septatis aliquoties, tortuosis, geniculatis aliquoties, fuscis,

apicibus pallidioribus, 80-115 x 4-5.5^; conidiis angusto-obclavatis,

rectis vel curvis leniter, pallido-flavidis, 3-4-septatis, 45-60 x 2.5-

3.5 jul.

Spots dull yellowish, immarginate, angled, small, 1-3 mm. long;

conidiophores 4-8 in fascicle, widely divergent and spreading,

hypophyllous ; several-septate, tortuous, several-geniculate, dark

brown, somewhat paler at tip, 80-115 x 4-5.5 /x; conidia narrowly

obclavate, straight or slightly curved, pale yellowish, 3-4-septate,

45-60 x 2. 5-3. 5 ji.

On living leaves of Solidago ridclellii. University of Wisconsin

Arboretum, Madison, Dane County, Wisconsin, U. S. A., August

17, 1956.

A very inconspicuous fungus. The spots are delimited by the

anastomosing lesser veins and, along the margins particularly, are

sometimes confluent to produce a rather elongate lesion. The spe¬

cific name is derived from the generic appellation sometimes given

the corymbose Solidagos.

THE LIVELIHOODS IN 1880 AND IN 1956 IN THE TOWN

OF LIBERTY GROVE, DOOR COUNTY, WISCONSIN

Otto L. Kowalke

University of Wisconsin

The Town of Liberty Grove is the north end of the mainland of

the Door County Peninsula that lies between Green Bay and Lake

Michigan; and it is the largest town in that county. Door County

was authorized by the Legislature in 1851 ; and the Town of

Liberty Grove, the sixth town, was set off in 1859. The name,

“Liberty Grove”, was proposed by C. T. Morbeck who was clerk,

assessor, treasurer, and justice of peace. (1)

The Liberty Grove area, in 1800, was completely covered with

trees. The prominent species were maple, beech, ash, pine, hemlock,

cedar (arbor vitae) , spruce, tamarack, and balsam fir. Martin (1)

quotes an early writer that “for the largest variety of timber and

shrubs, our evergreen and forest tree dealers have scattered broad¬

cast the fact that no section of America is equal to this peninsula.”

Settlers came as early as 1836 to fish from Rock Island at the

north end of the peninsula. There was a merchant at Ellison Bay

by 1855 and one at Sister Bay in 1856 (1) , so there must have been

enough people in the area to support them. According to the U.S.

Census of 1880, there were 1,092 persons in Liberty Grove. In 1876

a saw mill was built at Rowley Bay and another at Sister Bay

which was still operating in 1956 (2) . A third mill, built later,

stood at the foot of the bluff in Section 15 just west of Ellison Bay.

The “farmer-lumberman” cut saw logs, cordwood, railroad ties,

telegraph poles, fence posts, and made maple syrup and sugar. Hay

was always a good crop ; and wheat and oats brought better prices

than in other parts of the State. For all those commodities there

was a ready market (2) .

Prices for forest products were low in 1880 when compared with

those of 1956. For example, maple firewood was $2.12 a cord; cedar

railroad ties brought 15 cents each; cedar poles 25 feet long sold

for 37 cents each; and hemlock bark for tanning could be had for

$3.00 a cord (2). The peeled hemlock logs were left in the woods

to rot.

When the land had been cleared, it was planted to crops for man

and farm animals. For man there were potatoes, wheat, rye, and

vegetables. The cow or two, horses, pigs, and chickens lived on oats,

millet, hay, and pasture. Corn was not raised because the growing

159

160 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

season was too short for the seed then available. In 1956, corn was

grown on many farms and the ears were large. Prior to 1910,

farming yielded a modest income. It was not until cherry and apple

culture and dairying were practiced, that farm incomes were

raised.

Fishing was another means for livelihood. Besides the numerous

commercial fishermen, there were also farmers, living adjacent to

the shores, who fished for herring with “pound nets” in early

spring and late autumn. In the early days the fish were largely

salted and packed in wooden kegs for shipment, but some were also

smoked. Fishing was once a lucrative occupation. But, the lamprey

eel had, by 1956, killed most of the lake trout and made inroads on

the white fish. In spite of the loss of the trout, commercial fisher¬

men are still working at Sister Bay, Ellison Bay, and particularly

at Gills Rock.

The routes to markets for farm, forest, and fish products in the

early days, were Green Bay and Lake Michigan. By 1880, there

were 13 piers along the shore line in Liberty Grove from which

shallow draft schooners could take on cargo. One pier at Sister Bay

and one at Ellison Bay were alongside water deep enough to serve

fairly large steamers (2). The pier with its warehouse at Ellison

Bay was owned by John Eliason and in 1915 it was known as the

“potato dock”. When boats, driven by gasoline engines, came to

this region, they took dressed fish, packed in ice, to Sturgeon Bay

or to Green Bay. In 1956, products like dressed fish, fresh fruits,

and vegetables went by auto-truck to Milwaukee and Chicago,

usually a night run.

Fruit-growing in Door County is said to have begun in 1862

when Joseph Zettle planted some apple trees just north of Sturgeon

Bay. By 1892 he had 45 acres in apple orchard and harvested 3,000

bushels, and he exhibited some of them at the state fair. The ex¬

hibit came to attention of Professor Emmett S. Goff of the Uni¬

versity of Wisconsin and Mr. A. L. Hatch, a fruit grower at Rich¬

land Center, Wis. Those men visited Door County in 1893 and they

were so impressed by the possibilities that they bought 40 acres of

land and planted some European and Japanese plums. They also

planted a nursery containing 50,000 apple grafts and some cherries.

Their venture was a success. By 1910, there were 185 acres in

cherries in Door County and by 1923 there were 777 acres (3).

Apple and cherry growing in Door County is aided by the cold

waters of Green Bay and Lake Michigan that give the peninsula a

cool, backward spring. The blossom buds, being sensitive to frost,

are retarded and often several weeks elapse from the time they

first swell until they are in full bloom. By that time the dangers of

frosts are over (3) .

1957]

Kowalke — Liberty Grove

161

Plate l

162 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

The extent and location of the apple and cherry orchards in

Liberty Grove are shown on Plate 1. The author with an assistant,

in the summers of 1955 and 1956, paced off each orchard and

located it with reference to the property boundary. The measure¬

ment by pacing is probably within two per cent correct and it is

adequate for the purpose of this report.

It may be of interest to point out that practically all those plots

of apples and cherries lie within the dashed lines that mark the

contours of the beach ridges made by the ancient Lake Algonquin,

following the last glacial period (4). The contours of the ridges lie

at 640 to 650 feet above sea level and about 60 to 70 feet above the

water of Lake Michigan. The orchards are thus exposed to air cur¬

rents flowing across the peninsula and are thereby protected from

frosts.

There are 32 plots in apples with a total area of 432 acres; and

205 plots in cherries with a total area of 2,088 acres. Of the cherry

area, about 12 per cent is new planting not yet in bearing.

Most of the plots are tended by the owners who live on the land

and such plots range in size from about one-half acre to about 40

acres. There is a large company-owned orchard along Highway 42,

between Sister Bay and Ellison Bay in Sections 21 and 22, where

there are 238 acres in apples and 224 acres in cherries. Another

orchard company, in the last two years, has planted about 100 acres

to cherries on land lying to the east of Ellison Bay. The greatest

aggregates of owner-operated cherry orchards are immediately to

the east and to the south of Sister Bay Village in Sections 4 and 8

where the total acreages are 167 and 156, respectively.

Picking cherries, up to about 1925, was done largely by the

owner and his family and such local help as he could get. In 1956,

most of the picking was done by migrant laborers from the South

and Indians from Wisconsin.

Canning of cherries is done in several plants in Sturgeon Bay

and also in the Growers’ Co-operative Cannery about one and one-

half miles east of Sister Bay on County Highway ZZ in the north¬

west corner of Section 10.

Dairying has developed considerably in Liberty Grove in the last

20 years. Whereas, in 1880, the farmer kept a few cows to supply

his needs for milk, butter, and meat, he soon increased his herd

when he could raise the food for them and sell the surplus milk.

Small cheese factories in Liberty Grove bought the surplus milk

and as late as about 1925 there were six such factories. Now there

is none. In 1955, the number of milk cows in Liberty Grove was

970 and they produced an estimated seven and one-third million

pounds of milk per year (5). When the highways were improved

and the auto-truck came into use, it was feasible to haul milk longer

1957]

Kowalke— Liberty Grove

163

distances, A milk condensery was built in 1917 at Sturgeon Bay by

the Van Camp Company, That plant was sold to the Evangeline

Milk Co, in 1944, The milk from the farms is collected daily in

cooled cans and hauled by trucks with cooled transport housings to

Sturgeon Bay. There appear to be no bulk storage and cooled tank

trucks operating in Liberty Grove such as one sees in Southern

Wisconsin.

In 1880, wheat was the principal crop and wheat production

came to a peak about 1900. Now, in 1956, hay and alfalfa and oats

are the principal crops. In 1951, nearly two-thirds of the cropland

was in tame hay, one-fifth was in oats, about one-tenth in corn, and

only about three per cent in wheat. The present crops are grown to

feed cows for milk and beef and to feed hogs and chickens also

grown for meat (3).

Other means for livelihoods now are the services and supplies to

the summer visitors who either stay in the summer hotels or in

cottages which they own or may rent. The first summer hotel,

“Liberty Park”, was built in 1900 by Abraham Carlson (2), near

Sister Bay Village, one-half mile north of the Town Hall on High¬

way 42. By 1915 there were a number of private summer cottages

in that neighborhood. Many summer cottages also were built along

the shore at Ellison Bay, Garrett Bay, and Gills Rock. The shore

line in Liberty Grove along Green Bay is about 17 miles long and

about 65 per cent of the shore is now occupied by summer cottages

and hotels. The shore on the Lake Michigan side, on the other hand,

is about 33 miles long; and only about 15 per cent of it is used for

summer cottages.

The summer cottages, moreover, are a good tax base. In the

Town of Liberty Grove, excluding Sister Bay Village, the total

“residential” assessment for 1955 was four per cent larger than the

total “agricultural” assessment which included all the land and

buildings on the farms and orchards. The “residential” assessments

for the settlements at Ellison Bay and Gills Rock are a modest

fraction of the total for the area under discussion. On that basis, it

is estimated that the summer cottage assessments are about equal

to the assessments on farms and orchards together with their

improvements. In Sister Bay Village, the total assessed valuations

of summer cottages and hotels are about equal to the total for the

farms and orchards within the Village limits. Furthermore, the

total assessed valuation of “residential” property in Liberty Grove

is about equal to that for Sister Bay Village. The “agricultural”

assessments in those two taxation units are also about equal (6) .

Practically all the summer cottages and hotels use electricity and

they were an important inducement to bring that service from

Sturgeon Bay into the area. Electricity came to the farms also. Of

164 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Aids and Letters [Vol. 46

the 141 farms in Liberty Grove reported to be operating in 1955,

only five were without electric service (7) .

The summer cottages and hotels have promoted the growth of

business at Sister Bay which was incorporated as a Village in

1912. The permanent population in the Town of Liberty Grove has

increased about 22 per cent from 1,092 in 1880 to 1,332 in 1950 (3) .

The Village of Sister Bay is the chief merchandising center for a

large area. There, one can now do banking, buy household furnish¬

ings and utensils, get clothing for men, women, and children,

obtain prescription and proprietary drugs, buy fresh bakery goods

and groceries, have automobiles repaired and serviced, and secure

numerous trades services.

References

1. History of Door County, Charles I. Martin (1881).

2. History of Door County, H. R. Holand (1917).

3. Bulletin, Wis. Crop and Livestock Reporting Service (1952).

4. 0. L. Kowalke, Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts

and Letters, 38 (1946).

5. Wisconsin Crop and Livestock Reporting Service, Office File (1956).

6. Letters: C. P. Poirer, Clerk, Town of Liberty Grove; and Glendon H.

Wiltse, Clerk, Sister Bay Village to 0. L. Kowalke (1956).

7. Letter, P. G. Smalley, Wis. Public Serv. Corp., Sturgeon Bay, Wis. to

O. L. Kowalke.

PRINTING AND JOURNALISM IN THE NOVELS OF

WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS

B. A. SOKOLOFF

University of Wisconsin Department of English

In the beginning was the printing-office. At the age of nine, in

Hamilton, Ohio, William Dean Howells began to set type. Accord¬

ing to his father’s Swedenborgian philosophy, the boy was fulfilling

a use. And for the boy, this was his introduction to words. Seventy-

four years later, the old man was through with words, after being

“a literary movement in himself.” But at first there was type¬

setting, versifying, sketch writing, reporting and editing, and short

story writing. All of these activities went into Howells’ theory and

practice of the novel, as he has told us and as later scholars and

investigators have observed. The travel sketches blossomed into

the earliest novels; the transition is almost imperceptible. In 1846

we find “The Old Man,” as Howells was called by the other printers

because of his gravity of manner, at his case.

But as for the printer’s craft with me, it was simply my joy

and pride from the first thing I knew of it. I know when I

could not read, for I recall supplying the text from my imagi¬

nation for the pictures I found in books, but I do not know

when I could not set type. My first attempt at literature was

not written, but put up in type, and printed off by me.1

Howells may here be referring to “The Independent Candidate,”

a story which had a disastrous ending for Howells.2 At the outset

we have the image of a boy absorbed in attempts at writing and

the work of printing so that printing and creative literature merge

with such thoroughness that we cannot distinguish them sepa¬

rately. Neither could Howells, of course, Soon he could set type very

well, and from ten years on “journalism became my university and

the printing-office was my school.”3 The work became irksome to

him as work becomes to any boy, but it never ceased to have charm

for a man who never got the printer’s ink out of his system.

Although his interest in literature ran very high (literature was

always his “passion”) from a very early age, he was devoted to

printing and journalism with a high sense of dedication. He always

had a feeling of duty toward his work that gave him a living, and

1 Years of My Youth (New York, 1916), 17.

a I shall discuss this story in greater detail in a later passage of this essay.

8 Years of My Youth, 18.

165

166 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

in “The Man of Letters as a Man of Business” he announced that

the creative writer, the artist, should look upon himself as a skilled

worker similar to a craftsman in the manual trades. Howells never

forgot that he entered letters through the aristocrat of trades,

printing. Although his day was taken up with labor in the printing

shop, and he had to make time for his studies, in the early days, at

least in Jefferson, he did not begrudge the hours spent at the case.

In Hamilton the boy’s day in the printing-office began at seven

and ended at six. In Dayton, in 1849-50, Howells’ day began at

four or five and did not end until eleven o’clock when he helped

put the telegraphic despatches into type. In the early dawn he

delivered the papers. Later, in Jefferson, his working day was over

at two because of his speed and skill. Any time not spent in work¬

ing at the case in these early years was snatched for literature.

“As soon as supper was over in the evening I got out my manu¬

scripts, which I kept in great disorder . . . and sawed and filed, and

hammered away at my blessed Popean heroics until nine, when I

went regularly to bed, to rise again at five.”4 After the year in the

log cabin at Xenia Howells went to Columbus with his father, who

became clerk of the House of the Ohio Legislature. This was the

boy’s introduction to politics in the Ohio capital ; he was to return

in 1857 to become an editor and political journalist. But in 1851,

at fourteen, Howells became a compositor on the Ohio State Jour¬

nal, the paper he was to rejoin six years later. “In this way I came

into living contact with literature again, and the day-dreams began

once more over the familiar cases of type. A definite literary ambi¬

tion grew up in me, and in the long reveries of the afternoon, when

I was distributing my case, I fashioned a future of overpowering

magnificence and undying celebrity.”5 This dream came true, at

least partially.

The high point of Howells’ career as journalist-printer came

when Howells started work on the Atlantic Monthly on March 1,

1866. He was proof reader, editor, correspondent, and writer.

Howells was made aware that the experience he had “as practical

printer for the work was most valued, if not the most valued, and

that as a proof reader he was expected to make it avail on the side

of economy.”6 In exactly the same way Bartley Hubbard got his

position on the Equity Free Press . “He apprenticed himself to the

printer of his village, and rapidly picked up a knowledge of the

business. . . . But it was as a practical printer, through the free¬

masonry of the craft, that Bartley heard of the wish of the Equity

*Ibid., 44.

*Ibid., 36.

0 Life in Letters of William Dean Howells, Mildred Howells, ed., two volumes (Gar¬

den City, New York, 1928), I, 105, cited by Clara and Rudolph Kirk, William Dean

Howells (New York, 1950), lxii.

1957]

Sokoloff— -Howells

167

committee to place the Free Press in new hands* and he had to be

grateful to his trade for a primary consideration from them which

his collegiate honors would not have won him/*7 Howells* publica¬

tions in the Atlantic, Boston Advertiser, the New York World, and

in Ohio periodicals corresponded to Hubbard*s collegiate career.

The lack of “the stamp of the schools** did not count against

Howells. When Howells in a letter to Brander Matthews* July 22*

1911* identified himself with Hubbard (“. . . yesterday I read a

great part of A Modern Instance, and perceived that I had drawn

Bartley Hubbard* the false scoundrel* from myself**)* he might

have been thinking of their common journalistic beginnings. Or

perhaps he was exorcising the scoundrel of ‘The Agnes Kepplier in

pantaloons*** a label fastened on Howells by H. L. Mencken.

The period from 1857 to 1861 saw Howells deeply absorbed in

poetry; he was reading Tennyson and Heine* the latter of whom

became his great “passion.** He was soon writing Heinesque verses*

imitations so close to the original that Lowell had to hold some

of his contributions to the Atlantic to make sure that they were not

by the German. Later Lowell told Howells to sweat the Heine out

of his system. Steeped as he was in poetry* captured by the vision

of Howells the Poet* he still held journalism very dear. He felt

“pride and joy** when he began the work; at the Ohio State Journal

in those years when the Civil War was about to crash down* “I

could find time for poetry only in my brief noonings, and at night

after the last proofs had gone to the composing-room* or I had

come home from the theater or from an evening party* but the

long day was a long delight to me over my desk in the room next

my senior/*8

Howells always remembered journalism before the Finneys*

Hubbards* and Bittridges dragged the calling down with their

cheapness and sensationalism. He thought of it as closely allied to

the literary life* and always he bore in mind the high literary and

ethical quality of his family's newspaper* the Ashtabula Sentinel

The author who approached literature through journalism was as

fine a literary man as the writer who came directly to it.9 Gradu¬

ally* as Howells* literary aspirations grew in intensity in the late

fifties* he came to think of journalism as a stepping stone to the

writer*s life. He tried to make literature out of his journalism. And

here we have the genesis of all his later work. The humor and

irony of his comedies of manners are found early in his newspaper

columns such as “News and Humors of the Mail** that he wrote for

the Ohio State Journal . Here was not straight reporting but selec-

7 A Modern Instance (New York, 1934), 31.

8 Years of My Youth , 152.

9 “The Man of Letters as a Man of Business/’ in Literature and Life (New York,

1902), 22.

168 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

tion passed through the prism of the Howellsian personality. ‘‘I

tried to make my newspaper work literary, to give it form and

distinction, and it seems to me that I did not always try in vain,

but I had also the instinct of actuality, of trying to make my poetry

speak for its time and place.”10 “The instinct of actuality/’ Here

we have the germ of Howells’ theory of realism; his practice of

realism, too, began in his Sentinel and State Journal days.11

In A Modern Instance the newspaperman’s club in its vibrant

atmosphere of good fellowship reproduced the feelings that young

Howells had about his craft. “None, indeed, who have ever known

it, can whollv forget the generous rage with which journalism in¬

spires its followers. To each of these young men, beginning the

strangely fascinating life as reporters and correspondents, his

paper was as dear as his king once was to a French noble. . . .”12

The camaraderie of newspapermen was really of secondary impor¬

tance to Howells, although he made significant friendships as a

news writer and editor, not the least of which was his relationship

with Governor Salmon P. Chase. But for Howells’ art the most

important role he assumed as a journalist was that of observer.

It is quite true that he did not early or late come to close grips with

all facets of life, but he was a spectator of life, even if only through

the newspaper exchanges. Also, in his quiet way he was encounter¬

ing large segments of life. William Lyon Phelps grasped the impor¬

tance of this phase of Howells’ career when he wrote :

While [Henry] James was “studying,” Howells was reporting

for a newspaper, and a reporter of life he was to the end. I

cannot help thinking that the journalistic work on that Ohio

newspaper affected the novelist’s art in no small degree. It

made him observant rather than introspective, a chronicler

rather than an analyser of life. He never lost zest for minute

observation ; nothing characteristically human seemed dull or

unimportant. His eye was microscopic, and when he turned it

on what some call commonplace events or commonplace people,

they swarmed with exciting activities, as any tiny bit of life

does under a microscope.13

To qualify and clarify Phelps’ statement, one should note that

Howells was not really a reporter in the sense of the man who deals

directly with death, vice, calamity, and the other ills of mankind ;

in fact, he turned down a position with the Cincinnati Gazette

which paid a very handsome salary, because he could not front life

directly. But the important fact here is that Howells took on the

role of the peripheral intelligence that observes and then narrates.

i° Years of My Youth, 178.

11 1 shall treat this highly important subject in a later section of this essay.

12 A Modern Instance, 196-97.

ia Howells, James, Bryant, and Other Essays (New York, 1924), 172—73.

1957]

Soko toff— How ells

169

This role of spectator was in harmony with his sensitive and gen-

teel character; he preferred the “cleanly respectabilities” and on

the fringe of action he could avoid direct contact with the sordid

happenings of everyday life.

II

Howells initially took on the role of spectator on the staff of the

family newspaper, the Ashtabula Sentinel , half-owned by his father

in 1852 and later owned for many years14 by his brother Joseph.

“From his fifteenth year to his twentieth he worked on it as a

compositor and occasional contributor. . . . The impetus to write

and study literature was quickened there daily as he heard the

printers recite and pun and argue. The taste which appropriated

writings from other unprotected publications informed and molded

his style, providing models for him to imitate or shun.”15 In the

Sentinel appeared the first story that is identified as Howells' ; this

is “The Independent Candidate.” Like other sketches and studies

and poems, he put this into type without first writing it. This prac¬

tice combined with serial publication made for disaster. “Once,

also, I attempted a serial romance which, after a succession of sev¬

eral numbers, faltered and at last would not go on. I have told in

another place how I had to force it to a close without mercy for

the heroine, hurried to an untimely death as the only means of get¬

ting her out of the way, and I will not repeat the miserable details

here.”16 Howells' first story, printed when he was seventeen, is im¬

portant because it shows us, for all its weaknesses, that the youth

could write. Unending practice had produced a smooth style whose

major fault was a tendency toward fine writing. But “he had a

good sense of form in the short sketch, the single incident, but

lacked powers of larger comprehensiveness and continuity.”17 He

introduced too many characters and situations and could not bring

the story to a successful conclusion. It is significant to note that

this lack of control is also one of the chief shortcomings of his near-

masterniece, A Hazard of New Fortunes , published forty-six years

later. The action of the early story, centered in a political cam¬

paign, is illustrative of his high interest in politics at the time. It

also shows the influence of Dickens.18

The Sentinel was literary in tone and featured the writings of

the leading contemporary English and American authors such as

Poe, Hawthorne, Dickens, and Thackeray. This material was given

14 Joseph Howells was connected with the Sentinel for fifty-seven years.

is E. H. Cady, “WilFam Dean Howells and the Ashtabula Sentinel,” Ohio State

Archaeological and Historical Quarterly, Dili ( January-^March, 1944), 39.

is Years of My Youth, 96-7.

ii Howells is the author of any bibliographical item for which an author is not given.

Cady, 47.

18 For a r§sum£ of the story, see 44-5 of the above article.

170 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

a prominent place in the paper. Along with the best stories

appeared coincidence-laden romances which relied on sentimen¬

tality and smug morality for their effect.1- Howells’ taste, fed on

the best of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, was sure

enough to reject the shoddy. It was probably these saccharine offer¬

ings which turned him against what he later called “romanticistic”

fiction, fiction which dealt in falsehood and presented a lying pic¬

ture of life, past or present. From 1886 on he led the battle against

this lying fiction and for realism; from the “Editor’s Study” in

Harper’s he fulminated against the F. Marion Crawford type of

thing.

Before his first novel ( Their Wedding Journey, 1871), “the

thirty-four year old ex-printer and reporter, by this time editor of

the Atlantic, had also written nearly eight hundred poems, edi¬

torials, reviews, short stories, travel sketches, and columns of social

comment for Ohio, Boston, and New York periodicals. . . .”20 In

this welter of writings lay many ideas and situations which were

to go into his early novels, especially the first three. In July of 1860

Howells went on a sight-seeing trip to Canada and New England.

In “Glimpses of Summer Travel” for the Cincinnati Gazette and

“En Passant” for the Ohio State Journal he reported his journey

to Erie, Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Toronto, Montreal, Quebec, Port¬

land, and Haverhill, Howells has the Marches go on a very similar

trip in Their Wedding Journey.21 The structure of this book and

A Chance Acquaintance is based on a similar trip that Howells and

his wife took in 1870. Howells’ early writing, especially about

courtship and marriage, reappears in altered form in the novels.

“ ‘Fast and Firm, a Romance at Marseilles,’ revolves around the

typically Howellsian situation of a young man and woman, who

have become acquainted by accident in Italy, being mistaken for

husband and wife. Since this short story reached only the readers

of the Ashtabula Sentinel in 1866, Howells placed Kitty Ellison and

Arbuton of A Chance Acquaintance in the same situation seven

years later.”2'2

Typical of Howells’ early journalistic writings was a column he

had in the Ohio State Journal, called “News and Humors of the

Mail.” The characteristics he displayed in those columns of social

comment remained with him for the rest of his life. From the ex¬

change newspapers he collected items that would lend themselves

to his twenty-year-old wit. “I called my column or two ‘News and

Humors of the Mail,’ and I tried to give it an effect of originality

» Ibid., 41.

20 William M. Gibson, “Materials and Form in Howells' First Novels,” American

Literature, XIX (May, 1947), 158.

si Ibid., 162-63.

™Ibid., 161.

1957]

SoJcoloff— Howells

171

by recasting many of the facts, or, when I could not find a pretext

for this, by offering the selected passages with applausive or de¬

risive comment.”23 Henry Bird, Hubbard’s assistant on the Equity

Free Press , wrote the same kind of column.24

One item25 belies the idea of Howells’ almost innate prudishness ;

it is probably not typical of the youth he was, but it is noteworthy

for its irony: “Virtue must and shall be preserved — Three virtu¬

ous matrons of South Bend, Ind., tarred and feathered a woman

of impure reputation, in the public streets of South Bend, a few

days since. The citizens of South Bend looked on, but are ‘excited.’ ”

A literary comment demonstrates his humorous mild sarcasm:

“Mrs. L. H. Sigourney of Hartford, Conn., furnishes fifty poor

families in Boston with turkeys or fowls and pumpkin pies, of the

best quality, too, for a Thanksgiving dinner. A deed so noble, that

we can easily forgive her all the verses she has ever written.”26

Of course, Howells’ selection of items is very revealing of his

state of mind. The following piece of news and its editorial treat¬

ment illustrates the young journalist’s humanity:

Thanksgiving day was observed in New York city by the usual

sermons at the churches, at the Five Points Missions, and the

other benevolent institutions. Business was generally sus¬

pended, and one man was murdered. An infamous and cruel

hoax was played off on the poor by some soulless and brainless

scoundrel, who announced through the Herald that food would

be dispensed gratis at certain points. Thousands of starving

wretches assembled to be disappointed.27

His anti-slavery views found expression in many selections such

as the following : “A correspondent of the London Times, in a letter

from St. Vincents, Cape Verd Islands, announces the arrival there

of the U. S. frigate Niagara, having on board the Africans rescued

by the Dolphin from the slave brig Echo. Four hundred and fifty

slaves left Africa, of whom but two hundred and fourteen re¬

main.”28 A man by the name of Hugh Hazlitt was sentenced in

Maryland to forty-five years in jail for enticing slaves to run away.

Here is Howells’ comment: “A most just judgment! In this country

one may massacre abolitionists in Kansas, one may pistol Irishmen

— but to tell negroes of liberty, and counsel them to run away from

their beloved Massas, is monstrous ! Hazlitt escapes too easily with

his forty-five years’ imprisonment. He should have been burnt

alive.”29 “Firing the Southern heart” was one of the pastimes of

ss Years of My Youth, 146.

24 A Modern Instance, 71.

25 Ohio State Journal, XXIII (January 26, 1860), 2.

^Ibid., XXII (November 29, 1858), 2.

27 Ibid., (November 22, 1858), 2.

28 Ibid., (November 24, 1858), 2.

29 Ibid., (November 23, 1858), 2.

172 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

Howells and his fellow journalists of Northern sympathies on the

Ohio State Journal: “A duel was fought last week on Staten Island,

by two medical students from the chivalric state of North Carolina.

After firing four times at each other with the most wretched suc¬

cess, they shook hands and made friends. It was about a lady, of

course.”30

It is impossible to say when Howells first thought of himself as

a realist, but in his earliest writings, including his journalism,

realistic tendencies are seen. So in an early sketch we find a note

on the truthful treatment of material: “The reader will observe

that I am making this account as dull and egotistical as possible,

in order to give myself the air of a real traveler. It does not matter

so much how far you go, and what happens, as how you tell the

story of it. If you bully people with a long account of nothing, they

will be very apt to think you a wonderful fellow of vast experi¬

ence/’31 This sounds very much like part of his critical canon set

forth in Criticism and Fiction and the edicts on realism that he

handed down from the “Editor’s Study” and “Editor’s Easy

Chair.”

His political writing in the 1850’s helps show his grasp of real¬

ity; it also points up the fact that for a great part of his career,

Howells was actively engaged in political journalism. This period

extended to his ten years with the Atlantic , first as assistant editor

and then as editor. Professor Louis Budd in his article, “Howells’

Blistering and Cauterizing,” emphasizes the vehement quality of

Howells’ political writing on the Ohio State Journal?- Howells was

so outspoken and caustic in expounding his views that a State Sen¬

ator arose on the floor of the Ohio Legislature to object to the

young man’s virulence. Howells’ rough methods apparently were

standard for that time when all men took their politics very seri¬

ously. “But if the young editor in his ‘blistering and cauterizing’

was far from New Testament tactics, he was much at home in

antebellum journalism.”33 Howells’ freesoil and antislavery views,

along with the rest of his political credo, placed him in the ranks

of the Republican party when that group was formed. Howells,

during his Atlantic years, “aided the Republican party from Boston

just as he had done from Columbus and New York, ... he made

the Atlantic reflect political views acceptable to himself and most

educated Republicans, and he in the main allowed his magazine to

voice the conservative rationale.”34 These were still the years when

Howells could make polite statements about Hay’s The Breadwin-

30 Ibid., (November 25, 1858), 2.

31 “I Visit Camp Harrison,” Ohio State Journal, XXIII (August 31, 1859), 2.

32 Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly, LXII (October, 1953), 334-47.

33 Ibid., 34 7.

34 Louis J. Budd, “Howells, the Atlantic Monthly, and Republicanism,” American

Literature, XXIV (May, 1952), 155.

1957] Sokoloff — Howells 173

ners and Aldrich’s Stillwater Tragedy . And he was still thinking

of the American businessman as Silas Lapham; the novels from

Annie Kilhurn to A Traveler from Altruria were yet to come. The

point I wish to make in this section is that the Ohio years of jour¬

nalism were full of writings by Howells on political and economic

issues, and that this preoccupation with the betterment of man’s

social lot was to find expression in his later work. As one might

expect, much of Howells’ fiction utilizes themes abstracted from

this extremely important experience in his life.

Ill

The novels that have most to do with printing and printers and

journalism and journalists are The Story of a Play, A Modern

Instance, Letters Home, The Quality of Mercy, and The World of

Chance. The world of printing and journalism is part of the back¬

ground of other books such as Indian Summer and The Kentons.

Again and again we find fragments of Howells in such men as

Brice Maxwell, Bartley Hubbard, Colville, Ardith, and Shelley Ray.

They are journalistic literary men out of the West, all provincials

seeking to arrive in the city. All of Howells’ journalistic threads

are woven out of himself ; he was the prototype for later times of

the country boy of little formal education who leaped from the

printer’s case and small town paper to literary fortune in the great

metropolitan center. Basil March, who followed Howells from

Boston to New York, is another of his autobiographical types who

is. a journalist with strong leaning toward higher things in writing.

In Indianapolis, March had translated from German in the news¬

paper exchanges when he thought himself “in Arkadien geboren.”85

Colville, the middle-aged lover of Indian Summer, is a retired

newspaper editor-publisher from Des Vaches, Indiana. Brice Max¬

well looks very much like the young Howells in a sketch that Godol-

phin makes of him in The Story of a Play: “. . . [He was] young,

slight in figure, with a refined and delicate face, bearing the stamp

of intellectual force; a journalist from the time he left school, and

one of the best exponents of the formative influences of the press

in the training of its votaries.”36

In 1857 Howells was writing a daily letter from Columbus for

the Cincinnati Gazette, dealing with legislative proceedings in the

capital. The letters which found favor with the editors were the

reason he was offered the position of city editor with the Gazette,

a position he declined because of his “morbid nerves.” In 1860 he

was writing letters from Columbus for the New York World.

Almost all of his fictional journalists write letters such as Howells

35 Their Wedding Journey (Boston, 1872), 111.

38 The Story of a Play (New York, 1898), 117.

174 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

wrote; they usually write a New York letter to Midland or Wot-

toma, Iowa, or even to Boston. They also write other kinds of

material, forms that Howells knew.

He [Bartley Hubbard] wrote long, bragging letters about

Equity, in a tone bordering on burlesque, and he had a depart¬

ment in his paper where he printed humorous squibs of his

own and of other people ; these were sometimes copied, and in

the daily papers of the State he had been mentioned as “the

funny man of the Equity Free Press.” He also sent letters to

one of the Boston journals, which he reproduced in his own

sheet, and which gave him an importance that the best en¬

deavor as a country editor would never have won him with the

villagers.37

While waiting for success as a playwright, Maxwell writes letters

from New York for his old newspaper, the Boston Abstract. It was

for the Abstract that he had written his sociological article on the

significance of Northwick’s defalcation in The Quality of Mercy.

Like Howells, Maxwell “preferred to make his letter a lively com¬

ment on events rather than a report of them.’'38 Ardith of Letters

Home, who is going to write the epic of New York (something

Howells approached in A Hazard of Neiv Fortunes), debates writ¬

ing a New York letter for the Day people of Wottoma, Iowa. He

decides he would refuse even decent pay for it because he is going

to devote himself to pure literature.

The problems of turning experience into literature and of escap¬

ing hack-work for literature occupied Howells’ mind early and late

and found their way into his novels. Like Howells in real life, his

characters are always realizing material for creative writing even

as an action unfolds. When Maxwell’s wife faints and he thinks she

is dead, Howells writes, “With a strange aesthetic vigilance he took

note of his sensations for use in revising Haxard.”39 Ardith in

Letters Home is asked by old Gasman of the Signal to do a series

on “The Impressions of a Provincial,” giving an account of New

York from a fresh country arrival’s point of view.40 When Ardith

takes out Essie Baysley, a pure country type from his hometown

in Iowa, he thinks: “I don’t exactly see how the experience will

work into ‘The Impressions of a Provincial,’ unless as an episode

37 A Modern Instance , 34.

38 The Story of a Play , 196.

39 Ibid., 209.

40 “The Impressions of a Provincial,” — this might almost be the title of Howells’

five foot shelf. Perennially he was taken by the theme of the literary youth from

the hinterland arriving in the big city with a manuscript in his handbag. Was Howells

rewriting his autobiography, seeking to discover something of himself in the process?

