Articles of note in the Sterling Morton Library : January's Offerings

These are some recent articles that can be found within the journal collection of the Sterling Morton Library. Please visit the Library to discover the incredible botanical and horticultural resources that await you! If you are unable to visit the Library and interested in reviewing one of these articles, I would be delighted to assist you at rhassert@mortonarb.org.

Baggett, Pam. Wonderful walkways. The American Gardener, v. 87, no. 1, p. 37-41.

Hawkes, C.V. Are invaders moving targets? The generality and persistence of advantages in size, reproduction, and enemy release in invasive plant species with time since introduction. The American Naturalist, v. 170, no. 6, p. 832-843.

Janse-ten Klooster, S.H., E.J.P. Thomas and F.J. Sterck. Explaining interspecific differences in sapling growth and shade tolerance in temperate forests. Journal of Ecology, v. 95, p. 1250-1260.

Jones, B. and S. Foltz. A virtual arboretum. American Nurseryman, v. 207, issue 2, p. 40-46.
“A partnership has resulted in the creation of an online database that catalogs unique ornamental specimens planted in public and private landscapes in the Cincinnati and Louisville, KY, areas, as well as promotes plant diversity and public education.”

Pennacchio, M., L.V. Jefferson and K. Havens. Where there’s smoke, there’s germination. The Illinois Steward, v. 16, no. 3, p. 24-28.
Tells of recent discoveries about the role of smoke in the seed germination of some of our tallgrass-prairie species.

The Roger Tory Peterson Era : in the beginning … Compass, v. 22, issue 1, p. 1-2.
The year 2008 is the 100th year celebration of the birth of RTP. Read all about his life and legacy!

Winter Beauty

“At no other time of the year are tree forms more conspicuous. Against the whiteness of snow and the intensity of a blue winter sky, the bold patterns of sturdy trunk and intricate branch stand out most vividly, revealing characters of wide diversity. The graceful vase shaped American Elm, the rugged sturdiness of the Oaks, the flat-topped Thorns, the pyramidal spires of Poplars, and the Sugar Maple’s symmetrically rounded domes are but a few of the most familiar forms.”

I’m just in from a walk through the Arboretum’s east side and read this evocative description of winter on the grounds. Are you wondering if you missed this article in a recent issue of Seasons? Actually, this paragraph is part of a larger article written by E. Lowell Kammerer. The reference to the “graceful vase shaped American Elm” could be your first hint of this article's age. The article was actually published in February 1936 in the Bulletin of Popular Information (an early Arboretum publication) and prior to the dramatic loss of American elms in our community. The Sterling Morton Library has a complete set of all publications of The Morton Arboretum including:

• Bulletin of Popular Information
• The Morton Arboretum Quarterly
• Branches
• Events, News and Classes
• Seasons
• Annual Reports
• Other assorted publications
  

A trusty Library volunteer has been diligently indexing our publications to assist us in locating pertinent articles. I encourage you to stop by the Sterling Morton Library and explore our early Arboretum history and writings. Then, take a walk among the trees and revel in the winter beauty!

Lowell’s complete article published in 1936 can be found here.

The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry-Garrard

The weather in northern Illinois seems positively tropical particularly since I’ve been reading The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry-Garrard. Tomorrow morning, the book discussion group of the Sterling Morton Library will meet to discuss Cherry-Garrard’s riveting Antarctic narrative. While the Sterling Morton Library’s polar studies collection is minuscule, there are a number of on-line resources that will provide more information on this dramatic area and adventure. Cherry’s narrative chronicles his trip to gather penguin eggs (the worst journey in the world) along with the heartbreaking account of Scott’s race to the South Pole. A great adventure book, this account presents a dramatic setting, complex scientific details along with a very poignant story of the challenges faced by these explorers.

Places to search for more information:
The Royal Geographical Society’s Image Library has over 800 images from the British Antarctic Expedition 1910-1913
http://images.rgs.org
(Search under the heading: British Antarctic Expedition 1910-1913)

Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge – http://www.spri.cam.ac.uk
Their image library has a number of images from the expedition at British Antarctic Expedition, 1910-1913 (Terra Nova) at http://www.spri.cam.ac.uk/library/pictures/expeditions/terranova/

Science battles for Scott's reputation – BBC News - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/1535989.stm

Different Approaches to Antarctic Exploration by Sian Flynn http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/britain_wwone/south_approaches_01.shtml

Lots of information about this Expedition can be found from our good friends at Wikipedia:
Terra Nova Expedition - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_Nova_Expedition
Details about some of the explorers:
Robert Falcon Scott - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Adrian_Wilson
Edward Adrian Wilson - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Adrian_Wilson

A digital copy of this books is available at Project Gutenberg at http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/14363

Coming soon...

Our own Michael Stieber will be giving a lecture through The Morton Arboretum education program this month. Here is a description from the education brochure:

Order from Chaos - The Legacy of Carl Linnaeus
January 22, 2008 7-9 PM
Michael Stieber, Library Administrator and Reference Librarian, The Morton Arboretum

It is difficult to imagine a world in which the names of plants were muddled, messy, and confused. Just imagine the medical consequences of non-standard plant names. Carl Linnaeus (1707 - 1778) established the binomial system of genus and species, and with that changed our way of seeing the world. Michael will outline the original naming system Linnaeus proposed, based upon the number of stamens and pistils, and outline the lasting contribution to science made by this great botanist. Join us for wine and cheese after the presentation as we tour the new Linnaeus exhibit in the Sterling Morton Library.

You can register for this event here.