Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-29

White -feathered tree trunks. fish
that build stone houses, great red
spiders, which look like miniature
tree-climbing crabs, and fragile, rare
orchids in marsh recesses are amonS
the curiosities of nature found by the
National Vivarium Society yesterday
on it's annual field day in thousand
acre area Of pine barren and swamp
along the Patuxent River near Priests
Bridge.
This tract, which is owned by Ben
jamin King of Annapolis. and has
been set apart as a wild life preserve.
offers an entirely new type Of country
for Washington naturalists, according
to members of the Vivarium Society.
It is like a part Of the coast OF North
Carolina picked up bodily and set
down more than 100 miles to the
northward and somewhat inland, so
that it has a distinctive fauna and
flora different from any other part
of the country around Washington.
Plain Eaten Away.
Something like this actually has
happened in recent geological time,
saw members Of the Vivarium Society.
An unestimable number OF years ago.
but still within the days of most or
the present fauna and fora, the At
lantic coastal plain stretched some
what farther out to sea than at pres
ent and at a few points this charac'
teristic type of country stretched IN
land for a few miles. In the course
of time the Goa stal plain along the
Virginia and Maryland coasts was
eaten away by the sea and the pecu'
liar plants and animals were left
stranded in the inland pockets OF pine
barren. Such an area Is the PatuX-
ent marsh and another Is the area
around the famous biological research
station at Woods Hole. Mass, where
many Washington scientists spend the
Summer months.
The coastal plain area starts about
90 miles from Washington, on the De-
Tense Highway, and can be distln-
guished by the rapid change In the
character Of the soil from clay to
sand. To the lay observer the woods
and swamps appear about like any
other nearby woods and swamps.
tinted yellow lupin blossoms, black
pokeberries and goldenrod presaging
an early Autumn. The difference lies
in certain minute changes in the form
of life, readily detected by members
Of the Vivarium Society, all OF whom
are Washington biologists.
Echoes With Latin.
For the first time in more than
century, yesterday the ancient forest
echoed with Latin names, which may
have stirred in the great trees memo
ries of the long-past days when
Jesuit scholastics from the adjoining
Whitemarsh Manor used to humble
Latin verses on their walks through
the woods.
An arm Of the Patuxent River flows
for about Q miles through the estate.
This was dragged from one end to the
other with nets by DR.. Carl Hubbes OF
the University of Michigan in search
of characteristic varieties OF fishes.
DR.. Hubbes found approximately 20
varieties, one Of which--a small,
peculiarly marked darter-may be
new to science. DR.. Hubbes. who
is one of the foremost American
authorities on native fishes, said at
first that he never had encountered
anything quite the same, and offered
to name it after various members OF
the Vivarium Society. There was
considerable dispute as to who should
receive this honor, which was broken
off when the discoverer recalled that
something similar has been described