The above was suggested to me by a statement Lionel Trilling makes in his “William

Dean Howells and the Roots of Modern Taste,” Partisan Review, XVIII (September-

October, 1951), 516-36.

1957] Sokoloff-— Howells 175

of Bohemia or something of that sort, but it is pure literature.

”41

In the late nineties Howells told Theodore Dreiser in an inter¬

view how hack-work in his early years had kept him from writing.

Although he loved printing and journalism, his highest ideal was

pure literature, at first poetry, which obviously enough, was always

his most undistinguished production. So Maxwell tells his mother:

‘‘Yes, I’ve got to get on in his [Pinney’s] way while I’m trying to

get on in my own. I’ve got to work eight hours at reporting for the

privilege of working two at literature.42 That’s how the world is

built. The first thing is to earn your bread.”43 His wife tells him in

The Story of a Play that he has always said that there is nothing

so killing to creative work as any kind of journalism.44 She makes

this statement when the matter of writing a New York letter

comes up.

Shelley Ray has a large part of Howells in him ; he sounds much

like the Ohio poet of 1860 who had been printed by Lowell in the

leading literary magazine of America, issued from sacrosanct

Boston :

He [Ray] had often been sensible himself of a sort of incon¬

gruity in using up in ephemeral paragraphs, and even leading

articles, the mind-stuff of a man who had published poems in

the Century Bric-a-brac and Harper’s Drawer, and had for

several years had a story accepted by the Atlantic, though not

yet printed. With the manuscript of the novel he was carrying

to New York, and the four or five hundred dollars he had saved

from his salary, he felt that he need not undertake newspaper

work at once again. He meant to make a thorough failure of

literature first. There would be time enough to fall back upon

journalism, as he could always do.45

Ford, free lance writer, of The Undiscovered Country, is another

of Howells’ would-be literary men. He writes potboilers and appar¬

ently is ashamed of the fact. There is no doubt that among Howells’

hundreds of pieces of writing, especially after his 1885 contract

with Harper and Brothers, there are many deliberate potboilers.

In the following quotation there is a strong possibility that we hear

Howells’ own voice : “I am sorry to say that my work is mostly for

the pay that it brings. I’m hoping to be something in another way

by and by. In the meantime I write and sell my work. It’s what they

call potboiling.”46 The preceding statement occurs in a conversa-

41 Letters Home (New York, 1903), 113.

42 These are almost the exact words he used to Dreiser.

43 The Quality of Mercy (New York, 1892), 114.

44 P. 162.

45 The World of Chance (New York, 1893), 3.

w The Undiscovered Country (New York, 1890), 299.

176 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

tion about the Shakers’ paper. Ford maintained that the Shakers

wrote out of pleasure and duty. In 1880, the year of publication of

The Undiscovered Country, Howells was sure of a market for any¬

thing he wrote, and he was well on his way to the ten thousand

dollar a year income he was to enjoy from about the middle eighties

to his death. I imagine he must have winced more than once, recall¬

ing such gems as A Fearful Responsibility and The Coast of

Bohemia.

In 1858 Howells attended a convention of Ohio newspapermen

at Tiffin and wrote a poem celebrating the occasion. It extolled the

journalist and breathed high hopes for the future of the profession.

Late in the century he was to see the rise of yellow journalism, a

painful sight for the ex-reporter-editor. Gone was the connection

with literature; the “scoop” was the thing. Newspapers dealt in

debased coin. How many of them, toward the end of the century,

could say what Howells did of the Ashtabula Sentinel: “Upon the

whole, our paper was an attempt at conscientious and self-respect¬

ing journalism; it addressed itself seriously to the minds of its

readers; it sought to form their tastes and opinions . . . and I am

sure that no one got harm from a sincerity of conviction that de¬

voted itself to the highest interests of the reader, that appealed to

nothing base, and flattered nothing foolish in him.”47 The conversa¬

tions on the ethics of journalism are not extraneous material in

A Modern Instance and The Quality of Mercy. Bartley Hubbard

and Witherby share a view of journalism that Howells despised.

When Hubbard is offered a position on the Events, he is quick to

voice an agreement with Witherby that is not feigned. They agree

that a newspaper’s first duty is to make money. Howells in real life

lamented the triumph of the business office of the paper over the

editorial room. Hubbard in a conversation with Ricker states his

idea of how to run a successful newspaper : “I should cater to the

lowest class first, and as long as I was poor I would have the fullest

and best reports of every local accident and crime ; that would take

all the rabble. Then, as I could afford it, I’d rise a little, and give

first-class non-partisan reports of local political affairs ; that would

fetch the next largest class. . . .”48 Later Hubbard would include

news, gossip, and scandal about religion. Last would come fashion

and society news.

Ricker represents Howells’ point of view; in A Modern Instance

he first aids Hubbard in his Boston career but soon grows disgusted

with him when he observes at close range his utter lack of prin¬

ciple. Ricker says : “. . . I consider a newspaper a public enterprise,

with certain distinct duties to the public. It’s sacredly bound not

47 Yea^s of My Youth, 87.

18 A Modern Instance , 297.

1957]

Sokoloff — Howells

177

to do anything to deprave or debauch its readers ; and it’s sacredly

bound not to mislead or betray them, not merely as to questions of

morals and politics, but as to questions of what we may lump as

advertising.”49 Hubbard’s idea of the newspaper is underscored

dramatically in the tavern where he gets drunk; when the Colonel

is asked what he is presenting in his variety show, he replies :

“Legs, principally. That’s what the public wants. I give the public

what it wants. I don’t pretend to be better than the public. Nor any

worse.”50 Howells spoils the effect at this point by having Hubbard

repeat, “It’s just so with the newspapers, too. . . . Some newspapers

used to stand out against publishing murders, and personal gossip,

and divorce trials. There ain’t a newspaper that pretends to keep

anyways up with the times, now, that don’t do it ! The public wants

spice, and they will have it!”51 Death comes to Hubbard in White

Sepulchre, Arizona, when an irate “leading citizen” kills him

because of comments Hubbard printed in his “spicy” paper.

The new race of newspapermen had in Howells’ eyes lost its con¬

science. The Pinneys and Hubbards were unfortunately typical of

a large number of the practising newspaper writers.

It was notable that Howells’ blackguards were often news¬

papermen, like Bittridge, in The Kentons, and Bartley Hub¬

bard, who broke his [Howells’] law of mutual trust with their

prying disregard of human dignity and rights. Like Henry

James and Henry Adams, he detested these glib young jour¬

nalists who represented the new publicity. As an old news¬

paperman, he disliked to see this new type pushing aside the

journalists with a feeling for letters.52

Squire Gaylord, who had stamped Hubbard as irresponsible and

egocentric from the first, at one point in A Modern Instance com¬

ments, “I don’t know as I ever heard that a great deal of morality

was required by a newspaper editor.”53 Although numerous critics

have remarked that Hubbard’s fall is not inevitable from the evi¬

dence of him that Howells presents, we see, in small ways, his

gradual decline that is born of his essentially weak character. By

no means can we say that the fate of Hubbard is a tragic one. Ben

Halleck characterizes Hubbard well: “He was a poor, cheap sort

of a creature. Deplorably smart, and regrettably handsome. , . .

A fellow with no more moral nature than a baseball bat. The sort

of chap you’d expect to find, the next time you met him, in Congress

or the house of correction.”54

49 Ibid.

50 Ibid., 302.

51 Ibid., 303.

52 Van Wyck Brooks, New England: Indian Summer, 1865-1915 (New York, 1940),

221-22.

62 P. 23.

64 Ibid., 243.

178 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

Hubbard prints Kinney’s account of the logging camps without

the latter’s permission and lets him think that Ricker had done the

article. Bartley is flippant about violating confidences. “She [Miss

Kingsbury] was a fresh subject, and she told me everything. Of

course I printed it all. She was awfully shocked,— or pretended to

be, — and wrote me a very O-dear-how-could-you note about it.”55

While interviewing Silas Lapham for the “Solid Men of Boston”

series, Hubbard mocks the simple virtues of Lapham’s early back¬

ground. “Bartley could not deny himself this gibe; but he trusted

to Lapham’s unliterary habit of mind for his security in making

it, and most other people would consider it sincere reporter’s

rhetoric.”56

Lorenzo Pinney, seen at his “best” in The Quality of Mercy, is

another example of the new journalist whom Howells abhorred.

Pinney tells Maxwell: “You ought to go back on a salary, you’ll

ruin yourself trying to fill space if you stick on trifles.”57 Maxwell

replies: “Such as going and asking a man’s family whether they

think he was burned up in a railroad accident, and trying to make

copy out of their emotions? Thank you, I prefer ruin. If that’s your

scoop, you’re welcome to it.”58 To Louise Hillary, Pinney stands for

all that is terrible in journalism.

Of course, men like Hubbard and Pinney could not have suc¬

ceeded, even temporarily, had not the newspapers they worked for

encouraged their cheap and vulgar writing. Bartley had no trouble

at all in selling his sketch on housing in Boston to the Chronicle-

Abstract. Also, whenever possible, distortion and sensationalizing

of news were considered standard practice by many newspapers.59

On the other hand, Ricker toned down Maxwell’s treatment of the

Northwick case because Maxwell had placed a large burden of guilt

on the society that produced such a phenomenon.

Looking back over this essay, we may begin to realize the high

importance of the role of his printing and journalism experience

in Howells’ life and work. Perhaps the greatest significance of this

experience was the contribution it made to Howells’ theory of

critical realism— the truthful treatment of the materials of life.

55 Ibid., 227.

56 Ibid., 4.

57 The Quality of Mercy, 102.

58 Ibid., 102-03.

59 For several newspaper treatments of Northwick’s embezzlement, see 132, 133—36

of The Quality of Mercy.

“THE RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER” AS

STYLIZED EPIC

Karl Kroeber

University of Wisconsin Department of English

The many scholars and critics who have so variously interpreted

“The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” agree at least that Coleridge

has charged his simple ballad form with a strange but uniquely

evocative verbal magic and has transformed the superficial sensa¬

tionalism of the “Gothic” ballad into an impressive if elusive

coherence. In this paper I wish to suggest that much of “The

Ancient Mariner’s” verbal witchery and “archetypal” significance

arises from qualities of the poem which are closely analogous to

those of the “quest” epic, and that these qualities are what distin¬

guish “The Ancient Mariner” from poems of comparable length

and with similarly “magical” subjects. In “The Ancient Mariner”

the essence of one kind of epic is given compact expression through

symbolic narrative.

In theme, surely, “The Ancient Mariner” is epical. However we

interpret the poem, we must recognize that it deals with funda¬

mental problems of good and evil, with near-universal human

experience. Robert Penn Warren, for example, in his thorough¬

going interpretation of “The Ancient Mariner” finds two central

and interlocked themes: that of establishing the “sacramental

vision” of the universe as “One Life,” and that of dramatizing the

nature of the creative imagination.1 Maud Bodkin regards the poem

as an artistic embodiment of the archetypal experience of “re¬

birth,” a psychic event that is so common that its results “are

inherited in the structure of the brain.”2 Solomon Gingerich finds

the poem to be an argument for the acceptance of a “necessi¬

tarian” view of the universe,3 and C. M. Bowra believes that “The

Ancient Mariner” analyzes the essential nature and meaning of

crime and punishment.4

At any rate, if the Mariner is not forced into the perception of

a new vision of the universe, he at least returns from his sufferings,

1 Robert Penn Warren, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner with an Essay by Robert

Penn Warren , New York, 1946.

2 Maud Bodkin, Archetypal Patterns in Poetry, London, 1934, pp. 26-88.

8 Solomon Francis Gingerich, Essays in the Romantic Poets, New York, 1929, pp.

29-34.

4 C. M. Bowra, “The Ancient Mariner,” The Romantic Imagination, Cambridge, 1949,

pp. 51—76. Of course the scholarly starting point for all discussions of “The Ancient

Mariner” is still Lowes’ The Road to Xanadu.

179

180 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

in the fashion of epic heroes, with a more profound and compre¬

hensive understanding of the human situation than he had

embarked with. Indeed, what primarily distinguishes “The Ancient

Mariner” from the many ballads of the supernatural which might

otherwise claim kinship to it is the exclusiveness of its concentra¬

tion — despite the extent and vivacity of its “miraculous” elements

— upon human action and human values. At stake always amidst

a natural world animated by superhuman spiritual creatures is the

Mariner’s essential humanity, just as in The Iliad Homer’s primary

concern in a world of bestial carnage ruled by capricious gods is

the humanity of Achilles.

More specifically, “The Ancient Mariner” is reminiscent of the

“epic of quest/’ a sub-type for which G. R. Levy has provided a

concise definition.

Its heroes fight chiefly in solitude, against demons who

oppose their progress, ‘monsters of their spirit’s making.’ If

they start their journey with companions, they lose them on

the way . . . They always cross the sea and meet women on

strange shores who enchant or prophesy . . . they navigate the

waters of death to learn their destiny.5

The most familiar epic of this type is, of course, The Odyssey,

and I want to point out some unremarked similarities between that

poem and “The Ancient Mariner.” In doing so, however, I will refer

also to the less well known Gilgamesh, a Babylonian epic, probably

composed about 2000 B. C.,6 which is available to American readers

in a lively and readable form thanks to the verse translation of

William Ellery Leonard of the University of Wisconsin. The

Odyssey is a highly sophisticated poem of complex and unusual

origins with some ambiguous, or at least debatable, purposes,7 and

it does not so readily as the more primitive and uncomplicated

Gilgamesh display the characteristics of the “quest” epic in their

purest form. Furthermore, it is parallels and analogies I am sug¬

gesting, not influences, and Coleridge could not have known Gilga¬

mesh, for it was not published in Europe until 1872. 8

The first twenty lines of “The Ancient Mariner” serve as a kind

of introduction to the story :

5 G. R. Levy, The Sword from the Rock, London, 1951, p. 120.

o Alexander Heidel, The Gilgamesh Epic and Old Testament Parallels, Chicago,

Second Edition, 1949, pp. 14-16. Without doubt the most literate translation of Gilga¬

mesh is Leonard’s. But Leonard seldom goes beyond the Old Babylonian version, and

therefore misses a good deal that is found in the Sumerian, Assyrian, Hittite, and

Hurrian versions. Heidel’s translation, though uninspired, is based on a collation of

all available texts, so I use it and all references are to it.

7 G. R. Levy, op. cit., p. 144.

8 Heidel, op. cit., p. 2.

1957]

Kroeber— Coleridge

181

It is an ancient Mariner,

And he stoppeth one of three.

By thy long grey beard and glittering eye,

Now wherefore stopp*si thou me? . . .

He holds him with his glittering eye —

The Wedding-Guest stood still,

And listens like a three years* child :

The Mariner hath his will.9

Three interrelated characteristics of the Mariner are insisted upon

in this introductory scene: his age (he has experienced much), his

glittering eye (he has seen strange things), and the power of his

will. Coleridge dramatizes those characteristics of the Mariner

which the author of Gilgamesh describes at the opening of his epic

as of central significance to his hero.

He who saw everything, of him learn, 0 my land ;

He who knew all the lands, him will I praise . . .

He saw secret things and obtained knowledge of hidden things .

He went on a long journey and became weary and worn;

He engraved on a tablet of stone all the travail.10

Compare, too, the opening lines of The Odyssey .

This is the story of a man, one who was never at a loss. He

had travelled far in the world ... he endured many troubles

and hardships in the struggle to save his own life and to bring

back his men safe to their homes. He did his best, but he could

not save his companions. For they perished by their own mad¬

ness, because they killed and ate the cattle of Hyperion the

Sun-God, and the god took care that they should never see

home again.11

We may note that one of Odysseus' most destructive antagonists

is named at once as the god of the sun. Gilgamesh, too, has diffi¬

culties with a sun god,12 and several critics have pointed out that

the Mariner's disasters occur under the “aegis of the sun" and his

beneficent experiences under the “aegis of the moon."13 In other

words, the primary symbolic structure of Coleridge's poem paral¬

lels a basic motif of the quest epic: the “night journey," restora¬

tion through descent into the realms of darkness.

We observe, also, that The Odyssey's introduction stresses the

importance of returning home, returning to all the activities and

9 S. T. Coleridge, Complete Poetical Works, ed. by E. H. Coleridge, London, 2 vol.,

I, p. 187, 11. 1-20.

10 Heidel, Tablet I, column i, p. 16.

11 Homer, Odyssey, translated by W. H. D. Rouse, London, 1987, p. 1.

12 Heidel, III, v, p. 38. For the beneficence of the moon see IX, i, p. 65. The clarity

of this point is obscured by the overlapping functions of the gods Anu, Enlil, Ea, and

Shamash. See VII, i, p. 56 and Heidel’s note (113) on that page.

ia Kenneth Burke, The Philosophy of Literary Form', Baton Rouge, 1941, p. 24 ft',

182 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

satisfactions that “home” implies. The same stress is apparent in

Gilgamesh, where, immediately succeeding the lines I have quoted,

the reader is given a description of Uruk, the city from which

Gilgamesh departs on his strange pilgrimage and to which, afFr

his return “a sadder and a wiser man,” he dedicates his life.

r (

He built the wall of Uruk, the enclosure

Of holy Eanna, the sacred storehouse.

Behold its outer wall, whose brightness is like that of copper !

Yea, look upon its inner wall, which none can equal!

Take hold of the threshold, which is from of old ! . . .

Climb upon the wall of Uruk and walk about;

Inspect the foundation terrace and examine the brickwork.14

The wedding scene which opens and closes “The Ancient Mariner”

is symbolically equivalent of Uruk and Ithaca. The Mariner does

not disrupt this most primary of social and domestic festivities,

but the shadow of his weird experience falls across its gaiety, just

as the trials of Gilgamesh and Odysseus throw into a more pro¬

found perspective the middle-class solidity and comfort of Uruk

and the bourgeois contentment of Odysseus’ island palace.

Finally, observe that “The Mariner hath Fs will.” Colerid^

ancient sailor does not, to be sure, have the menis of an Achilles,

the violent wilfulness of Gilgamesh, but when he commands the

Wedding-Guest to listen that “gallant” “cannot choose but hear.”

The Mariner wantonly shoots the albatross. When the spectre-ship

appears he is the man who bites his arm and sucks his blood in ]

order to cry out. When he falls into the Pilot’s boat and the Pilot’s ,

boy “doth crazy go” the Mariner seizes the oars. Finally, his “0

shrieve me, shrieve me, holy man!” to the tottering Hermit rings

more of command than of prayer. This is not, certainly, the

divinely wilful pride of Gilgamesh, who

. . . leaves no son to his father, day and night his outrageousness

continues unrestrained ;

And he is the shepherd of Uruk, the enclosure;

He is their shepherd, and yet he oppresses them. . . .

Gilgamesh leaves no virgin to her lover.

The daughter of a warrior, the chosen of a noble.16

But the difference between Gilgamesh and the Mariner is one of

degree, not of kind. It can be said of Coleridge’s poem as truly as

of Gilgamesh or the Homeric epics that

The deepest significance of each of these archetypal master¬

pieces lies in the reduction of . . . pride by means of a bereave¬

ment which imposes the recognition of a common humanity.1''

14 Heidel, I, i, p. 17.

13 Heidel, I, ii, p. 18. ,i

111 E^evy, op. cit., p. 124.

1957]

Kroeb er — Coleridge

183

The Mariner’s ship, driven by a storm, at first travels South to

the lands of ice and snow and then sails North into the tropical

Pacific.17 The cause of this reversal is the Mariner’s catastrophic

aw (which occurs just after he has won through terrible perils,

as is the case with both Odysseus and Gilgamesh) of shooting the

albatross, an act which parallels the slaying of the Sun-God’s oxen

in The Odyssey and the destruction of the Bull of Heaven in Gilga¬

mesh. The shooting of the Albatross leads to the death of the

Mariner’s shipmates, even as the slaughter of the oxen entails the

destruction of Odysseus’ companions and the killing of the Bull of

Heaven results in the loss of Gilgamesh’s one comrade. After these

critical acts all three heroes undergo a period of terrible isolation,

an isolation especially poignant because filled with beauty, but an

inhuman beauty. Gilgamesh finds his way into an Eden-like garden

where

The carnelian bears its fruit;

Vines hang from it, good to look at.

The lapis-lazuli bears foliage;

Also fruit it bears, pleasant to behold.18

:4ysseus, constrained by the love of the radiant Calypso, is offered

the pleasures of her delightful island and the gift of eternal youth.

The Mariner, it is true, finds in the weird beauty of the water

snakes the means to begin his resurrection. But, like Odysseus and

Gilgamesh, he needs supernatural assistance to effect his release —

“Sure my kind saint took pity on me.” And, like the other two

heroes, the Mariner’s most desolate moment of isolation is that in¬

stant in which the remote, inscrutable loveliness of the night

heavens sinks into his soul.

In his loneliness and fixedness he yearneth towards the jour¬

neying Moon, and the stars that still so j urn, yet still move

onward; and everywhere the blue sky belongs to them, and is

their appointed rest and their native country and their own

natural home, which they enter unannounced as lords that are

certainly expected and yet there is silent joy at their arrival.19

Like Gilgamesh and Odysseus the Mariner is brought back to his

native land in a tranced condition and by a vessel supernaturally

propelled. The importance of sleep and of prophetic visions

throughout “The Ancient Mariner” is paralleled by a similar

emphasis in both of the earlier epics.20 And when the Mariner

17 It has not been remarked so far as I know how Coleridge dramatizes the change

in. +he Mariner’s situation from hunter to hunted by means of two “mirror” similies.

Cf. 11. 45-50 and 11. 442-451.

18 Heidel, IX, v, p. 68.

19 Coleridge, op. cit.} gloss to 11. 268-271, p. 197.

20 There is, indeed, a curious analogue in Gilgamesh to the two voices which the

Mariner hears discussing his fate on his homeward voyage. When Gilgamesh, who

must stay awake for six days to conquer death, falls asleep, Utnapishtim, the god

184 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

arrives safe if shaken at his home port, his ship sinks magically,

even as the ship of Alcinous which carries Odysseus home is de¬

stroyed by Poseidon. And if the Mariner’s return does not result in

the terrific bloodshed caused by Odysseus’ homecoming, its effect is

far from pleasant. The hermit can scarcely stand, the Pilot falls in

a fit, and the Pilot’s boy “doth crazy go.” And then, like The

Odyssey and Gilgamesh, “The Ancient Mariner” concludes with a

kind of epilogue which seems unnecessary and not in keeping with

the tone of the rest of the poem.

O sweeter than the marriage-feast,

Tis sweeter far to me

To walk together to the kirk

With a goodly company! —

To walk together to the kirk,

And all together pray,

While each to his great father bends,

Old men and babes, and loving friends

And youths and maidens gay. . . .

He prayeth best, who loveth best

All things both great and small ;

For the dear God who loveth us,

He made and loveth all.21

It is primarily the stylistic flatness of these final verses, I believe,

which has led many commentators to reject their explicit “moral”

as an expression of the true inner meaning of “The Ancient

Mariner.”22 Their weakness may, however, parallel the awkward¬

ness of the notorious twenty-fourth book of The Odyssey , where,

to quote one critic,

there is an inevitable slackening of tension, discernible in the

verse, because this . . . book entails a tying up of all remaining

threads after the drama of the return has been accomplished.23

Even more illuminating, it seems to me, is the analogue of Gilga¬

mesh, wherein the hero has explicitly rejected the temptation of a ,

mere unthinking life of sensuous enjoyment (perhaps implied to

the Mariner by the wedding-feast) .

who conducts the trial, remarks scornfully : “.Look at the strong man who wants life

everlasting.’’ His wife, however, answers gently: “Touch him that the man may ,

awake,/ That he may return in peace on the road by which he came.” And later she j

persuades Utnapishtim to reveal a secret of the gods to the broken-hearted hero, j

because “Gilgamesh has come hither, he has become weary, he has exerted himself.” ;

In Coleridge’s words : The other was a softer voice,/ As soft as honey-dew;/ Quoth ;

he: the man hath penance done,/ And penance more will do.

21 Coleridge, op. cit., 11. 600-615, pp. 208-209.

22 jr>or discussions of this problem see Newton P. Stallknecht, “The Moral of the <

Ancient Mariner,” Publications of the Modern Language Association, XL VII, 1932, V,

pp. 559-569, and Elizabeth Nitchie, “The Moral of the Ancient Mariner Reconsidered,” j

PMLA, XLVIII, 1933, pp. 867-878.

23 Levy, op. cit., p. 156,

1957]

Kroebe r — Coleridge

185

Thou, O Gilgamesh, let thy belly be full;

Day and night be thou merry;

Make every day a day of rejoicing.

Day and night do thou dance and play.

Let thy raiment be clean,

Thy head be washed, and thyself bathed in water.

Cherish the little one holding thy hand,

And let thy wife rejoice in thy bosom.24

This divine advice Gilgamesh refuses. Although he ultimately

comes to accept the limitations of human life and to value the

simple material and social virtues of his city, he does not deceive

himself as to the pain inherent in the human condition. Like the

Mariner, whose “agony returns/' Gilgamesh, after his difficult

journey and painful return must descend to hell and learn for the

benefit of his people the fate of his hard- won wisdom and humanity.

“Tell me, my friend; tell me, my friend;

Tell me the ways of the underworld which thou has seen.”

“I will not tell thee, my friend; I will not tell thee.

But if I must tell thee the ways of the underworld which I have seen,

Sit down and weep.”25

Compared to this saddest and bitterest of conclusions, Coleridge's

He went like one that hath been stunned,

And is of sense forlorn:

A sadder and a wiser man,

He rose the morrow morn.26

may seem trivial, but the purpose and meaning of the two epilogues

are manifestly the same.

The parallels which I have suggested between “The Ancient

Mariner" and The Odyssey and Gilgamesh are, I believe, valid, and

more detailed analogies could be enumerated.27 But is there any

value in finding this kind of similarity? Do such parallelisms ex¬

plain anything about “The Ancient Mariner?" If one reads Cole¬

ridge’s poem as an epic of quest, condensed into symbolic form of

course, one discovers the explanation for certain otherwise rather

baffling qualities of “The Ancient Mariner."

For example, such a reading explains why the poem, so danger¬

ously tinged by the artificial supernaturalism of the worst romantic

horror-mongering, is charged with such coherent symbolic signifi¬

cance. According to this reading, the poem’s language, metaphoric

structure, and organization of incidents and scenic details are all

determined by a unified total design which is epic, a design, that is,

24 Heidel, X, iii, p. 70.

25 Heidel, XII, i, p. 99.

26 Coleridge, op. cit., 11. 621-625, p. 209.

27 For example, the symbolic significance of forests and trees to each of these poems

so profoundly concerned with the sea,

186 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

as profound, meaningful, and evocative as literature is capable of.

Is not the “magic” of “The Ancient Mariner” the feelings we

experience when we finish reading the poem, feelings different in

degree from our response to other poems, lyric, elegiac, or purely

narrative, of equal brevity and apparent simplicity?

Moreover, a reading of “The Ancient Mariner” as a stylized epic

of quest illuminates the meaning and purpose of Coleridge’s exten¬

sive revisions of the poem, particularly his addition of the prose

gloss. In general, Coleridge in reworking the poem reduced rather

than expanded.28 As has been observed, he consistently modified or

deleted the sensational features of his early version, e.g., the arms

of the seraphs burning like torches, toning down those elements

most immediately reminiscent of the supernaturalism of the

“horror” ballads.29 The character of the Mariner Coleridge stylized,

discarding his more “quaint” and ludicrous aspects.30 He reduced to

an essential minimum the purely balladic formulae which had pre¬

dominated in the original poem. He tended to retain those formulae

— phrases like, “To Mary Queen the praise be given,” “mine own

countree,” repetitions like “Water, water, every where,” and in¬

ternal rhyme — which are not so specifically balladic as suggestive

of the generic qualities of popular literature. All of Coleridge’s

revisions of the verse can be understood as efforts to emphasize the

symbolic and universal aspect of his poem and to de-emphasize the

peculiarities and idiosyncrasies inherent in his ballad original.

His one major addition, the prose gloss, not only provides an

extra temporal dimension,31 but also supplies a perspective of

sophistication. It is an artistic device which serves to make the

“primitiveness” of the verse immediately and vigorously available

to the civilized reader. The naivete, linguistic and intellectual of

the “learned” prose commentator is about mid-way between the

“barbaric” naivete of the poem and the sophistication of the

modern reader. The gloss functions as a medium of transmission.

But the gloss bears a more dynamic relation to the versification.

It enriches the apparent simplicity of the brief verse narrative by

making the totality of the poem a complex interplaying of prose and

verse forces. The gloss, being prose, asserts rhythms, musical, emo¬

tional, dramatic, different from those of the verse. Sometimes the

prose retards the movement of the poetry, thus emphasizing the

continuity of symbolic elements.132 Occasionally Coleridge uses the

28 The fullest discussion of Coleridge’s emendations is to be found in the article of

B. R„ McElderry, Jr., “Coleridge’s Revision of ‘The Ancient Mariner,’ ” Studies in

Philology, XXIX, 1932, pp. 68-96.

29 Ibid., p. 89.

30 Coleridge, op. cit., p. 187, note.

31 Huntington Brown, “The Gloss to ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,’” Modern

Language Quarterly, VI, 1945, pp. 319-324.

32 See 11. 103-106.

1957]

Kroeber— Coleridge

187

gloss to accelerate the pace of the verse, sometimes by foreshadow¬

ing.33 And, though usually the gloss is more literal than the verse,

at times the prose evokes a richer imaginative context than the

poetry, as in the passage depicting the Mariner’s yearning toward

the moon. And all these complications of texture provide “The

Ancient Mariner” with evocative overtones which cannot be cre¬

ated in lyrical or simple narrative poems but which are the essen¬

tial and characteristic feature of epic poetry.34

33 Good examples are 11. 119-123 and 164-170.

34 Neither Coleridge nor any of his contemporaries ever suggested that “The Ancient

Mariner’’ was an epic. Could Coleridge have written a stylized epic without being

conscious of doing so? Investigations of his attitude toward “popular” literature will

show, I believe, that he could have, but limitations of space forbid a discussion of

this important matter here.

HENRY AINSWORTH, A FOUNDING FATHER OF

CONGREGATIONALISM AND PIONEER

TRANSLATOR OF THE BIBLE

Samuel A. Ives

University of Wisconsin Memorial Library

The earliest recorded instance of independent English transla¬

tion of any portion of the Bible after publication of the Authorised

Version of 1611 comes from one of the ablest scholars among the

seventeenth-century Nonconformists.1 Henry Ainsworth was born

of yeoman stock at Swanton Morley, Norfolk, in 1570.2 After being

for three years under the tutelage of a Mr. Clephamson, Ainsworth

entered St. John’s College, Cambridge, about 1586, and a year later

transferred to Gonville and Caius College where he remained for

four years, according to an entry in the admissions records of that

institution.3

Ever since the early 1560’s, following the Elizabethan Act of

Uniformity, the Nonconformist or Independent Protestants had

been increasingly active. To one such group, the Brownists, named

for their leader, Robert Browne (1550-1683), Ainsworth attached

himself. This group, the spiritual ancestors of the present-day Con-

gregationalists, claiming autonomy for each particular church or

congregation, resented any form of controlled religion, Presby¬

terian or Episcopalian, and desired only to be let alone— -a condi¬

tion of religious existence which was in Elizabethan England a

virtual impossibility. Although Browne himself ultimately recanted

and submitted to Episcopal discipline in 1585, his followers, re¬

garding him as a renegade, continued to hold meetings in their

conventicles both in England and later in Holland, whence they

were finally forced to emigrate.4

It is in Amsterdam that Ainsworth next appears about 1593,

where, to support himself, he is said to have taken service with a

bookseller as a porter and, according to a statement of Roger Wil¬

liams, “lived upon nine pence in the weeke, with roots boyled.”5

’•Hugh Pope, English Versions of the Bible . . . Revised and amplified by Rev.

Sebastian Bullough, O.P. (St. Louis, 1952), p. 511.

2 Dictionary of National Biography ; W.E.A. and Ernest Axon, Henry Ainsworth,

the puritan commentator in Transactions of the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian

Society, vol. VI (1888), p. 42 ft.

3 J. and S. C. Venn, Admissions to Gonville and Caius College.

4 Cf. H. M. Dexter, The Congregationalism of the last three hundred years, as seen,

in its literature . . . (New York, 1880), p. 61 ft.

5 Dexter, op. cit., p. 283 (note), quoting from: John Cotton, A reply to Mr. Williams

answer to Mr. Cottons letter (London, 1647), p. 119.

189

190 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

Three years later Ainsworth’s powers as preacher and teacher and

especially his skill as a Hebraist resulted in his being chosen pastor

of the Brownist congregation in Amsterdam who were awaiting

the arrival from America of their proper minister, Francis Johnson

(1562-1618). Johnson, after being exiled from England and vainly

attempting to gain asylum in Newfoundland, finally joined his

spiritual brethren in Amsterdam in 1597, where Ainsworth con¬

tinued in the capacity of “teacher”.

Ainsworth’s labors with Johnson in organizing the group of

dissenters was by no means easy. Already the renowned John Rob¬

inson, who preached the farewell sermon to those departing on the

Mayflower, had left Leyden to escape the acrimonious bickerings

and contentions of the Nonconformists and to join another small

group headed by one John Smyth, known as the “Se-Baptist” from

his having first baptized himself and afterwards his followers.0 II

But in the city of Amsterdam, at that time a veritable melting-pot

of Protestant dissent, the three hundred Brownists under Johnson

and Ainsworth included many who were by no means a credit to

the group : a riff-raff of religious and political malcontents who

resented any domination whatever, spiritual or political, and who

were often divided quite as much among themselves as in their pro¬

fessed enmity to the Church of England. Such a motley group

proved ultimately an object of suspicion and disfavor to the civil

authorities in Amsterdam, which fact but added to the burdens of

their leaders.

Finally, to make matters even worse, came a split in the Brownist

ranks themselves, brought on by a controversy between Ainsworth

and Johnson as to the seat of authority, Johnson claiming that it

rested with the leaders of the group, while Ainsworth contended

that all ecclesiastical powers and specifically that of excommunica¬

tion resided in the congregation itself, as in modern Congregational

Christian churches. After vainly attempting to come to a recon¬

ciliation with Johnson, Ainsworth and his followers finally with¬

drew in December, 1610, largely, it would seem, on the basis of

Ainsworth’s interpretation of Christ’s command as stated in

Matthew XVIII. 17. (“If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the

church ; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to

you as a Gentile and a tax collector.”) 7

The two groups thus formed came to be known, at least to their

opponents, as Ainsworthian and Franciscan Brownists. One result

of the split was a lawsuit for the possession of the conventicle

itself, brought on, it would seem, by Johnson’s followers, but ulti¬

mately decided in Ainsworth’s favor, the Johnsonians eventually

* Dexter, op. cit., p. 319 and note, 324.

