Chapter 1 – 1932

September 15, 1932 (McNabs Island)
Thursday. Went to Thrumcap [coordinates 44.58891, -63.502993] with Dr. Huntsman, Dr. Gran, Dr. Gran’s son (MacKenzie), Kearney, and Vladykov. Met at the King’s Wharf and went to the Eastern Passage in the Biology Boat. Had lunch on board and then went to the Eastern Passage Laboratories where we went over the laboratories and collected the workers there. After staying sometime at these laboratories, we all were taken over in the boat to Range Pier and walked across the island to Connie’s Pool. There was practically nothing growing in this pool except eelgrass. Huntsman examined a lot of this. The stones of the pool had a lot of black spots over them that might be the tiding over conditions of some of the forms that appear on these rocks a little later.

At the northwestern extremity of the lagoon there was quite a growth of Enteromorpha on the lower rocks left bare by the tide.

The whole party walked as far as the main exit of the lagoon, quite a number of them getting their feet wet. There were only two pairs of tall rubber boots for the party. The algae at the main outlet were in the typical September conditions. Chordaria was still present in considerable quantities but was old. The filamentous reds were covered with diatoms. No Scytosiphon, no Ilea, no Chorda. Dulse was present at the lowest level. At this main outlet all, except Huntsman and I, turned back. We continued around the end of the island. Huntsman got quite enthusiastic regarding the possibilities of collecting in and around the lagoon. In the lagoon I found some Bryopsis. At the South east corner of the lagoon we met two fishermen from Devils Island. Huntsman spent quite a time talking to them. We walked back along the shore, went back in the boat first to Eastern Passage Station then to King’s Wharf.

Dr. Gran gave me a lot of information regarding life histories of the Algae.

October 14, 1932 (Halifax Harbour at Point Pleasant Park)
Friday. Borrowed the Hupmobile. D.W. and I went collecting at the breakwater.

There was nothing out of the ordinary here. There was a lot of Monostroma below the low water mark. Halosaccion, plentiful and wiry. Very much branched and some of the branches small, but no sign of inflation. I was unable to tell whether or not there was any new growth. The plants all looked old and sort of moth-eaten but this may have been mostly the dirt in the harbour. Chorda, all gone. Chordaria one or two plants remaining in spots. Rhodochorton plentiful but laden with diatoms, Polysiphonias etc. There was not much growth of filamentous reds. Some could be seen deep down but, we did not collect any.

• Porphyra present in places but not especially plentiful.
• Fucus normal.
• Alaria not present.

From the breakwater we walked to Point Pleasant [coordinates 44.618832, -63.564588]. The tide was fairly low and I was able to wade out on the first (Laminaria) reef. I was hunting for Ahnfeltia but did not find any. Laminaria, chiefly Agardhii, apparently all ages. Chondrus was present in great abundance and some of it was fruiting.

On the second reef the tide was low enough for me to wade across to the second line of rocks and I carried D.W. over there too.

• Dumontia – Absolutely no trace could be found.
• Ilea – On the furthest out rocks and in the deepest pools there were small plants about three inches long and half an inch wide.
• Scytosiphon – With the Ilea there were a few plants four or five inches long.
• Filamentous Reds – On the furthest out rocks and in the deepest pools there were a few small tufts of filamentous Reds. Apparently just starting.

From the Point we drove around to the Dingle and collected “Murum.”

October 22, 1932 (McNabs Island)
Saturday. Dorothy Webster and I went to Thrumcap [coordinates 44.58891, -63.502993]. Breakfast at my house, Marjorie up. Shared taxi to King’s Wharf. Weather dull and cool but no rain. Late in the afternoon the sun came out.

On MacNab’s Island the ground was pretty wet from the numerous rains and getting down past the search lights the mud was knee deep.

First, we went to Connie’s Pool. There was nothing growing here except eelgrass. There was one piece of Monostroma about half an inch long, but otherwise the algae growth was non-existent. I have never seen the rocks in this pool so completely devoid of algae. We were not content with the usual inspection of this pool but returned to it after we had been at its outlets, and went into the water, examining rocks, etc. Even then there was no evidence of any growth.

