Transcribing the field notes of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology

Collector:Grinnell - 1925 Location: San Diego Date: March 3, 1925 Page Number: 2452

in any feasible way. Klauber is amateur herpetologist, a good friend and scientific protege of Dr. VanDenburgh before the latter's death. His published list of San Diego County snakes is very creditable. Klauber took me out to the Scripps Institution beyond Lajolla in the afternoon yesterday; there we saw Dr. F.B. Sumner and the latter's "murarium." The chief things Dr. F.B. Sumner is breeding are the Alabama races of Peromyscus, a white one in San Jose Island [unknown 4], a dark one in the interior of the state, and one of intermediate tone on the mainland seashore. Dr. Sumner caught alive and brought with very few fatalities over 150 of these mice to Lajolla, where they are thriving and breeding in his mouse-house. I saw the first generation from the sand-white race, bred in confinement, and they are just like their parents - no darkening. Dr. Sumner has cross-mated some of the mice, and has blended intermediate offspring, between parents of the different races; in other words the characters do not sharply segregate. So far, attempted matings between the Alabama (P. leucopus, ssp.) with Californian P. maniculatus, ssp., have proven fruitless. The Austrian zoologist, Dr. Paul Kammerer, had been at Lajolla in the forenoon; Dr. Sumner was very

Collector: Grinnell - 1925 Location: San Diego Date: March 3, 1925 Page Number: 2453

sharp in his criticism of Kammerers "inheritance of-acquired-characters" experiment, which have been quoted in both the English and the American press with so much deference of late. Sumner thinks said "experiments" were unscientific, and Kammerer him self an incritical enthusiast, carried away by his and ideas and the publicity that has been accorded them. I also met for a moment the new Director Vaughn, who seemed to be working with corals.

Today, I've been in the Museum at Balboa Park, looking on the study collections of mammals and birds. They are of two sources - the old Hawk Stephens collection dating back to 1874, and the lately-collected material gathered by the present curator of birds and mammals, Laurence Huey. Mr. Stephens is a sort of curator emeritus, a pensioner. He and Mrs. Stephens (who is curator of molluscs) together, I am told, received $75 per month - scarcely enough to live on, surely! Each puts in "half-time." Sunday afternoon I visited the Stephens's at their home, 3746 Park Blvd. - only two houses in sight when it was built, some 25 years ago, but now surrounded by apartments and modern homes. The Stephens are holding on to this property in hopes of selling to better advantage "soon"' but its all they can do to pay the taxes, $160 last year. I found Mr. Stephens