7 Ibid., p. 325 ff.

1957]

Ives — Henry Ainsworth

191

removing to Emden, while Ainsworth continued as pastor of his

own group for twelve years more. His death is said to have

occurred in 1622 or 1623. 8 There is apparently no picture of him

extant, while his signature seems to have survived only in his

marriage certificate.9

II

Most influential among Ainsworth’s numerous theological writ¬

ings was his Annotations upon the five books of Moses , the Psalms

and the Song of Songs , a work which was originally issued in

parts.10 The first of these was entitled : Annotations upon the first

book of Moses called Genesis. Wherein the Hebrew words and sen¬

tences are compared with & explained by the ancient Greek and

Chaldee versions: but chiefly by conference with the holy Scrip¬

tures. This first appeared in the year 1616 and was reprinted in

1621. The same title, with slight variations, was used for his Anno¬

tations upon Exodus (1617), Leviticus (1618), Numbers (1619),

Deuteronomy (1619) and Psalms (1612 and 1617). All these edi¬

tions were printed in Amsterdam, though the title-pages indicate

no place of printing, a fact apparently indicative of the type of

“underground” publishing Ainsworth first employed to get his

works circulated in England. In 1622 the first collected edition of

the work appeared, wherein only Genesis and Exodus were in¬

cluded in new editions, the other three books being merely reprints.

Finally in 1627 the works were again collected into a folio edition,

printed in London by John Bellamie. It was in this volume that

Ainsworth’s annotations on the Song of Songs first appeared. This

book was reprinted without textual alteration in London by M.

Parsons for John Bellamie in 1639. 11

Ainsworth’s Annotations include complete independent transla¬

tions of each of the books, together with extensive commentaries.

The several chapters of each book are separately treated, though

the text is not set off in verses, as in the 1611 Bible. Verse numera¬

tion is, however, indicated by marginal numbers. Each chapter is

followed by the “Annotations” which are both critical and exegeti-

cal, and is prefaced by analytical summaries as in the Authorized

Version, though usually more extensively. The parashaim or fifty-

four “great sections” of the Torah are always indicated in the

8 For the curious legends regarding the manner of Ainsworth’s death, cf. Dexter,

op. cit., p. 343 (note 199).

9 Reproduced in Dexter, op. cit., p. 296.

10 Cf. appendix infra, A brief listing of Ainsworth’s works, nos. 2—12.

11 Axon (op. cit., p. 49) erroneously mentions a first collected edition of 1619 and a

subsequent one of 1621, the latter probably copied from the error in Watt’s Bibliotheca

Britannica. Cf. Dexter, op. cit., p. 342 (note 191). The Annotations on Psalms was

translated into German and those on the Song of Songs into both German and Dutch.

Cf. Dexter, ibid.

192 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

notes by the familiar Hebrew letter Pe thrice repeated. Each of the

books of the Pentateuch is preceded by a brief summary and list of

chapters. In the 1627 and 1639 collected editions the “Table of some

principall things observed” which follows the text and annotations

includes at the end several lists of references of a purely gram¬

matical nature, such as : “Overplus or redundance of words which

in other languages may be omitted” and “Change or putting one

word for another”, though the actual cases of such recurrences in

the text and notes would seem far to outnumber the few instances

there cited.

Since publication of the Annotations in parts had apparently

elicited a certain amount of criticism, justified or otherwise, the

author appended to the 1627 collected edition “An advertisement to

the reader, touching some objections made against the sincerity of

the Hebrew text, and the allegation of the rabbins, in these former

annotations.” The greater portion of this essay, extending over

more than six folio leaves, is concerned with the problem of the

tdthib and q’ere readings, in an effort to vindicate the equally in¬

spired nature of both. Herein Ainsworth goes to great lengths in

citing the varieties of these types of readings and shows how they

have been dealt with by the ancient and modern editors and trans¬

lators of the Hebrew text. The sum-total of his defence for appar¬

ent eclecticism in their use appears to lie in the citation of authori¬

tative precedent. The name of his critic or the work wherein he

was censured is nowhere mentioned, but is probably that of an

English churchman.

Probably the most original feature of Ainsworth’s translation

appears at Exodus XV where Moses’ song of triumph is given in a

metrical version of six-line stanzas, together with the music to

accompany it. With the latter is the statement: “This may be sung

to the 113. Psalme”, which psalm, indeed, is found with the identi¬

cal melody in many of the older editions of the metrical version.

The poetical version of Moses’ song is, however, offered as an alter¬

nate to Ainsworth’s prose translation which is in a parallel column.

The same arrangement is found for Moses’ song in Deuteronomy

XXXII, though for the musical accompaniment no parallel is here

cited.

More ambitious, though without the accompanying music, is

Ainsworth’s metrical translation of the Song of Songs with a

parallel prose version. Though scarcely to be reckoned as inspired

poetry rather than mechanical metre painfully beaten out and

savouring throughout of the Puritanical psalms, this translation

deserves notice as one of the earliest attempts at a metrical para¬

phrase of this book.

1957]

Ives — Henry Ainsworth

193

III

To gain an idea of Ainsworth’s method and style, we may ex¬

amine his Annotations on Genesis which is here described from a

copy of the 1621 edition. The work is preceded by a preface of over

six pages, entitled: Concerning Moses writings and these annota¬

tions upon them. Herein the patriarch is said to have been born

about the year 2432 A.M. or 1496 B.C. After a brief survey of the

life of Moses and the general significance of the five books of which

he is stated to be the author, Ainsworth continues (op. cit., fob 2

verso) : “The literall sense of Moses Hebrew (which is the tongue

wherein he wrote the Law) is the ground of all interpretation; and

that language hath figures and properties of speech different from

ours: those therefore in the first place are to be opened, that the

naturall meaning of the scripture being knowen, the mysteries of

godlinesse therein implied may the better be discerned. This may

be atteyned in great measure, by the scriptures themselves ; which

being compared, doe open one an other . . . .” This statement he

follows by numerous illustrations of interpreting Scripture by

Scripture, citing allegedly parallel passages which supplement and,

in some measure, correct each other. Herein, in the course of show¬

ing uses of the plural for the singular, and vice versa, in the syn¬

optic gospels, Ainsworth includes the famous Petrine commission

(Matthew XVI. 17-19), comparing it with Christ’s words as re¬

corded in John XX. 22-23, “which some not observing would re-

streyn the keyes of the kingdome to Peter onely.” Yet this is fol¬

lowed by a series of other passages wherein the commentator would

restrict a statement to one individual or object only! Thus, after

comparing Deuteronomy VI. 13 : “him shalt thou serve” with

Matthew IV. 10: “Him only shalt thou serve” and similar carefully

chosen passages, Ainsworth makes bold to assert (op. cit., fol. 3

verso) : “Accordingly Paul sayth a man is not justified by the

works of the law, but by the faith of lesus Christ, Gal. 2.16. where

by is meant, by faith onely.” The two labored parallels above cited

reveal something of Ainsworth’s method of proving Scripture by

Scripture to justify his own ideas, in much the same method as

that employed by modern Biblical literalists, as contrasted with

the historical and traditional approach on the one hand and liberal

interpretation on the other.

Regarding his method of interpretation and translation, Ains¬

worth says (op. cit., fol. 4 recto) : “I have chiefly laboured in these

annotations upon Moses to explain his words and speeches by con¬

ference with himself and other Prophets & Apostles, all of which

are commenters upon his lawes . . . for by a true and sound literall

explication the spirituall meaning may the better be discerned. And

194 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

the exquisite scanning of words and phrases, which to some may

seem needlesse, will be found (as painfull to the writer) profitable

to the reader. Our Saviour hath confirmed the Law, unto every jote

& tittle Matt. 5.18. that we should not think any word or sentence

to bee used in vaine . .

Ainsworth then goes on to explain that he has compared the

“Greeke & Chaldee” versions, interpreting by whichever has

seemed to him to offer the best explanation of any particular pas¬

sage. By the “Chaldee” the author apparently refers to the Tar-

gums, use of which, according to him, may serve a double purpose :

to enlighten the reader on technical points of the law and to provide

occasional places where the rabbis appear to contradict themselves,

to the benefit of the Christian. Evidence from the Church Fathers

and pagan authors, however, he thinks should be sparingly cited,

the former because they are abundantly supplied in other commen¬

taries, the latter because they are comparatively useless for the

author’s purpose.

Ainsworth concludes his lengthy preface with the modest state¬

ment : “But forasmuch as my portion is small, in the knowledge of

holy things; let the godly reader try what I set down, and not

accept it, because I say it: and let the learned be provoked unto

more large and fruitfull labours in this kinde. The Lord open all

our eyes, that we may see the marvellous things of his Law.” Thus

Ainsworth is seen to be not merely a Nonconformist, but quite a

liberal as well, readily acknowledging the ability of each individual

to interpret Scripture by his own light.

IV

Some idea of Ainsworth’s individual translations may be gained

from the following collation of the first chapter of Genesis in his

version with the texts of the Authorized, Revised and Revised

Standard versions. Other variant versions or interpretations cited

by Ainsworth in his notes have been added in his own words, where

his translation differs from all of the other three.

In making this collation the following abbreviations have been

used :

A.V. — The Holy Bible , an exact reprint , page for page , of the authorized

version published in the year MDCXI. Oxford: The University Press, by

Samuel Collingwood & Co., 1833. 2 vols.

R.V. — The Holy Bible containing the Old. and New Testaments translated out

of the original tongues: being the version set forth A.D. 1611 compared

with the most ancient authorities and revised. Printed for the universities

of Oxford and Cambridge. Oxford: The University Press, 1885.

1957]

Ives — Henry Ainsworth

195

R.S.V. — The Holy Bible. Revised standard version containing the Old and New

Testaments translated from the original tongues. Being the version set

forth A.D. 1611, revised A.D. 1881-1885 and A.D. 1901, compared with the

most ancient authorities and revised A.D . 1952. New York: Thomas

Nelson & Sons, 1952.

Ainsw. — Ainsworth’s annotations as given in the edition of 1627.

Genesis I.

1. Heaves: Heauen, A.V., R.V. ; heavens R.S.V., with the Hebrew.

2. emptier without forme, A.V., R.S.V. ; waste, R.V. Ainsw.: “Hebr. empti¬

ness: a thing emptie, without inhabitants, & void without ornaments; a

deformed wilderness, and a wast: and so unfit for use, not being sepa¬

rated from the waters, not having light, herbes, trees, beasts, birds, or

people to adorn and inhabit it, Gen. 2.5. This sense the Chaldee paraphrase

also yeeldeth; and the Prophet confirmeth it, saying, He created it not to

be emptie [in vaine, A.V.; a waste, R.V.] he formed it to be inhabited.

Esa. 45.18. and when extreme emptinesse and desolation of a place is

meant, it is expressed by ( Tohu & Bohu) the words here used. Esa. 34.11.

Ier. 4.23. or by one of them, as Psal. 107.40. Deut. 32.10.” The Hebrew

tohu is used alone in Isaiah XLV.18.

4. separated betweene the light and the darknesse: diuided the light from

the darknesse, A.V., R.V. [note to A.V. : Hebr. betweene the light and

betweene the darknesse.] ; separated the light from the darkness, R.S.V.

Ainsw. : “ separated betweene .] that is, divided the light from the darknesse

. . . The Hebrew phrase is, he separated betweene the light and betweene

the darknesse. So after usually.”

5. the evening was, and the morning was [so in v. 8, &c.] : the euening and

the morning were, [note: Hebr. and the evening was, and the morning

was, &c.] A.V.; there was evening and there was morning, R.V., R.S.V.

6. Out-spred firmament [so in w. 7, 8]: firmament [note: Hebr. Expansion]

A.V. ; R.V., R.S.V. Ainsw.: Outspred firmament.] This name is of the

Hebrew Rakiagh , which signifieth a thing spred abroad, and of the Greek

stereoma which signifieth a firmament or fast thing . . .” separate, be¬

tweene waters and waters [so in vv. 7, 14, &c.] : diuide the waters from

the waters, A.V., R.V.; separate the waters from the waters, R.S.V.

Ainsw.: ‘‘separate] or, let it be separating, that is, let it continually

separate, or divide . . .”

8. Heavens: Heauen, A.V., R.V., R.S.V. Ainsw.: “Heavens] in Hebrew,

Shamajim : so called, as is thought, of Sham, There, and Majim, waters

which are removed, or heaved up from us. And so the whole, hath the

name of a part thereof . . .”

11. bud-forth the budding-grasse : bring forth grasse [note: Heb. tender

grasse] A.V.; put forth grass, R.V. ; put forth vegetation, R.S.V. the herb

seeding-seed : and herbe yeelding seed, A.V., R.V. [om. and ] plants yielding

seed, R.S.V. Ainsw.: “yeelding:] Hebr. making, that is, bearing and

bringing forth . . .”

16. for the rule of the day [twice] : to rule [note : Hebr. for the rule of the

day, &c.] AV., R.V., R.S.V.

16. also the starres : he made the starres also, A.V., R.V., R.S.V.

20. bring forth abundantly the moving- thing, the living soule: bring forth

abundantly the mouing [note: or, creeping ] creature that hath life [note:

Heb. soule] A.V., R.V. [note: Heb. swarm with swarms of living crea¬

tures]; swarms of living creatures, R.S.V. Ainsw.: ((the moving thing:]

or, as the Greek translateth, creeping things. But the Hebrew, Sherets, is

196 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

more large than that which wee call the creeping thing, for it conteyneth,

things moving swiftly in the waters, as swimming fishes, &e. . .

on the face of the outspred- firmament of the heavens: in the open [note:

Heb. face of the firmament of heaven] firmament of heaven, A.V., R.V.

[note: Heb. on the face of the expanse of the heaven]; across the firma¬

ment of the heavens, R.S.V.

21. every living creeping soule: every living creature that moueth, A.V., R.V.,

R.S.V. Ainsw. : “creeping.'] The Hebrew rentes , which hath the nature of

treading , is also largely used, for things creeping on the earth, or swim¬

ming in the waters . . .”

24. the living soule: the living creature, A.V., R.V. ; living creatures, R.S.V.

25. every creeping thing of the earth [so v. 30] : euerything that creepeth vpon

the earth, A.V., R.V. [. . . upon the ground], R.S.V.

26. according to our likenesse: after our likenesse, A.V., R.V., R.S.V.

heavens: aire, A.V., R.V., R.SV.

27. in his image: in his owne image, A.V., R.V., R.S.V.

28. fill the earth: replenish the earth. A.V., R.V. ; fill the earth, R.S.V.

of the heavens [so v. 30] : of the aire, A.V., R.V., R.S.V.

creepeth: mooueth [note: Heb. creepeth] A.V., R.V., R.S.V. [moves].

29. seeding seed: bearing seede [note: Hebr. seeding seed] A.V. ; yielding seed,

R.V., R.S.V.

30. which hath in it a living soule: wherein there is life [note: Hebr. a living

soule] A.V., R.V. ; that has the breath of life, R.S.V.

The above collation, though brief, is quite sufficient to show the

tenor of Ainsworth’s work. It would be interesting and instructive

to pursue such a collation further, noting especially the instances

where Ainsworth’s translation is bourne out by the R.S.V. as

against the A.V. and R.V., as shown above in several cases.

Although the translator has gone to great lengths to compare

the readings of the Septuagint and Targums, probably deliberately

omitting the Latin Vulgate as papish, the results seem hardly com¬

mensurate with the effort expended. As stated by J. Isaacs ( The

Authorized Version and after in The Bible in its ancient and Eng¬

lish Versions, ed. H. W. Robinson. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1940;

p. 225 f.) ; “His faithful renderings . . . are not accompanied by

felicity or music of style and retain an over strict Hebrew order

contradicting the English idiom.” Ainsworth’s faults as a trans¬

lator are probably largely to be attributed to his dominant Puri¬

tanical attitude which exalted the “letter” over the “spirit” and, in

true rabbinical fashion, shrank from altering “one jot or tittle” of

the inspired Word.

Yet, with all his shortcomings and inconsistencies, Henry Ains¬

worth emerges as a figure of whom present-day Congregationalists

may justly be proud, both as a founding father of the free church

and as a pioneer in independent English translation of the Bible.

Indeed, his influence was long felt not only among the Pilgrim

Fathers and their immediate descendents, but also among the

Massachusetts Bay Puritans for nearly a century.

1957]

Ives — Henry Ainsworth

197

The Ainsworth Psalter,12 first printed in 1612, remained in con¬

tinuous use among the Saints and their descendents for eighty

years, when, in 1692, it was officially replaced by the famous Bay

Psalm Book.13 How these rudely composed verses of Ainsworth’s

“metrical translations”, examples of which we have already consid¬

ered elsewhere, appealed to the seventeenth century Puritan intel¬

lect the modern student of literature can only imagine. In the well

known verses from Longfellow’s Courtship of Miles Standish John

Alden comes upon Priscilla sitting at home :

“Open wide on her lap lay the well-worn psalm-book of Ainsworth,

“Printed at Amsterdam, the words and the music together,

“Rough-hewn, angular notes, like stones in the wall of a churchyard,

“Darkened and overhung by the running vine of the verses . .

Though apparently not destined to be one of the stalwart group

aboard the Mayflower , Ainsworth was always revered as their

most scholarly teacher and, as Moses to the Israelites, an inspira¬

tion to the Pilgrim Fathers in their quest for the promised land.

A Brief Listing of Ainsworth’s Works, according to Pollard and

Redgrave’s Short-Title Catalogue of English Books, 11+75-16U0

(London, 1946), with Locations of Copies as recorded in William

W. Bishop’s A Checklist of “Short-Title Catalogue ” Books (Ann

Arbor, 1950).

1. An animadversion to Mr. Clyf ton’s advertisement. 4o. Amsterdam: G.

Thorp, 1613. L, C; CtY, DLC, MBC, MWA, NNC.

2. Annotations upon Genesis. 4o. [Amsterdam] 1616. L, C; CtHWatk, CtY,

DFo, IU, NhD.

3. [Anr. ed.] 4o. [Amsterdam?] 1621. L, C; CSmH, CtY, DFo, MBC, MBrZ,

NN, NNUT-Mc, SAL [Variant with imprint: Miles Flesher /. John

Bellamie, 1626 in NNUT-Mc].

4. Annotations upon Exodus. 4o. [Amsterdam] 1617. L, 0, C; CSmH, CtY,

DFo, IU, MBC, MBrZ, NhD, SAI.

5. [Anr. ed.] 4o. J. Haviland f. J. Bellamie a. B. Fisher, 1622. L; NN,

NNUT-Mc.

6. Annotations upon Leviticus. 4o. [Amsterdam] 1618. L, C; CSmH,

CtHWatk, CtY, DFo, IU, MBC, MBrZ, NN, NNUT-Mc, SAL

7. Annotations upon Numbers. 4o. [Amsterdam] 1619. L, C; CSmH,

CtHWatk, CtY, DFo, IU, MB, MBC, MBrZ, MH, NN, NNUT-Mc, NjPT,

SAL

8. Annotations upon Deuteronomie. 4o. [n.p.] 1619. L C; CSmH, CtHWatk,

CtY, DFo, IU, MB, MBC, MBrZ, MH, NN, NNUT-Mc, NjPT, SAL

12 Cf. appendix infra, no. 1 2.

13 Cf. G. F. Willison, Saints and Strangers (N. Y. [cl945], p. 481, n. 16. The Bay

Psalm Book , though poetically hardly above Ainsworth’s Psalter, might have suffered

a similar obscurity had it not chanced to be the first book known to have been printed

on the North American continent (Cambridge, Mass., 1640). The last known available

copy was sold at auction in New York in 1947 at the record high price of $151,000 !

It is now in the Yale University Library.

198 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

9. Annotations upon the five bookes of Mose6 and the booke of Psalmes. 6. pts.

4o. J. Haviland f. B. Fisher, 1622. [Reissues of Genesis, 1621; Exodus,

1622; Leviticus, 1618; Numbers, 1619; Deuteronomy, 1619; Psalms, 2nd

ed., 1617.] L; CtHWatk, DFo, DLC, ICU, MB, MBrZ [No general t.-p. ;

5 pts. (omitting Psalms)], MH, NNUT-Mc.

10. [Anr. issue] J. Haviland f. J. Bellamie, 1622. C; DLC, MiU [pt. 4-6].

11. Annotations upon the five books of Moses, the book of Psalms and the

Song of Songs. 7 pts. fol. M. Flesher f. J. Bellamie, 1627-26. [General

title dated 1627, separate titles 1626, with name of printer and catchwords

from book to book.] L, C, WN2, DUR1’ 3; CSmH, CtY, DFo, ICU, IU, MA,

MB, MHi, NN, NNC, WU, SAL

12. [Anr. ed.] fol. M. Parsons f. J. Bellamie, 1639. L, O, C; CtHWatk, CtY,

DFo, ICN, ICU, IU, MH, MWA, MiU, NN, NNU-H, NNUT-Mc, NjP,

SAL

13. An arrow against idolatrie. Taken out of the quiver of the Lord of Hosts.

[Initials: H. A.] 8o. [Amsterdam] 1611. L, D2; CSmH.

14. [Anr. ed.] 8o. [n.p.] 1624. L3, C; DFo.

15. [Anr. ed.] 8o. [n.p.] 1640. L, C3; CtY, MB.

16. [Anr. ed.] 8o. Nova Belgia, 1640. L; CtY, MBC, MH, NHi, NN, NNUT-Mc.

17. Annotations upon the book of Psalms. Second edition. 4o. [n.p.] 1617. L, C;

CSmH, CtHWatk, DFo, ICU, IU, MBC, MBrZ, MH, NN, NNUT-Mc,

NRU, NjPT, TxU, SAL

18. The book of Psalms, with annotations. Englished both in prose and metre,

by H. A. Amsterdam, G. Thorp, 1612. L, D2; CtY, DFo, MB, MBC, MH,

MWA. [Ed. of 1618: MH]

19. A censure upon a dialogue of the Anabaptists intituled, A description of

what God hath predestined concerning man. 1623. COLG; CSmH,

NNUT-Mc.

20. Certain notes of Mr. Henry Ainsworth, his last sermon. Taken by pen by

one of his flock. 8o. [n.p.] 1630. 0; CtY.

21. The communion of saincts. 8o. [Amsterdam, G. Thorp] 1607. L2; MB.

22. [Anr. ed.] Reprinted in the year 1615. 8o. [Amsterdam?] 1615. L, 0, D2;

CSmH, CtY, DLC.

23. [Anr. ed.] 8o. [Amsterdam?] 1618. L; MH.

24. [Anr. ed.] 8o. Reprinted, [n.p.] 1628. 0, C; CtY, DFo, MB, MH.

25. [Anr. ed.] 8o. Amsterdam, 1640. 0; CtY, DFo.

26. [Anr. ed.] 8o. Nova Belgia, 1640. L.

27. Counterpoyson. Considerations . . . Answered by H. A[insworth]. 4o.

[Amsterdam?] 1608. L; CtY, DFo, DLC, MB.

28. A defence of holy scriptures, worship and ministrie against M. Smyth. 4o.

Amsterdam: G. Thorp, 1609. L; CtY, MBAt, MWA.

29. A reply to a pretended Christian plea for the anti-christian church of 1

Rome. 4o. [n.p.] 1620. L, C3; CtY, DFo, NNUT-Mc.

30. A true confession of the faith, which wee falsely called Brownists, doo

hold. [Anon.] 4o. [Amsterdam?] 1596. L, 0; CSmH, CtY, MBC.

31. Certayne questions concerning 1. Silk or wool in the high priests ephod ;

between H. Broughton and H. Ainsworth. 4o. [Amsterdam?] 1605. [By

Hugh Broughton] L, C3; CSmH, CtY, DFo, MH, NNUT-Mc.

32. An epistle sent unto two daughters of Warwick, with a refutation by

H. A[insworth]. 4o. Amsterdam, 1608. [By H. Niclas] L, O, C; CSmH,

CtY, NNUT-Mc.

33. The trying out of the truth in certayn letters between J. Aynsworth and

H. Aynsworth. 4o. [n.p.] 1615. L, C; CtY, DFo, DLC, NNUT-Mc.

1957]

Ives — Henry Ainsworth

199

34. An apologie or defence of such true Christians as are commonly called

Brownists. [Anon.] 4o. [Amsterdam?] 1604. [By Henry Ainsworth and

Francis Johnson] L, C; CtY, DFo, DLC, ICN, IU, MB, MBC, MH, MWA,

NNUT-Mc, PPL.

35. [Anr. ed. Anon.] 4o. [Amsterdam?] 1604. [Sig.* iij,l.l: “the in”.] L, C;

CSmH, DFo, MH.

Key to Abbreviations of Locations

C — Cambridge University Library, Cambridge, England.

C3 — Emmanuel College Library, Cambridge University, Cambridge, England.

COLG — Colgate Library.

CSmH — Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

CtY- — Yale University Library, New Haven, Connecticut.

CtHWatk — Watkinson Library, Hartford, Connecticut.

D2 — Marsh Library, Dublin, Ireland.

DFo — Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, D.C.

DLC — The Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

DUR1 — Durham Cathedral Library, England.

DUR3 — Cosin Library, Durham, England.

ICN — Newberry Library, Chicago, Illinois.

ICU — University of Chicago Library, Chicago, Illinois.

IU — University of Illinois Library, Urbana, Illinois.

L — The British Museum Library, London, England.

L2 — Lambeth Palace Library, London, England.

L3 — Dr. William’s Library, London, England.

MA — Amherst College Library, Amherst, Massachusetts.

MB — The Boston Public Library, Boston, Massachusetts.

MB At — The Boston Athenaeum Library, Boston, Massachusetts.

MBC — The Congregational Library, Boston, Massachusetts.

MBrZ — The Zion Research Library, Brookline, Massachusetts.

MH — Harvard University Library, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

MHi — The Massachusetts Historical Society Library, Boston, Massachusetts.

MiU — University of Michigan Library, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

MWA — The American Antiquarian Society Library, Worcester, Massachusetts.

NhD — Dartmouth College Library, Hanover, New Hampshire.

NHi — Library of the New York Historical Society, New York, N.Y.

NjPT — Princeton Theological Seminary Library, Princeton, New Jersey.

NN — The New York Public Library, New York, N.Y.

NNC — Columbia University Library, New York, N.Y.

NNU-H — University Heights Library, New York University, New York.

NNUT-Mc- — The McAlpin Collection, Union Theological Seminary Library,

New York, N.Y.

NRU — University of Rochester Library, Rochester, N.Y.

0 — The Bodleian Library, Oxford University, England.

PPL — The Library Company of Philadelphia Library, Philadelphia, Pennsyl¬

vania.

SAI — The private library of Samuel A. Ives, Madison, Wisconsin.

TxU — University of Texas Library, Austin, Texas.

WN2 — Winchester College Library.

WU — University of Wisconsin Library, Madison, Wisconsin.

Note. — Further material relating to Henry Ainsworth, his life, work and

influence, may be found in the article on him in the Dictionary of National

Biography , together with the works there cited, on which most of the facts in

the first portion of this essay have been based.

.

_

“THE VISIONARY GLEAM” AND “SPOTS OF TIME”— A

STUDY OF THE PSYCHOLOGY-PHILOSOPHY

OF WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

Ralph Alan McCanse

University of Wisconsin Extension Division

Two expressions peculiar to the terminology of William Words-

word afford light upon certain important concepts of this poet. He

uses them in salient passages of his poems. Separately they have

had considerable attention upon the part of critics concerned with

his system of thought. But no comparative analysis of the two

terms has ever been published, though such comparison of the

visionary gleam and spots of time as Wordsworth uses these terms

of his own coining in referring to his subjective experience — indeed

to subjective human experience typically — reveals important gen¬

eral contrasts and, upon one essential condition, a still more sig¬

nificant identity.1

These unique phrases both apply to subjective experience. Both

bear upon emotional life.2 Both are so far involved in Wordsworth’s

psychological system that they may actually be viewed as quasi-

technical in nature and may be so interpreted. Both have to do with

what Wordsworth in The Recluse avows is his outstanding pre¬

occupation: viz., “the Mind of Man” — and to a notable degree as

he uses these terms he means elements and systematic processes in

that mind physically. Positively or negatively these same terms are

significant regarding aspects of growth of the human mind, as

Wordsworth conceives of it— from the inception of consciousness

(and even previously) through demonstrable stages of complexity

to a maturity of reason and constructive imagination.3

1 The late Professor Arthur Beatty recognized the character and essential impor¬

tant of these phrases and recurred to them singly or together in his study “William

Wordsworth, His Doctrine and Art in their Historical Relations,” University of Wis¬

consin Studies in Language and Literature, Number 24, Madison, 1st Edition, 1922 ;

2d Edition, 1927. This work, which underlies much of the significant Wordsworth

study of recent years, has an enduring value which renders somewhat inadequate the

term “pioneering” which has been applied to it. My own analysis is indebted to it at

every turn ; at times, in the face of misleading criticism, 1 should have been “halted

without an effort to break through,” had it not been for the aid of Beatty’s critique.

2 The Prelude XII, lines 269-270.

3 Aside from Beatty’s work, perhaps the finest tribute to Wordsworth as a psy¬

chologist is to be found in the article by M. Leguois constituting Chapter V, Volume

XI, of the Cambridge History of English Literature. “Poetical psychology is his. tri¬

umph,” declares this critic of Wordsworth; and he calls attention to the passage (in

the note to “The Thorn”) where poetry is described as a “history or science of

feeling.”

201

202 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

By these two phrases, “the visionary gleam” and “spots of time,”

Wordsworth refers to subjective phenomena in ways that have

important bearing upon what he means by Imagination and by

Intuition (erroneously held by some commentators to be identical

in Wordsworth's terminology).4 And finally there is involved also

the controversial questions of mysticism, so-called in this poet.

The visionary gleam and spots of time can indeed be defined from

the standpoint of factual brain physiology as well as, less tangibly,

in the field of abstract psychology. This is not to pervert or force

and distort the poetry where the terms find mention, but is in the

purest spirit of their author's purpose. It is directly conducive to

a richer appreciation of the poetry.

The visionary gleam finds most familiar exposition in the “Ode :

Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood.”

Spots of time are defined most explicitly in The Prelude, Book XII,

lines 207 ff . These and relevant passages elsewhere will be cited in

detail in the present study as it proceeds to analysis and com¬

parison.

The visionary gleam is “fugitive”.5 Except under special condi¬

tions of recollection which we shall note in Wordsworth’s refer¬

ences later, it is confined to the periods of childhood and youth.

“There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream

The earth, and every common sight,

To me did seem

Apparelled in celestial light,

The glory and the freshness of a dream ...”

“The Youth . . . still ... by the vision splendid

Is on his way attended . . .”

But, Wordsworth declares in his maturity, “The things which I

have seen I now can see no more.” “The radiance which was once

so bright,” he asserts, is “now forever taken from my sight.”

“Whither is fled the visionary gleam,” he asks. “Where is it now,

the glory and the dream?” “Nothing,” he laments, “can bring back

the hour of splendor ... Of glory . . .”6

4 Legouis, op. cit., page 104, perhaps fosters this widespread erroneous view. Yet he

declares that Wordsworth never consented to a “divorce between imagination and

reality.” The significance of this declaration lies in an inherent and yet frequently

unrecognized difference between intuitive immediacy and a mental process Wordsworth

calls Imagination. The latter process, according to Wordsworth, invariably acts over

established and physiological media or neural paths in the brain. This factual, physi¬

cal, realistic concept will be explained below.

5 “Ode : Intimations,” line 136.

6 Ibid., lines 56-57. This is not to say that the youthful visionary experience of the

vision is irrecoverable. It is important, as we shall see, in Wordsworth’s system to

note that this vision may be recalled, as in “The Cuckoo”. But its validity is a recol¬

lected thing, dependent on the Mind of Man, where it is stored away. The “hour” of

the gleam is in the past ; it is a glory whose immediacy is vanished.

1957]

McCanse — William Wordsworth

203

By way of contrast, spots of time , moments of keen awareness

of life, are “scattered everywhere, taking their date from our first

childhood.”7

But they are distinctly valid in maturity: “The days gone by

return upon me,” declares Wordsworth in The Prelude. In our

minds are “rememberable things”9 that are stored away cortically,

physically,' in what the poet calls “the hiding places of man's

power”; and he refers in The Waggoner to subjective “hiding

places ten years deep” that “leap” at certain times into conscious-

ness.10 These are “visitings of imaginative power” recalled from

the past;11 by them “our minds are nourished and invisibly

repaired” ; they arise from

“those passages of life that give

Profoundest knowledge to what point, and how,

The mind is lord and master — outward sense

The obedient servant of her will.”

Such spots of time “retain a renovating virtue” ; from them,

Wordsworth insists, he has subsequently been enabled in spirit to

drink “oft” — and “as at a fountain”. That spots of time, there¬

fore, are not “the gleam, the light that never was, on sea or land”

is expressly evident because in “Elegiac Stanzas Suggested by a

Picture of Peele Castle” Wordsworth repudiates the visionary

“gleam” as a “fond illusion . . . which nothing can restore,” where¬

as he values these hiding places, these “spots of time,” these “visit¬

ings of imaginative power,”12 and hopes while he is in his prime to

enshrine them in his verse and give lasting “substance and life” to

them for the sake of his future and more decrepit years — years in

which mentality begins for physical reasons to flag.

“I see by glimpses now; when age comes on

May scarcely see at all.”1*

The visionary gleam is instinctive,14 and immediate,15 and

unsought,16 “a Presence which is not to be put by.” Hence it comes

quite independently of the ratiocinative processes of the mind ; for

it is unearned—a visitation, requiring no effort to attain it.17

7 “The Prelude,” XII, lines 224-225.

8Tk Prelude , Book XII, lines 224-225.

9 Ibid., Book I, line 558.

i0 The Waggoner , IV, lines 211-212.

u The Prelude , Book XII, line 599 ; further quotations just here are also from the

end of Book XII.

12 Ibid., XII, line -203.

13 Ibid., XII, lines 281-282. This passage has been very widely misinterpreted. The

physical aspect of age and decrepitude is particularly involved, and not the spiritual.

14 “Ode : Intimations,” line 150.

15 Ibid., line 118.

1(5 Ibid., line 120.

17 Ibid., lines 115-116.

204 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

Spots of time, on the contrary, demand and involve mental effort

— as Wordsworth expressly declares in dealing with them: “Thou

must give, else never canst receive.”18 The mind must be “willing

to work and to be wrought upon” by this type of experience.19

And spots of time play a distinct role in the building of the mind.

They are the pabulum by which experience, through sensation,

feeds the developing brain. They are of “renovating virtue”; it is

by these experiences, as Wordsworth pointedly declares, that “our

minds are nourished and invisibly repaired.”20 In other words, the

subjective experiences described by the expression “spots of time”

make their mark, contribute to the mental storehouse, persist, are

associated in the self-active mind, are revivable, and are clearly

identifiable elements in growth of the Mind of Man from sensation,

to emotionalized Fancy, to the mature Imagination.

The process is perhaps most suggestively described in the poetic

passage of psychology-physiology-philosophy of The Prelude which

begins

“Dust as we are, the immortal spirit grows

Like harmony in music ; there is a dark

Inscrutable workmanship . . .,m

Wordsworth continues here in terms that, as Beatty first demon¬

strated, are distinctly of the associationistic school of philosophy

and psychology. The poet speaks of a “register of permanent rela¬

tions” in the brain, and he insists upon the necessity of factual

experience— -of sensation from external stimuli— -for mental per¬

ception and development.22 The process is important to any under¬

standing of Wordsworth’s concepts of human psychology; he

speaks of the

“ties

That bind the perishable hours of life

Each to the other, and the curious props

By which the world of memory and thought

Exists and is sustained.”23

18 “The Prelude,” XII, lines 276-277 ; see also “The Excursion,” IV, 1. 126.

