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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 9, 1948)
vr ; f. _ * ■ h-,; V u ■ r t •Tl M -J.- V I ,/. . ( 'T ; ! PMt)A?, jfclT 9,1948 Tft* felT'TAtlON &M History Constructed for Unus llfi. A J __ 1?. I 1 ' ■ ~~ ■ ident ly official i turatdr joi VAUGHAN, attempt to PARKS has been the Mosebm since September, 1045. He has been With the A&M System for 32 years. urator of the «Museum and hi® secretary, a plant by comparison with specimens from the S. M. Tricy Herbarium. oths, Mastodons Vied with Saber -Tooth rs for Brazos River Bottom Supremacy number watp life. The first large; muskox lived far vest of the fossil dominant in this area were j Rockies. the mastadon and the mammoth. | One very interesting display is The most pejrfect example of these ’ a case showing the ejvolution of jj y BlLLjjROSE- f ‘ TRe i Br: izos RivSt Bottoms have often ibee n accuse^ of being the, home ;of wild anijnals by Texas people; when referaing to Aggies. iThoote jwai} a day hpjwevef when (the area was truly ai|no=man's land. Mammjothte and maitadons compet ed with saber-todthed tigers to see whicl was to jrejgrt supreme /iin the iprdhistoricalj society of Col lege Station. f j } | . h 1 - But these bygonja monsters gave up the glost (whether it was.] the iadventj of the Aggfes or| not in dispute bf authorities) and their , only rtmr ant are t|s.ssils. Two of the mo4 complete fos sil ^cpllei fions ev«r amazed in the Upiled State^ now rest in A&M?d Huseum. fThey are the O. bf. Ball collection of plant fossils- ^nd the 'Mark Francis collection of fossilized animals. • 1 1 • i j . i.: l ■ 1' ° - Brazos County: h|as long been a happy hutting ground for the fos sil seeker. At one] time the area was under the Gull} of Mexico and the horjesi wer'd waihed down " the silt from the aorth by inland rivers.;! Very seldbnk .is a complete fossil of an animal found and never jn 1 exas. Thd water assorted '! them jso that bonds of the spme weight appear together. '‘For in- stancej a deposit" fiay contain 3s many as 50 skulls of animals but ;not a Single other bone. Dr. Francis obtai ied 4 most of his !specimens! from Fu leFs earth [pits dug by cornpanies in tljat industry near Hryai. All tjhu animals' ini the Museum a»re from-1 he period When, jland ajninials first began to Out J ^arly forbears of the elephant in | the horse. Fossils 1 ; representative he museum are thought fo have i of each geological agp and each from [ as far north as the > major change of anatomy are in Cairo, 111., which was then j the case with comjmenfs made by the coast oi the Gulfi ] Francis alongside. | The inexpert museum visitor may have s‘ome i trouble distinguishing the mastadOn from the mammpph.j The best way to separate them is by their teeth: The flora' of the time was briush and the mammoth was a strict vegetarian; ' there-i fore, his' teeth resemble two wash- hoards in ofder to grind his daily hors d’oeuvres. The mastadon on the 1 -other band was carnivorous, and his teeth are like those of a' h °e-.y i L ‘ /■ \ | i ^ With the; coming of the Brazos a'new grdup of animals began to leave their fossils in this vi cinity. These have been found ; far inland' probably deposited i there by. the river which was ithien 50 miles wide. . ' , f i ' j Some of the more moderp speci-j mdds whichj the museupi has; on display are ancient bisons, huge turtles witlj shells up to ID feet in diameter, and pre-runners of the armadiljo. This latter has left; shells four, inches thick and as I big as a barrel. The most rare single item in the': Francis collection is one of thej three existing fossils of a musk-; the log would ^explode! with the ox. is still not understood by noise of a blockbuster. The cura- paleontologlsts exactly how thej tor and his secretary would never fossil came jto be in this area. The raise an eyebrow,-bowpver. - - ' i ! The South Roopi is the per manent home of Ball's plant fossils. Not only does this group contain specimens'of all the ,ma jor flora in this geological but- cropping,, but algo Representa tives of all the major geological periods from oyer the world. D.r. Ball spent 20; years gather ing the plants. There are two types of fossil plants. They are either imprints of the plant rn stone, Qr raised on the stone by the sjow [exchanging success, of the plant material with the sil icon and other numerals of - the rock. The popular: term for this .last type is “petrified.” The color of the imprints Which make the fossil appear life-ljke comes from thd minerals which were in the leaves. Logs—particularly of palm trees —up to 70 feet Ibng have been found nearby and are now ip the .mOseum. .These palm logs turn partially to coal arid part to flint, the outside being [ the coal. One j such log gave visitors to the mu seum quite-a shock whenever the coal would be struck by sunlight. As soon as it became fairly warm A&M’s Tracy Herbarium Features One of Best Native Plant Collections in the [ Southwest ’J. Tl# Cated - College Museum, is collections of nativ, MARVIljl RICE |: 