Camp Pasquaney - Annual Yearbook (Hebron, NH)

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THE PASQUANEY ANNUAL 75 l Photograph by F. O. Reed ALONG THE NATURE. TRAIL In this way, by knowledlge of certain facts an-d a few mechanical aids, Nature in its -own sur-r-oundings was bro-ught to the atten-ti-on of every inhabitant of Camp and every visitor to it. Partly because o-f the pressure of other activities, the group who fol- lowed Na-ture for its own sake, and who entered the natural history con-tests this summer was limited. But the zeal -of this group was very great. Perhaps, the mo-st remarkable achievemenft of any boy was that made by William F. Wingard. Un account of his splendid work on spidiers, he won th-e me-dal for the best collection and the medal for the best research. Clement Scott, jr., whose contribution follows, won the medal for the best essay. W. Stephen Thomas, N atzpralisf. THE PRIZE ESSAY ANTS Man has a great deal of trouble with government. He has tried monarchies and democracies, dic- tatorshipsg but never has he found as smoothly-working. a government as -that of th-e ant. The ant's gov- ernment is run on socialisticlines, since there is no private property, each individual working for the state, and being fed and housed by the sta-t-e. There is no lazy leisure class, there is no down-tro-dden po-or class, everybody is working at the Particular task for which he is best suited. It is th-e ideal type of s-ocialism. Probably the reason it works s-o w-ell is because of the un- boun-ded patriotism of each ant.. They toil c-easelesslyg they are always ready to give their lives for the good o-f all. A There are in each colony usually thre-e kinds of ants. There are the ordinary winged males, and the females, called queens, the workers, who are all females, but unable to lay eggs. The fighters are a distinct class with very powerful jaws. An an-t colony is foundved by a queen who lays eggs from which hatch workers, males, and other queens. These queens sta-rt laying eggs, and the colony grows with surprising rapidity. Th-e workers take charge of the white, grub-like

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74 THE PASQUANEY ANNUAL from classroom biology as earth is from sky. Wfe hope we have kept to this ideal during the past summer at Camp. Pasquaney has been a pioneer in nature activity. Thirty years algo a permanent museum building was erected for this department. Witliiii these headquarters continued eff-ort of boys and counsello-rs has resulted in forging a line tool for the use of present and future campers. That tool is the permanent collection -of plant and animal specimens gath- ered on the Camp grounds, and representing our local wild life. Photograph by A. W. Moody BOYS WORKING IN THE MUSEUM This year emphasis was taken from collecting for the Museum and placed upon teaching: that is, making use of what we had at hand. The Naturalist found it an all summer task to re-arrange and re- condition the material in the Museum. Among the innovations in the exhibits was a habitat group of mounted birds, showing habits of flight and nesting. As in previous years, the Natural- ist gave a nature talk eve.ry Saturday morning on -the wild life, animate and inanimate, immediately about us. Attendance at these little lectures was compulsory for all new boys and optional for others. Mr. G-orst, bird-song imitator, and well- known at Pasquaney, paid us a visit on July 14th. He led two bird walks, and gave his astounding imitations at an illustrated lecture in the evening. One of the chief features in the Nature Department for 1929 was the establishment of a nature 'trail or outdoor museum. Mr. S. A. Howes, Pasquaney Naturalist in 1928, erected a miniature trail in the immediiate vi-cinity of the Museum. This year the project was greatly enlarged. The open-air exhibition was l-ocated on the path leading to the Farm, from the f-oot of Jaco-b's ladder to the end of the second tennis co-urt. For two weeks before july 27th, Watreir Sports Day, the Naturalist with the abl-e assistance of six boys worked intensely on the exhibit. Al-ong the trail were several dozen species of trees and plants labeled appropriately, just as they grew. Besides, there were many displays -of living creatures, which included ants, butterflies, beetles, and even toads and snakes. Many of these were to be seen in their natural environment, although con- fined. An instance of -this was the caterpillar of the Sphinx moth feed- ing on ash leaves in a celluloid cage.

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76 THE PAsQUA NEY ANNUAL larvae which hatch from the eggs, keeping them in warm chambers and feeding them. The larvae grow for about a m-onth and then spin c-ocoons around themselves. From these they emerge, full-grown ants, in about three weeks. VVhen you open an ant hill, you see the workers rushing about with these cocoons. But it is difficult to determine the construction of an ant hill by pulling it apart. If you examined it care- fully you would find that tunnels lead to underground chambers where the food, the cocoons, and the eggs are kept. The workers' duty is to get food and nourishment for all, and the many ingenious ways by which it is procured speak best for the intelli- gence of ants. They usually feed on plants, the dead bodies of ani- mals, and other insects. But they seem to have reached almost human intelligence in their keeping of cows, for such are the aphids, which give a kind of sweet syrup. Again they rival human gardeners in their growing of mushrooms for food. Ants ar-e blind, but their sensitive feelers almost take the place of eyes. That they have some means of com- munication by rubbing their feelers together, has been proved. But whether ants are intelligent, wheth- er they have thoughts or merely rely on instinct, is a question hotly debated by naturalists. Are they subject to emotions such as joy, fear 5 and sorrow? Some scientists claim they have seen unmistakable signs of emotion. They have seen ants running about with hilarious joy and prancing on the hind legs, as after some great victory. But, on -the other hand, if the soldiers have been defeated, the whole colony seems to be greatly d-epress-ed. However, no1body's opinion can be taken as Hnal because of the great gap which their small size and their lack of the organ of sight and the power of speech places between them and man. Perhaps some day naturalists by careful study and the use of a powerful microsc-op-e will be able to tell what one ant is communicating to another through his feelers. But until then all sp-eculations concern- ing an-ts' intelligence must be vague. Clement Scott, Jr. SUNDRY REMARKS OF THE SKUNK FAMILY Bless my soul, if it do-esn't seem quiet without those boys, sighed Mrs. Sally Skunk to her better half one Sunday morning. Dont you kind of miss them, dear ? Miss them V' burst out the head of the Skunk family. Yes I do. And it's the luckiest miss I can think of right n-ow. And with this pronunciamento, he proceeded to smooth down a few unruly hairs which were diminishing the effect of perfect neatness and dignity which characterized him. They