Evening star. [volume], March 22, 1931, Page 10, Image 82

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
10
Woman Scientists Who
%
Carry on Research IRork
For Uncle Sam
" ■> ~. t
.Government Group Includes Highest Ranking
Geologists in the United States—Two
Paleontographic Illustrators, a Couple of
Medical Bacteriologists and an Expert in
Marine Invertebrates. . .
BY JAMES NEVIN MILLER.
rHEY stand squarely on their own feet,
asking nothing at all from a man’s
world of science except that their work
be judged on its merits alone.
Such are the women scientists at
■*' lached to Uncle Sam’s great research labora
tories In Washington. All told, the genuine
“topnotchers” among them total only a trifle
more than a baker’s dozen. Yet all show the
true qualities of leadership; they possess that
which is referred to as “womanliness,” while
many receive prominent mention in the annual
American Men of Science, a tiny volume issued
annually, containing a who’s who of those who
have accomplished important scientific work in
the United States.
Included in this group are three geologists,
two paleontographic illustrators, two medical
bacteriologists, an expert on marine inverte
brates, one assistant curator, an explorer, a
beverage chemist, a “nematodist,” a “cytologist"
and a “mycologist.”
Probably the most readable “human-interest”
story that might be told about any of these dis
tinguished scientists is the one about three
women connected with the United States Geo
logical Survey—Dr. Florence Bascom, Dr. A. F.
' Jonas and Dr. Julia A. Gardner.
Certainly this little group comprises the
highest-ranking women geologists in the United
States. Indeed, most geologists who now are
prominent in commercial pursuits have spent
an apprenticeship with the Geological Survey,
which is admittedly the best training school for
the Nation's leading experts on rock formations.
"OUT to return to the “human-interest” story.
legiate” background—Bryn Mawr. It seems that
a young geology instructor there, a Miss Bascom,
had such a charming personality and rare
power of visualizing the really fascinating
ft . v. •* J
Sjjy mm i
Mias Alice Evans, bacteriologist of the
Public Health Service. She frequently
risks her life in the study of diseases.
phases of the science that the course was very
much in demand; so much so that news of the
young woman's ability reached the interested
ears of certain officials of the United States
Geological Survey. Whereupon a position was
offered her, subject to the customary Civil
Service regulations. Miss Bascom accepted,
much to the regret of the faculty and students
of Bryn Mawr.
It is a coincidence that two of Miss Bascom’s
most proficient students, Miss A. F. Jonas and
Miss Julia A. Gardner, who were graduated a
few years later, also found excellent posts with
the survey. Tod?y Miss Bascom is regarded
with a great Seal of affection and respect as the
dean of the Nation’s women geologists. She
and her two former students have published a
number of authoritative scientific works on
America's geological formations. Moreover,
feme years ago to Miss Bascom came the honor
THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, MARCH 22, 1991.
IcpiP
I
p. i' 1 .- & &■'.>■ jsgyj
Miss Mary King Sumner at work in the
laboratory of the Geological Survey.
of being the first woman to belong to the dis
tinguished Geological Society of America.
Working hand in hand with both men and
women geologists are two well known “paleonto
graphic illustrators” at the Geological Survey,
Miss Frances Wieser and Miss Mary King
Sumner. In their chosen field these two experts
rate with the foremost in the land. An im
portant phase of their work consists in making
drawings of fossil rock formations, dating back
perhaps millions of years, and retouching photos
of other specimens. A powerful microscope is
usually necessary in this connection, for often
times the specimens used to make such pictorial
material are smaller even than the finest pin
point.
The dents, cracks and crevices which such
drawings and pictures delineate are 6t vast im
portance to State and national geologists, for
they are the direction signs which indicate
- where new supplies of oil, coal and valuable
rock may be found, and at approximately what
distances below the earth’s surface the deposits
are located.
If the rock specimens are tiny they are
mounted on special glass slides and studied
carefully under a binocular microscope which
magnifies as much as 200 times. This has a
• special micrometer which helps measure the
magnified specimen so as to make the drawing
in the desired scale.