4L Tracy .Herbarium, lo* eagtj wing Museum Originated as Factory 1 For Hog Cholera Serum in 1917 | By CHUCK MA1SEL Museums are usually noted as points of interest because of the material inside of them. The most interesting thing about the A&M Museum however is the building which houses it. The little squat brown structure arouses little admiration as an architectural masterpiece, but it has quite a history. Among other things, this unimpressive looking shrine to science gave birth to A&M's Veterinary School. | ' The museum was built fi>r what might seemingly be an insignificant purpose today j— the manufacture of a hog cholera serum. This was during the first World War and the serum—whose world supply was at A&M—was hailed to be as much a scientific miracle as penicillin was in the recent war. The project was started by the late Dean Mark Francis and Dr. R. C. Dunn of the School of Veterinary Medicine. They had the building—then only one room—erected as far from the main campus area as possible for fear of infection spreading among the students. The nearest building was Francis Hall. The venture proved so successful that the building was enlarged many times, which is the reason the rooms today are arranged in such a haphazard fashion. The income from the sale of the serum was considerable —so much that the Legislature passed a bill compelling the closing dbwn of all such operating projects by state schools and turning over the formulae to private interests. Profits Aided Vet School of thtj ne of the best plants in the Sbuth\yest5 The collfection is large- M en- pd i ■■f ■r ly restricted to plants growing in Texas, but there afe hundreds of ; { Pthers ?at lered fro jn other states. The ^ar ous plants are grouped by their r latidnshif into families, genera anfi species! Each genera is housed 8n a separate compart ment vrthin a largi> case and la beled according toj family. Bach species of j plant is'mounted on a separate card, and the name, date found, and the location are Ured ejn tjhis card. 1 The Tijacy Herbarium, as ,a i : f whole, contains approximate y 200,000 species olf plants, ^t present, ijn the mafin room ptjo- \ vided, 50j)00 pressed plants are ' ayaila >le ! for instant refe: The rumdinder a ret all cl4| and li belled, but are sto insect-jprobf boxes{ bee; the lack - of rooiji for-e housin g. : The herbarium Represents Work o njany collejctorfc and tains sj ecitnens collected and \ ed by air lost everfy well ’ km botanis ir the wofld. A nu of spec imejns were collected than 2( 0 Vear^ agej and are . jn excejen ; shape. j ► _ : The ^rst attempt) to investigate plants it wasj in 1882, when a man jby- fthp name of Neely was employed l»y the College to mjaKe a collection of grasises within ;the College arsa. Two j different col lections wqre made by Neely, and these t vo ! represent the startVof the her )aidum at J &M. Most; of the spe :ihi ens Neel] collected are still In ;he museuitr.' - v So -fir, as is recorded, Helge “Ness, bptatiist for tpe Experinjent iStationj wi s next t^ Carry on [the idea of* pjant collejition. a group of| students gathe dreds o' siecimens bf flora Ing in Jra[z(* County, f , ^Abont a 920, Thi U. 8 partmi nt [of Agrici llture di that i botanist s lould pany aach soil surveyor The retnains of an early Bravos County resident, skull of ancient mammoth, attracts many visitors to the South Room of the Museum, j Other large skulls visible are those of mastadons. f ' - - • ■ ■ ‘ ' j • ■. ■ / • } lect specimens of the flora in ihd his name was given to the en- the district being surveyed. This fire collection, added greatly to the existlftg collection. Enough funds soon became available to mount all the plants and, place them in standard herbarium cases. During th s time, the herbarium of S. M- Tiracy was acquired purchase -from the The Tracy collection of 10,000 by Tracy estate* • c- 1 Specimens, consist Gulf Coast plants, fains specimens fn world, which Trady exchange for specimens n. i. One comes (See HBRBARITi primarily of but also con- m all over the obtained in of his across plants M* Pane 4) Profits that had accumulated were used in the erection of the entire present day plant which houses the School of Veterinary Medicine with the exception of Francis Hall. Most of the equipment used today by the veterinary students was bought from the fund which had started in this little structure across from the Administration Building. The building then begajn to lead a varied existence. First it was used for severajl years as a storage place for college equipment. ' At one. lime it was the site of a pri vately-owned cafeteria for the use of those who grew tired of Sbisa’s offerings. Although not open to tjie public for many years the museum began its history as such when Dean Francis was instructed on his retirement to,move his massive collection of fossils to the brick build ng./ It took Dr. Francis and his co-workers over a year to move the magnificent collec tion. The better specimens were classified and. stored on the ground floor while tons of poorer material