The Washington herald., 1921-09-11
PLUMMERs ISLAND 10
HIoLOGIsTE, PREsERNE.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER n, Is11.

ELIAaEnc 4AEkAnD -
BIoLOGIsTg PRESERVE.
Sacred 20 nature and the scene Of
many collecting trips and neld out
ings. there is an island up the Po-
tomac River, nine miles above
washington. on the Maryland side.
that IN owned and used BY q group
Of washington biologists. banded
together as the Washington Bioio-
gists' Field Club.
over twenty years ago Charles L
Pollard. then an enthusiastic local
botanist. inaugurated n movement
among q few Of his friends TO es-
txblish q naturalists' camp here and
this resulted in the club that now
en5oys Plummers Island. At nrst a
cottage near Upper Marlboro. Nd.
was used. but after q year and q
half there Plummers Island was
picked as an ideal spot The mem
bers built the clubhouse that 10 now
used. and after a number Of Year,
they were able 10 acquire q tide 20
the island by purchase and patent
Now the club, in addition TO the
island, has thirty-nve acres OF land
on the Maryland shore along the
canal and opposite the island
The biologists have determined
that their island shall be a botani-
cal and sociological preserve that will
not only AFFORD an unfpoiled spot
for collecting. but will preserve for
the future q sman piece Of original
local territory.
. A scarcely definitely formed pro
scot TO establish q Arboretum Co.
lumbianum on the mainland prop
erty has been slowly advanced BY
the transplanting Of q number OF
the rarer shrubs. trees and vines OF
the region Only a very few OF the
rarest. AZ hemlock, white and table
mountain pines and rhododendron
have been planted on the island
Itself where the club intends that
nature shall take her course. An
exception to this rule is furnished
by our little flower garden where
some OF the handsomest blossoms OF
the District nora have been planted.
Records OF all introductions are
strictly kept
One Of the chief objects OF th.
club IL a thorough biological survey
Of the island. and a less complete
study, for comparative purposes, OF
much OF the nearby region. The
nrst committee on fauna and fora
WAS appointed October 2. 1909. Ac-
tive collecting and study have been
carried on every year by this com
mittee or by individual club mem
bers, and some remarkable results
have been obtained. The number OF
species OF various groups thus fs-
identified from Plummcrs Island. an
area OF about twelve acres. is a.
follows: Mammals, IS; birds, l4S.
reptiles, IS; amphibia- IL; nsheF.
600; beetles, 1900; fiies, over 500:
bugs. t2o: orthoptera, so: seed-bear-
ing plants, $50. Of which lo3 are
trees, shrubs or woody vines; ferns
and securing rushes. is: moses. 20:
lichcns, so, and fungi, u.s.. More Or
less work has been done on other
systematic groups, but the results
cannot as yet be conveniently sum
married. No formal list of the
species OF any group has been pub
ished. However. incidentally 20
other studies, more than 40 paper.
have been published which treat 10
some extent OF the fauna and fora
OF Plummers Island. These articles
record some go species Of animal,
from the island, OF which va
rieties, LOG species, IL genera and Z
NtCNiAbCn a. new
Forty-nine OF these new specie.
} varieties and 5 genera belong 10
the Lepidoptera: 20 species and
genera 20 the Diptera, and IL spe-
cies, genera and the two new
families to the Hymenoptera.
Great extensions OF range have
been noted; several species hereto
fore known only from such remote
areas as Texas and Mexico End IN
one or two instances even from Eu-
rope. have been collected Thcse
various results show at once bcth
the great need there To- for intensive
local studies, and the great rewards
in the way Of new knowledge thai
awaits enthusiastic collectors.
The officers of the Washington
Biologists Field Club are: William
r. Maxon, president; W. o. Emer,.
vice president; A.>wetmore, secre-
tary; p. l. Kicker. treasurer: ". y.
Hay, W. II. osgood, A. X. Fisher. T.
A. Schwartz, board OF managers. v
L. McAtee, A. c. Weed, r w. Will
Jams, house and grounds committee
on fauna and fora; II. S. Barber. n
C. Fuller, committee on photo
graphs and library. The founders.
in addition TO Mr.. Pollard, were:
Edgar Brown. W. p. Hay, W. l..
MaNon, z. L. Morris and william
Palmer