Noticing something cool I found that the seat of my trousers were torn.

After first inspection of Connie’s Pool we put on our top coats and left our kits, etc. in the shelter of the trees as we went along the barrier reef.

Lagoon
There was a rich growth of Enteromorpha linza at the northwest corner of the lagoon. Otherwise, there was nothing growing along the edges. To be sure of this I waded along at many places. The rocks were completely bare, except for the flat and globular growths of Bluegreens.

Minor Outlets
Nothing growing. The rocks were covered with little globular colonies of Rivularia. There was also a flat expansion, that I could not recognize. We took samples of this into the laboratory and it turned out to be a bluegreen too, probably another of the Rivulariaceae.

Main Outlet

• Ilea – There was some to be found but not very much, just an occasional and scanty growth. Some was 3/8 inch wide and 6 inches long, but most was about 3 inches long.
• Scytosiphon – Scarce like the Ilea and most of it not more than 4 or 5 inches long. But some was as long as 8 inches and contorted.
• Polysiphonias – There were a number of small red tufts of young plants. We took these into the laboratory for identification. They turned out to be.
• Enteromorpha linza – a few small plants along with the Ilea.
• Monostroma – None observed.
• Branched Filamentous green – (one tuft) probably a Cladophora.
• Spongomorpha arcta – A few small old tufts, but very rare.
• Laminaria agardhii – A number of small old plants with decayed broken edges.
• Chordaria – A few clumps of old string like plants.
• Chondrus – As usual.
• Dumontia – We hunted everywhere but could find not slightest trace of any Domontia. We even examined and scraped the rocks for holdfasts.

In general, the growth was very scanty. The tide was low at 7:10 and we were collecting at 10. At this time the tide was starting to run in at every outlet and this interrupted our collecting.

When we got back to our kits in the trees there was a man there with a gun. He said he had taken a shot at a loon, but missed. The firewood was very wet but we got a fire going. Dorothy said she was not sleepy, and then went to sleep for two hours. We caught the mid-day duty boat back. Shared a taxi to the laboratory, and examined the material on the rocks. The band was gathering in the Munro Room when we got there. It was going out to the football match.

November 5, 1932 (McNabs Island)
Saturday. D.W. and I went to Thrumcap [coordinates 44.58891, -63.502993]. This was the morning after the dance at Shirreff Hall. Breakfast at my house. Marjorie got it ready. D.W. arrived at 6:30. Shared taxi to Duty Boat. At the Ferry Wharf I left message for Moore regarding Biology Club trip the next day. On arrival at MacNabs we went right to Connie’s Pool. Walking was not so muddy as the last day.

Connie’s Pool
Nothing at all growing in the pool except eelgrass. Put boots on in the usual place. The day was dull but warm. The level of the lagoon was lower than I had ever seen it before. The main outlet was only half its usual width and at first, I did not recognize it. Water was running out of only one other outlet, and only a little trickle at that.

Minor Outlets
All except one completely dry.

Main Outlet
The rocks were completely exposed everywhere except for about thirty feet at south end of outlet where the water was about 10 inches deep. The growth had greatly increased since last visit.

Dumontia – The main object of the trip was observation of this species. A few small but flourishing plants were found at both the main outlet and the largest minor outlet. This is the first observation for this season. The plants were 1 to 2 inches long and a deep purple colour. The fronds were much contorted. Collections were made, but much hunting was necessary to locate these specimens.