were discard ed, given away, or placed in'a vault which lies now sealed under the floor of the museum. If the floor were to be removed in future years, the authorities of that day are apt to think they have discovered another Pompeii so much museum material has been abandoned there. Museum Closed—-No Curator After Dr. Francis’ death, the museum was closed while the college authorities attempted to find a curator with no Then in 1937 Dr. Oscar: M. Ball became the first official curator and served until his death in 1942. Ball had come to A&M in 1903 as a professor of biology. His old home across from the Campus Corner is one of the oldest college landmarks. Dr. Ball had worked si<jle by side with Dean Francis in the collection of fossils. (While Francis was interested primarily in fossil animals, Ball specialized in fossil plants. He brought with him to the museum one of the finest collec tions of botanical fossils efer assembled in the United States. Following Ball as curator was Curtiss J. Hasse who first made the museum effort at A&M popular. He was responsible for most of the additional material now in the museum other than the two'fossil collections. H. B. Parks Is Present Curator The present curator is H. B. Parks, a spry 70-year-old who has been with the A&M System 32 years. With the museum since 1945 he has been interested and active in research on A&M’s own history. Parks is the nephew of one of A&M’s most famous Commandants—Captain ‘‘Bull” Sargent. When Sargent die<£, Parks fell heir to all of his old pictures and letters. The jot includes letters from several presidents of the college, official memoranda, the earliest photographs of the college, and other interesting items which gave a very accurate' picture of the college in its earliest years. Many of these are now on display at the museum. Parks has been quite- thO globe-trotter in his time. In 1902 he went to Alaska where his children were born. He established a training school^ for native children in Sitka, Alaska and later became editor of & paper there printed on a press that had lain idle to? 35 years before his coming. Although by his own adijhission he is “getting along in the years” he not only carei for the museum but is kept constantly busy naming plants for people by comparison with those of the Tracy Herjaarium of which he is also in charge. His only help comes from secretary Mrs. L. M. Vaughan, a student-veteran’gj wife. “Everything Hjere Is A Relic" Parks centers his life around the museum. To him it is a constant source of interest and he never tires showing visitors about. When a visitor enters, he will probably find Parks sitting in Dean Francte’ favorite chair behind a desk belonging to one of the presidents. “Everything here is a relic,” he, says smiling, “including me.” The museum is made up of the three main collections —the Tracy Herbarium, the pall fossil plants, and the Fran cis fossil animals. There are Tnany other smaller collections of educational value. Among these is the anthropological room where there are 101 casts, all taken from living models, which represent the variations of types of tribes and indi viduals of the South Sea region. Efich cast is a full portrait bust and colored from nature to reproduce the actual color of the skin. These casts represent, for those who can see beyond the opaque faces, living and impressive records of studies and observations. Each face has a timeless living quality that reveals intimate glimpses of a drama of life and struggle, of peace and-adventure, a drama told in 101 versions. No one can look at the collection and fail to he impressed by the range of details. It is like a travel book with a wide back- ground. I j ' ~ | , Not Enough Visitors Parks says the museum ; has enough- material to com pletely: change every display case once a week for 52 weeks, but that not enough people Visit the museum to warrant the change. To the casual visitor the museum might seem small and its interesting items soon exhausted. To him who under goes this feeling, the best adyice is to stop in Parks' office and ask to be shown around. A second abit of advice, though: don’t go near him unless you hjave the whole afternoon free— he likes to talk. p * • •' ■ ? }l ** Vg **' .^i-' -Hi .. 1 1 1*^ fj i • / / .<* ■ r vj :.il 'r • I Important item to A&M Fish is “oldest man on the <4 occupant is thought to have been a tax collector, and arc’ 2000 B.C. . i. , r .l”-f|tH (gists ! pltti Egyptian miimmV and case, i The irthday [as being v jj< • I Uilii Museum Collection Includes Egyptian Mummy, Rare Fossil Collection, Anil Aijitique Beehive By FRANK WELCH For centuries man has found the evidened and customs of his an cestors an interesting field - for study and enjoyment. Archeologi cal societies all oyer the world are constantly searching for lost civi lizations and remnants of the world’s past. It is .not necessary however to be a Student of the First Ice Age to enjoy the objects of interest found at the College Vluseunh.! / ‘ Many of the exhibits at the mu seum were built by the college for use in the Texas Centennial in 1936. One of these exhibits ,is the Geological Time Scale found jn the room of . [fossils. This scale, devel oped through the “radium clock” method, traces, the existence of the earth: back to the earliest date. By determining the amount of disintegrated radioactive mate rial in the world, geologists are able to aproximate the age of earth as 1,500,000,000,000 years. This scale also dates the appear ance of life on earth at about 5,000,000,000 years ago and! the appearance of vertebrates 2,000,- 000,000 years later. ^Ofither exhibit.