19 Ibid., XIV, line 103.

99 Ibid., XII, line 210.

si Ibid., I, line 240.

22 The ' extensive discussion in Beatty, op. cit, is pointedly endorsed by C. H. Pier-

ford ( Wordsworth , pages 101 ff.) ; by Herbert Read ( Wordsworth t pp. 184 ft.) ; by

Ernest de Selincourt ( Prelude , Introduction, page xxix) ; and by numerous other

scholars. Irving Babbit (“The Primitivism of William Wordsworth, Bookman LXXIV,

pages 1-10) makes appreciative acknowledgment of Beatty’s thesis; but he com¬

pletely ignores its full implications when he denies to Wordsworth’s concept of Imag¬

ination any active intellectual ingredient. Though Babbitt proffers a rebuttal, the

article by Joseph Warren Beach, “Expostulation and Reply” ( PMLA, XL pages 346 ff.)

remains a valid refutation of all denials of this sort.

28 “Prelude” VII, 11. 461 ff.

1957]

McCanse — William Wordsworth

205

In the famous passage quoted above he declares “there is a dark

inscrutable workmanship

that reconciles

Discordant elements, makes them cling together

In one society.”24

The various forms of Nature, says Wordsworth of his early days,

- * -- ;

‘‘remained in their substantial lineaments

Depicted on the brain . .

and these were

“by invisible links

Fastened to the affections . . .’,25

Wordsworth is concerned with physiological processes, in all

these descriptions of the Mind of Man. Our sense experiences, as

positive stimuli carried to the mind over bodily nerve connections,

serve “to impregnate and to elevate (in higher physical as well as

ideational cortexes) the mind” ;26 and they yield us “life and food

For future years . . .”27

This heritage derives from the fact that

“to the memory

. . . Something cleaves at last

Whence profit may be drawn in times to come.”28

Our “thoughts,” says Wordsworth, are “indeed the representatives

of all our past feelings.”29 These subjective “elements” or ingredi¬

ents, however, these “props” in mental life and growth, are not

sentimental or arbitrarily to be selected and controlled. That is to

say, a man cannot go out somewhere in the presence of Nature-

beautiful-and-fair and “have” or induce deliberately and calculat-

edly a spot of time for himself. Wordsworth tells us in Book IX of

The Prelude how he visited the ruins of the Bastille,

“in the guise

Of an enthusiast ; yet, in honest truth,”

he declares

“I looked for something that I could not find,

Affecting more emotion than I felt.”30

24 Ibid., I, lines 241 ff.

25 Ibid., I, lines 599-600; 611-612.

38 Ibid., I, lines 596.

27 “Tintern Abbey” 11. 64-65.

28 The Prelude, III, 11. 627-628.

29 “Preface,” 1800. Irving Babbitt (op. cit., page 6) cites this passage deprecatingly

as conclusive evidence that Wordsworth is a devotee of idle feeling and guilty of

“abdication of the intellect” (cf. “The Prelude” XII, 11. 222-223). He overlooks the

fundamental principle of Wordsworth’s psychology here — that only intellectually

approved emotion is permanently accepted by the mind as pabulum. Cf. The Prelude

XII, 11. 276—277 ; XIV, 11. 106 ff., and the “Preface,” “our feelings are modified and

1 directed by our thoughts.”

80 Book IX, lines 671 ff.

206 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

This frank and shrewd recognition leads tola corollary :

Spots of time, in their chief significance as experience undergone,

recorded, associated, and recollected, necessarily involve a complex

psychological and physical process. The sense is stimulated, the

sensation is transmitted to the brain, is received and stamped there

upon neural paths and areas. An associating and connecting or

relationships-establishing set of actions follows. Then whenever

conditions are right, the spot of time in all its vividness can be

revived, perhaps years later;31 and it will carry enhanced value

because of all implications attached to it by the maturing Imagina¬

tion-Reason. The “renovating virtue’’ of spots of time

“chiefly , lurks

Among those passages of life that give

Profoundest knowledge to what point and how

The mind is lord and master, outward sense

The obedient servant of her will ... . .”32

This is no sense a divorce but rather an intimate interrelation¬

ship between mind and sense.33 It will perhaps best be illustrated in

Wordsworth’s own words, as quoted by De Quincey :

“ ‘I have remarked from my earliest days, that if, under any

circumstances, the attention is energetically braced up to an

act of steady observation, or of steady expectation, then, if this

intense condition of vigilance should suddenly relax, at that

moment any beautiful, any impressive visual object, or collec¬

tion of objects, falling upon the eye, is carried to the heart with

a power not known under other circumstances. Just now, my

ear was placed upon the stretch in order to catch any sound of

wheels that might come down upon the Lake of Wythburn

from the Keswick road: at the very moment when I raised my

head from the ground in final abandonment of hope for this

night, at the very instant when the organs of attention were

all at once relaxing from their tension, the bright star hanging

in the air above those outlines of massy blackness, fell sud¬

denly upon my eye, and penetrated my capacity of apprehen¬

sion with a pathos and a sense of the Infinite, that would not

have arrested me under other circumstances.’ ”34

si See the famous definition of poetry in The Preface , describing- the process of

“recollection in tranquillity.” This may be glossed by innumerable passages which

give the poems a consummate critical interest. And see particularly Beatty, op. cit.,

pages 159—168.

32 in what is ostensibly a verbatim citation, Herford, op. cit., page 5, misquotes this

passage, with consequent possibilities of wrong implication as respects the roles of

“mind” and “will” in connection with the Imagination. He renders the passage “the

obedient servant of his (Wordsworth’s) will.” The problem involved will appear more

clearly and explicitly in our continued discussion.

■w Wordsworth’s is “a philosophy of the interrelation of the senses and the imagi¬

nation.” Garrod, Wordsworth, page 131. See The P'relude, XIV, 1. 76,

34 Quoted by Beatty, op. cit., pp. 161-162, from De Quincey, Literary Reminiscences,

Boston, 1874. The edition by Masson, cited by Melvin Rader, “Presiding Ideas in

Wordsworth’s Poetry,” Univ. of Washington Publications in Language and Literature,

Vol. 8, No. 2, fails to include this passage.

1957]

McCanse— William Wordsworth

207

In its origin, as depending upon acutely active sense activity,

this is a typical spot of time. In its progress, and its contemplation

of the Infinite, it is significant as regards the essential sense-based

character of the Imagination and, then, as regards its synthesizing

role. The Imagination (as Wordsworth defines and traces this

activity of the mind) always functions through physical processes

which are anything but immediate, or independent of media.

Wordsworth in his poetry and prose is constantly paying tribute

to the force and influence of objective stimuli, and to the means

whereby “Nature by extrinsic passion . . . peopled” his mind with

“forms sublime and fair.”'35 The Prelude is a consistent exposition

of normal mind growth from sensation through physiological paths

which carry associated and associating ideas — ideas which later,

as the mind matures, become the more “pure” (remote from the

neripheral) thoughts to which Wordsworth frequently refers.36

There appears mostly clearly in The Prelude how factual (and

physiological) is the process by which the individual mind “to the

external world is fitted ; — and how exquisitely, too,

“The external World is fitted to the Mind.”37

Wordsworth’s argument demonstrates how, through experience of

sense stimulus, followed by innate self-activity38 of the normal

healthy mind associating mental impressions, the

“common haunts of the green earth . . .

Are fastening on the heart

Insensibly, each with the other’s help.”30

It is thus factually— physiologically — that the human mind is

built up “by slow gradations”40 rather than through visitations

35 The Prelude, I, lines 545-546.

33 Cf. Rader, op. cit., page 165: “. . . synthesis is not effected by the mind after

sensation, but the sensations appear to enter into consciousness already synthesized.”

This interpretation offers Wordsworth gratuitous aid. According to the physiology-

psychology of Wordsworth, the dark inscrutable workmanship of the subconscious

mind is well able to make prompt synthesis of extrinsic impressions. (Rader mentions

spots of time nowhere in his study. Perhaps he feels the term per se is of minor value

He makes footnote quotation of the passage containing Wordsworth’s most specific

treatment of the “spots” in the attempt to show that to Wordsworth “if the imagina¬

tion is once active, if the mind informs the senses, then a genuine and imperishable

increment of power is added to existence.”. This is to overlook the process of “renova¬

tion” as one of recall rather than of immediacy. A multiplicity of references in Words¬

worth will testify to the informing of the mind by the senses, rather than vice versa

37 The Recluse, lines 63 ff.

38 Rader’s definition of “transcendentalism” (op. cit.) is so broad as to admit “some

forms of thought” that “do not derive from experience but from the constitution of

the mind.” Critics are agreed that the associationistic school of philosophy never

insists that the mind is tabula va&a originally. ^/Vordsworth’s whole concept postulates

an innate self-activity in the normal mind. (See Beatty, op. cit pp 189-191 ) (See

Rader, op. cit page 155, where “emotional, moral, intellectual, and kesthetic”' forces

are declared to be recognized by Wordsworth as “intuitive or transcendental”. _ This

is contrary to innumerable claims in Wordsworth’s poetry that the senses inform the

”^eP 'ineS 127 tt: 2H-216: 222~223: VI linH ««-««”)

40 Ibid., VIII, line 677.

208 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

that are immediate — carried, that is, without media or neural

paths from the periphery, or even from cortical centers themselves.

The immediacy of the visionary gleam (as contrasted with the

media-traversing, physiological processes that utilize the spots of

time) has been pointed out above. The gleam may be divorced from

sense experience and the material world of realities. In his youth,

Wordsworth experienced “fleeting moods of shadowy exultation.”

“Oft in these moments . . . bodily eyes

Were utterly forgotten . . .41

the fleshly ear

Forgot her functions and slept undisturbed.”42

Phenomena of this type during childhood Wordsworth refers to

in the “Ode : Intimations of Immortality” as

“those obstinate questionings

Of sense and outward things,

Fallings from us, vanishings,

Blank misgivings of a creature

Moving about in worlds not realized.”

The world (to repeat) was “apparalled in celestial light” during

these experiences.

It follows that whereas this visionary gleam of childhood and

youth is quasi-mystical44 and the creation of youthful Fancy, spots

of time are sense-based experiences, recollectable, incorporated into

our definite thinking, and elements in the mature Imagination.

Imagination, it must be noted here, is Wordsworth’s term for peak

attainment of the Mind of Man; he uses the term in the sense of

matured f eeling-intellect-Reason ;43 it is essentially rooted in a

mind life that has developed through factual experience and has

grown from stage to stage of complexity or powers of intricate

association of ideas — a Hartleyan concept soundly argued by a

great school of English philosophy. “Gently did my soul put off her

veil,” says Wordsworth of the early visions

“and, self-transmuted, stood

Naked as in the presence of her God.”46

As a youth, still under the dominance of Fancy, he felt

“visitings

Of the upholder of the tranquil soul

That . . . from the center of Eternity . . . lives

In glory immutable.”46

Ibid., II, lines 348 ff.

42 Ibid., II, lines 416-417.

43 “The Prelude,” XIV, lines 303-304.

44 Cf. Raleigh, op. cit., pp. 94; 100; 122 ; 148; Legouis, op. cit., p. 103, “semi-

mystical” : Rader, op. cit., p. 136 “at least bordered on the mystical” ; “semf-mystical,”

de Selincourt, op. cit., p. 513 ; Bernbaum, Guide to Romanticism, 1st edition, pp. 134 ff.

These are only a few instances. They fail, however, to confine the quasi-mystical

experience to childhood and youth, which as will be seen was really the limited case.

45 “The Prelude” IV, lines 150-152.

^ Ibid., 1850 version. III. lines 115 ff. The earlier verstons are less orthodox.

1957]

McCanse — William Wordsworth

209

Now the mature Wordsworth, in a pointed phrase in “The

Prelude/’ rejects the idea of mysticism positively, and couples it

with idleness and futility.47 But his repudiation is not limited to

this single utterance.48 It is implicit or avowed in the entire body

of his work; experiential psychology, with physical sensation as

the starting point in mind growth, is the motif of his whole system ;

physical neural pathways and media are central to the ratiocination

of man. This philosophy is manifested in the spots of time idea.

Wordsworth’s whole philosophy of the normal human mind con¬

templates mentality as a unit,49 self-active, developing through

sensation and the association of ideas so acquired, from infancy

through successive stages to a maturity of Imagination-Reason;

and when he says that Imagination is Reason50 he means that the

two operate in identical fashion over physical media in the brain.

Much confusion of interpretation can be avoided by cleaving to

this concept as a formula, so to say. It is basic in applicability to

passage after passage in Wordsworth’s poetry. Relevant to the

present study there is a particular passage of crucial character —

puzzling until this formula is remembered and Wordsworth’s

favorite poetic method, reminiscence, is borne in mind: A certain

emotionally vivid experience discussed in The Prelude is termed

“visionary”. The poet says

“I should need

Colors and words that are unknown to man

To paint the visionary dreariness

Which, while I looked all round . . .

Invested moorland waste, and naked pool,

The beacon crowning the lone eminence,

The female and her garments vexed and tossed

By the strong wind.”61

Is this experience, which meets essentials of what Wordsworth

termed a spot of time, simply another sort of visionary gleam?

Wordsworth speaks elsewhere of

“Those recollected hours that have the charm

Of visionary things.'*62

The “visionary gleam” is at particular times “rememberable”53 in

a definite connection with mind processes. Is any line to be drawn,

after all, between a spot of time and visionary fancy?

47 Ibid. II, line 230.

48 “The Prelude” II, line 419; “Tintern Abbey,” lines 49—50.

49 See Beatty, op. cit., pages 138-143; 155-165.

59 “The Prelude” XIV, 1. 192; XIII, 1. 22.

54 Ibid., XII, lines 254 ft.

52 Ibid., I, lines 630-631.

53 Ibid.. I, line 588.

210 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

The solution of the entire problem is discoverable if we follow

Wordsworth faithfully. The following- passage will afford the key:

“Even then,” says this poet, of childhood’s “vulgar joy” and “giddy

bliss”

“even then I felt

Gleams like the flashing of a shield ; — the earth

And common face of Nature spake to me

Rememberable things ; sometimes, ’tis true

By chance collisions and quaint accidents

— yet not in vain

Nor profitless, if haply they impressed

Collateral objects and appearances ,

Albeit lifeless then, and doomed to sleep

Until maturer seasons called them forth

To impregnate and to elevate the mind.”54

To Wordsworth the visionary gleam of childhood and youth, pro¬

viding that it furnished definite pabulum for the association of

ideas in the mind (not by any means always the case), could be

lasting rather than only “fugitive” ; the gleam held potentially the

material for mind growth,55 just as did the poet’s contacts with the

earth and common face of Nature. This role in the growth of the

mind the gleam may share with spots of time! The simple essential

requisite is that “collateral objects and appearances,” significant

phenomena to be “associated” or mentally related, must be stamped

on the memory; and maturer seasons must bear evidence of this

impression. — That is, recollection must be possible, a recollection

of experience made significant through some brain activity of the

glorious synthesizing faculty which Wordsworth views as a peak

attainment of the Mind of Man, “the haunt and the main region of

my song,” and which he terms the Imagination. He couples it with

Reason.

The “visionary gleam,” then, is viewed by Wordsworth pri¬

marily as exciting at the time of its occurrence — in Childhood and

Youth — and then “forever gone” — unless associated in constructive

relationships with valid and meaningful phenomena — a gleam, say,

had at one time played over some scene the developing mind, stirred

by emotion, took and made contributory to its active perception of

truth, of beauty, of goodness- — or their opposites. The fruitless type

of “gleam” is insubstantial, evanescent, fanciful, unpredictable,

unearned, and of itself undependable — “the gleam, the Light that

never was on sea or land.”

Concern of the critics, and of any admirer of Wordsworth, need

not be wasted over questions of “mysticism” — assuredly of rich

54 Ibid., 1, lines 585 It. Italics added.

55 And for the development, hence, of Imagination — and of poetry !

1957]

McC arise — William Wordsworth

211

worth in its own right, wherever it authentically obtains. The in¬

tuitions of Wordsworth are those of a scientist of the feelings; he

simply rejects an approach to experience in a “mystical and idle

sense.” His spots of time , richly felt, are intellectual building

blocks ; he insists on the superior importance, for poetry, of feeling-

over situation and actions, because feeling is a sign of activity of

the mind ; and ultimately all proper feeling leads along on building

blocks, so to say, beyond any taint of sentimentalism into the

realms of Reason.

ADOLPHE THIERS AND THE RISE OF BONAPARTISM

Jack Alden Clarke

University of Wisconsin Memorial Library

Above the crumbling of parties, the plots and coalitions of the

July Monarchy, one sentiment steadily strengthened its hold on

French opinion; the cult of Napoleon. It has often been asserted,

and indeed it is a predominant opinion among historians, that

Louis Philippe actively encouraged this apotheosis of the glories

of the Empire in order to compensate for the timidities of his own

foreign policy.1 If the prevalent view is correct, this would appear

a serious blunder and the usual interpretation attributes the gov-

ernmental unconcern to the seeming harmlessness of the movement.

Yet an examination of the monarchy’s decision to secure the return

of the body of Napoleon to France in 1840, an event of singular

assistance to the propagandists of the movement, throws new light

on the official responsibility for the revival of Bonapartism.

The July Monarchy was not yet three months old in October of

1880 when General Maximilien Lamarque, one of the earliest and

most ardent converts to Bonapartism,2 eloquently defended in the

Chamber of Deputies a petition to recover the body of Napoleon

from Saint Helena and place it under the column in the Place

Vendome.3 Vigorously opposed by Charles de Lameth on the ground

that there were already too many sources of discord in France, the

motion was quietlv shelved but not before it had provoked Victor

Hugo’s indignant blast at the ‘Three hundred lawyers” in his heroic

“Ode a la Colonne”.4 In the following year the petition was renewed

but this time it was blocked by Lafayette and returned to the min¬

istry without action.5 Still another petition introduced in 1834 met

a similar fate and for a time the matter rested there.

Meanwhile the revival of interest in the Napoleonic legend went

on apace in France with Adolphe Thiers serving as an effective if

1 Jules Bertaut, Le Retour a la Monarchic , 1815-1848 (Paris, 1943) 230-31; Mar¬

garet D. R. Leys, Between Two Empires (London, 1955) 207-08 ; James M. Thompson,

Louis Napoleon and the Second Empire (New York, 1955) 55, 79.

2 Lamarque was impressed by Las Cases’ exposition of Napoleon’s liberal ideas and

converted by the report that the Emperor saw in him a future marshal. Philippe

Gonnard, Les Origines de la Legende Napoleonienne (Paris, 1906) 335.

3 Proces Verbaux des Seances de la Chambre des Deputes, Session de 1830. Octobre

2, 1830 II, 30-31.

1 Victor Hugo, Les Chants du Crepuscule (Brusseles, 1835) 36-49.

5 Proces Verbaux des Seances de la Chambre des Deputes, Session de 1831 Sep-

tembre 13, 1831 I, 588-91.

213

214 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

unconscious advance agent of Bonapartism.6 While Minister of

Public Works in 1833 he succeeded in re-establishing the statue of

Napoleon atop the column of the Place Vendome, and in 1836 he

devoted his attention to completing the Arch of Triumph in its

original spirit. After his enforced retirement from the national

scene in 1836 Thiers spent his time on the preparations for his

ambitious Histoire du Consulat et de VEmpire which entailed

among other things a lengthy correspondence with the Bonaparte

family.7 For the most part, his dealings with the Bonapartes were

on the friendliest of terms, and during the next decade he served

as their tireless but unofficial champion, endlessly seeking pensions

and other favors for members of the family.8 Although this care¬

fully fostered rehabilitation of the Emperor was advanced by such

popular literary men as Berenger and Hugo, it did not lack critics,

and as early as 1832 Heine prophetically remarked that a thousand

cannon sleep in the name Napoleon even as in the shaft of the

Vendome column.9

In 1838, Thiers began a regular campaign of parliamentary

opposition which in March of 1840 made him president of the

Council of Ministers and foreign minister for the second time. As

in 1836, he was swept into office on a wave of nationalistic senti¬

ment, largely of his own making, and was forced to adopt a vigor¬

ous, imaginative policy in order to distract the public from its

momentary concerns. Lacking a majority for his ministry, Thiers

had to depend on his own group, the Left Center, and on the re¬

mains of Mole’s party then known as the 221. Opposed to him were

the Legitimist Right, the Right Center which did not want a war¬

like policy, and the Left which demanded the repeal of the Sep¬

tember laws and the reform of the election taxes.10 In opposition,

Thiers had continually harped on the timidity and narrowness of

view of his predecessors and, now in power, he hoped to prove

himself the most national spokesman of the new monarchy.

Shortly after the formation of his cabinet, Thiers broached the

idea of requesting the body of Napoleon from Great Britain to the

6 In Jerome Bonaparte’s opinion Thiers’ actions may have been deliberately in¬

tended to weaken the prestige of the monarchy and thereby render himself indis¬

pensable. Ernest Daudet, Souvenirs de vion Temps, Debuts d’un Homme de Lettres

1857-1861 (Paris, 1921) 156.

7 TJne Page d’Histoire Contemporaine , M. Thiers et les Napoleons, Lettres et Docu¬

ments Inedits 1837—18^8 (Paris, 1873) passim.

8 Thiers used his credit with Louis Philippe in an attempt to exempt Jerome from

the provisions of the law of 1832 exiling the Bonapartes. A letter written to Jerome

in 1837 is typical: “Je suis, vous le savez, 1’un des frangais de ce temps les plus

attach^ a sa (Napoleon’s) glorieuse m6moire et je serai heureux quand je verrai le

retour des parents qui lui apartiennent se concilier avec le repos de notre pays et le

maintien de son gouvernement” Jerome Bonaparte, Memoires et Correspondence du

Roi Jerome et de la Reine Caroline (Paris, 1866) VII, 488.

8 Heinrich Heine, Das Burgerlconigthum in Jahr 1832 (New York, 1879) 145.

10 Charles Seignebos, A Political History of Europe since I81it (New York, 1879)

145,

1957]

Clarke — A do iphe Thiers

215

Duke of Orleans who in turn passed it along to his father. At first

Louis Philippe seems to have rejected the plan,11 but on May 1 at a

party in the Tuileries he announced his acceptance with the char¬

acteristic remark that it would have been forced from him eventu¬

ally by petitions and he preferred to concede.12 With the consent of

the king, Thiers charged Lord Granville, the British Ambassador

at Paris, to send a preparatory message to his government, and on

May 4 he informed Guizot, then Ambassador at London, of his

intentions.

“The king consents to transport the remains of Napoleon from

Saint Helena to the Invalides. He is as enthusiastic as I am which

is not saying a little. This must be obtained from the English

cabinet . . . Conduct the affair so that we may speak or be silent in

case of a refusal. Lord Granville does not believe a refusal possible.

If the request is accorded a ship will leave immediately to seek out

the body. It will be necessary for an English commissioner to go

along to secure the restitution. Succeed in this affair and we will

leave all of the honor to you.”13

Momentarily, Guizot relates, he was both surprised and appre¬

hensive at these instructions, but he soon banished his doubts and

accepted his role leaving the responsibility for its consequences to

the ministry. Although Lord Palmerston greeted the French re¬

quest cordially and with seeming approval, Guizot thought he

detected a faint smile on his face. Privately Palmerston remarked

that “it would have been foolish in us not to have granted it and

we have made a merit of doing so readily and with a good grace”.14

As soon as the British cabinet had unofficially approved the trans¬

fer, a formal request was submitted through Guizot and on May 10,

just six days after the original communication, the official British

acceptance was sent to Granville at Paris. It was agreed that a

British ship, the Dolphin, would carry the order for the transfer to

the Governor of Saint Helena, and an authentic copy of the docu¬

ment was to be given to Joinville.15 With these preliminaries con¬

cluded, Thiers was now in a position to present his project to the

Chamber of Deputies for its endorsement.

On May 12 in the midst of an interminable discussion of sugar

legislation Count Charles de Remusat, the Minister of the Interior,

ascended the tribune and proceeded to unfold the plan of the gov¬

ernment. Secret negotiations, he disclosed, had been concluded with

11 Paul Thureau-Dangin, Histoire de la Monarchic de Juillet (Paris, 1897-1904) IV,

158-159.

12 Jean Lucas-Dubreton, Aspects de Monsieur Thiers (Paris, 1948) 129.

13Frangois Guizot, Memoires pour Servir d VHistoire de Mon Temps (Paris, 1862)

V, 106-107.

14 Lord William Dalling- and Bulwer, The Life of Henry John Temple Viscount

Palmerston (London, 1874) III, 39.

15 Louis Eustache Audot, Les Fun6railles de VEmpereur Napoleon (Paris, 1841) 11.

216 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

Great Britain for the transfer of the body of Napoleon to France,

and the Prince de Joinville had been commissioned by the king to

sail for Saint Helena in the near future. Napoleon, Remusat pointed

out, was a legitimate sovereign16 and was entitled to be buried in

the royal sepulchre at Saint Denis, but this seemed insufficient for

such a great captain and the ministry required a credit of one

million francs to prepare an appropriate tomb in the Invalides.

“The government of July,” Remusat argued, “is indeed the sole

legitimate heir of all the memories of which France is so proud. It

was fitting doubtless for the monarchy which first has rallied all

of the forces and conciliated all of the vows of the French Revolu¬

tion to erect and to honor without fear the tomb of a popular hero,

for there is one thing only that does not dread comparison with

glory, that is liberty.”17

The reading of Remusat’s speech was interrupted several times

by lively applause and at its conclusion the session was temporarily

suspended to allow the enthusiasm to wear itself out.18 “Isn’t this

a fine gesture?” Thiers remarked to Duvergier de Hauranne, one

of the more advanced deputies of the left who managed to resist

the general enthusiasm. “Yes,” Duvergier replied, “it is a good

joke.”19

Initially public reaction to Thiers proposal was overwhelmingly

favorable with even the anti-ministry papers endorsing the restora¬

tion. A special parliamentary committee headed by Marshal Clausel

unanimously recommended an augmentation of the credit to two

million francs and the dispatch of a squadron to Saint Helena

instead of a single vessel. In the first rush of excitement some

Bonapartists proposed the erection of an equestrian statue of

Napoleon as one of the honors due to a crowned head while others

equally enthusiastic suggested that the effigy of Henry IV be re¬

moved from the medal of the legion of honor and replaced by the

eagle and countenance of the Emperor.20 Napoleon, Delphine de

Girardin remarked, “has been cursed, hated, betrayed, even for¬

gotten and now those who cursed him admire him, those who hated

him adore him, and those who betrayed him weep for him.”21

16 Shortly after the attempted coup d’etat of August 20 Metternich commented on

this assertion, “Si M. Remusat a eu raison il est clair que Louis Napoleon n’a point

eu tort.” Clemens Metternich-Winneberg, M e-moires , Documents et Merits Divers

(Paris, 1883) VI, 442.

17 Le Moniteur Universel. May 13, 1840.

18 Elias Regnault, Histoire de Huit Ans, 1840-1848 (Paris, 1860) I, 141.

10 Thureau-Dangin, Histoire de la Monarchie de Juillet, III, 155.

^Esprit Victor Castellane, Journal du Marechal de Gastellane 1804-1862 (Paris,

1896) III, 218. The effigy of Henry IV was not replaced by that of Napoleon as consul

until Sept. 12, 1848. Jean Daniel, La Legion d’Honneur, Histoire et Organisation de

VOrdre National (Paris, 1948) 78.

21 Delphine de Girardin, Le Vicomte de Launay, Lettres Parisiennes (Paris, 1856)

II, 191.

1957]

Clarke— Adolphe Thiers

217

When the first moments of enthusiasm had passed, many cooler

heads began to examine the merit of Thiers’ scheme and to weigh

its logical consequences. How, they asked, could one prevent the

attendance of the Bonaparte exiles at this state funeral and what

was to be done about the self styled imperial heir Louis Napoleon.22

“Thiers himself,” Lamartine noted, “is in the hands of the passions

he has kindled . . . The ashes of Napoleon are not extinguished and

he blows on them. God save us.”23 On May 22, the Journal des

Debats cautioned against the excessive enthusiasm of sending a

squadron to Saint Helena,24 but four days later when Lamartine

resolved to denounce this idolatry of the Emperor he found him¬

self deserted by his own party and was forced to change his speech

at the last minute.25 Inside the Tuileries there were misgivings

since the Queen had little taste for the plan or its author,26 and

from Brussels Louis Philippe’s daughter Louise warned that there

must be no continuation of this comedy.27 Alarmed by the feverish

popular interest in the restoration, the deputies rebuffed the com¬

mission’s request for another million and instead of an anticipated

victory the ministry suffered its first parliamentary check on this

relatively unimportant matter.28

Much to the discomfiture of the ministry which hoped to ignore

this adverse vote, several journals promptly initiated a popular

subscription to make up the second million by gifts from their

readers. Although their appeal was phrased in emotionally dra¬

matic terms it fell on deaf ears and contributions amounted to only

25,000 francs after several days.29 Yet the campaign continued

until June 1 when a public letter written by Odilon Bar rot and

undoubtedly instigated by Thiers cited such compelling reasons for

not subscribing that the Courrier Frangais announced it was

returning the money already collected.30

In the meantime, while the entire nation watched with keen

interest, the government was quietly assembling the official party

which was to accompany Joinville on the Belle Poule.31 Generals

Bertrand and Gourgaud, old companions in captivity of the Em¬

peror, and the son of Count Las Cases were included as were four

22Ximines Doudan, Melanges et Lettres (Paris, 1878) I, 323.

23 Alphonse de Lamartine, Dorrespondance de Lamartine (Paris, 1881-84) IV, 53.

24 Journal des Debats. May 22, 1840.

26 Lamartine, Correspondance, TV, 57—58.

26 Auguste Trognon, V .e de Marie Amelie (Paris, 1871) 287.

27 Louise Marie d’Orleans, Lettres Intimes de Marie Louise d’Orleans } Premiere

Reine des Beiges au Roi Louis Philippe et d la Reine Amelie (Paris, 1933) 109.

28 Noailles, however, felt that Thiers had lost little prestige from this fiasco.

Doroth6e Talleyrand-P6rigord, Chronique de 1831 d 1862 (Paris, 1909) II, 298. This

view was shared by an anonymous observer in the “Chronique de Quinzaine” Revue

des Deux Mondes, May 14, 1840, II, 717.

29 Thureau-Dangin, Histoire de la Monarchie de Juillet, IV, 166.

30 Castellane, Journal. Ill, 219.

31 Frangois PoumiS de la Sicoti^re, Recollections of a Parisian (New York, 1911) 267.

218 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

of the former imperial domestics. At first the young prince, then

recuperating from an attack of chicken pox, showed considerable

reluctance to undertake this tedious and uncongenial mission but

he subsequently reconciled himself to his assignment in the

romantic notion that by seeking out the ashes of Napoleon he was

raising the standard of a vanquished France.32 Only after the ships

had sailed on July 7 was he informed that the real commander of

the expedition was to be Thiers’ agent, the young Count de Rohan-

Chabot. In this manner Thiers asserted his independence of the

monarchy.

The voyage westward was a leisurely affair filled with good con¬

versation and such lengthy stopovers that it was not until October 8

that the French ships sailed into the harbor of Jamestown amid

friendly salutes from British batteries and ships of war anchored

in the roadstead. Work on the excavation of the tomb began soon

after midnight on the 15th, the twenty-fifth anniversary of the

arrival of Napoleon at Saint Helena, but it was 9 a.m. when the

coffin was exposed to view, raised, and opened.33 “It was indeed

Napoleon,” young Las Cases wrote in his journal, “Napoleon de¬

prived of life but not destroyed.”34 After a brief examination the

body was transferred to another coffin brought from France and

transported to the point of embarkation. On October 18, in the

midst of the second Mehemet Ali crisis which threatened momen¬

tarily to lead to a general European war, the French ships set sail

for Cherbourg. Their return had been scheduled by Thiers for the

beginning of December, the time of the reconvening of the Cham¬

ber of Deputies, but in spite of his shrewd calculations Thiers’

ministry had fallen thirty-four days before the Belle Poule dropped

anchor at Cherbourg.

On December 8 amid the booming of a thousand cannon the

remains of Napoleon were placed on a coastal schooner which took

the coffin to Havre where it was transferred to a flat bottomed

barge.35 Everywhere as the funeral barge moved up the Seine there

was gaiety and rejoicing and in some localities spectators lined the

banks for miles in double ranks. At Courbevoie, just outside of

Paris, the coffin was placed on a magnificent hearse specially con¬

structed to carry the remains of the Emperor to their final resting

place. Precisely at eleven on the morning of December 15 the

solemn procession began to move along a line of march elaborately

decorated with incense burners, banners, and plaster statues, most

of them sorry examples of French taste.36 Alarmed by rumors of a

32 Frangois de Joinville, Vieux Souvenirs 1818—1848 (Paris, 1894) 207-08.

^Audot, Les Funerailles de Napoleon, 14.

34 Emmanuel de Las Cases, Journal ficrit d Bord de la Frigate Belle Poule (Paris,

1841) 56.

35 Audot, Les Funerailles de Napoleon, 33-34.

30 Victor Hugo, Things Seen (New York, 1887) I, 27.

1957]

Clarke— Adolphe Thiers

219

popular insurrection, the ministry, headed by the cautious Guizot,

stationed cavalry at several points along the route, which prompted

Thiers, now a mere observer, to complain that the government was

stifling the national spirit.37 Perhaps due to the presence of troops

but more likely to the intense cold, the great crowd estimated at

over 600,000 was strangely silent and there were but few incidents,

such as a red flag here and there38 and scattered shouts of “A bas

les traitres”.39 At two P.M. the cortege arrived at the Invalides

where after a grandiloquent but somehow moving ceremony the

body of the Emperor was laid to rest in St. Jerome’s chapel where

it remained until twenty years later, when it was placed beneath

the lovely dome of Louis XIV. That evening, at a reception in the

Tuileries, Louis Philippe publicly commended Guizot for prevent¬

ing an insurrection, remarking that he would have risked losing

his throne if Thiers had still been minister.40

Judged by any valid standards of statesmanship, this attempt to

secure cheap popular support by extolling the military triumphs

of the Empire constitutes a political miscalculation of the first mag¬

nitude for both Thiers and the monarchy he served. Not only did

it fail to offset Thiers’ unpopularity with the court party but it

alienated the legitimists by implying that the pretensions of the

Comte de Chambord and Louis Napoleon were of equal validity.41

Moreover, the elaborate reburial failed to satisfy Bonapartist

expectations and only succeeded in making the French the laughing

stock of Europe.42 If anyone profited from the incident it was the

radicals and republicans who appropriated the memory of Napoleon

and used it to their advantage.

It was the failure and misfortune of Louis Philippe and his

advisers that they, like Thiers, did not appreciate the full serious¬

ness of the situation. “The idea of a Napoleonic monarchy,” Louis

de Carne wrote, “functioning regularly after the fall of that of

1880 is political nonsense so evident that a serious man doesn’t

even have to discuss it.”43 Years later Guizot remarked that he did

not regret the restoration since it had little to do with the power

37 Karl Robert Nesselrode, Lettres et Papiers du Chancelier Comte de Nesselrode

1760-1850 (Paris, 1904-1912) VIII, 89.

