Evening star., 1925-08-30
BY DIR. WALTER n. KOELZ,
Chief Naturalist of the Macmillan
Arctic Expedition.

The fOllo1CinO story of his finds
1cds receired by radio By the National
Geographic Society Uid amateur sta
ton 1-ARE. operated by Alfred W.
Eperest of PittSfcld. Mass.
We had ample opportunity for hard
work at Etah and collected there many
fine specimens of bird and animal life
which we are sure will be of great in
tereSt to the National Geographic So.
Iciety.
At Etah the water was cloudy with
Jellyf7sh of diaphanous gray, but
just before we left there appeared
many winged snails. These curious
creatures float through the water, pro-
peliing themselves as they go.
one of the interesting aquatic ami
mails is the liparis, which resembles
the bullhead but has modified its ven
tral fins into a powerful sucker, by
means of which it attaches itself to
the rocks. The suction is so powerful
that considerable effort is required to
diSlodge it.
You will understand, of course. that
am giving a popular account of
some of our finds of greatest interest
70 the laymen. Many of our speci-
mems will require considerable scien-
tific study for classification and fur
ther analysis.
There has been collected a good Sc
ries Of Greenland red poll in Juvenile
plumage. This species is scantily rep
resented in most of the museums of
the United States and birds taken in
summer are very rare in American
collections.
A series of purple sandpipers have
also been obtained in their first juve-
nile plumage, which is unknown to
most ornithologists.
The status of the mandts guillemot
cepphuS mandte has been established
as subspecles of cepphus grvlle and
its Summer range delineated on the
Greenland shore.
We work all day and often spend
the night in the field. I am sleeping
on deck because my bunk is covered
with specimens.
All the land plants necessarily are
stemless, since any part extending
above the scant- snow covering is
frozen off, and none of them grows
more than a few inches high, includ-
ing willow and birch trees.
The less varied water vegetation is
more spectacular. The Grant kelp is
common and grows to a length of 20
feet and more, it's curving stems, half
atioat, are frequently mistaken, even
by the Eskimos, for animal life.
The common rockWeed grows as
luxuriantly as on our New England
coast.
The region around Etah has special
attractions for a botanist. Some SO
specimens of Towering plants can be
found in bloom in a few minutes
walk.
Poppies, pinks, dandelions, daisies
and buttercups can be gathered be-
side the glaciers that touch the
oceans edge. In places the Kentucky
blue grass forms a thick carpet,
though in general the plants do not
grow tall, the willow bushes being
only one or two inches high in favored
situations.
Timothy grows so luxuriantly that
an American farmer would be de-
lighted at the fine prospect of hay
crop.
Besides the larger plants there are
the lichens, which are the most con-
spicuous plant growths of ALL They
clothe the cliffs completely up to a
height of 1000 feet, in brilliant hues
of orange and purple which, in mosaic
with green patches of grass and black
where the birds have kept the rocks
bare, produces a spectacle of color
rivalling that of the bad lands.
The species of animals are fewer
in number and, with the exception
of the Dovekies or little Auks, the
number of individuals is also relative
ly small. The Dovekies or Bullbirds,
are present in swarms of incredible
magnitude. crossing a bit of sky