- used- in the Centennial is the late Dr. Murk Francis' cpllecpon of fossils show ing. thijr)com0)ete .evolution of the hgrs£, This. is housed in a glass case arid is described with draw ings of the early horses as they looked millions of years pgo. In cluded in the collection .is the fos sil -discojvered by Francis himself which brought him high acclaim in veterinary Circles. This skull tl and leg formation waj tjhe first of its kind ever uncc vefed arj|tl served as a “missing liiklr.in tf complete study of th d anima^ s j evolution. J Another collection tb it Djh f Francis left to, the col eg 3 is tljiie huge assemblage of manriial boil' fossils. These are kept in; severl tall cabinets of drawers A 1 pieces, have been checked wit i he MU-1 seum of Natural Histo y in Nefv York and it fa considered one t the finest collections in it|e couji try- i I 1 A German made Ski pJorbeR hive, which was brought [to thfa country over a hund td| years ago is another of the Mi seum^ acquisitions.. Early Ge jnun set tiers imported the ske| s o Tex as when they learned hoi ttye was no way to raise sii gi r her The early beehive w tic i wai made of woven grass, : y* stra and rattan bark, res jMbles a tyrge wicker basket. On one of the walls ir It) e builj - ing is the skin of 19 f( (jt p$tho» The skin was sent fron[ liumiutri by Bruno - Winkler, fo |m erly jijf A&M. A fine collection of e ijrl Baby lonian cuniefqrm tablets [is ho|is< 1 In one of the many je? hibitk cases. CuiTieforHi is the name gi: en to the writing doic* by th early Babylonians, ai cl lette weVe made by impressip ^ shaped, stylug iff, soft c ii) dry the tablets resembl ><i rock and were] used for do dence: Samples include la for the sacrifice of a cplw ventory of a temple’s L i we [ Wi dj'3 Lean ( him [[enter* ablet used for writing practico in a jrrade school, and a Ijutcfier’i: (ill fpr a ram aritj a sheep. An authentic Egyptian mum my, complete wit i case, occupies another comer of thfa room. To archeologists the case' Hiig- gesta that . the [mummy, dates back to 2000 B.Ci The lid is-ius- pended above tht* other half of the. [carved covej-ing i enabling the observer to (fee the remains of this Egyptian dignitary, prob ably a tax collector. The in scrjijtion on the ancient <k»ffin sounds not unlike present day epitaphs: “Miy the decent ed by the graes f the local Gods who art^ lord ( <f Thinis and whff occupy aVhigl place [in front of i he chief; God. of Egypt, Amonn-Re, receive food, drinjej and clothir g for ever l and <rver."! , Close iriside the entrance to the (pusipjm are glass dabinqts contain ing early picturep and data aAM’is historyOje picturb show i the first Cadet,; Corps. Anothe shows the first faculty unde I resident Gathright. Here is found letftsr from President Gathright. V Istter-head hrs an engraving : first Ibuilc ing with h<> rs buggy teams' traveling Jlilthe isRalso a Rare snapshot d ouse Kyle taken d' A&M as a 0 days after ho f Fish. His rooni a. sm(ll li-t turned topsy-tqivy undjypiang res poll - [| l receipt an ip (iqjplies, is standing rtiess. Th? in the mkfat of laption reads ‘Fish’ Kyle alter a ‘rough m (■'■KilllilillWl Museum Curator Former Edjito H. B. PARKS, Museum curator, was the curator of the Sheldon Jackson Museum in Sitka, Alaska in 1910. The purpose of the Sheldon Jackson Mu seum collection was the preservation of natural history and ethnological specimens from all over Alaska. In October, 1910, Parks took over the job of classifying and cataloguing the specimens which had been collected during the previous 25 years. Museum Building was made to represent the ancient Alaskan house and was built with money collected by Dr. W. A. Kelly of the Indian Training School at Sitka. The Museum exhibits gave tourists ’ r . ii r . • 1910 AlasljiijL acquainted th that i lature- J -4—. 4. 7T out d \\ Thlinget’ complete jdea of the native injUtlulir former conditions,” anti elm with “the peculiar forms t in Alaska,” according tc “The T\hlingit\ , Indian School newspaper Pi irla pubjlis led The Thlinget in addifckfr to hi) Y ork ajs museum curator^ "The-mast head of the j aper, with a 'November, 1910 dateline is pputured above. Tie Thlinketj is the name the Indians ap plied to thean se |ves, Parks SlidL and meam literallyl “t! i; ! People.” The Mbvember is <n|e lone advertisement set ir old EhgjlisH Tc, First issue or The Thlin get wjnfij ptrb i sled on a press tljat had beer peratjidij for 35 years, ■ .Ui j.—n. | .—.[v—jiv— i -• r ‘k. :■