38 Talleyrand-Perigord, Chronique de 1831 d 1862 , II, 437.

39Joinville, Vieux Souvenirs 1818-18^8, 224.

40 Nesselrode, Lettres et Papiers , VIII, 93. This view was shared at St. Petersburg

where Barante was congratulated when no uprising took place. Amable Guillaume

Barante, Souvenirs du Baron de Barante 1782-1866 (Paris, 1890-1901) VI, 553.

41 Alexandre Dumas, Histoire de la Vie Politique et Privee de Louis Philippe (Paris,

1852), II, 213-14.

43 See Thackeray’s celebrated burlesque of the incident originally published in the

Cornhill Magazine , William Makepeace Thackeray, “The Second Funeral of Napoleon”

in Roundabout Papers (London, 1869) 377-428.

43 Louis de Carn£, “De la Popularite de Napoleon” in Revue des Deux Mondes. June

1, 1840, II, 867,

220 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

of the Napoleonic name in 1848.44 But as subsequent events proved,

practical politicians are sometimes unskilled at reading the signs

of the time and the Bonapartist propagandists took full advantage

of the opportunity presented. By advancing the Napoleonic legend i

as a permanent rebuke to Louis Philippe's policy of conciliation,

Thiers contributed to the fall of his royal master and rendered

suspect his own reputation as a farseeing statesman.

u Guizot, Memoires pour Servir a VHistoire de Mon Temps , VI, 22.

TENNYSON AT CAMBRIDGE: A POET’S INTRODUCTION

TO THE SCIENCES*

Frederick I. Tietze

University of Wisconsin Extension Division, Racine f

Certain dualisms in the thinking of western man are so firmly,

habitually established as to be numbered among his unquestioned

assumptions. Ordinarily, the polar separation of good and evil, of

subjectivity and objectivity, of heaven and hell, is as unquestion-

ingly accepted as the separation of north and south, of right and

left. Science and poetry, when thought of together are thought of

as another set of paired opposites, and the familiar divisions in a

college or university faculty, in the arrangement of books in a

library, in the lists of a publishing house, are commonplace testi¬

monies of this separation. But now and again the great polarities

are merged, and when they are well-merged, the occasion is notable.

Blake arranged the marriage of heaven and hell ; Coleridge pre¬

sented a poetic vision of good and evil in which these mighty oppo¬

sites take on an unexpected ambiguity. Alfred Tennyson demon¬

strated that science and poetry share some vital ground in common.

Though others among Tennyson’s contemporaries noted his

alertness to the new forces of science, the commendation which

carries most weight is the one by the most militant of nineteenth-

century scientists. Thomas Huxley pointed to Tennyson as “the

only poet since Lucretius who has taken the trouble to understand

the work and tendency of the men of science.”1 A. C. Bradley, if

less the scientist than Huxley, could speak with more than Huxley’s

assurance as a literary critic :

With the partial exception of Shelley, Tennyson is the only

one of our great poets whose attitude toward the sciences of

nature was what a modern poet’s attitudes ought to be . . . the

only one to whose habitual way of seeing and thinking it makes

any real difference that Laplace or, for that matter, Coper¬

nicus ever lived.2

* I wish to make grateful acknowledgement to the Research Committee of the

Graduate School, University of Wisconsin, for a grant which helped me to complete

the research.

t Now at Southern Illinois University.

1 Leonard Huxley, Life and Letters of Thomas Henry Huxley , 2 vols. (New York,

1901), II, 350.

3 “The Reaction Against Tennyson,’’ A Miscellany (London, 1929), p. 31.

221

222 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

John Burroughs, naturalist and man of letters, offered this further

testimony :

Whitman and Tennyson were the only poets of note in our time

who have drawn inspiration from modern science or viewed

the universe through the vistas which science offers.3

Critics in our own century who have denied any great profundity

in Tennyson might dismiss these testimonies by saying that Tenny¬

son merely absorbed this regard for science from his time. Progress

was in the air and progress owed much to science. Tennyson, with

his usual facility, these critics might say, and out of regard for his

public function as poet laureate, put on an alertness to science.

Such a dismissal of Tennyson’s interest in the natural sciences

would be neither accurate nor just, for that interest was not

imposed from without. It arose from certain qualities deeply

embedded within the poet’s nature, qualities discernible in his boy¬

hood and operative as well during his years at Cambridge. It is on

these years at the university, 1828-1831, that I wish to focus

attention. Tennyson’s biographers have taken notice of the Cam¬

bridge years chiefly for the associations which the poet began at

that time, most notably his membership in that little society of

undergraduates, the ‘‘Cambridge Apostles,” whereby he became the

friend of Arthur Hallam whose untimely death gave the initial

impetus for the long elegiac poem, In Memoriam. Important as

these activities were, they were still extra-curricular. On the other

side were the academic interests, duller perhaps, but nevertheless

the ostensible reasons for any student’s matriculating at Cam¬

bridge. Something, therefore, of the scientific tone of Cambridge

in the late 1820’s is pertinent.4

If one were to make simply a university-catalog judgment, one

might be justified in saying that the natural sciences were in a

flourishing state. Of the ten university professorships which had

been established during the eighteenth century, eight were dedi¬

cated to those sciences after the modest beginning in the seven¬

teenth century with the Lucasian chair in mathematics. Doubtless

the several donors hoped that, as Newton had shed luster on the

name of Henry Lucas, so might their names be immortalized. But

four of these professorships suffered from the circumstances then

prevailing at Cambridge (and at Oxford as well), namely, college

ascendancy. Students were responsible to their colleges and took

examinations set by their colleges, whereas the professorships were

intended to serve the university at large. Thus, attendance at pro¬

fessorial lectures was strictly an elective matter, and dropped so

3 “Relation of Whitman and Tennyson to Science,” The Dial, XIV (1893), 169.

4 G. R. Potter called attention to these academic interests in his “Tennyson and the

Biological Theory of Mutability of Species,” Philological Quarterly, XVI (1937).

1957]

Tietze — Tennyson and Science

223

low at times that the course of lectures was perforce dropped also,

but the professorship went on uninterrupted and became, of course,

a sinecure. Parliament and the great national reviews, scandalized

by this state of affairs, investigated and discussed at great length

its cause and possible cure. University reform remained an issue

for forty years.5

But meanwhile the picture was not entirely dark. William Farish,

Jacksonian Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy,

regularly enrolled the then-large number of eighty students in his

class.6 The applications of science to the arts and manufactures of

England, “particularly such as relate to Chemistry/’ were his spe¬

cialty. One wonders at the amorphous condition of that science as

one surveys his subjects: mining and smelting, all kinds of manu¬

facturing, the problems of inland navigation, the construction of

bridges, aqueducts, locks, ships, docks and harbors.7 More strictly

scientific in our eyes was the Woodwardian chair in geology held

by Adam Sedgwick. His appointment in 1818 was not particularly

auspicious, for he admitted knowing nothing about geology, but he

kept so well his promise to “get up” the subject that he was cred¬

ited with having “completely transformed both the character of

the professorship and the status of geology in the university.”8

Classification of the fossils of mammals and study, in association

with Murchison, of the sedimentary rocks kept him busy in re¬

search. In teaching, he knew the value of enthusiasm and the prac¬

tical necessity of field trips. It was distinctly probable that from

his attending at least one such field trip, Tennyson drew the mate¬

rial which a dozen years later he wove into a passage of The

Princess , describing how the heroine of that poem and her party

“rode to take the dip of certain strata to the north” :

We turned, we wound,

About the cliffs, the copses, out and in

Hammering and clinking, chattering stony names

Of shale and hornblende, rag and trap and tuff,

Amydaloid and trachyte till the sun

Grew broader toward his base and fell.

5 A pair of articles in the Edinburgh Review in 1810 brought the matter to public

attention. Specific contributory abuses were discussed by Charles Lyell in Travels in

North America (New York, 1845) vol. II, by Charles Merivale in Autobiography of

Dean Merivale with Selections from his Correspondence | Judith A. Merivale, ed.

(London, 1899), by Charles Astor Bristed in Five Years in an English University

(New York, 1852) ; and these abuses have been well-summarized by D. A. Winstanley,

Unreformed Cambridge (Cambridge University Press, 1935). The official investigation

is recorded in “Report of Her Majesty’s Commission to Inquire into the State, Disci¬

pline and Finances of Cambridge University.” British Parliamentary Papers , 1852—53,

Vol. XLIV.

6 Quarterly Review, (1827), p. 263.

7 See R. T. Gunther, Early Science in Cambridge (Oxford University Press, 1937),

p. 231.

8 Winstanley, p. 171.

224 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

Another professorship of happy record was J. S. Henslow’s

tenure as Professor of Botany.9 Like Sedgwick, Henslow conducted

field trips which were very popular among all students, botanical

and otherwise. Charles Darwin has left a glowing account of

Henslow the man and the teacher. “Quite the most perfect man I

ever met with” said Darwin.10 Mathematics was Darwin’s bugbear,

and Henslow’s coaching seems to have been necessary for Darwin’s

inglorious tenth place in the Mathematical Tripos of 1831. At a time

when Darwin was thoroughly unsettled over his career, positive

only that it would not be medicine, he had, he said, “some thoughts

of reading divinity with Henslow,” but Henslow’s eventual role in

Darwin’s accompanying the Beagle expedition was his truly deci¬

sive contribution to the young naturalist’s career. It might be noted

in passing that the paths of Tennyson at Trinity College, Darwin

at Christ’s College seem never to have crossed at all. In Darwin’s

world even “Cambridge Apostle” meant one of the lower twelve

men in the Mathematical Tripos, a class to which Christ’s College

contributed many members.11

Henslow and Sedgwick were co-founders of the Cambridge

Philosophical Society in 1820. The society was meant to be “a point

of concourse for scientific communication,” and in this aim it suc¬

ceeded, just as it did in broadening the range of scientific study at

Cambridge away from the mathematics-mechanics-astronomy

triad.12 Although it was open only to Cambridge graduates and I

Tennyson necessarily remained beyond the pale, for he never did

take his degree, yet the society contributed significantly to the :

intellectual climate. Graduates, professors, tutors, fellows, and

coaches to the number of 171 from its first year became members.

In 1831 William Whewell reviewed the third volume of the Society’s

Transactions and used the volume as proof, at Cambridge, of

“intellectual activity, of zeal for science, of perseverance and intel¬

ligence in its prosecution, of familiarity with the most valuable j

portions of recent discovery.”13

Even though we view them critically, the university professors j

of science at Cambridge wielded an influence to which Tennyson

was sensitive. Scientific inquiry from its Greek beginnings has

always had certain implications for the human spirit. One of these ;

implications found expression for the nineteenth century in the

words of the Earl of Rosse as he made the presidential address j

9 See, for example, “The State of the Universities,” Quarterly Review, XXXVI

(1827), p. 263.

10 Life and Letters of Charles Darwin, Including an Autobiographical Chapter, j

Francis Darwin, ed. 2 vols. (New York, 1919), I, ’58.

^Ibid., I, 159.

12 See Robert C. Stauffer, “The Introduction of Modern Laboratory Science in the I

English University System,” unpublished doctoral dissertation (Harvard, 1947), p. 53. ;

13 British Critic No. 17. Cited by Isaac Todhunter, William Whewell D.D. 2 vols. i

(London, 1876), II, 49.

1957]

Tietze — Tennyson and Science

225

before the British Association in 1843: “Science claims as one of

its noblest attributes, the power of enlarging and ennobling the

mind.”14 It was just this implication of which Tennyson took notice

in “Timbuctoo,” the poem with which he won the Chancellor’s

Prize at Cambridge in 1829. This, a reworking of an earlier poem

entitled “Armageddon,” contained as its central theme the vision

of a seer, the speaker of the poem :

I seem’d to stand

Upon the outward verge and bound alone

Of God’s omniscience. Each failing sense,

As with a momentary flash of light,

Grew thrillingly distinct and keen. I saw

The smallest grain that dappled the dark Earth.

The indistinctest atom in deep air,

The Moon’s white cities, and the opal width

Of her small, glowing lakes, her silver heights

Unvisited with dew of vagrant cloud,

.4nd the unsounded, undescended depth

Of her black hollows.

These lines, present in the earlier “Armageddon” and retained in

“Timbuctoo,” demonstrate Tennyson’s close attention to the ob¬

served fact and they sound a theme which was to mature more

fully in later poems : science as an avenue to fuller consciousness,

to a fuller sense of being; science, thus, as an affirmation of the

human spirit. In the Cambridge poem, Tennyson extended the pas¬

sage, reflecting at once his unabated interest in astronomy,15 an

interest aroused in his boyhood through his acquaintance with the

work of the elder Herschel, and reflecting too the lively interest in

astronomy of the university itself, where a new observatory had

been opened in 1828 under Professor Airy’s direction.

The clear galaxy

Shorn of its hoary lustre, wonderful,

Distinct and vivid with sharp points of light,

Blaze within blaze, an unimagine’d depth

And harmony of planet-girded suns

And moon-encircl’d planets, wheel in wheel

Arch’d the wan sapphire.

In another poem of the Cambridge years, “The Palace of Art,”

which circulated in manuscript among the poet’s friends, Tennyson

allegorized the “art for art’s sake” question some decades before

that question became more publicly discussed. Science as science is

not prominent in this poem, but knowledge, like art, Tennyson

14 Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (London, 1844),

p. xxxii.

15 Tennyson’s interest in astronomy remained, in fact, lifelong-. See for example

Hallam, Lord Tennyson, Tennyson: A Memoir, 2 vols. (London, 1898), I, 385; II, 408,

and Ada Pritchard, ed. Charles Pritchard, D.D.: Memoirs of His Life (London, 1897).

226 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

moralized, cannot be enjoyed in exclusion by those who alone are

versed in it. Having rejoiced in her “Godlike isolation,” Art

presently likened herself to

A still salt pool, lock’d in with bars of sand,

Left on the shore, that hears all night

The plunging seas draw backward from the land

Their moon-led waters white;

A star that with the choral starry dance

Join’d not, but stood and saw

The hollow orb of moving Circumstance

Roll’d round by one fix’d law.

Four years of painful separation left Art chastened. Her restora¬

tion to human society was to take place in one of those domestic

settings which were among Tennyson's favorites :

She threw her royal robes away.

‘Make me a cottage in the vale,’ she said

Where I may mourn and pray.

‘Yet pull not down my palace towers, that are

So lightly, beautifully built;

Perchance I may return with others there

When I have purged my guilt.’

Baldly stated, art and knowledge must be humanized.

The closest connections formed by any student at Cambridge

were those within his college. This was natural since the colleges

dominated the university itself and the chief instruments in this

domination were the college tutors, aided by their unofficially rec¬

ognized allies, the private tutors or coaches. Among the colleges,

the one uniformly prevalent teaching discipline was mathematics.

The highest honors which students could achieve at Cambridge

were awarded for excellence in this field.16 The Classics Tripos,

instituted in 1824, was still on sufferance in Tennyson’s time and

as for the natural sciences, examinations of comparable importance

were not to be established until 1848. In the overall view, the col¬

lege system at Cambridge was not designed to educate young men

in natural science, and the university professorships, though

designed for this purpose, did not succeed very well in doing so.

Other shortcomings in the college system were diagnosed typi¬

cally by Lyell. He charged that college ascendancy meant incom¬

petent instruction, since college tutors were ordinarily too young

to discharge the duties required of them and of too short a tenure,

waiting as they often were for preferment in the church, to gain

16 Charles Darwin was not the only student to be handicapped by this circumstance.

John Wordsworth, nephew of the poet, was another, as was Frederick Tennyson,

Alfred’s elder brother, and Charles .Merivale of the Tennysons’ circle. See Autobiog¬

raphy of Dean Merivale, p. 53.

1957]

Tietze — Tennyson and Science

227

the experience and the learning they needed. Particularly he

objected to the impossibility of specialization, when ‘‘two or three

individuals, and occasionally a single instructor, may be called upon

to give lectures in all the departments of human knowledge/’17

But at Trinity College, which is after all our particular concern,

there were extenuations. Trinity was large enough to afford more

than the two or three tutors whom Lyell decried, and among the

staff in the 1820’s were some remarkably able men. George Pea¬

cock, Connop Thirlwall, Julius Hare, George Airy— all were Trinity

men and all were to achieve eminence. But the Trinity man who

stands at the very center of many a Cambridge matter in our

period, a champion of college ascendancy but very active in raising

the university professorships to their deserved place ; an outspoken

defender of mathematics as a teaching discipline, but hardly less

attentive to classics for the same purpose ; outstandingly cognizant

of the new natural sciences, keeping abreast of them while not

losing touch with the old — this was William Whewell, fellow and

tutor of Trinity College, the man under whose care, along with

perhaps forty other youths, came Alfred Tennyson.18

The rise from a carpenter’s family to the Mastership of Trinity

College was not exactly a rare sort of occurrence in nineteenth cen¬

tury England, but that it happened in tradition-bound Cambridge

must be credited to the character of Whewell. His temper was not

the sort which would have made him especially close to his students.

“Bulldog Whewell,” or “that very worthy but somewhat dictatorial

Whewell” are tags which testify to the distance between him and

his pupils. He himself dreaded term-opening and his first meeting

with freshmen, partly because he felt himself not particularly fitted

by nature for such encounters, and partly because it meant the

resumption of teaching duties when his own researches were much

more attractive. On one occasion he complained “my tutorship

hangs about the neck of my theories in a wonderful manner- — I

mean in the way of a millstone and not of a mistress.”19

Whewell, like John Donne, suffered from “an hydroptick love of

learning,” and it was partly this love which led him to make Cam¬

bridge his career. Sir John Herschel said of him “that a more won¬

derful variety and amount of knowledge in almost every depart¬

ment of human inquiry was perhaps never in the same interval of

17 Charles Lyell, Travels in North Aynerica, 2 vols. (New York, 1845), II, 241.

18 For his work in mathematics see Merivale, Autobiography, p. 60, and Whewell,

Thoughts on the Teaching of Mathematics (Cambridge, 1835). For his generalized

views on education, see Principles of English University Education 2d ed. (London,

1838), and Of a Liberal Education in General (London, 1845). Whewell reviewed

enthusiastically J. F. W. Herschel’s A Preliminary Discourse on the Study of Natural

Philosophy (See Quarterly Review, 1831) and that book, a copy of which was owned

and annotated by Tennyson, helped to set Whewell on to his own fuller History of

the Inductive Sciences (1836), followed by Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences (1840).

lfi Todhunter, II, 62.

228 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

time accumulated by any man.”20 Charles Astor Bristed, in resi¬

dence at Cambridge when Whewell succeeded Christopher Words¬

worth as Master of Trinity, reported that

In conversation it was scarcely possible to start a subject

without finding him at home in it. . . . The mass of his general

knowledge taken together constituted his strength. There were

few men of like pretensions to weigh or appreciate this; he

was judged piecemeal ... by men whose whole development

and training was partial. Sidney Smith’s saying of him “that

omniscience was his forte and science his foible” was very

generally circulated and applauded.21

Decades later Tennyson added his own footnote corroborating

Whewell’s learnedness. A bit of undergraduate doggerel had been

circulating at Oxford at the expense of Benjamin Jowett:

What I know not is not knowledge,

I am the Master of this college.

Tennyson upon hearing it retorted “Very unfair. Jowett never

set up to be omniscient. It might possibly have suited Whewell.”22

Tennyson’s first long poem, The Princess , is profuse in its allusions

to Cambridge, and the scene in one passage, although its central

figure has been metamorphosed into a woman — the Princess of the

title who heads a girls’ academy — the scene must have been

modelled by Whewell:

On the lecture slate

The circle rounded under female hands

With flawless demonstration; followed then

A classic lecture, rich in sentiment,

With scraps of thunderous epic lilted out

By violet hooded Doctors, elegies

And quoted odes, and jewels five-words-long

That on the stretch’d forefinger of ail Time

Sparkle forever. Then we dipt in all

That treats of whatsoever is, the state,

The total chronicles of man, the mind,

The morals, something of the frame, the rock

The star, the bird, the fish, the shell, the flower

Electric, Chemic laws, and all the rest,

And whatsoever can be taught and known.

II, 349-363.

Something of Whewell’s enthusiasm for knowledge unquestion¬

ably was absorbed by his pupil Tennyson. “Let knowledge grow

from more to more” was to become part of the burden of In Memo -

20 Ibid., I, 1.

21 Five Years in an English University (New York), 1852), pp. 88-89.

22 Memoir , II, 400,

1957]

Tietze — Tennyson and Science

229

Ham, but one finds that theme anticipated in the following portion

of an unpublished sonnet from the Cambridge years :

Why suffers human life so soon eclipse?

Would I could pile fresh life on life and dull

The sharp desire of knowledge still with knowing

Art, Science, Nature, everything is full,

As my own soul is full to overflowing — *

Millions of forms, and hues, and shades that give

The difference of all things to the sense,

And all the likeness in the difference.

I thank thee, God, that thou hast made me live:

I reck not for the sorrow or the strife :

One only joy I know, the joy of life.23

The poem falls well short of greatness, and Tennyson very properly

left it as a manuscript, for it simply states rather than convinces

us of its author’s exuberance. But the same theme of thirst for

knowledge was to be dramatized with full success in Tennyson’s

later poem, “Ulysses.”

Looking back to his student days some forty years later, the poet

complained that “there was a want of love at Cambridge then,”

and one of his Cambridge poems attests to this lack.24 Others have

left testimony in the same vein.25 Darwin seems to have had a flair

for getting around the pale that separated dons from undergradu¬

ates, but even Darwin’s reputation as “the man who walks with

Henslow” is perhaps evidence of the rarity of such a relationship.

Whatever remoteness the ordinary student may have felt from the

official agents of his college and from the university, it remains a

fact that Tennyson set himself after his return home to Somersby

a program of studies which, along with history, languages, and

theology, included botany, chemistry, mechanics, electricity, and

“animal physiology.”26 Whatever the personal deficiencies he may

have found at the several levels of instruction, Cambridge had

impressed him with the impersonal significance of the natural

sciences.

No impulse to enroll himself in the ranks of the scientists seems

ever to have seized Tennyson ; he remained the poet. His responses

to scientific inquiry were ultimately and most importantly esthetic ;

he translated into poetry that enthusiasm for knowledge which men

23 Ibid., I, 59.

24 Ibid., I, 67-68.

s* See Merivale, Autobiography , p. 58 ; L.yell Travels, II, 230. Winstanley deals with

college tutors’ abuse of their prerogative in setting examinations, Unreformed Cam¬

bridge, p. 64. The Royal Commission found similar instances of the college tutors'

autonomy. “Report,” p. 64.

20 Memoir, I, 124.

230 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

like Whewell and Henslow and Sedgwick exemplified. To know as

science made one know was to be energized, not enervated, and the

recurrently melancholic Tennyson — Auden has said with truth “he

knew all that was to be known about melancholy’’27 seized eagerly

upon a life-affirmation as vigorous as the one offered by science.

But there was a further attraction. The method of science, the

insistence upon sensory data as the groundwork of all speculative

thought, found in Tennyson a particularly receptive student. A

close and acute if not especially systematic observer he had always

been. Indeed, his insistence upon factual accuracy drove him to

sometimes amusing extremes. But he knew also that sense experi¬

ence could be indulged in as an end in itself, luxuriant, voluptuous,

riotous. His father’s sermons back at Somersby had ominously

pointed out the dangers of such tendencies;28 Arthur Hall am like¬

wise had called it “dangerous for frail humanity to linger in the

vicinity of the senses”;129 James Spedding, another college friend,

found fault in Tennyson’s “over-indulgence in the luxuries of the

senses,”30 and Tennyson himself moralized most impressively on

the self-same vice in “The Lotos Eaters,” confirming all warnings

that had been issued to himself.

From this difficulty science offered a way out, for science carried

the human capacity for sense perception beyond mere sensory ex¬

perience and built from sense perception a body of organized

knowledge which charmed by its orderliness. Here was a delight

far less open to censure, either from oneself or others, and yet here

too a danger lurked : the vice of intellectual pride. Again, the men

and books of Cambridge enter the picture. Whewell in his Of a

Liberal Education in General was to grapply directly and by infer¬

ence with this danger. During Tennyson’s years, the need for tem¬

pering the pride of the scientist could hardly have been far from

Whewell’s mind, for he had declared publicly, in the year before

Tennyson’s coming up, that

The most capacious intellects of Christian times have found

room for the love of knowledge without expelling the love of

God. Especially would I point to two names by the common

consent of all, the greatest in the records of this modern phil¬

osophy; [Newton and Bacon,] the great Conqueror and the

great Legislator . . . rebelled not against their Maker.31

27 Tennyson: An Introduction, and a Selection (London, 1946).

29 W. D. Paden, Tennyson in Egypt, University of Kansas Humanistic Studies, No. 27

(Lawrence, 1942), p. 21.

20 Review of Tennyson’s Poems, Chiefly Lyrical, in The Englishman’s Magazine,

1831. (Reprinted in Remains in Verse and Prose (London, 1863), p. 297.)

30 Memoir, I, 97.

81 From the first of four sermons delivered in Trinity College Chapel in February,

1827. Todhunter, I, 324.

231

1957] Tietze— Tennyson and Science

The younger Herschel had written, with Whewell’s warm appro¬

bation, that

Nothing can be more unfounded than the objection which has

been taken, in limine, by persons well meaning perhaps, cer¬

tainly narrow-minded, against the study of natural philosophy

—that it fosters in its cultivators an undue and overweening

self-conceit, that it leads them to doubt the immortality of the

soul and to scoff at revealed religion. Its natural effect we may

confidently assert on every well-constituted mind is and must

be the direct contrary.32

Tennyson, with a surer instinct than Herschel’s for the various

rebellious -isms which were to arise later in the century, accom¬

panied his call for fuller knowledge with another appeal :

Let knowledge grow from more to more,

But more of reverence in us dwell. . . .

and again,

Make knowledge circle with the winds

But let her herald, Reverence, fly

Before her to whatever sky.

While yet a student, he reflected the temper prevailing at Cam¬

bridge when he wrote

O God make great this age that we may be

As giants in thy praise.33

One cannot point to Cambridge in the late 1820’s as a model of

efficiency in the teaching of the natural sciences, but at the same

time there is no denying that the university was in process of

according those studies the attention they deserved. Tennyson

absorbed what he needed from the accumulated body of knowledge

in the several departments- — enough to place himself somewhere

above the rank of dilettante- — and more important, he absorbed at

Cambridge an attitude, a frame of mind in which science stood as

one of the master affirmations of human life. Tennyson had shown

a genuine insight into the suicide’s psychology when he wrote these

stanzas :

No life that breathes with human breath

Has ever truly long’d for death.

’Tis life whereof our nerves are scant

O, life, not death, for which we pant;

More life, and fuller, that I want.

32 Discourse, p. 7.

33 “To Poesy,” Memoir, I, 60.

282 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

The sciences furnished a potent and, for Tennyson, a necessary

answer to this cry. At the same time, the men of Cambridge antici¬

pated and moderated the impulse to exult in the achievements of

science. Even the most accomplished scientist was but the darkly-

wise detector of causes. The glory of nature belonged not to man,

not to science, but to God. Science and religion, “sense and soul,”

accorded well at Cambridge. In later years Tennyson was to hope

that this “one music” could be regained.

THE VEGETATION OF DODGE COUNTY, WISCONSIN

1833-1837

Herbert E. Neuenschwander

University of Wisconsin*

This study of the vegetation of Dodge County was initiated for

the purpose of determining the character of the vegetation existing

prior to the advent of settlement by the white man.

The land comprising Dodge County lies within the Rock River

lowland between the gentle backslope of the Magnesian limestone

cuesta and the steep escarpment of the Niagara cuesta. The entire

county is overlain with Cary age Wisconsin glacial drift, and the

topography is characterized by gently rolling or level land in the

central and northwestern part, and drumlins in the east, south and

southwest. Elevations above sea level vary from 823 feet at Reese-

ville in the southwest to 1,044 feet at Knowles in the northeastern

part. The streams which figure prominently in the distribution of

vegetation are the Wildcat Creek and the Rock, Crawfish, and

Beaver Dam Rivers.

The data on the vegetation of 1833 to 1837 were collected by

government surveyors. These surveys cover the section lines of each

township. On each quarter section corner and on each section cor¬

ner, witness trees were marked and recorded. In addition, sizable

trees along each section line were recorded, and general summaries

of the principal trees were given at the end of each line, as well as

at the completion of each township. Surveys were generally con¬

ducted from June to January, each township requiring about seven

to nine days and over a hundred miles of walking. Altogether, a

total of 6,246 trees of twenty-five species were recorded and also

considerable information about Indian trails and activity. These

records were studied in detail by Norman C. Fassett and the writer.

Acknowledgments

I wish to extend grateful acknowledgment to the late Norman C.

Fassett of the Botany Department of the University of Wisconsin

for his invaluable assistance in the interpretation of data, sugges¬

tions and guidance in all phases of the work, and his critical review

of this manuscript.

I am also grateful to Tester S. Baaken of the State Land Office

for assistance in securing the original surveyors’ records and to

* Present address : Hustisford, Wisconsin.

233

234 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

William W. Morris, Forester, of the U.S. Department of Agricul¬

ture for providing Land Economic Inventory maps of Dodge

County from which numerous comparisons could be made.

Vegetation Types

Seven types of vegetation have been determined from the inter¬

pretation of the surveyors’ records of Dodge County dating back

to the years between 1834 and 1837. There were prairie, sedge-

meadow, oak opening, oak-hickory and maple-basswood. In addi¬

tion, two kinds of swamp were recognized, the coniferous swamps

of tamarack and the hardwood swamps of black ash and elm or

willow.

Prairie

Prairie formations, characterized by red root, rosinweed and

buffalo grass occupied a considerable portion of the central and

northwestern part of the county.

A characteristic description of the prairie lands, on the line

between sections 4 and 5 of township 12 north range 13 east, in

January of 1835, reads as follows :

at 7.50 a ravine

40.00 set quarter section post and raised a mound

79.18 intersect north boundary at post — land gently rolling first-rate

prairie — growth of grass and weeds

Another description of oak woods and prairie was found on the

line between sections 10 and 11 of township 13 north range 14 east:

at 10.001 marsh

14.00 left marsh

15.73 Bur oak 24"

40.00 bur oak 8" S 25° E 79L2

bur oak 28" N 52° W 106L

42.54 bur oak 12"

46.00 leave timber and enter prairie

80.00 set post and raised a mound of earth and sod. Land first half

mile bur and white oak timber. Last half mile first-rate prairie.

Growth of grass and weeds.

The distribution of prairie plants coincide rather closely with the

level or moderately rolling lands of outwash origin, where marshes

were few and streams were small. Most of the prairie was found

west of the Rock River having its center around Fox Lake, the

greatest part lying between the marsh of the Beaver Dam River on

the west and the Horicon marsh on the east.

1 These figures indicate the number of chains and links from the section corner

beginning at the south end of each line and going north.

2 The number “8” indicates the diameter of the tree at breast height. This bur oak

stood 40 chains north of the corner post, 25° east of south, at a distance of 79 links

from the post. One link is 7.92 inches. One mile is 80 chains.

1957] N euenschwander — Dodge County Vegetation 235

Since it is thought that the prairies of this state were maintained

primarily by fire, we have only to note that the center of activity

of the Winnebago Indians within the county was at Fox Lake

where more than a dozen camps and villages were known to have

existed as recently as 1830. Annual fires which overran the prairie

were due to various causes such as the driving of game animals,

ceremonial torches, Indian battles, signaling and accidental out¬

breaks arising at camps. Many trails and camp sites of the redmen

were associated with prairie areas throughout the county.

Occasionally, a prairie area was found adjacent to a tamarack

swamp, as in sections 34 and 35 of township 10 north range 17

east. Although such close proximity rarely occurred, the most log¬

ical explanation seems to have been controlled burning by the

Indian encampment in section 35.

The largest single prairie areas in Dodge County covered parts

of township 13 north range 14 east, 13 north range 13 east, 12

north range 14 east, 12 north range 15 east, and 12 north range

13 east.

Wet or low prairies, though not common, were usually located

with respect to the headwaters of some small streams, the most

prominent areas being recorded for sections 25, 35, and 36 of town¬

ship 10 north range 16 east, and in sections 11, 12, 25 and 26 of

township 11 north range 14 east. Some areas of wet prairie also

existed in the riverbottoms, as in sections 25, 35, 36 and 19 of

township 10 north range 13 east, near the Crawfish River. These

wet prairies are believed to be due more to the seasonal fluctua¬

tions of water than to any permanent cause.

In general, then, the prairie lands of this county were influenced

by topography, drainage, and the presence of the Indian inhabi¬

tants. The natural firebreak of the Rock River and the Horicon

Marsh also did much to discourage the growth of prairie grasses

east of that river.

As settlement of the county advanced, some of the prairie gave

way to agriculture, and with the cessation of fires, the remainder

soon gave way to forest growth. An oak-hickory woods is now

occupying a part of section 29 of township 12 north range 15 ‘east,

which was once prairie, and similarly, a maple and basswood forest

has invaded the prairie in section 25 of township 12 north range

14 east. The examples of succession, however, are few, and most of

the original lands are now crop lands.

Marshes or Sedge-Meadow

In the area of marshland, Dodge County has always ranked

among the highest in the state and a comparison with the records

236 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

of the Land Economic Inventory (1939) shows that the county still

ranks second in the state with as much as 21 % of its land in marsh.

Early surveyors were generally agreed on the use of the term

“marsh” and used it with reference to areas having a growth of

grass, sedge, and flags. Occasionally, beds of wild rice were noted,

particularly on the more sluggish streams adjacent to the marshes.

Marsh lands were usually surveyed during late fall and winter to

avoid difficulties of travel and in one case, that of Horicon Marsh,

final surveys were postponed several times due to the rather high

and constant water level.

Marshes were more dependent upon topography than any other

existing floral type and their general distribution follows the region

of drumlins. The south and west are dotted rather heavily with

long narrow stretches of marsh running north and south in low

areas between the drumlins, while the east is devoid of marshes for

the most part. Some marshes have extensive east and west connec¬

tions, such as the one in township 10 north range 15 east, which

constitutes the drainage system of the Dead Creek.

Both the headwaters of streams and the river bottoms have also

contributed to the sedge-meadow areas of the county. The Beaver

Dam and Crawfish Rivers once had considerable marsh areas, but

the largest single marsh was one above Horicon, at the headwaters

of the Rock River. Frequently referred to as the “Grand Marsh”,

the area above the present city of Horicon comprised more than

30,000 acres and occupied a shallow basin once a glacial lake. This

marsh owed its existence to a natural dike or moraine in the

vicinity of Horicon, as well as to the clay and gravel bed with which

it is underlain.

A. G. Ellis traversing the township 12 north range 15 east on

about January 11, 1837, recorded the following information about

Horicon Marsh:

North between sections 13 and 14

at 13.50 Rock River SE 75L

33.00 Rock River SW 75L

40.00 set quarter section post in marsh

80.00 set post, corner sections 11, 12, 13 and 14. Land all one uniform

marsh — water about three feet deep. January 11, 1837.

North between sections 1 and 2

at 40.00 set quarter section post in marsh

76.90 set post, corner sections 1 and 2 in marsh, no bearings. Land

all marsh. The post on this marsh will not, it is believed, be

exposed to fire; and being of good size and well planted and

marked, may be found for many years.