• Ilea- More plentiful than on October 22nd but still not abundant.
• Scytosiphon- Quite plentiful in spots, forming dense clumps and often averaging 8 inches long.
• Chordaria – Old fronds still present.
• Laminaria agardhii- A large number of fronds about a foot long.
• Alaria esculenta – None
• Sargassum [?] – One large old specimen heavily infected with epiphytes.
• Chondrus- A rich growth everywhere and no sign of any monostroma growing on it. The growth appeared to be exceptionally luxuriant.
• Hormiscia – Fairly dense on a few rocks. Collected some for the class.
• Bangia – A little present with the Hormiscia.
• Porphyra- Some young stages observed.
• Enteromorpha linza – More plentiful than last time. Collected some for class.
• Monostroma – None observed.
• Spongomorpha arcata – Observed but not common. Collected some for class.
• Polysiphonia – This was the conspicuous feature in the change of flora. There were small bright red Polly’s everywhere. It was most striking to see these little plants starting up all over the bottom and from the crevice of every rock.
• Chaetomorpha- Some bleached floating tangled mosses.

Before having lunch, I hunted for the path back through the woods but did not find it. Lunch on grass place where deer reside. Mighty tired. D.W. slept soundly and would not wake up. Said she wished the boat did not go till 5.

On the way past the fort, we noticed that they were building a garage over one of the big guns.

Walked back in a little over ½ an hour. Washed Dumontia on arrival at Garrison Pier. Shared taxi to lab.

Changed liquid on Dumontia again.

The reason for the very low level of the lagoon was apparently the low level of the high tides for the previous four or five days, for the low tide level was not below the usual. Apparently, the lagoon had not been filled up for some days.

November 6, 1932 (McNabs Island)
Sunday. Biology Club went to Thrumcap [coordinates 44.58891, -63.502993]. It was a marvelous day. The following went:

Miss MacKeen
Jean MacKay
Isabel Cox
Dorothy Webster
Lorna MacLeod
Marjorie Ball
Peggy Bell

Wilmer Fraser
Calder Fraser
Don Ross
___ Davison
Earl Hiltz
Basil Coady
Graham Simms
Bob Aikins
___ Kearney
Jimmie Bill
HPB

The charge for the boat was $10. Miss MacKeen was on time but Kearney had gone home to change his trousers and kept us all waiting. Left at 11 a.m. and arrived at Range Pier at 11:37. Walked to usual spot, where we decided to have lunch on the beach the day was so warm. D.W, Isabel Cox, Don Ross and I got the water hauling while the others went to Thrumcap. We got the water from the well and hauled it before letting anyone touch it. They then provided the following for lunch: vegetable soup, hot dogs, buns and coffee. They had brought frying pans and the big aluminum pot.

Lorna MacLeod went to sleep as soon as we arrived. Started back at 3:30, boat 4 p.m. Took taxi to lab. Miss MacKeen, D.W., Wilmer Fraser, Jimmie & myself. While at Thrumcap, we made a few observations. There was not much washed-up large Laminaria agardhii, but some Laminaria digitata and some old Alaria.

Temperature of water in surf 9 ½ degrees Celsius; temperature of water in lagoon 11 degrees Celsius. We hid a bucket beside the bottles.

November 13, 1932 (McNabs Island)
Sunday. D.W. and I went to Thrumcap [coordinates 44.58891, -63.502993]. Breakfast at my house. As Hazel and Winthrop were staying with us, I asked Hazel to drive us down but she could not get her car started. Left my house at about 9:10 and left the wharf at about 9:30. D.W. spent some time hunting for a place where she could get some biscuits. On the way down we saw the duty boat coming back, and learnt for the first time that it runs on Sunday. We arranged for the boat to come back at 4:30.

We walked through the woods to the range but from there on, we went around the beach.

At the end of the island, I made a collection from the well. The growth there turned out to be Tribonema. There was very little wash on the beach although there had been a big storm, but the surf was still very high. There was a strong wind.

Main Outlet
The water was deep, and the current running fast. This with the wind made observation difficult. However, the chief object of the trip was to see if the Dumontia had increased with great rapidity. It was possible to see that there was no great increase in the amount of Dumontia. Two collections were made and the plants were about the same size as the week before. Thus there had been no sudden and rapid increase up to this time. Other conditions were not changed sufficiently to be worthy of note.

Old Chordaria was still present. Dumontia was collected in the minor outlets as well as the main outlet. No sign of any growth in either the lagoon or Connie’s Pool. Before lunch I made a collection from the deer’s drinking pool. This turned out to be a rich culture of Zygnema and later developed some Peridinia.