By a curious blow-pipe arrangement speci
mens are sprayed with chemical solutions which
whiten their surfaces so that even the most
delicate lines and marks may be closely ob
served. This solution also destroys any discol
orations that might obscure the all-important
lines, indentations and bumps. After classifi
cation of fossils in this manner it is possible
to establish the geologic age of every rock for
mation and from this knowledge it is only one
more step to a direct correlation of oil or coal
producing strata.
TWO bacteriologists who have made notable
discoveries to aid the Government’s relent
less warfare against mysterious diseases are
Miss Alice Evans and Miss Sara E. Branham,
both with the hygienic laboratories of the
United States Public Health Service. Truly,
Miss Evans is a living martyr to medical
science, for again and again she has risked her
life in connection with the important research
work. Already she has had "Malta” or “undu
lant" fever, caused usually by drinking the in- „
fee ted milk of goats or cows.
The strange ailment has been a puzzle to
the medical fraternity, both as to cause and
possible cure. So far no cure has been found,
but science now knows that a thorough pas
teurization of milk will serve as a preventive.
Miss Evans’ contribution to the world’s knowl
edge of this mysterious disease has been of
great value. As far back as 1918 she made the
discovery that there is a very close relation
between the organism which carries “undulant”
fever to humans qnd that which causes conta
gious diseases in hogs and cattle. It was found
that the two organisms are indistinguishable by
ordinary laboratory methods, although a slight
difference can be detected by the use of a cer
tain complicated and tedious test. The dis
covery by Miss Evans was confirmed later by
qualified investigators in the United States,
Austria, Italy, The Netherlands, Egypt, Japan
pjfl | "Mllß •' " ' • Bhffr,
\m 1
**^ jiori '*‘^ n . .>>*,^iß
ifiii y4gnes Chase, Uncle Sam’s chief woman explorer. She finds all sorts aj,
grasses and identifies them.
4 •
■ •• • • ,/i*Tc W \^kk*S£3
fc-_. .'ipf&.f* l
Mrs. Ruth Starrett is a “ cytologist ” in
tfee Bureau of Plant Industry. Her job
is to study new types of beet and sugar
canes.
and South Africa. They pointed out that the
two organisms are alike in appearance, behavior
and capability.
Prominent among the Smithsonian Institu
tion scientists Is Mary J. Rathbun of the divi
sion of marine Invertebrates. For years she has
been making an exhaustive study of crabs, both
I
*w >. iUksfj\-
19
Miss Anna Mix, whose Government work includes a careful inspection of aQ
popular drink mixtures.
recent and fossil; or, as Miss Rathbun herself
describes her work, “decapod Crustacea, which
Include shrimps as well as crabs of yesterday
and today.”
Miss Rathbun not only has peered deeply
into the complicated sciences of geology and
paleontology, but she is also a linguist of note.
Her research work requires much more than •
smattering of many tongues. She has eon* '
quered scientific French, in which new tongue* .
twisting words are being coined virtually all the
time.
The only woman in the entire Smithsonian
Institution who rates the important title of
- curator is Miss Doris Cochran of the
division of reptiles and amphibians. Every year
she catalogues between 2,000 and 3,000 speci
mens of creatures that rate scientifically as
“cold-blooded vertebrates, with the exception
of fishes, none of which achieve the steady high
temperatures characteristic of mammals.”
This is the second largest collection of the
kind in the entire world, the largest being in
the British Museum. Included are turtles, .„
crocodiles, alligators, snakes, frogs and sala
manders. Ncne of these specimens is alive.
But they do have in their scales, color, sise and
proportions certain almost mathematically pre
cise characteristics that fit into a definite
formula for differentiation of species.
DIOHT here is where Miss Cochran’s sci
entific poet is so important. She has to
classify every one of the specimens submitted
to her, and this is an extremely difficult, slow
and painstaking job. For not only does she
have to put every type of modern reptile into
Its proper scientific cubbyhole, but she like
wise must piece together, correct and alter.
Continued on Thirteenth Page