Further facts concerning the original state of the marsh at Horicon

are given by the same surveyor when he ran lines north between

'sections 4 and 5 and sections 17 and 18 of township 12 north range

16 east:

1957] Neuenschwander — Dodge County Vegetation 237

North between sections 4 and 5

at 40.00 set quarter section post in marsh

78.42 town line 1.13 links west — post set in marsh. Land all marsh.

This marsh is nearly a lake 3 to 4 feet deep with high banks

bold and well defined. Good land on the border.

North between sections 17 and 18

at 40.00 set quarter section post in marsh

80.00 set corner post in marsh. Land all marsh. The posts on this

marsh are large and set deep and it does not appear to be

often run over with fire. They may stand for years. January

27, 1837.

Occasionally, sedge-meadows came into existence because of a rock

outcrop, as can be seen in township 10 and 11 north of range 16

east. At Hustisford, a three quarter mile of rapids, formed by

Richmond shale (rising to the surface 7 feet above the ordinary

level of the bed of Rock River) created a marsh well over 2,000

acres in extent.

Other marsh lands of considerable size existed along the course

of the Rock River, and a glance at the map will demonstrate the

fact that marshes were usually associated with oak openings on

low elevations and with oak-hickory forest on the higher elevation

west of the Rock River. East of this river, however, marshes were

limited to the course of streams which were suitable and were

almost non-existent in the absence of streams.

The noticeable absence of sedge-meadows in the rolling topog¬

raphy east of Rock River may have been due to the presence of

numerous small fast-flowing streams which resulted in better

drainage among the maple forested hills. Better drainage permitted

the growth of swamp hardwoods and tamarack between the hills,

rather than marsh grasses which require more constant moisture.

As might be expected, many of the former marsh areas have

dried up since they were first recorded; some have been drained

and still others have become the basins of artificially created lakes.

Some evidence of plant succession has been found on marsh areas,

although in most places, these areas have remained in substan¬

tially the same state that they were in more than a century ago.

In section 15 of township 10 north range 16 east, the former

meadow is today cropland, and in section 22 of township 11 north

range 16 east, the land is now covered with a growth of tag-alder

and dogwood. In section 27 of township 10 north range 16 east,

the marsh is today covered with such species of trees as black ash

and elm.

Equally interesting is the fact that some areas once a prairie,

tamarack or black ash and elm swamp have since become marsh

areas by the removal of trees and the damming of streams.

238 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

NATIVE VEGETATION OF DODGE COUNTY, WISCONSIN

1834-1837

Marsh

Oak Opening

Swamp Conifers

Oak Scrub

Oak Hickory

High Prairie

■ \ Maple - Basswood

Swamp Hardwood

SIP

Low Prairie

Figure 1

1957] N euenschw under — Dodge County Vegetation 239

Oak Openings

If one were to compare the extent of the land once covered by

oak openings with other types of vegetation in this county, one

would see that it ranks second only to the maple-basswood area.

However, except for a small section in the extreme northern part

lying east of the Horicon marsh, there was no oak opening area

east of the Rock River.

Of the four types of oak openings represented, the bur and black

oak openings were most frequent and formed the predominant type

in areas closely adjacent to the prairie and, therefore, frequently

overrun by fire.

In other areas receiving more protection from fires, another type

of oak opening, composed of white and bur oak trees, was found.

This type was probably more recent in origin than the bur and

black oak opening, and the degree of its invasion of the prairie

probably varied with the amount of time between successive prairie

fires. Many oak openings were also composed of bur, black and

white oak trees and these are thought to be an indication of an

invading oak-hickory stage primarily because of the sensitivity of

white oaks to fire.

A fourth type of opening consisted of almost pure stands of

scattered bur oaks. These trees were perhaps the first to be estab¬

lished as groves on the prairie and were the least sensitive to fire.

The open crown and light shade of bur oaks leads one to believe

that these trees were not responsible for initiating any changes

toward the succession of other trees.

The presence of large bur oak trees within the oak-hickory forest

not far distant indicates their ability to coexist in the forest as well

as on the prairie. Since many of the individual bur oaks had

attained diameters above 30 inches and even up to 40 inches with

an estimated age of over 200 years, it is conceivable that they with¬

stood the periodic menace of prairie fires. Their age might also

suggest that they outlived oak-hickory stages, remained scattered,

and maintained their independence of local vegetation.

From the evidence available in the records of this county, bur

oak openings cannot be considered as an intermediate step between

the prairie and the oak-hickory forests.

A typical bur oak opening such as the following may have been

one reason for the numerous bur oaks (1738) being recorded for

this county. This number was twice that of any other species :

North between sections 9 and 10 of township 12 north range 15 east

at 8.05 bur oak 4"

40.00 quarter section corner

bur oak 10" S 36° E 1.86b

bur oak 10" N 41° W 0.97L

240 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

Land rolling second-rate bur oak openings.

To illustrate other types of oak openings, the following may be

quoted :

North, between sections 35 and 36 of township 13 north range 14 east

at 4.92 bur oak 10"

North between sections 32 andi 33 of township 10 north range 16 east

From the above illustration and those that follow, it may be seen

that the undergrowth of the oak openings throughout the county

consisted either of prairie plants or “grass and weeds”.

Bur and black oak openings existed in sections 27 and 28 of

township 18 north range 14 east and were further characterized as

follows :

North between sections 27 and 28

at 30.00 left prairie

1957] N euenschwander — Dodge County Vegetation 241

80.00 corner to sections 21, 22, 27 and 28

black oak 18" N 77° E 70

black oak 19" S 65° E 58

black oak 14" S 32° W 85 marked

black oak 12" S 17° W 79 marked

Land level first rate with bur and black oak timber. Under¬

growth of hazel, grass and weeds.

By noting the location of the above described oak openings, it

may be seen that each area was in all probability traversed by wind

and fire and that each combination was dominated by the larger

and older bur oak trees. From the remarks concerning the type of

undergrowth and those indicating the tree diameter, it may be

inferred that the bur oak openings were maintained by fire, while

the other types of oak opening were probably destroyed occasion¬

ally by such fires.

Some workers have advanced the idea that the distribution of

the oak openings in the 1830’s indicates an area which was once a

prairie when the climate was warm and dry, and that the bur oaks,

as well as the other oak trees, have only recently come in. Such a

contention seems quite plausible, but it is now believed that the

Indian population which annually set fire to the prairie grasses was

a factor in maintaining the oak opening.

Many of the virgin trees of Dodge County today are bur oaks

and white oaks, remnants of former oak openings. A typical oak

opening is becoming increasingly hard to find today, but some per¬

manent pastures and golf courses still reveal their former char¬

acter. Permanent pastures having oak trees of a diameter of 12 to

18 inches are usually located in the heart of the original oak open¬

ing areas; examples may be found today in sections 27 and 34 of

township 12 north range 15 east.

As in the case of the prairie and the marshes, there are also some

evidences of floral succession during the last century. In section 21

of township 12 north range 14 east, oak and hickory have replaced

the oak opening, while in section 29 of township 10 north range 15

east, the maple and basswood forest now predominates what was

once oak opening. Many similar examples could be cited through¬

out the county.

Oak-Hickory Forest

The major oak and hickory forests of the county occupied the

areas between the larger rivers and were concentrated mainly in

five townships along the southern boundary.

Interpretations of oak forest were based upon the presence of

the following species and their associated undergrowth ; bur, black

and white oak, cherry, elm, aspen and hickory with undergrowth

composed of hazel, white oak, aspen, briars and vines.

242 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

More specifically, typical oak woods were described as follows by

the early surveyors :

On the line between sections 35 and 36 of township 12 north range 13 east

at 8.09 black oak 14"

15.98 black oak 18"

21.64 aspen 24"

25.50 black oak 18"

39.25 aspen 18"

40.00 quarter section corner

hickory 12" S 37° W 10

hickory 10" N 45° W 23

48.00 hickory 10"

58.00 aspen 18"

63.95 black oak 14"

73.38 aspen 18"

77.90 aspen 18"

80.00 corner to sections 25, 26, 35 and 36

aspen 14" S 14° W 48

black oak 18" S 53° E 33

black oak 18" N 31° E 27 marked

black oak 40" N 64° W 28 marked

Land level second rate with bur and black oak, aspen and

hickory. Undergrowth hazel, aspen and white oak.

On the line between sections 32 and 33 of township 12 north range 13 east

at 7.70 white oak 18"

11.64 bur oak 24"

27.00 white oak 14"

39.34 elm 18"

40.00 quarter section corner

elm 24" S 68° W 10 marked

elm 14" N 86° E 37 marked

49.68 white oak 18"

51.35 bur oak 28"

69.32 bur oak 18"

77.62 black oak 14"

80.00 corner to sections 28, 29, 32 and 33

red oak 14" S 75° E 47

bur oak 14" S 60° W 44

bur oak 18" N 33° E 49

bur oak 18" N 65° W 13

Land level second rate with bur, red and white oak, elm, aspen.

Undergrowth of aspen, hazel, white oak, briars and vines.

Not all of the interpretations drawn from the records were as

clear cut as those above and there were many instances where

transitional states existed. To illustrate the difficulty of accurately

determining some of the descriptions, we may cite the following

two examples :

North between sections 3 and 4 of township 10 north range 14 east

at 21.78 bur oak 14"

40.00 quarter section corner

lynn 10"

55.21 lynn 10"

1957] N euenschwander— Dodge County Vegetation

243

77.46 lynn 18" S 2° W 42

ironwood 10" S 72° E 46

Land rolling second rate. White, black and bur oak, lynn, elm,

ash, ironwood and white walnut. September 9, 1836.

North between sections 32 and 33 of township 11 north range 14 east

at 16.68 white oak 24"

21.18 elm 14"

24.12 lynn 18"

37.08 white oak 12"

40.00 quarter section corner

lynn 14" S 79° W 16

red oak 18" S 72° E 16

51.38 elm 14"

58.60 elm 18"

63.86 cherry 10"

76.52 bur oak 36"

80.00 corner to sections

lynn 14" N 86° E 36

iron 10" S 31° E 39

cherry 14" S 66° W 16 marked

iron 18" N 78° W 14 marked

Land level first rate timber; all varieties of oak, hickory, elm,

aspen, lynn, cherry and walnut.

The foregoing illustrates that the area is still in the oak-hickory

stage, but that the maples and basswoods are invading and will

soon become the dominating species.

Several transitional lines are shown on the map, and the bound¬

ary interpretations cannot be too strict. Such transitions exist be¬

tween the oak-hickory forests and the maple-basswood forests and

are also found where the oak openings approach the oak-hickory

forest.

In regard to the pattern of distribution of the oak-hickory forest,

several interesting things may be noted. The midwest and southern

distribution follows very closely the course of the Beaver Dam and

Crawfish Rivers and is more generally determined by the degree of

protection from fire which was afforded by the wet marshes. In

many areas, the oaks and hickories encroached upon the grasses

and the bur oaks of the oak openings only when the local fires

ceased to occur.

Although oak forests formerly occupied less than one third of

the area of the county, they are today found scattered throughout,

but contrary to what one might expect they are still less extensive

than the maples and basswoods.

Numerous examples throughout the records of vegetation have

shown the existence of oak woods which presumably invaded the

prairie or perhaps succeeded a black or white oak opening. Such

areas were nearly devoid of large bur oaks, and in some cases, had

no bur oak at all. This corroborates an earlier view that bur oaks

244 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

or bur oak openings are not essential in successional stages from

the prairie to oak woods. It further illustrates the chance factor by

which certain species of oaks invade and become established when

suitable conditions obtain.

As previously mentioned, oak forests were most extensive on the

west side of Rock River, but there were also several minor areas

east of the river. One in particular, lying between the Horicon

marsh on the west and the Rock River on the north and east and

otherwise surrounded by maple basswood forests, had all the char¬

acteristics of an oak forest, and was undoubtedly due to the Indian

habitation, judging from the great number of mounds and several

villages known to have been located in the same region.

Other evidences of oak woods were found in townships 13 north

range 16 east and 13 north range 17 east. The type of oak woods

indicated can best be referred to as “scrub oak” and was located

on the boundary between the oak openings of the north and the

maple and basswood forest of the south. A summary of township

13 north range 17 east, in June, 1836, read as follows:

'‘Northern part of township is high dry land with thin soil. A strip extend¬

ing across the township 2 to 3 miles wide is covered with a “thicket” of hazel,

plum, thorn, aspen and no timber it having been destroyed by wind and fire.”

Another brief description of the area may be had (from the line

between sections 19 and 20 of township 13 north range 17 east)

from the pen of A. G. Ellis :

North between sections 19 and 20

at 8.13 white oak 20"

23.50 spring brook 10L; the spring is about 50L. west of the line,

has pure cold water and a limestone bottom.

40.00 quarter section corner

aspen 3" N 39° W 31

cherry 3" N 60° 30' E 38

57.35 white oak 30"

80.00 corner to sections 17, 18, 19 and 20

aspen 3" N 57° 30' W 16

aspen 3" N 34° 30' E 27

Land second rate, level, thinly timbered white and black oak,

aspen. Whole mile a thicket of thorn, hazel, aspen, plum, and

prickly ash.

These descriptions are representative of the “thickets” lying

between the large Indian encampments on the west and the main

Lake Winnebago to Milwaukee trail on the east. The presence of

thorn, evidentally referring to hawthorne, is due to the limestone

soils of the Niagara escarpment, and the aspen was due to fire. The j

occurrence of oak forests east of Rock River can thus be seen to

have their origin as well as their maintenance due to Indian occu¬

pation and annual fires. The nature of the undergrowth in the oak-

1957] N euensckwander — Dodge County Vegetation

245

hickory association, as well as in other associations, was considered

essential to the interpretation of all types of vegetation throughout

this study. Of particular interest, was the presence of prickly ash

together with hazel, oak and vines. Prickly ash has frequently been

thought of as a sign of disturbance, but its universal presence in

INDIAN TRAILS AND VILLA® Of DODtE COUNTY

183b

R-I3-E R-I4--E R-I5-E R-lfc-E R-ll-E

oak forests and throughout the transition stages between the oak

forest and the most mature maple-basswood forests, may well indi¬

cate that its occurrence is a natural one and not due to a disturb¬

ance.

In general, the oak-hickory forests of a hundred years ago have

now increased their range on the west side of Rock River, but are

found only in former oak opening or oak forest areas on the east

side of that river. Along with extension of range, there has been a

246 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

replacement of oak openings by oak woods. A considerable portion

of the original oak woods has remained unchanged while still other

oak woods have been replaced completely by the succession of maple

and basswood.

Maple-basswood

Maple-basswood is considered to be the climax forest type in this

state, and the Rock River is essentially the western boundary of

the most extensive maple forests in the southeastern counties.

There is, however, some indication that this forest east of the river

comprised a belt of about 8 to 10 miles wide and, therefore, should

not be considered as stretching all the way eastward to Lake Michi¬

gan. This formation as found west of the river comprised only a

few small areas. Maple-basswood made up about one third of the

total area of the county.

Descriptions taken from a summary of one township reveal the

characteristic composition of a maple forest as follows :

Township 8 north range 17 east

“The soil is yellowish clay and black or ashy loam. Oak, sugar, lynn, ash,

elm, ironwood, white and black walnut. Tamarack. The township is covered

with small brush and undergrowth of prickly ash, hazel, oak, thorn, plum and

Vines. Prairies are small and second rate of prairie grass and rose willow.”

(June 1836.)

More specific are descriptions of various other section lines. A

mature maple-basswood forest devoid of undergrowth was de¬

scribed for the line between sections 11 and 12 of township 9 north

range 16 east:

North between sections 11 and 12

at 36.00 leave marsh

40.00 quarter section corner

sugar 12" N 64° W 11L

sugar 8" S 86° 30' E 15L

48.48 elm 18"

64.65 white walnut 14"

80.00 corner to sections 1, 2, 11 and 12

sugar 10" S 15° E 33L

sugar 12" N 33° 30' E 24L

Land except marsh rolling second rate. White oak, black oak,

lynn, ash, elm, ironwood and white walnut. No undergrowth.

Another description reads as follows :

North between sections 9 and 10 of township 10 north range 17 east

at 12.50 stream 4C

15.51 white oak 12"

29.33 sugar 11"

40.00 quarter section corner

beech 12" S 16° 30' W 34

beech 11" S 67° E 36

1957] N euenschwander — Dodge County Vegetation 247

55.34 white walnut 10"

70.86 sugar 14"

80.00 corner to sections

white ash 9" S 63° E 30

sugar 10" S 88° W 15

Land rolling second rate. White and black oak, lynn, sugar, ash,

beech, iron, elm, and white walnut. Undergrowth prickly ash,

oak and ironwood.

Maple-basswood forest similar to those just described covered

most of the land in the eastern part of the county east of the Rock

River and was conspicuously absent from the lands west of the

river, except in portions of townships 9 north range 14 east, 10

north range 14 east, and 11 north range 14 east, all of which lie in

the valley of the Beaver Dam and Crawfish Rivers.

The limited distribution of maple-basswood west of the Rock

River is again related to the lack of protection from prairie fires,

and only occasionally did a forest of this type become established

west of a river, as was the case in township 9 north range 14 east

near the junction of the two main rivers. It is readily apparent

from the map that considerably more protection from fire was

required for the establishment of maple forests than was necessary

for oak forests. In the eastern part of the county, the success of

the maple and basswoods was due to the great expanse of the

Horicon marsh, as well as the uniformly effective fire-break

afforded by the Rock River all the way south to the southern

boundary line of the county. Furthermore, when a comparison of

tree diameters was made of all townships having a range of 16 and

17 east within the county, it seemed that the most abrupt and con¬

sistent increase in size of such species as white oak, black oak,

sugar maple and lynn, occurred in township 10 north. This increase

in diameter, which proceeded northward from the southern bound¬

ary of Dodge County, suggests that the transition line between the

late stages of oak-hickory or early stages of maple-basswood, and

the more mature maple-basswoods was also best illustrated in

township 10 north. For all purposes then, it may be said that

though the maple-basswood forest predominated the lands east of

Rock River, it was in its earliest stage of development in township

9 north 17 east, and in its latest stage in 13 north 17 east.

As far as can be determined from the information available, the

maple forests were little affected by the Indian occupation of the

lands and the establishment of this climax stage was rather the

result of the passing of time and of its development east of Rock

River.

The climax forest has also exhibited the transitional state wher¬

ever oak openings and oak woods were found immediately adjacent,

248 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

and there is considerable gradation in these ..areas --along the Beaver

Dam and Crawfish Rivers.

In one respect, the maple-basswood forest differs from the other

vegetation types of this county and that is in the matter of plant

successions. Maple forests as a type usually continue indefinitely to

succeed themselves unless disturbed. This ability to continue indefi¬

nitely has probably been the main factor in the uniformity shown

throughout the entire area east of Rock River. As far as succession

is concerned, this vegetation type is just the same today as it was

a century ago in most of its former range except, perhaps, where

lumbering or agriculture has reduced its dominance.

West of the Rock River, the maple forest today equals and will

probably soon exceed the oak and hickory forests, due more to the

phenomenon of succession than any other single factor. The maples

and basswoods have been remarkably successful in invading much

of the original oak forest and oak openings and some of the prairies

and have thus extended their range on this side of the river.

Tamarack Swamps

Tamarack swamps covered the smallest land area of any vege¬

tation type in the 1830’s. The general picture of these swamps was

one of a succession to black ash and elm, although nearly pure

stands were also recorded.

For a description of a tamarack existing in June, 1836, we may

refer to the record from the pen of John A. Brink :

North between sections 10 and 11 of township 9 north range 17 east

at 9.09 ironwood 9"

12.00 enter tamarack swamp

30.72 tamarack 8"

40.00 quarter section corner

tamarack 10" N 88° W 12

tamarack 8" S 80° E 12

53.12 tamarack 10"

63.50 lea,ve tamarack swamp

73.66 black oak 9"

74.50 enter tamarack swamp

79.50 leave tamarack swamp

80.00 corner to sections 2, 3, 10 and 11

ironwood 9" N 9° E .09

bur oak 11" S 65° E .09

Land except swamp rolling second rate white and black oak,

sugar, elm, lynn, ash, cherry, ironwood and tamarack. Under¬

growth of prickly ash, oak, hazel, alder, vines.

1957] N euenschwander — Dodge County Vegetation

249

Another description from the handbook of A. G. Ellis reads as

follows :

North between sections 21 and 22 of township 12 north range 17 east

at 20.79 tamarack 15"

40.00 quarter section corner

tamarack 14" S 20° E 18

tamarck 3" N 61° W .09

66.00 leave swamp

68.30 elm 12"

80.00 corner to sections 15, 16, 21 and 22

lynn 24" N 53° W 39

elm 12" S 61° 30' E 41

Land first 66 chains tamarack and black ash swamp. Remainder

first rate lynn, sugar, elm, ironwood, white and black oak.

Since coniferous swamps are near the southern limit of their

range in Dodge County, it is not surprising that they were not

extensive and that their largest concentration was confined to only

three townships. These townships in order of acreage of tamarack

swamp were: 9 north range 17 east, 11 north range 16 east and

12 north range 17 east.

The western half of the county had practically no tamarack

swamps, the possibility of their existence having been eliminated

by recurrent prairie fires. In three isolated locations, however,

islands of tamarack surrounded by marsh or oak forests existed.

These islands occurred in townships 9 north range 13 east, 11 north

range 13 east and 12 north range 13 east.

The growth of tamarack swamps among the maple-basswood

forests on the east side of Rock River depended upon the existence

of rather low and wet marshy places, and tamarack trees frequently

grew in these marshy areas or adjacent to them. Occasionally, the

swamps were associated with a stream or its headwater tributaries,

as in the case of the Wildcat Creek in township 11 north range 16

east, and the Rubicon River in township 10 north range 16 east.

These tamarack swamps are only the remnants of a former more

extensive growth of conifers in southern Wisconsin. Only a few

scattered trees having diameters of over 16 inches, however, were

recorded and it may be assumed that these swamps existed for over

200 years before the time of the survey.

Of all the vegetation types discussed in this paper, the prairie

has most nearly become extinct, and second only to the prairie has

been the reduction of tamarack. In its original range, there are now

many evidences of disturbance or succession although in some

areas, an almost pure stand still exists today. Agriculture, drought,

and disease have worked together to encourage the growth of alder,

dogwood and willow, or black ash and elm where tamarack once

stood. In addition, some areas are now mainly marsh while still

250 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

others have been invaded by maples and basswoods. At the present

rate of destruction by drainage and grazing, it seems very probable

that tamarack trees will have made their last stand long before the

turn of another century.

Black Ash and Elm Swamps

The last type of vegetation to be considered in the history of the

flora of this county is another swamp formation composed of black

ash and elm.

Long before the early surveyors traversed these lands, tamarack

swamps undoubtedly covered much of what was recorded as black

ash and elm in the 1830’s. The ash and elm swamps are generally

considered as an advanced stage of succession in a wooded swamp.

An example of the kind of swamp under discussion may be had

from a description of the line between sections 1 and 2 of township

12 north range 17 east :

North between sections 1 and 2

at .50 a river 50L

5.00 bend of river

7.00 leave bend of river

26.60 black ash 12"

40.00 quarter section corner

black ash 14" S 14° E 15

maple 15" N 4° 30' E 36

60.90 black ash 14"

75.77 river 50L

78.38 town line 44L west of post — set post to corner of sections 1

and 2

Land all swamp. Black ash and elm, maple, willow, alder. June

28, 1836.

A similar account was given for the line between sections 16 and

17 of township 11 north range 16 east:

at 18.73 sugar 14"

39.00 enter swamp

40.00 quarter section corner

elm 12" N 58° W 18

black ash 10" N 74° E 37

71.50 leave swamp

80.00 corner to sections 8, 9, 16 and 17

aspen 12" S 69° W 87

white oak 12" N 64° W 1.26

Land first half mile first rate sugar lynn, oak and ironwood.

North one half a black ash and alder swamp.

These swamps were usually associated with streams and marshes

and were found with or in close proximity to the tamarack trees,

and in almost every instance, the location of these swamp hard-

1957] N euenschwander-— Dodge County Vegetation

251

woods on low ground coincided with the distribution of maple and

basswood forests on the neighboring high ground.

As was the case with tamarack swamps, the distribution of ash

and elm swamps rarely occurred in the western part of the county

west of Rock River. Only two townships, 9 north range 14 east and

11 north range 14 east, had any significant areas of swamp. East¬

ern Dodge County, however, with its abundance of sugar maple

forests had considerable areas of ash and elm within four town¬

ships, among which were the following: 9 north range 17 east,

10 north range 16 east, 11 north range 16 east and 12 north range

17 east.

Perhaps the greatest factor limiting a broader range of hard¬

wood swamp was the degree of moisture of many of the existing

marshes. Only when a marsh was fairly dry and well-drained could

a hardwood swamp become established. True transitional areas, so

characteristic of oak and maple forests, were practically non¬

existent in this type of swamp.

Comparisons of the former range of hardwood swamps with

recent vegetation maps of the Land Economic Inventory (1939)

show that many of the swamps of a century ago are essentially the

same today. In some instances the maple-basswood climax has suc¬

ceeded them, while in the majority of cases, swamp hardwoods

have actually invaded dry marshes. Though these swamps have

suffered a slight reduction in some areas, they have actually

extended their range in many parts of the county.

Source of Data

The exterior lines forming the boundaries of the townships were

surveyed by the following deputy surveyors in the following years :

252 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

Between

The surveyors and dates of survey of the interior lines which

bound the 36 sections within each township were :

Township Range Surveyor Date

9 North 13 East John A. Brink. . . Sept. 24 to Oct. 2, 1836

9 “ 14 “ “ . . Aug. 28 to Sept. 5, 1836

9 “ 15 “ “ . . . Aug. 18 to 27, 1836

Names of Trees Used in the Surveyors’ Records

Alder (Speckled Alder)

Aspen . . .

Beech ................

Black Ash .

Black Oak .

Bur Oak .

Black Walnut

Briars . . . .

Buffalo Grass .........

Cherry (Black) .

Cherry (Red) .

Elm (American) .

Flags .

Hazel (Hazelnut) .

Hickory . .

Ironwood .............

Lynn (Basswood) .

Maple (Red) .

Plum . . .

Prickly Ash . . .

Red Elm .

Red Oak . . .

. Alnus rugosa

. Populus sp.

. Fagus grandifolia

. . . Fraxinus nigra

. Quercus ellopsoidalis

. Quercus macrocarpa

. Juglans nigra

. Rubus sp.

. Bouteloua hirsuta

. Prunus serotina

. Prunus pensylvanica

. Ulmus americana

. Iris sp.

. Corylus americana

. Carya sp.

. . . Ostrya virginiana

. .Tilia americana

. Acer rubrum

. Prunus americana

Zanthoxylum americanum

. Ulmus fulva

. . Quercus rubra

254 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

Red Root. . .

Rose Willow .

Rosinweed (Compass Plant)

Sedge .

Sugar (Sugar Maple) .

Tamarack .

Thorn (Hawthorne) .

White Ash . .

White Oak . .

White Walnut (Butternut) .

Wild Rice .

Ceanothus americanus

. . . Cornus stolonifera

. . Silphium laciniatun

. . Carex sp.

. .Acer saccharum

. : . Larix laricina

. Crataegus sp.

. . Fraxinus americana

. . . Quercus alba

. . . . . . Juglans cinerea

.... .Zizania aquatica

DIAPAUSE, AND THE EMBRYO OF THE SARATOGA

SPITTLEBUG

Ronald L. Giese

Department of Entomology, University of Wisconsin

and

Louis Wilson

Department of Biology, Marquette University

The Saratoga spittlebug, Aphrophora saratogensis (Fitch), has

been an economically important forest insect pest for over fifteen

years. It is widely distributed throughout the Lake States where it

often causes severe damage and mortality to young red and jack

pines (Benjamin, et al , 1953). Although the biology has been

worked on extensively, (Anderson, 1945 and Secrest, 1944), little

information is available concerning the embryonic stage. To obtain

a better understanding of the pest, and the environmental factors

influencing its embryonic development, an investigation of the egg

stage was conducted.

Egg

Eggs of the Saratoga spittlebug are laid in late August and Sep¬

tember. Each female is capable of ovipositing as many as 27 eggs

(Anderson, 1947). The deposition site is primarily between the bud

scales on terminal and lateral buds of red pine. Eggs are laid either

singly or in rows of from two to eight. As many as 145 eggs have

been observed in the confines of a single terminal bud. The eggs

are ellipsoid with a slightly curving tip, and are less than 2 mm. in

length. The exochorion is transparent and united to the endochorion

by minute hairs. The endochorion contains a yellow pigment which

often changes to grey or blue.

Diapause

An obligatory quiescent stage, diapause, is experienced by the

embryo of the Saratoga spittlebug in late fall. The average length

of the embryos in diapause is .649 mm. ± .025 S.D. In the diapaus-

ing state, rudiments of legs and mouthparts are apparent, and a

red spot, which is contiguous to the abdominal dorsum in the caudal

region, can be seen.

255

256 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

Eggs collected shortly after oviposition were divided into two

groups. Group I, containing 100 eggs, was incubated at 80 °F. No

eggs in this group differentiated beyond the diapausing stage, and

after two years exposure appear viable.

Eggs in group II, also 100 in number, were subjected to 20°F

for 60 days. Nine first instar nymphs hatched in a minimum period

of 23 days, when reared at 79% humidity and 80 °F. The remainder

differentiated well beyond the diapausing stage and probably would

have hatched, had fungi not inhibited their development.

Diapause Termination

Diapause research has revealed that environmental factors other

than temperature are often instrumental in the initiation and ter¬

mination of diapause. Light and various chemicals may also be

involved. Slifer (1948) showed that diapause could be broken in

grasshopper eggs by exposing them to xylol.

In preliminary studies, diapausing spittlebug eggs were exposed

to a number of chemicals.

Xylol — this application followed Slifers’ method.

Mascerated Red Pine Needles — fresh needles were mascerated

in a food blender and the solution autoclaved. Filter paper i

was saturated with the solution and eggs placed on it. The ,

paper was then inserted into a sterile petri dish.

Mascerated White Pine Needles — same as above.

Control — paper was saturated with distilled water.

The eggs used in these studies had not been exposed to freezing

temperatures; all were sterilized with a dilute solution of sodium

hypochlorite. The groups were held at parallel conditions of tem¬

perature and humidity.

After five days, it appeared that diapause had been terminated

in only one of these groups (Table 1). Eggs subjected to the mas¬

cerated red pine needle solution contained embryos which exceeded

substantially in length, the index (average length of diapausing

embryos) .

TABLE 1

EFFECT OF CHEMICALS ON DIAPAUSE

1957]

Giese & Wilson — Saratoga Spittlebug

257

These studies suggest the possibility that chemicals present at

the site of deposition may, in addition to temperature, be involved

in the termination of diapause. It should be pointed out that cold-

shock is most likely the normal initiator of diapause release. Sec¬

ondly, chemicals which aid in the termination of diapause may

ultimately determine in part, the preference or embryo survival

for one host in comparison with another.

Red Spot

It was previously stated that a red spot is found in the spittlebug

egg. It is probable that the “spot5’ is typical of this species since

in 1250 eggs examined, the spot occurred in over 99%. It was

assumed that the remaining eggs, that lacked the spot, were either

non-viable or dead. The “spot” makes its appearance shortly after

deposition of the egg. None of the eggs dissected from 13 adult

female spittlebugs contained the red spot, even though the embryos

had developed to index length while still within the parent spittle¬

bug.

The spot is spherical and occupies a diameter of about one fourth

the length of the diapausing embryo. After diapause termination

and the development of the embryo continues, the red spot de¬

creases in diameter progressively, until by the twelfth day it has

disappeared (Fig. 1).

o

CL

CD

Q

LU

tr

05

tr

UJ

LlI

I

<

Q

Y= (0. 8 4 7 XO.O 8 5 ) X

r= .964

l% = .526

.5 .6 .7 .8 .9 1.0 l.l. 1.2

LENGTH OF POST DIAPAUSING EMBRYO (mm.)

Figure 1. Relation of the red spot to the developing embryo.

1.3

258 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

The function of this structure is unknown. One idea forwarded

by researchers is that the “spot” is the source of pigment, from

which the abdominal region of the first four instar nymphs derive

their red coloration. Another theory forwarded by the author is

that the red structure is a mycetome, an organ containing symbiotic

micro-organisms, sometimes found in association with the embryos

of certain sucking insects.

No concrete evidence has been found to support either hypoth¬

esis. Further investigations should show the function of the “red

spot” and explain its relation to the development of the embryo.

Summary

Eggs of the Saratoga spittlebug are oviposited in abundance in

bud scales of red pine either singly or in rows of from 2 to 8. As

many as 145 eggs may be deposited in a single bud. The diapausing

mechanism is present in the life history of this species. The embryo

in this stage averages .649 mm. ± .025 in length. Chemicals at the

deposition site may be instrumental in diapause termination. A red

structure, contiguous to and typical of the embryo is found over

99% of the time. This structure decreases in diameter with pro¬

gressive development of the embryo.

Acknowledgments

Sincere appreciation for their continued guidance and interest is

due Alvin L. Throne, Department of Biology at the former Wiscon¬

sin State College where this study was conducted; Daniel M. Ben¬

iamin, Department of Entomologv, University of Wisconsin; and

to Herbert G. Ewan, Lake States Experiment Station — U. S. Forest

Service.

Appendix

Aphrophora saratogensis Egg Serial Section Technique

The pointed tip is cut off of the fresh egg. This allows penetra¬

tion of the solutions.

Fixation

The eggs are fixed in Petrunkavitch’s Soln. #2 for 48 hours or

longer.

Dehydration

Eggs into :

35% ethyl alcohol for 24 hours

50% ethyl alcohol for 24 hours

70% ethyl alcohol for 24 hours

85% ethyl alcohol for 24 hours

1957]

Giese & Wilson— Saratoga Spittlebug

259

95% ethyl alcohol for 2 hours

100% ethyl alcohol for 1 hour

fresh 100% ethyl alcohol for 1 hour

100% ethyl alcohol and chloroform (1:1) for 24 hr.

100% chloroform for 24 hours

Chloroform and tissuemat ( 60-62 °C melting pt.) (1:1)

for 24 hours. Place in oven.

Pure tissuemat — 3 changes for 24 hours each.

Imbed in paraffin blocks.

Microtome sections 4-5mu into serial ribbons.

Mount serial sections on slides using Mayer’s albumen

as an adhesive.

Staining

Place slides with sections into :

I pure xylol for 2 min. (removes tissuemat)

II pure xylol for 2 min. (removes contamination)

I 95% ethyl alcohol for 2 min.

II 95% ethyl alcohol for 2 min.

85% ethyl alcohol for 2 min.

70% ethyl alcohol for 2 min.

50% ethyl alcohol for 2 min.

35% ethyl alcohol for 2 min.

Wash in water for 1 min.

Aqueous stain — Delafield’s or Harris’ haematoxylin for

10 min.

Rinse in water.

Rinse in 70% ethyl alcohol for 1 min.

Rinse in 95 % ethyl alcohol for % min.

Stain with eosin for 5-10 seconds.

Rinse 4 times with 100% ethyl alcohol continuously

running over slide.

Repeat with xylol.

Drain xylol and add drop of clarite.

Place coverslip and label.

Literature Cited

Anderson, R. F. 1945. DDT and Other Insecticides to Control the Saratoga

Spittle Insect on Jack Pine. Jour. Econ. Ent ., 38(5) : 564-6.

- . 1947. The Saratoga Spittlebug. Ibid., 40(5) :695-701.

Benjamin, D. M., H. O. Batzer, and H. G. Ewan. 1953. The Lateral-terminal

Elongation Growth Ratio of Red Pine as an Index of Saratoga Spittlebug

Injury. Jour. For., 51(11) : 822-3.

Secrest, H. C. 1944. Damage to Red and Jack Pine in the Lake States by the

Saratoga Spittlebug. Jour . Econ. Ent., 37(3) : 447-8.

Slifer, E. H. 1948. A Simplified Procedure For Breaking Diapause in Grass¬

hopper Eggs. Science, 107(2771) : 152.

A STUDY OF THE MALE GENITALIA OF THE

MELANOSTOMINI ( DIPTERA-S YRPHIDAE )

C. L. Fluke

University of Wisconsin

There have been very few published studies on the male genitalia

of the genera belong to the Melanostomini , due probably to the

rather minute size of these structures. Metcalf1 in his contribution

of 1921 describes the “bicornuate” form of the styles of Platy-

cheirus which he claimed to be characteristic of the genus but made

no note of the same type of styles found on certain species of

Melanostoma now mostly assigned to Carposcalis, nor of the

strongly curved sickle-shaped superior lobes which appear to be

even more characteristic of Platycheirus than the forked styles.

The methods followed are essentially those described by me in

I9602 for the Syrphini. For consistency in my work I am retaining

most of the same definitions but would call attention to the excellent

works of Stuckenberg3’ 4 in South Africa. His use of the term

epandrium for the tenth segment is desirable and is adopted here.

I do not propose to change the generic concepts to any great

extent but would recognize Carposcalis as a group closely related

to Platycheirus rather than to Melanostoma.

These studies indicate the weakness of the genus Rhysops and I

believe it should have no more than subgeneric status. Basing the

separation on antennal differences will not always work out but the

genitalia will help to place them. Melanostoma s.s., as here defined,

would contain very few species. The antennal characters break

down when compared to the genital structures. Species like boli-

variensis, neotropicum, altissimum, and hrowni, all described in

the genus Melanostoma are thus placed in the genus Rhysops. It

was this difficulty in generic concepts that caused me to originally

misidentify Curran’s species neotropicum and describe it as

Rhysops columella.

1 Ann. Ento. Soc. America 14:169-225, 1921.

2 Trans. Wisconsin Acad. Sci. Arts and Lett. 40 :15, 1950.

3 Rev. Zool. Bot. Africa 49:97—139, 1954.

4 Tram. Roy. Soc. London 105 (17) :393-422, 1954.

261

262 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

The genera or subgenera Melangyna Verrall, Hiratana Matsu-

mura, Petersina Enderlein, Posthonia Enderlein, and Pachysphyria

Enderlein are not considered in this paper. Table 1 given below

lists the genera studied and in the order in which they were

described.

TABLE 1

Discussion of the Generic Groups

Platycheirus Lepeletier and Serville

This is the oldest genus in the tribe, erected in 1925, some 35

years before Melano stoma. In the type species there are two char¬

acteristics in the genitalia, namely the thumb-like branch to the

styles and the sickle-shaped or crescent-shaped superior lobes. The

styles, particularly the thumb part, are quite heavily pilose and a

few fine hairs are indicated on the superior lobes. The chitinous box

in most of the species of Platycheirus is bulbous and usually less so

in Carposcalis. Compare also Pyrophaena rosarum with the species

of Platycheirus .

Carposcalis Enderlein

Enderlein erected this genus for either punctulatum or fenestra-

tum which he identified as stegnum Say. The group is a natural

one and I believe is farther removed from Melanostoma than from

either Platycheirus or Pyrophaena.

Those species of Carposcalis with protruding faces are readily

placed. Most of them have spots in the facial pubescence. Those

without spots and less protruding faces are more difficult to clas¬

sify. The genitalia of all those in the appended table under Carpo-

1957]

Fluke— M elanostomini

263

scalis are quite uniformly similar. As noted above the genitalia of

this group are very similar to those in Platycheirus and are kept

separate only because of the differences in face and leg characters.

Pyrophaena Schiner

As Hull has indicated this genus is probably only a sub group of

Platycheirus . The styles of the genitalia are not branched with a

thumb-like projection as in Platycheirus and in the species grandi -

tarsus the superior lobes are almost triangular with the inner edge

slightly concave, but decidedly sickle-shaped in P. rosarum Fabr.

Melanostoma Schiner

A rather small group when all the protruding face forms are

removed to Carposcalis . The genitalia have uniformly a slender

straight style, a broad superior lobe and a non bulbous chitinous

box. In this genus, however, are three species that have genitalia

that are intermediate between Platycheirus and Melanostoma .

These are: M. concinnum Snow, M. lata Curran, and M. rufipes

Williston. The styles have the beginnings of a “thumb” and the

superior lobes are irregular in shape. Perhaps a name should be

given to this group but it would be a very difficult one to define

without recourse to the genitalia. I therefore consider them only a

species group of Melanostoma .

Rhysops Williston

The genitalia of this genus as typified in the species rugosonasus

are somewhat variable but all have non-forked styles that are gen¬

erally less than two-times as long as wide and with triangular to

rectangular superior lobes that are often irregular in shape but

never sickle-shaped as in Platycheirus or Carposcalis . They are

definitely related to Melanostoma but with much shorter styles.

Pyrophaena granditarsus Forst., as would be expected, has geni¬

talia quite similar to those of Rhysops.

The genitalia of R. longicornis Williston are not distinctive

enough to separate out Braziliana Curran which was erected for

this species.

Xanthandrus Verrall

This genus is easily identified by its characters other than the

genitalia which are quite similar in structure to those of either

264 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [VoL 46

Rhysops or Melanostoma. The styles are elongated as in Melano-

stoma but are much broader.

Tub erculano stoma Fluke

This genus from high altitudes in Ecuador has very distinctive

genitalia with curved styles ; slender, transverse elongated superior

lobes and a knobbed ejaculatory hood.

Talahua Fluke

The styles, superior lobes and chitinous box are all very elongate

in this genus. These characters are distinctive enough to give this

group full generic status.

From these discussions a key to these groups has been prepared

based entirely on the genitalia.

Key to Genera of Melcmostomini Based on Genitalia of Males

1 Styles forked . . . . . . . . . 2

Styles not forked . . . . . 3

2 Superior lobes crescent-shaped . Platycheirus— Car poscalis

Superior lobes triangular or irregular — never crescent-shaped

. . . Melanostoma lata, rufipes, concinnum

3 Styles three to four times longer than wide . 5

Styles no more than two times longer than wide ....................... 4

4 Superior lobes crescent-shaped . . . Pyrophaena rosarum

Superior lobes triangular to irregular in shape

. . . . . Rhysops, & Pyrophaena granditarsus

5 Superior lobes elongate . . Talahua fervidum

Superior lobes very irregular in shape, somewhat triangular to rectangular

in shape . . . . . . . 6

6 Styles crescent-shaped, ejaculatory hood elongate and knobbed at apex

. . . Tub erculano stoma antennatum

Styles generally straight, ejaculatory hood funnel-shaped

. . . . . .Melanostoma, Xanthandrus

The following list gives the original genus, the date of species

publication, the locality of the studied specimens, and references to

the illustrations. The only shifting of species from one genus to

another has been done in the genus Melanostoma either to Rhysops

or to Carposcalis.

Genus Platycheirus Lepeletier and Serville, 1825

Type species scutatus Meigen

Syrphus albimanus Fabricius 1781 — Colorado . Figures 17 and 18

Scaeva angustatus Zetterstedt 1843 — Holland ...... Figures 24 and 25

Platycheirus bigelowi Curran 1927 — Alaska . Figures 22 and 23

1957]

Fluke — Melanostomini

265

Syrphus clypeatus Meigen 1822 — Switzerland . Figures 19 and 20

Platycheirus discimanus Loew 1871 — Canada . Figures 29 and 30

Platycheirus erraticus Curran 1927 — Canada. . Figures 21 and 26

Platycheirus guttatus Meigen 1948 — Germany. ..... Figures 27 and 28

Scaeva immarginatus Zetterstedt 1849 — Colorado... Figures 35 and 36

Platycheirus inversus Ide 1926 — Colorado . . Figures 33 and 34

Platycheirus modestus Ide 1926 — Alaska . Figures 31 and 32

Platycheirus normae Fluke 1939 — Wisconsin. ...... Figures 37 and 38

Platycheirus occidentals Curran 1927 — Colorado. . . Figures 39 and 40

Syrphus peltatus Meigen 1822 — England.. . Figures 41 and 42

Scaeva quadratus Say 1823 — Wisconsin . Figures 43 and 48

Syrphus scutatus Meigen 1822 — Germany . Figures 10 and 11

Genus Pyrophaena Schiner, 1860

Type species rosarum Fabricius

Musca granditarsus Forester 1781 — Colorado . Figures 126 and 127

Syrphus rosarum Fabricius 1787 — So. England. .... Figures 9 and 16

Genus Xanthandrus Verrall, 1901

Type species comptus Harris

Musca comptus Harris 1776 — Holland . Figures 7 and 13

Syrphus bucephalus Wiedemann 1830 — Argentina.. Figures 119 and 120

Xanthandrus nitidulus Fluke 1937 — Brazil . Figures 121 and 122

Genus Carposcalis Enderlein, 1937

Type species stegnum Say

Melanostoma agens Curran 1931 — Colorado . Figures 44 and 45

Melanostoma carinata Curran 1927 — Alaska . Figures 46 and 47

Melanostoma chaetopoda Davidson 1922 — Mexico... Figures 49 and 50

Melanostoma chalcanotum Philippi 1865 — Chile.... Figures 51 and 52

Melanostoma coerulescens Williston 1886 — Colorado Figures 53 and 54

Melanostoma confusum Curran 1924 — New York... Figures 57 and 58

Carposcalis ecuadoriensis Fluke 1945 — Ecuador.... Figures 59 and 60

Syrphus fenestratum Macquart 1842 — Chile . Figures 56 and 64

Melanostoma inflatifrons Fluke 1945 — Ecuador. . . . Figures 55 and 63

Carposcalis lundbladi Enderlein 1940 — Juan Fern¬

andez Islands . Figures 61 and 62

Melanostoma monticola Jones 1917 — Colorado . Figures 65 and 66

Syrphus obscurus Say 1824 — Wisconsin . Figures 3 and 8

Melanostoma punctulatum Wulp 1888 — Argentina.. Figures 67 and 68

Carposcalis saltana Enderlein 1937 — Argentina.... Figures 69 and 70

Melanostoma squamulae Curran 1921 — Washington Figures 71 and 72

Syrphus stegnum Say 1829 — Colorado . Figures 73, 74 and 131

Melanostoma trichopus Thomson 1868 — California. . Figures 75 and 76

266 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [VoL 46

Genus Rhysops Williston, 1907

Type species rugosonasus Williston

Melanostoma altissimum Fluke 1945 — Ecuador..... Figures

Melanostoma bolivariensis Fluke 1945 — Ecuador. . . Figures

Melanostoma browni Fluke 1945 — Ecuador........ Figures

Rhysops currani Fluke 1937 — Brazil. ............. Figures

Rhysops fastigata Fluke 1945 — Argentina. ........ Figures

Melanostoma lanei Fluke 1936 — Argentina. ........ Figures

Melanostoma lineata Fluke 1937 — Brazil. ......... Figures

Melanostoma longicornis Williston 1888 — Brazil. . . . Figures

Rhysops minuscula Fluke 1945 — Argentina ........ Figures

Melanostoma neotropicum Curran 1937 — Brazil.... Figures

Rhysops nigrans Fluke 1945 — Brazil .............. Figures

Rhysops opaca Fluke 1945 — Ecuador .............. Figures

Rhysops pollinosa Hull 1942 — Argentina. ......... Figures

Melanostoma rugosonasus Williston 1891 — Mexico . . Figures

95 and 96

97 and 98

107 and 108

101 and 102

99, 100 and 132

103 and 104

105 and 106

4, 14 and 133

109 and 110

117 and 118

111 and 112

115 and 116

113 and 114

6, 15 and 130

Genus Tuber culano stoma Fluke, 1943

Type species antennatum Fluke

T uber culanostoma antennatum Fluke 1943 — Ecuador Figures 124 and 125

Genus Talahua Fluke, 1945

Type species fervidum Fluke

Talahua fervidum Fluke 1945 — Ecuador . Figure 123

Genus Melanostoma Schiner, 1860

Type species mellinum Linnaeus

Group 1

Melanostoma angustatum Williston 1886 — Washing¬

ton . . . . . . . . ......' Figures

Scaeva dubium Zetterstedt 1838 — Utah . . Figures

Melanostoma fallax Curran 1923 — Alberta. . . . . Figures

Musca mellinum Linnaeus 1758 — Libau. ........... Figures

Melanostoma pictipes Bigot 1884 — Tennessee....... Figures

Melanostoma rex Fluke 1945 — Ecuador. . Figures

Syrphus scalare Fabricius 1794 — Switzerland. ..... Figures

Group 2

Melanostoma concinnum Snow 1895 — Colorado . Figures

Melanostoma lata Curran 1921 — California........ Figures

Chilosia rufipes Williston 1882 — Oregon . Figures

77 and 82

78 and 83

79, 84 and 129

5, 12 and 128

80 and 85

93 and 94

81 and 86

87 and 88

89 and 90

91 and 92

1957]

Fluke — Melanostomini

267

Explanation of Plates

All drawings are genitalia made with the aid of the camera

lucida, unfortunately not all to the same scale. The smaller forms,

especially in Rhysops were viewed through a lOx or 15x ocular

and a number 7.5 objective; the larger ones usually with a number

3 objective with either lOx or 15x ocular.

268 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

1957]

Fluke — Melanostomini

269

PLATE I

Figures

1 and 2. — Platycheirus sp. or Carposcalis sp,

3. — Carposcalis obscurum Say.

4. — Rhysops longicornis Williston.

5. — Melanostoma mellinum Linnaeus.

6. — Rhysops rugosonasus Williston.

7. — Xanthandrus comptus Harris.

8. — Carposcalis obscurum Say.

9. — Pyrophaena rosarum Fabricius.

10 and 11. — Platycheirus scutatus Meigen.

12. — Melanostoma mellinum Linnaeus.

13. — Xanthandrus comptus Harris.

14. — Rhysops longicornis Williston.

15. — Rhysops rugosonasus Williston.

16. — Pyrophaena rosarum Fabricius.

270 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

37

38

1957]

Fluke — Melanostomini

271

PLATE II

Figures

17 and 18. — Platycheirus albimanus Fabricius.

19 and 20. — Platycheirus clypeatus Meigen.

21. — Platycheirus erraticus Curran.

22 and 23. — Platycheirus bigelowi Curran.

24 and 25. — Platycheirus angustatus Zetterstedt.

26. — Platycheirus erraticus Curran.

27 and 28. — Platycheirus guttatus Meigen.

29 and 30. — Platycheirus discimanus Loew.

31 and 32. — Platycheirus modestus Ide.

33 and 34. — Platycheirus inversus Ide.

35 and 36. — Platycheirus immarginatus Zetterstedt.

37 and 38. — Platycheirus normae Fluke.

272 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

1957]

Fluke — Melanostomini

273

PLATE III

Figures

39 and 40. — Platycheirus occidentalis Curran.

41 and 42. — Platycheirus peltatus Meigen.

43. — Platycheirus quadratus Say.

44 and 45. — Carposcalis agens Curran.

46 and 47. — Carposcalis carinata Curran.

48. — Platycheirus quadratus Say.

49 and 50. — Carposcalis chaetopoda Davidson.

51 and 52. — Carposcalis chalconotum Philippi.

53 and 54. — Carposcalis coerulescens Williston.

55. — Carposcalis inflatifrons Fluke.

56. — Carposcalis fenestratum Macquart.

57 and 58. — Carposcalis confusum Curran.

59 and 60. — Carposcalis ecuadoriensis Fluke.

61 and 62. — Carposcalis lunbladi Enderlein.

63. — Carposcalis inflatifrons Fluke.

64. — Carposcalis fenestratum Macquart.

Fluke — Melanostomini

PLATE IV

Figures

65 and 66. — Carposcalis monticola Jones.

67 and 68. — Carposcalis punctulatum Wulp.

69 and 70. — Carposcalis saltana Enderlein.

71 and 72. — Carposcalis squamulae Curran.

73 and 74. — Carposcalis stegnum Say.

75 and 76 — Carposcalis trichopus Thomson.

77. — Melanostoma angustatum Williston.

78. — Melanostoma dubium Zetterstedt.

79. — Melanostoma fallax Curran.

80. — Melanostoma pictipes Bigot.

81. — Melanostoma scalare Fabricius.

82. — Melanostoma angustatum Williston.

83. — Melanostoma dubium Zetterstedt.

84. — Melanostoma fallax Curran.

85. — Melanostoma pictipes Bigot.

86. — Melanostoma scalare Fabricius.

276 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

103

104

105

106

108

1957]

Fluke — Melanostomini

277

PLATE V

Figures

87 and 88. — Melanostoma concinnum Snow.

89 and 90. — Melanostoma lata Curran.

91 and 92. — Melanostoma rufipes Williston.

93 and 94. — Melanostoma rex Fluke.

95 and 96. — Rhysops altissimum Fluke.

97 and 98. — Rhysops bolivariensis Fluke.

99 and 100. — Rhysops fastigata Fluke.

101 and 102. — Rhysops currani Fluke.

103 and 104. — Rhysops lanei Fluke.

105 and 106. — Rhysops lineata Fluke.

107 and 108. — Rhysops browni Fluke.

278 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

1957]

Fluke — Melanostomini

279

PLATE VI

Figures

109 and 110. — Rhysops minuscula Fluke.

Ill and 112. — Rhysops nigrans Fluke.

113 and 114. — Rhysops pollinosa Hull.

115 and 116. — Rhysops opaca Fluke.

117 and 118. — Rhysops neotripicum Curran.

119 and 120. — Xanthandrus bucephalus Wiedemann.

121 and 122. — Xanthandrus nitidulus Fluke.

123. — Talahua fervidum Fluke.

124 and 125. — Tuberculanostoma antennatum Fluke.

126 and 127. — Pyrophaena granditarsus Forester.

128 to 133.— Ventral views.

128. — Melanostoma mellinum Linnaeus.

129. — Melanostoma fallax Curran.

130. — Rhysops rugosonasus Williston.

131. — Carposcalis stegnum Say.

132. — Rhysops fastigata Fluke.

133. — Rhysops longicornis Williston.

THE CONTROL OF THE GROWTH OF ALGAE WITH CMU1

George P. Fitzgerald

Hydraulic and Sanitary Laboratory, University of Wisconsin

Introduction

The need for control measures to eliminate excessive growths of

algae and nuisance conditions in fresh waters is becoming more

and more critical as .the fertility of lakes and streams increases,

A number of chemicals have been used (4, 6, 16), ranging from

copper sulfate, first used in this country in 1904 (14), to various

organic chemicals, which are now being investigated. Inorganic

chemicals, other than copper, include chlorine (2, 13), potassium

permanganate (18), colloidal silver (3, 7), activated carbon (10,

15), and ammonium sulfate (17). A serious disadvantage in their

use is their lack of specificity, especially as some of them may

accumulate over the years to produce toxic conditions to both plants

and animals.

This disadvantage may be avoided by the adoption of compara¬

tively short-lived organic chemicals, examples of which are dehy-

droabietylamine acetate (Rosin Amine D Acetate or RADA) and

2, 3-dichloronaphthoquinone (dichlone or phygon). There are re¬

cent reports that RADA is very effective in controlling filamentous

green algae (5, 11) without affecting the growth of unicellular

c gae (12). Dichlone, when used in very low concentrations (less

than 0.1 ppm) is effective against bloom producing blue-green algae

and apparently without harm to other types of algae, plants, or

animals in the lakes. (7, 8) .

Results of experiments are presented which demonstrate that

CMU1 is effective in controlling the growth of a large number of

algae. CMU has been used extensively as an herbicide (19) and has

also been previously reported to be toxic to algae (16) . This report

deals primarily with tests of its use for controlling the growth of

algae in the presence of other organisms, as in aquaria.

Materials and Methods

A total of 22 species of algae (12 blue-green, 8 green, and 2

diatom species), as well as higher aquatic plants and fish have been

used to test the toxicity and selective action of CMU. The algae

were young, rapidly growing, unialgal cultures from laboratory

stock cultures and were tested in either dilute, alkaline modified

1 3- ( p-chlorophenyl ) -1, 1-dimethylurea.

281

282 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

Chu No. 10 (9) or a more concentrated, neutral Allen’s (1)

medium. An exception to this was with the three species, Clado-

phora, Rhizoclonium, and Spirogyra which were freshly collected

from lakes or green-house culture tanks for each experiment. These

large forms were tested in Lake Mendota water enriched with suffi¬

cient sodium nitrate, potassium phosphate, and ferric citrate salts

to give an additional 20 ppm of nitrogen, 2.0 ppm of phosphorus,

and 0.5 ppm of iron. Lake water enriched in this manner was also

used in tests with various higher aquatic plants.

The CMU was added to the algal cultures in the early logarithmic

growth phase. Cell counts and dry weights, as well as visual esti¬

mates, were employed to determine differences in growth between

control and treated cultures exposed to the chemical for periods up

to four weeks. A Spencer Bright Line Haemocytometer was used

for cell counts. For dry weight determinations, the algae were cen¬

trifuged, washed in distilled water, recentrifuged, and dried to con¬

stant weight (24 hours) in tared weighing bottles at 63° C. Visual

estimates of the effect of treatments were, of course, approxima¬

tions obtained by matching the growth in treated cultures and con¬

trols and were recorded as the relative percentage inhibition, i.e.,

0, 25, 50, 75, 90, and 100 per cent inhibition of growth.

Serial concentrations of CMU were used in each experiment. For

brevity only the lowest concentration giving complete inhibition of

growth will be reported for each species. A typical example is the

following experiment with Gloeocapsa dimidiata. The concentra¬

tions tested were 0, 0.05, 0.2, 0.8, and 1.6 ppm and the correspond¬

ing relative growth values, based on dry weight measurements

after 21 days treatment, were 100, 81, 16, 13, and 2 per cent respec¬

tively. The latter two cultures appeared to be dead. All experiments

reported have been repeated, in some instances up to 19 times in

the course of the investigation.

1957]

Fitzgerald — Control of Algae

283

Some comparative tests have been carried out with other chemi¬

cals: 3-phenyl-l, 1-dimethylurea (FW) ; 3- (3, 4-dichlorophenyl) -1,

1-dimethylurea (DW) ; cupric chloride; cupric sulfate; 3-amino-l,

2,4-triazole; pentachlorophenol ; Aquasan (colloidal silver) ;

RADA ; 2-methylnaphthoquinone ; and dichlone. The first two chem¬

icals FW and DW, are closely related to CMU, as illustrated in Fig.

1. Both FW and DW were obtained as the 80% commercial prod¬

ucts, from the E. I. du Pont de Nemours Co. Tests with the com¬

mercial 80% pure preparation of CMU showed that on a molar

basis it was equally as effective as pure CMU.

Results

Toxicity of CMU to Various Species of Algae. The toxicity of

CMU to algae is indicated by the results summarized in Table 1.

The concentration required for complete inhibition of growth and

TABLE 1

CMU CONCENTRATION REQUIRED FOR COMPLETE INHIBITION OF

GROWTH OF ACA.RIOUS SPECIES OF ALGAE

Species

Blue-green algae

Coccochloris Peniocystis

Gloeocapsa dimidiata . . .

Microcystis aeruginosa . .

Arthrospira Jenneri .

Phormidium tenue .

Phormidium autumnale .

Lyngbya Birgei .

Nostoc muscorum .

Anabaena spiroides .

Calothrix parietina .

Amphithrix janthina. . . .

Gloeotrichia echinulata. .

Green algae

Chlamydomonas sp .

Chlorella pyrenoidosa. . .

Scenedesmus sp .

Stichococcus sp .

Stigeoclonium sp .

Cladophora sp .

Rhizoclonium sp .

Spirogyra sp .

Diatoms

Diatom sp. (A) .

Diatom sp. (B) .

1 Modified Chu No. 10 and Allen’s.

284 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

the method used to measure the effect of the chemical are listed for

each species. The last two columns give the number of separate

experiments carried out with each test organism and indicate which

species were tested in both modified Chu No. 10 and Allen’s media.

Similar results were obtained with any given concentration of

CMU in either medium. It has been observed for the majority of

the species tested that, where the algae were inhibited by 75% or

more, they never recovered sufficiently to produce the high levels

of growth of the control cultures and, in most cases, they seemed

to be gradually dying off.

The growth of the 12 species of blue-green algae was inhibited

75% or more by CMU concentrations close to 1.0 ppm. This in¬

cludes both planktonic bloom producing forms, such as Microcystis,

and nonplanktonic algae, such as Nostoc.

Of the five unialgal cultures of green algae tested, two required

somewhat higher concentrations ( Chlorella , 1.5 ppm and Chlamy-

domonas, 1.6 ppm) for complete inhibition of growth. This may be

related to the fact that they were the most rapidly growing species

under the conditions of the tests so that more cells were present

when the chemical was added. In one test the number of cells per

ml. of a Chlorella culture increased from 650,000 to 5,200,000 in

two days, whereas in a Microcystis culture the cell count only

increased from 550,000 to 1,400,000 cells per ml. during the same

period.

The three species of filamentous green algae, Cladophora sp.,

Rhizoclonium sp., and Spirogyra sp., were killed by 2.0 ppm of

CMU. In this case, the control cultures were kept alive in enriched

lake water, but they were not actually growing at noticeable rates.

In a few experiments with growing Rhizoclonium, 0.5 ppm of CMU

killed the plants.

The diatoms, which had been isolated by plating from growths

on trickling filters at a sewage treatment plant (sp. A) and from

a drinking fountain scum (sp. B), were killed by 0.5 ppm of CMU.

In general, diatoms would appear to be more susceptible than the

other algae, because they seldom were observed in treatments with

low concentrations of CMU where various kinds of algae did grow,

even though diatoms grew abundantly in the control vessels.

Toxicity of CMU to Mixed Populations of Unicellular Algae. The j

effectiveness of CMU has been compared with that of other algi-

cides in preventing the growth of “wild populations” of algae.

Stock cultures were prepared of blue-green and green algae and

diatoms in enriched lake water into which various organisms col¬

lected from Lake Mendota, from growths on drinking fountains,

etc. had been added to give thriving mixed populations. The species ;

present included various Oscillatoria, Scenedesmus (several spe-

1957]

Fitzgerald — Control of Algae

285

cies), Chlorella, Chlamydomonas , Kirchneriella, and Selenastrum,

as well as many forms of diatoms.

The tests were made on subcultures in the same media as used

above (modified Chu No. 10 and Allen’s solutions). The chemicals

were added in serial dilutions and were introduced either at the

time of inoculation with the stock cultures, or 2-8 days later after

growth had started. Effects of treatments were recorded only in

terms of visual observations.

Results of two experiments are shown in Table 2. It may be seen

that CMU is more effective than any of the other chemicals, includ¬

ing those now in general use as algicides. Where growth was

started three days in advance of the treatment, even 12.5 ppm of

CMU gave only 90 per cent inhibition within a 10 day period.

TABLE 2

COMPARISON OF THE TOXIC EFFECT OF VARIOUS CHEMICALS ON

MIXED ALGAE CULTURES

Chemicals were added 3 days after inoculation; observations of effects made 10 days after treatment

2Chemicals added at time of inoculation; observations of effects made 4 days later.

286 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

In the second experiment (No. 12), with the chemicals supplied

at the time of inoculation, fair to good growth was established

within four days time in all cultures except those with CMU (1.0

ppm) and dichlone 10 ppm. The treatment with 1.0 ppm dichlone

had no effect.

Comparisons of the Toxicity of CMU and Related Compounds.

Comparisons of the toxic effects of CMU with that of two related

chemicals, one without a halogen substituent, 3-phenyl-l, 1-

dimethylurea (FW) and the other with two chlorine atoms,

3- (3, 4-dichlorophenyl) -1, 1-dimethylurea (DW), are summarized

in Table 3.

TABLE 3

COMPARISON OF THE TOXICITY OF DIFFERENT CONCENTRATIONS OF CMU

AND RELATED COMPOUNDS TO VARIOUS SPECIES OF ALGAE

1 3-(p-chlorophenyl)- 1 , 1-dimethylurea.

2 3-phenyl- 1 , 1 -dimethy lurea .

3 3-(3 , 4-dichlorophenvl)- 1 , 1 -dimethylurea.

^Cultures 4 days old when chemicals added.

In the tests with Microcystis, the chemicals were added after the

algae had grown for four days (to ca. 4,000,000 cells per ml.) and

as a result more chemical was required to stop the growth than

with the other tests where the chemicals were added at the time

the test cultures were started. The data indicate that the toxicity

increases with the halogen content of the molecules, DW being

more and FW less effective than CMU itself.

Toxicity of CMU and Other Compounds to Higher Aquatic

Plants. The toxicity of several compounds to cultures of duckweed

1957]

F'itzgerald — Control of Algae

287

(Lemna minor) has been investigated. In the first two experiments

plants were taken directly from Lake Mendota and placed in

enriched lake water. The chemicals were added immediately after

planting. The results of treatments with CMU, DW, dichlone, and

pentachlorophenol from Experiment 10-C, were recorded after 25

days and are presented in Table 4. In a later experiment (10-D)

plants were used which had been cultured in the laboratory.

TABLE 4

COMPARISON OF THE TOXICITY OF SEVERAL COMPOUNDS TO

DUCKWEED (Lemna minor ) CULTURES

Observations after 25 days.

Observations after 21 days.

The roots of duckweed are sensitive indicators of their growth

conditions and are often shed in unfavorable media. The plants

from the lake had apparently shed their roots as none were ob¬

served at the time they were collected. The laboratory cultures, on

the other hand, had many well developed green roots. It may be

seen from the table that in the first experiment, roots developed in

288 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

the controls and in the cultures treated with dichlone or penta-

chlorophenol, but none developed in the cultures treated with CMU

and DW. This was true for all three concentrations tested. The 1.0

and 2.5 p.p.m. concentrations of CMU appeared to be without

effect on the “fronds”, but the 5.0 p.p.m. concentration killed 50 per

cent of the plants.

In a later experiment where the plants had well developed roots

at the start, all concentrations of DW down to 0.25 p.p.m. and con¬

centrations of CMU of 1.0 p.p.m. or more caused the roots to be

shed and none grew out ; even the 0.25 and 0.5 p.p.m. concentrations

of CMU markedly reduced the root development. As compared with

this, only the 5.0 p.p.m. CMU and 2.5 and 5.0 p.p.m. DW concentra¬

tions tended to kill the plants. Dichlone (1.0 p.p.m.) or pentachloro-

phenol (5.0 p.p.m.) had no visible effects even on the roots of the

duckweed plants.

In time, contaminating unicellular algae developed to form heavy

growths in the control cultures and also in the treatments with

dichlone or pentachlorophenol. In the cultures treated with CMU

or DW, on the other hand, growth of algae was suppressed by 1.0

p.p.m. concentrations. With the lower concentrations, the inhibition

of algal growth occurred roughly in proportion to the inhibition of

root growth on the higher plants by the treatments.

The toxicity of CMU to Elodea canadensis was determined by

placing 6 inch, terminal sprigs in enriched lake water. CMU was

added at the same time as the plants and visual observations were

recorded at intervals during periods up to 28 days. A total of nine

experiments have been concluded and the summary of data pre¬

sented in Table 5 shows the effects of various concentrations of

CMU on the Elodea. The effects of the chemical on small snails kept

in the cultures and on the development of contaminating unicellular

algae in some of the cultures were also recorded.

TABLE 5

EFFECT OF CMU ON Elodea canadensis CULTURES

1957]

Fitzgerald — Control of Algae

289

The Elodea sprigs exhibited no adverse effects from CMU con¬

centrations up to 5.0 p.p.m. At CMU concentrations around 10

p.p.m. there was a very gradual decay of the older portions of the

sprigs, but concentrations of 20 p.p.m. or more were required to

kill the plants within a four-week period. No effect on the snails

was observed with CMU concentrations less than 60 p.p.m. The

growth of contaminating unicellular algae was prevented in all

cases by CMU concentrations of 1.0 p.p.m. or more.

Some other aquatics, Vallisneria americana, (tape grass), Sal-

vinia rotundifolia, (water velvet), Ceratophyllum demersum , and

a species of Myriophyllum have also been tested to some extent and

seem to behave in much the same manner as Elodea.

TABLE 6

EFFECT OF CMU AND RELATED COMPOUNDS ON MIXED

CULTURES OF ALGAE AND Elodea

Effect of CMU on Mixed Algae and Higher Plant Populations.

Since the toxicity of CMU to the various species of algae and to the

higher aquatic plants, such as Elodea was quantitatively apparent,

it was decided to test the effectiveness of CMU in preventing algal

growth in mixed cultures of blue-green and green algae, diatoms,

and Elodea plants. Culture solutions of 0.1 to 10 liter volume of

enriched lake water were planted with terminal sprigs of Elodea

plus small mats of the green filamentous algae, Rhizoclonium sp.,

and Spiro gyra sp., and a mixture of unicellular blue-green algae,

green algae, and diatoms. Various dilutions of CMU or of its re¬

lated compounds, FW and DW, were added at the time of inocula¬

tion and the effect of the treatments recorded at various times up

290 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

to nine weeks. A total of 28 experiments with mixed cultures of

this type have been conducted. A summary of the main results is

given in Table 6.

It can be seen from these data that concentrations of CMU from

1.0 to 5.0 p.p.m. effectively killed the filamentous green algae and

prevented the growth of any unicellular algae and diatoms without

having any apparent adverse effects on the Elodea. Concentrations

of 2.0 p.p.m. of FW had no effect on the green filaments and very

little effect on the other algae or diatoms. The highest concentra¬

tion of DW (5.0 p.p.m.) killed the Elodea , but the lower concen¬

trations only killed or prevented the growth of the algae. Cerato-

phyllum demersum, tape grass, and a species of Myriophyllum,

were used instead of Elodea, and showed about the same resistance

to CMU. In general, it was found that CMU concentrations as low

as 0.5 to 1.0 p.p.m. are sufficient to prevent any unicellular algal

species from growing up in mixed cultures with the higher

aquatics. Only considerably higher concentrations, at least 2.5 to

5.0 p.p.m., affected the growth of Elodea or other aquatic species

tested. In the presence of still higher concentrations, which stop the

growth of Elodea, , resistant forms of blue-green species were some¬

times found to develop on the walls of the containers or on the

aquatic plants after long exposure periods.

Toxicity of CMU to Fish. In the practical use of algicides, their

toxicity to animals must also be considered. Therefore, tests on the

effect of CMU on seven species of fish have been included in this

study. In one experiment, a number of small (2-3 inch) bluegills

( Lepomis macro chirus macrochirus) , green sunfish (L. cyanellus) ,

crappie (Pomoxis nigromacidatns), and bluntnose minnows

(Hyhorhynchus notatus) were tested in 10 to 20 liter aerated

aquaria (temperature, 23-24° C.) with CMU concentrations of 10,

20, and 40 p.p.m. No adverse effects on the fish were apparent in

any of the aquaria after 23 days, when the experiments were ter¬

minated. An experiment, with guppies ( Lebistes sp.) carried out in

li/2 liter, unaerated aquaria with CMU concentrations of 10, 25,

and 50 p.p.m. showed no harmful effects on the fish over a period

of 35 days.

In an experiment in which bluegills and sunfish were placed in

CMU concentrations of 120 p.p.m., it was found that after 3 to 7

days, the fish gradually became affected by the chemical. The first

indication was that the fish turned their heads downward and

stayed in that position for extended periods, unless they were dis¬

turbed. If the fish affected in this manner were transferred to

untreated aquaria, they would recover and appear to be perfectly

normal within one to two hours. Therefore, the toxic effects were

not permanent at this stage and fish subjected to the high concen-

1957]

Fitzgerald — Control of Algae

291

trations of CMU could be saved by removing them. When these fish

were transferred back to the high CMU concentrations, they again

turned head downward. The fish that were not removed at this

“head downward” stage eventually turned on their sides and died.

In five experiments in which the CMU was added in the form of

slowly dissolved pellets (0.5 g. pellet in 10 liters of solution), crys¬

talline material was still present after 73 or more days, growth of

algae was prevented, and there was no injury to the growth of

higher aquatics or toxicity to fish.

Seven tests with 2.5 liter, unaerated aquaria (common household

type) containing goldfish ( Carassius sp.) , guppies ( Lehistes sp.) ,

zebra fish ( Pterois volitans) , bluntnose minnows, or bluegills have

shown that aquaria treated with concentrations of CMU as low as

0.5 p.p.m. remained clean for eight weeks, while untreated controls

became fouled with dense, repugnant growths of green algae in

suspension and coating the sides of the aquaria in only one week.

Two baby guppies (one day old) have been raised in an aquarium

with a concentration of 15 p.p.m. for 16 weeks with no apparent

harmful effects.

In all these experiments with fish, CMU concentrations much

higher than those which would be recommended for use in aquaria

have been tested in order to detect any adverse effects that might

be produced. Only in those experiments where the chemical was

dissolved first and then added to the aquaria as a solution to make

concentrations of more than 100 p.p.m. were any adverse effects

noted on fish.

Discussion

The quantitative toxicity tests with unialgal cultures indicated

that CMU is particularly effective in killing or preventing the

growth of a large number of algae, including blue-green, green, and

diatom species. However, considerably more chemical is required to

kill an already established algal culture than to prevent the growth

of algae. Therefore, by utilizing this fact the growth of algae can

be prevented by the use of low CMU concentrations, 0.5 to 1.0

p.p.m., in situations where higher concentrations might be detri¬

mental to other aquatic plants, as demonstrated in the various

experiments with mixed populations in aquaria.

Few chemicals are known to be effective in algae-control for long

periods of time. Phygon, RADA, copper, and chlorine are adapted

to killing existing populations, but, under normal circumstances,

repeated applications must be made to control successive growths

of algae. In contrast, low concentrations of CMU will prevent the

growth of algae for quite extended periods. Another factor which

increases the usefulness of CMU as a practical algicide is its high

292 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

toxicity to a wide range of algal species and relatively low toxicity

to the various species of fish tested. Both Phygon and RADA are

much more selective in their algicidal activity. Copper and chlorine

are effective against a large number of algae, but care must be used

in their application because of their corrosive action and their high

toxicity to animals. Chemicals closely related to CMU, particularly

3-(3,4-dichlorphenyl)-l, 1-dimethylurea (DW), may have com¬

parable, and in some respects perhaps superior properties as algi-

cides. However, DW may be more toxic to fish or less selective in

its action on plants than is CMU.

Although it has been shown that the concentrations of CMU that

prevented the growth of algae had no apparent harmful effects on

the various aquatic plants tested, it should be pointed out that in

these tests the growth of the aquatic plants was not a measured

factor. The experiments with duckweed (Lemna minor) demon¬

strated that, although the fronds looked healthy, there was not as

much new growth in treated vessels as in the controls. CMU, when

present in sublethal concentrations, may arrest or slow down the

growth of the aquatic plants much the same as it prevents the fur¬

ther growth of algae. Only with tests on rapidly growing cultures

of aquatic plants can this be actually tested.

It has been pointed out in some of the studies that resistant

strains of algae occasionally grew in cultures treated with CMU

concentrations high enough to visibly harm the aquatic plants

present. In general, it was found that if the concentration of CMU

added to mixed algal and higher plant cultures was kept near 0.5

to 1.0 p.p.m., the higher plants appeared to remain healthy and

there was no appearance of resistant algae.

It should be emphasized that the action of low concentrations of

CMU on algae is as a preventive of growth rather than merely

killing the existing population. In attempting to make practical

applications of this chemical, therefore, it should be used before

algal populations become large enough to be obnoxious. It does not

appear to be as effective for killing existing populations as some of

the other algicides available. Therefore, CMU possibly could be

used to prevent further grow of algae after other chemicals had

been used to kill existing algal growths. However, further testing

is required to determine the most efficient means of utilizing this

type of compound for controlling the growth of algae in specific

instances.

Summary

The compound 3- (p-chlorophenyl) -1, 1-dimethylurea (CMU) has

shown promise as an algicide. Quantitative tests with 22 species of

algae, including blue-green, green, and diatom species, as well as

1957]

Fitzgerald— Control of Algae

293

tests with wild, mixed populations have indicated that CMU con¬

centrations of 0.5 to 1.0 p.p.m. prevented algal growth. Concentra¬

tions two to five times higher were required to cause observable

changes in the higher plants tested. In experiments with fish, CMU

concentrations as high as 40 p.p.m. apparently were not harmful.

There is evidence that CMU is more effective in preventing the

growth of algae than in killing existing populations. Therefore, its

use is suggested in preventing the further growth of algae where

the previous algal population has been reduced by other measures.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a research grant from the Division

of Research Grants and Fellowship of The National Institute of

Health, United States Public Health Service.

The author wishes to thank Folke Skoog and G. C. Gerloff of the

Botany Department, University of Wisconsin, for their suggestions

and aid in the preparation of this paper. All work reported was

carried out by the author while a member of the staff of the Botany

Department, University of Wisconsin.

Literature Cited

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ologie, Bd. 17:34-53.

2. Anon. 1951. Removing Algae and Slime, Golf Course Reporter, 19 :40.

3. - . 1952. Make Your Swimming Pool Algae-free with Algaedyn,

United States Movidyn Corp., Chicago 10, Ill.

4. Bartsch, A. F. 1954. Practical Methods for Control of Algae and Water

Weeds, Public Health Reports , 69:749-757.

5. Bowser, C. W. 1951. RADA for Algae, The Reclamation Era, 37 : 247-248.

6. Chipman Chemical Co., Inc. 1954. List of References on Control of

Aquatic Plants, Including Algae. Chipman Chem. Co., Inc., Bound

Brook, N. J. (Dec. 1954.)

7. Fitzgerald, G. P., G. C. Gerloff, and F. Skoog. 1952. Studies on Chemi¬

cals with Selective Toxicity to Blue-Green Algae. Sewage and Industrial

Wastes, 24:888-896.

8. - and F. Skoog. 1954. Control of Blue-green Algae Blooms with

2, 3-dichloronaphthoquinone. Sewage and Industrial Wastes, 26:1136-

1140.

9. Gerloff, G. C., G. P. Fitzgerald, and F. Skoog. 1950. The Isolation, Puri¬

fication, and Culture of Blue-green Algae. Amer. Jour . Bot., 37 : 216-2 18.

10. Hartung, H. O. and V. C. Lischer. 1942. Carbon Blackout as a Means of

Preventing Algae Growth. Taste and Odor Control Jour., 8:1-3.

11. Hodgson, J. M. 1952. Controlling Algae with RADA. Thirteenth Western

Weed Control Conf., page 136. (Feb. 1952.)

12. Lawrence, J. M. 1954. Control of Pithophora, a Branched Type of Summer

Algae. Prog. Fish Cult., 16:83-87.

13. Mangun, L. B. 1929. Algae Control by Chlorination at Kansas City, Kan.,

Jour. Amer. Water Works Assoc., 21:44-49.

294 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts arid Letters [Vol. 46

14. Moore, G. T. and K. F. Kellerman. 1904. A Method of Destroying or Pre¬

venting the Growth of Algae and. Certain Pathogenic Bacteria in Water

Supplies. Bull. 64, Bureau of Plant Ind., USD A, Washington, D. C.

15. Opie, V. 1940. Blackout of Algae with Activated Carbon. Taste and Odor

Control Jour. 6:1—2.

16. Palmer, C. M. and T. E. Maloney. 1955. Preliminary Screening for

Potential Algicides, Ohio Jour. Sci., 55:1-8.

17. Shilo, M. and M. Shilo. 1953. Conditions Which Determine the Efficiency

of Ammonium Sulfate in the Control of Prymnesium parvum in Fish

Breeding Ponds. Applied Microbiology, 1:330-333.

18. Voth, P. D. 1945. Effect of Algastatic Agents on Marchanta, Bot. Gaz.,

106:472-483.

19. Willard, C. J. 1952. Review of Work with CMU as an Herbicide. North

Central Weed Control Conf. Proc., 9:101-102.

THE DECOMPOSITION KINETICS OF 2,3,5-TRIPHENYL-

(2H) -TETRAZOLIUM HYDROXIDE

Samuel Weiner

University of Wisconsin Extension Center, Wausau, Wis.

The properties of the tetrazolium salts and their formazans (1,

2) have been of interest to botanists, cytologists, bacteriologists,

and chemists for several years. The chemistry of the tetrazolium

salts and formazans has been well studied since before 1892 (3)

and has recently been reviewed by Nineham (4) and Reid (5). The

2,3,5-triphenyl- (2H) -tetrazolium ion (I), hereinafter symbolized

as TZ+, and its corresponding formazan (II) have been particu-

CH.

//N-n-C6h5

c

\

+H -t 26

N^-C Hs

I

H

n-n-c.h5

CH-C

XN-N-C6H5

n

larly well studied. The many uses of TZ + in biology, chemistry and

physiology are based on the reduction of the colorless TZ + by

enzymes or by alkaline reducing agents to the insoluble deep-red

formazan (4, 5, 6, 7), whose yield is determined colorimetrically.

However, in alkaline solution another reaction is possible, the de¬

composition of the TZ + OH to several products and particularly

to a red gum containing or resembling the formazan. Such red

resins or colors have been observed on keeping TZ + OH at 100°

C. (3, 7), or on evaporating TZ + OH - in vacuo at 0° C., or on dis¬

solving TZ + C1" in such basic solvents as morpholine or ethanola-

mine at room temperatures. Cheronis and Stein (7) ascribe the red

color to a rearrangement of TZ+OH" to C(iH5N = N— C (C6H5) =

N— NOH (CgH5) , accompanied by decomposition of this compound

to others ; the postulated compound, the hydroxy-formazan, is

described by these authors as insoluble, colored, and in equilibrium

with the isomeric ion-pair, TZ+OH". The stoichiometric equation

for the decomposition by this route would be TZ+ + OH - -> .

On the other hand, if the formazan is produced by a dismutation

of TZ+ similar to that which Weygand and Frank (8) found to

occur in irradiated alkaline solution, the stoichiometric equation

would be:

2TZ++ OH

H

N-N-C,

c6h-cs

N-N-C,

CsHr

\

295

N = N

296 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

Jambor (9) states that a reaction analogous to the above occurs

in strongly alkaline solution in the dark. Decomposition or dismu-

tation can also occur in neutral solution exposed to ultrasonic

vibration (10).

In spite of the many products of the reaction and their vague

characterization, it was deemed useful to measure the kinetics of

both the aqueous alkaline decomposition of TZ+ and the formation

of triphenyl formazan, as shown by its characteristic color. The

speed of the breakdown of TZ+ by OH~ would set practical limits

to the analytical methods (6, 7, 11, 12) based on the color of the

formazan produced from TZ+ by alkaline reducing agents; hence

the production of triphenyl formazan in the work here reported

was measured colorimetrically at the spectral absorption peak of

the formazan. This was justified by the color being the observable

variable in the analytical applications of TZ + , by the reported iso¬

lation of triphenyl formazan in alkaline TZ + C1~ solution reddened

by radiation (8), and by the coincidence of the spectral absorption

curves in the region of the main absorption band of both triphenyl

formazan and the solid resin product of this decomposition.

This present work was on the reaction between TZ+OH" and

sodium hydroxide in water at 65.7° C. Stoichiometrically, the reac¬

tion was TZ+ + OH -> . ; kinetically, it was first order in

TZ+ but second order in OH". The empirical velocity constants, k,

and the standard deviations, or, for each run are tabulated below :

VELOCITY CONSTANTS OF DECOMPOSITION OF TZ+ AT 65.7° C.

Initial [TZ ] Initial [OH"] 105 k 106 <r

liter2 mole*2 sec."1

0.0151 M. 0.1902 M . 7.15 0.05

0.0149 0.3167 7.18 0.08

0.0154 0.2893 7.37 0.12

0.0157 0.2986 7.40 0.05

0.0155 0.3403 ... . . . . . 7.63 0.17

0.0115 0.5335 7.90 0.08

The triphenyl formazan could be seen forming as a red haze in

the solution, eventually coagulating. The formazan yield followed a

logistic or autocatalytic law, but was only a twentieth of the con¬

sumption of the TZ + . Formazan is hardly the main product. The

formazan yield depended on the initial concentrations of the re¬

agents; when plotted as a function of fc2[TZ + ]0[OH"]06f2, the

formazan yields in these experiments fell on lines that were

straight to twice the inflection point time and diminished in slope

beyond that. The formazan yield at the inflection points in the plot

of formazan yield against time was relatively uniform, about

2.6 X 10-5 M., although the inflection point time varied over a fifty-

1957] Weiner — 2, 3, 5 -triphenyl- ( 2H ) -T etrazolium Hydroxide 297

fold range. In all cases the solution became yellow and the final

solid products included much tarry matter.

Experimental. The TZ+OH- stock solutions, .012 to .016 M. and

at pHs of 10.8 ± .2, were treated with enough saturated NaOH

solution to bring the pH to 12.0 while the stock solution was agi¬

tated at 65.7° C. At this temperature it was necessary that the

NaOH concentration be 0.2 to 0.5 M. to secure a convenient rate of

reaction; the NaOH served not only as a reactant but also as an

“inert salt”, maintaining a practically constant ionic strength dur¬

ing the run. Aliquots were drawn from the agitated reaction flask.

The drop in TZ+ concentration was followed by gravimetric deter¬

mination of the TZ + as the picrate; the OH- was titrated electro-

metrically. The formazan yield was determined by spectral absorp¬

tion at 480 Hfyi in 7 acetone : 7 n-butanol : 1 acetic acid : 10 aqueous

aliquot. It was not possible to determine or even identify products

other than triphenyl formazan.

Conclusions. The decomposition here studied should be consid¬

ered as a potential side-reaction in the analytical uses of TZ+ at or

above 60° C.

It seems plausible that the decomposition of the TZ+ occurs when

an ion-pair, TZ+OH-, reacts with a second OH to form an un¬

stable triple-ion, TZ (OH)2~. The irreversible decomposition (13)

of this TZ (OH) 2 , with release of one OH-, is the rate-determin¬

ing step. Assuming an equilibrium among the triple-ion and free

ions, TZ + and OH-, would lead to the observed orders in TZ + and

OH-. The observed k would be the product of the equilibrium con¬

stant for the ion-triplet formation from the free ions and the

specific rate constant for the ion-triplet’s decomposition (13). The

formazan is probably produced in one of several consecutive or

branching reactions and its formation is probably catalyzed at the

surface of the colloidal particles of formazan.

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to thank the Department of Chemistry, Uni¬

versity of Wisconsin, and E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. for the

summer scholarship grant on which this and other work was done,

and the mechanicians of the Department for aid in the construction

of special apparatus.

References

1. Pechman, H., et al. 1894. Ber. 27:320, 2920.

2. Bamberger, E. 1894. Ber. 27:160.

3. Pechman, H. 1892. Ber. 25:3175.

4. Nineham, A. W. 1955. Ghent. Rev. 55:355.

5. Ried, W. 1952. Angew. Ghent. 64:391.

298 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

6. Mattson, A. M., and Jensen, C. 0. 1950. Anal. Chem. 22:182.

7. Cheronis, N. D., and Stein, H. 1955. Mikrochim. Acta. 4:925. 1956. J.

Chem. Educ. 33.120.

8. Weygand, I. Fr., and Frank, I. 1948. Z. Naturforsch. 3B:377.

9. Jambor, B. 1956. In 1957 Chem. Abst. 51:1150.

10. Moeckel, P. 1956. Chem. Tech. (Berlin) 8:81.

11. Weiner, S. 1948. Chemist- Analyst. 37:56.

12. Pearse. 1954. J. Pathol. Bacterial. 67 :129.

13. Beringer, F. M., and Gindler, E. M. 1955. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 77:3200.

A STUDY OF LEG LENGTH VARIATIONS IN THE WOOD

FROG, RANA SYLVATICA LE CONTE1

Howard K. Suzuki2

Department of Biology , Marquette University

Milwaukee 3, Wisconsin

Schmidt (’38) made a study of the geographic variations in the

leg lengths of some frogs, including Rana sylvatica, and found that

there was a north-south gradient on leg length. The shorter-legged

forms are distributed in the northern areas of North America, and

the longer-legged frogs in the southern regions. Rana sylvatica Le

Conte is comprised of two subspecies, R.s. sylvatica Le Conte and

R.s. cantabrigensis Baird, which are classified by differences in

body /tibia ratios. Wright and Wright (’49) give the ratio range

for R.s. sylvatica as 1.67 to 1.88 and R.s. cantabrigensis as 1.93 to

2.30.

The northern subspecies range from Alaska, through Canada,

southward into the northern half of Wisconsin and Michigan and

eastward to the mouth of the St. Lawrence River. The southern

subspecies extend from Southern Wisconsin eastward through the

Midwestern and Eastern states, and northward into Southeast

Canada (Wright and Wright, ’49).

In order to clarify the status of R.s. sylvatica and R.s. cantabri¬

gensis in Wisconsin, it was necessary to compare these forms with

subspecies from other localities.

Materials and Methods

Wisconsin specimens were obtained in a survey of Wisconsin

amphibians (Suzuki, ’SI). In addition, Wood frogs from Wisconsin

and other localities were borrowed and examined from the Univer¬

sity of Michigan, University of Wisconsin, and Milwaukee Public

Museum.

A vernier caliper was used to measure adult specimens for their

body and tibial lengths. Body lengths were determined by measur¬

ing from the tip of the snout to the cloacal aperture. Tibial meas¬

urements were made by flexing the leg and taking the outside

1 This investigation was carried out with a 1946 grant-in-aid from the A.A.A.S.

received through the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

2 Present, address : Department of Anatomy, Yale University School of Medicine,

New Haven 11, Connecticut.

299

300 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

dimensions of the tibia. The ratios were analysed by the t test for

statistical significance and Table 2 was adapted after the method

of Dice and Leras (’36) .

Results

Variations in the body/tibia ratios of frogs from five localities

are tabulated in Table 1. The mean ratios (x) range between 1.66

through 2.01, the former representing the mean of a southern Wis¬

consin population, and the latter an Alaskan group. Frogs from

the other areas possess intermediate body/tibia ratios. There are

no significant sex differences.

TABLE 1

VARIATIONS IN BODY/TIBIA RATIOS OF RAN A SYLVATICA

x is the mean body/tibia ratios of the populations.

S is the standard deviation.

2S is twice the standard deviation.

2(Sx) is the confidence inference which indicates that means of samples gathered from the specific

areas will fall within the confidence inference range 95% of the time.

Very little overlap is noted in the relative range of leg length

differences between the Alaskan and Maine and southern Wiscon¬

sin frogs, while North Dakota and northern Wisconsin forms have

intermediate ratios (Table 2). There is a definite north-south

gradient represented.

Thirty-three out of 76 frogs from Alaska, the northern form,

have body /tibia ratios ranging from 2.00 to 2.05, whereas 30 out

of 84 frogs from Maine, the northern form, have body/ tibia ratios

ranging from 1.71 to 1.76 (Table 3). Twenty-eight out of 76 frogs

from southern Wisconsin are in the same body /tibia ratio range as

those from Maine. Wood frogs from northern Wisconsin have

body/tibia ratios that overlap the southern Wisconsin forms, but in

addition have an almost equal number with higher body /tibia ratios

(Table 3).

HALE FEMALE

1957]

Suzuki — Leg Length in Rana

301

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302 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

mediate population with a more widespread distribution.

1957]

Suzuki— Leg Length in Rana

303

Discussion

There are no significant sex differences in body/tibia ratios in

the individual populations. Differences observed are accounted for

by the lack of sufficient numbers.

Frogs from southern Wisconsin and northern Maine have

body/tibia ratios which are similar. Although frogs from northern

Wisconsin were caught in an area in the same north latitude as

those from Maine, the northern Wisconsin forms possessed shorter

extremities. Therefore, R.s. sylvatica is found farther north in the

eastern United States than in the midwest.

Frogs from North Dakota have shorter legs than those from

northern Wisconsin. The North Dakota frogs were caught at Stump

Lake which is 3° north latitude higher than those from northern

Wisconsin. Alaskan frogs, the most northerly distributed popula¬

tion in this study, possessed the shortest extremities.

Therefore, there is a north-south gradient of the body/tibia

ratios in Rana sylvatica , and substantiates the findings of Schmidt

(’38).

Wisconsin presents a unique area for the study of Wood frogs,

since this state seems to be an area of integration between the two

subspecies. Further studies need to be carried out on this form in

Wisconsin.

Conclusions

1. There are no significant sex differences in body /tibia ratios

in Rana sylvatica.

2. Data has been presented to show that there is a north-south

gradient of body,/ tibia ratios in the Wood frogs.

3. Although it is possible to distinguish R.s. cantabrigensis and

R.s. sylvatica at their extreme ranges, at present it is not possible

to distinguish the two in Wisconsin subspecies.

Literature Cited

Dice, L. R. and H. J. Leras. 1936. A graphic method for comparing several

sets of measurements. Contrib. Lab. Vert. Genetics. No. 3:1-3.

Schmidt, K. P. 1938. Geographic variations in the leg lengths of some anurans.

Chicago Nat. Hist. Mus. Zool. Ser. 20:377-382.

Suzuki, H. K. 1951. Recent additions to the records of the distribution of the

amphibians of Wisconsin. Trans. Wise. Acad. Sci. 40:215-234.

Wright, A. H. and A. A. Wright. 1949. Handbook of Frogs and Toads.

Ithaca, N. Y.: Comstock Publ. Co. pp. 540-552.

Acknowledgments

Grateful appreciation is due Rev. R. H. Reis, S.J. for the use of the facilities

at Marquette University; Mr. W. E. Dickinson of the Milwaukee Public

Museum; Dr. Norman Hartweg of the University of Michigan and Dr. H. R.

Wolfe of the University of Wisconsin for the loan of the specimens of Wood

frogs in their respective museums.

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF EXPANDED ALUMINUM FOIL

IN PREVENTING RABBIT DAMAGE1

Robert A. McCabe and Lloyd B. Keith

Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management,

University of Wisconsin

The cottontail rabbit (Sylvilagus floridanus) is an abundant

native Wisconsin mammal. It thrives in both urban and rural areas.

The crucial time of year for cottontails comes during severe winter

weather. Although rabbits are seldom in need of cover, their food

supply may be sharply reduced by a blanket of snow. When green

or cured herbage becomes unavailable, rabbits feed on the bark of

young trees and shrubs. In the process, twigs are clipped and trees

are often girdled, resulting in great economic loss to home-owners

with landscaped grounds, to orchard men, nursery men, forest in¬

terests, and farmers. This loss and the efforts made to prevent it

are known in Wisconsin as the “rabbit problem.”

Control of rabbit damage is achieved either by eliminating the

rabbits or protecting valuable plants. Often a combination of

methods is employed, but in most cases complete control is seldom

realized. In urban areas where the plants needing protection are

sufficiently valuable to warrant individual care, mechanical devices

and repellents are used.

The object of this report is to present the results of tests run on

a newly-developed protective screen designed to discourage rabbit

damage. It is sold commercially as “Rabbit-rap” and is manufac¬

tured exclusively by the Research Products Corporation of Madi¬

son, Wisconsin. The material is expanded .003-gauge aluminum

foil. The expansion cuts are T7¥ inch in length, and eight cuts are

made per 14 inches. This pattern produces the mesh shown in

Figure 1. This material has the following advantages as a protect¬

ing wrapper for trees and shrubs: (a) it is light in weight and

easy to handle; (b) it can be cut with pocket knife or a pair of

scissors; (c) if is pliable and can be bent, twisted, or folded with

bare hands; (d) it is expandable so will not injure the plant by

constriction; (e) it needs no special supports or ties to keep it in

place; (f) it is easily applied, removed, and stored.

The salient criterion for any such material, however, is : does it

prevent rabbit damage? Uncontrolled trials were run on some of

1 Journal Paper No. 37, University of Wisconsin Arboretum Series.

305

Figure 1. Rabbit-rap in 4-inch and 28-inch mesh; only two widths are avail- ;

able commercially.

Trial One

In order to subject the wrapping material to the severest possible

test, we gathered a number of large limbs pruned from trees in the

University apple orchard, to be used as the protected woody plant.

Apple is known generally as a plant high on palatability lists

(Sweetman, 1949; McCabe, 1947). These limbs with their numer¬

ous twigs were wrapped with the expanded foil which was cut into

foot lengths.

A foot of wrapped bark alternated with the foot-long exposed

segments. When wrapped, these limbs were laid on the ground

under the pines in a large grove known to be frequented by cotton¬

tails. This group of limbs remained in the pine grove for 14 days

306 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

the horticultural plantings on the University Arboretum for sev¬

eral years and indicated that the wrappings were successful.

In the winter of 1956-57 we ran a series of field trials on the

University-owned Picnic Point Wildlife Refuge (Madison, Wiscon¬

sin). The winter was below average in snowfall, but was below

normal in temperature. The rabbit population was about average

for the past ten years. In any event, the weather was severe enough

and the rabbits plentiful enough to conduct the trials satisfactorily.

1957]

McCabe & Keith — Rabbit Damage

307

during which it was checked every three to four days. The exposed

bark was completely eaten, and some damage to the protected stem

was evident after the second night. The situation became progres¬

sively worse throughout the 14-day test. Both large (2 inches in

diameter) and small twigs were badly damaged in spite of wrap¬

ping. In most cases, the rabbits chewed through the foil mesh to

get at the bark (Fig. 2). In a few instances the edges of the

wrapping adjacent to the exposed sections were rolled back appar¬

ently by nuzzling.

Figure 2. Cut apple twigs ^-inch in diameter covered with Rabbit-rap which

rabbits chewed through to get a,t the edible bark.

A second run was made in this trial using fresh cuttings but the

material set in the same place was allowed to remain in the field

for only one week. The results of this run were only slightly better

than those of the 14-day test period.

In the third run, a wrap of large-sized mesh of the same gauge

foil was used. This material is used to manufacture another product

but was tried because it appeared rougher than the Rabbit-rap

mesh. The experimental conditions were the same as in the two

previous runs. The results, however, were considerably better than

those obtained from either of the tests using the standard Rabbit-

rap. A comparison of the three runs in first trial is shown in

Table 1.

308 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

TABLE 1

DAMAGE TO “RABBIT-RAPPED” APPLE BRANCHES

It is clear from the table that the bulk of the damage occurring

on the test wrappings took place during the first week. The large

mesh foil appears to be about twice as effective as Rabbit-rap itself.

In all cases, the controls were completely browsed.

This trial is somewhat artificial in that the plants to be pro¬

tected were cut and placed in sheltered areas of high rabbit use.

The plants were also laid flat on the ground, although some

branches simulated the normal upright growing position. The tests

did show that (a) the rabbit is both willing and able to bite through

the metal covering, and (b) that the metal clippings are not in¬

gested. They are instead scattered over the ground in the area of

the browsing and none were found in the droppings.

Another similar test was made by Don W. Hayne of Michigan

State University (pers. comm., May 16, 1957) who covered fresh

carrots with Rabbit-rap and placed them in a cage with field mice

( Microtus sp.). Like the rabbits in trial one, the mice chewed

through the wrapping to get at the carrot.

In both cases, the experimental conditions were not strictly

comparable to field situations.

Trial Two

A field test was set up using live and growing woody plants. A

single large clone of smooth sumac (Rhus glabra) of about 125

stems 3 to 7 feet in height and % to 1 inch in diameter was selected

(Fig. 3). Rabbit-rap was placed around the base of 25 of these

shoots. Those remaining unwrapped were to act as controls.

Although sumac is high in palatability ratings for rabbits, this

clone was on a side hill and not adjacent to good rabbit cover. Thus

during severe weather when damage is likely to occur, this area

was not heavily used by cottontails. In the spring, when the final

check on this trial was made, 62 per cent of the 98 unwrapped

shoots was damaged by rabbit browsing. None of the wrapped

stems was damaged, nor was the wrapping molested. The likelihood

1957]

McCabe & Keith— -Rabbit Damage

309

of differential palatability or availability was nil since the wrapped

stems were selected at random (every fifth stem moving west

through the clone) and the clone is in effect a “single” plant. .There

was no mouse damage to these shoots, and there was no mouse sign

in the area. It appears from trial two that with relatively light

usage by rabbits under natural conditions the wrapping material

was completely effective.

Figure 3. A clone of 124 stems of smooth sumac (Thus glabra), 25 of which

were protected with Rabbit-rap.

Trial Three

Another location in the same general area was used to check

Rabbit-rap in a site of high rabbit use. A stand of staghorn sumac

(Rhus typhina) that has for years been subjected to severe rabbit

browsing, was selected. In this stand, tender shoots less than one-

year old were grouped in pairs, one of which was wrapped and the

other to act as a control. Twenty-five pairs were so treated. Damage

to all unwrapped shoots began with the onset of inclement weather.

By spring all unwrapped shoots (over 300) were badly browsed

310 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

including those of the experimental pairs which were unwrapped

(Fig. 4) . No damage resulted to the protected stems. Thus a second

test under natural conditions, using a plant species of high palata-

bility and ready accessibility and in an area with an abundance of

rabbits, showed the wrapped stems to be 100 per cent protected and

the controls completely damaged.

Figure 4. Severe damage to the unwrapped member of a pair of staghorn

sumac (Rhus typhina) shoots.

Trial Four

A multibranched bush is difficult to protect and at the same time

is no less vulnerable to rabbit browsing. On the Picnic Point refuge

is an old spiraea hedge (Spiraea Vanhouttei) which, like the sumac

in trial three, has been cropped back by rabbits (Fig. 5) each year

for many years. Two clumps of this shrub were wrapped with

the protective foil. They were separated by a clump which was left

unwrapped, along with about twenty similar clumps in the hedge

which were to act as controls. Here, too, rabbit damage occurred

1957]

McCabe & Keith — Rabbit Damage

311

very early in the winter and became progressively worse. By April

all unwrapped clumps were cropped back to about a foot above the

ground. The two wrapped clumps suffered no damage (Fig. 6) nor

was the protective mesh damaged. The conditions of this test are

comparable with conditions that occur in sites landscaped with

ornamental plantings.

Figure 5. A clump of Spiraea (Spiraea Vanliouttei) that has been browsed

back by rabbits each year for at least 10 years.

Discussion

The failure of Rabbit-rap to deter browsing on a mass of apple

branches or to prevent mice from gnawing a wrapped carrot would

seem to indicate that the wrapping was ineffective. The test situa¬

tion in both cases was unlike field conditions for which the protec¬

tive material was designed. However, it does show that the two

animals most likely to injure a tree by eating its bark are physically

capable of gnawing the expanded aluminum foil. Analysis of field

situations point to the roughened condition of tree bark as discour¬

aging rabbit browsing (McCabe, 1947). It is this aspect of normal

312 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

Figure 6. A spiraea (Spiraea Vanhouttei) bush protected by Rabbit-rap for

only one winter.

1957]

McCabe & Keith — Rabbit Damage

313

growth that was being simulated in the foil wrapping. Even nor¬

mally roughened bark of mature trees is occasionally gnawed under

conditions of severe food shortage.

The greater effectiveness of the larger mesh pattern over the

standard Rabbit-rap mesh suggests a change in pattern for Rabbit-

rap for maximum effectiveness.

Just how a rabbit recognizes the palatable bark on woody plants

is not known, but odor and trial and error browsing seem from

field observation to be the likely methods. The care with which a

rabbit sniffs a twig before biting into it indicates that the aroma

from bark is not strong. If the protecting material is wrapped

loosely it will keep the rabbit nose at a safe distance and will pre¬

vent the animal from cutting both metal and bark in a single bite.

Field tests of uncut woody plants of high palatability showed the

protecting foil to be 100 per cent effective. These test conditions

were similar in most respects to those under which Rabbit-rap

should be used. The test plant Spiraea Vanhouttei is an ornamental

in common use which often needs protection from rabbits. It seems

that many ornamentals are particularly susceptible to browse

damage (McCabe, 1947). The effectiveness of Rabbit-rap against

mouse attack was not investigated.

The present cost of Rabbit-rap protection is about 20 cents for

a tree three inches in diameter, wrapped to a height of two feet.

Large quantities of the material would doubtless reduce the cost.

It takes from two to five minutes to wrap a tree under snowless

conditions. In the spring shoots of herbaceous plants such as tulips

and jonquils can be protected by Rabbit-rap until other greens

become available as rabbit food.

If handled with care, the foil may be removed, stored, and reused

in subsequent years.

Acknowledgments

The writers wish to thank E. B. Schlatter, K. Lindquist, and

R. S. Ellarson who helped in various aspects of the study and J. J.

Hickey and Marigen B. Carpenter for checking the manuscript.

Summary

Four trials were set up to test the effectiveness of expanded

aluminum foil (commercially known as Rabbit-rap) as a protecting

screen for woody plants against gnawing by rabbits. All tests were

run from January through March, 1957. Trial one, using cut apple

stems placed in an area of high rabbit density showed that over a

7- and 14-day period the damage to “protected” trees was 40 and

47 per cent respectively. A similar material (not sold commer-

314 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters [Vol. 46

daily) of a larger mesh under the same test conditions showed

23 per cent damage to wrapped stems.

In trial two on a single clone of smooth sumac where 25 stems

were wrapped and 98 left unwrapped as controls, none of the

wrapped stems was injured and 62 per cent of the controls was

damaged. The rabbit use of the area was light.

Trial three has one stem of 25 paired samples of staghorn sumac

wrapped and the other as an unwrapped control. The wrapped

stems were 100 per cent protected and the controls 100 per cent

damaged over the three-month period.

Trial four on an ornamental shrub (Spiraea Vanhouttei) showed

two wrapped clumps completely protected and the remaining

clumps (15-20) without exception, were damaged.

Although rabbits were capable of gnawing through the expanded

aluminum foil in an artificial situation, under natural field condi¬

tion Rabbit-rap was highly satisfactory.

Literature Cited

McCabe, Robert A. 1947. A Winter Rabbit Browse Tally on the University of

Wisconsin Arboretum. Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of Sci¬

ences, Arts and Letters, 37(1945) : 15-33.

Sweetman, Harvey L. 1949. Further Studies of the Winter Feeding Habits of

Cottontail Rabbits. Ecology, 30 (3) :371— 376.

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