We had lunch at the deer’s abode and caught the boat at 4:25. The boatman charged me $6, that is $3 per trip. On arrival at Halifax, we took the street car to the laboratory and took care of the material.

On the island we noticed that the garage over the gun was completed, also we tried various of the paths from the fort end but they were all grown in. On the way back in the boat we changed the water on the Dumontia twice. When I got back to my house the Douglas’s and the Winthrop B’s were having tea.

November 17, 1932 (Wolfville)
Thursday. Dorothy Webster, Margaret Butler, Miss Johnson and myself went to Acadia [University] in the Frontenac. We left shortly after lunch and went up in 1 hour and 57 minutes. Weather slightly rainy. At Wolfville, I borrowed a book. M.R.B. had a long talk with Bains. I gave a talk before the seminar. Perry Bains and Roscoe entertained us for supper. I got a piece of metal in the trunk of the car and had the outer casing patched. Started for home in the dark and rain. Took nearly three hours to get back. Struck fog. Everything O.K.

November 26, 1932 (McNabs Island)
Saturday. D.W. and I went to Thrumcap [coordinates 44.58891, -63.502993]. Breakfast at my house. Went down to duty boat in Frontenac and left it on the King’s Wharf. Both Janet and Jimmie came down while we were at breakfast. Fine day to start with but it got cloudy on the way down in the boat. There was a very high wind from the south west. The sun rose with a glorious sunrise as we were driving down to the wharf. On arrival at MacNab’s, we walked directly to the collecting grounds.

Connie’s Pool
Nothing growing, even eelgrass appeared to be less.

Put on boots in the usual place and ate Dorothy’s peanut butter sandwiches. While we were putting on our boots we observed enormous flocks of seagulls on the rocks near the main outlet. By the time we were walking along the reef it had started to rain. The tide was only about half out, thus there was a swift deep current at every outlet. But we had brought a glass dish and by means of this we were able to observe the growth very well. There is no need to give the ordinary forms in detail, all members of the autumn crop had increased in size and abundance.

• Rhodymenia palmata – A number of young plants of this species were observed. They were about four inches long.
• Dumontia filiformis – Collections were made, but the plants were neither abundant or large. They were observed in both the main and minor outlets. In the main outlet they were observed on the lagoon side at the south end. The plants averaged about 2 inches long, but there were some as long as 4 inches. By the time we reached the main outlet it was raining hard.

A number of water temperatures were taken:

• Main outlet – 6.1 degrees Celsius
• Ocean near main outlet – 7.1 degrees Celsius
• Minor outlet – 6.4 degrees Celsius
• Very quiet shallow place near shore in lagoon between outlets – 6.9 degrees Celsius
• Temperature of air – 9 degrees Celsius

Lagoon
There was no growth around the edge of lagoon.

By the time we got back to the park it was not raining so hard. I hid the glass dish with the bottles and collected a jar full of water algae and moss from the well where the deer drink. At first we thought of trying to get inside one of the military huts to get out of the rain, but we found a good sheltered spot under the trees and had our lunch there. The rain continued as showers. There were a large number of strips of Laminaria longicruris washed up on the shore. Waited for boat in waiting room and talked to two soldiers and a civilian who were there. Saw Jean Webster and her officer friend on arrival at the King’s Wharf.

Frontenac O.K. Took material to laboratory. K. Hebb, Grace Murray and friend were working in the lab when we arrived. Drove Dorothy to hall, went home to a hot bath and sleep. Hot bath felt mighty good.

December 10, 1932 (McNabs Island)
Saturday. D.W. and I went to Thrumcap [coordinates 44.58891, -63.502993]. Breakfast at my house. Arranged the night before for a boat to call for us at the Range Pier at 4:30 ($3). Shared taxi to duty boat. Going down in the boat the captain, named Faulkner, came into the cabin and spoke to us for quite a while regarding sea plants and animals brought up attached to cables. He had worked on a cable ship. The duty boat called at Ives Point first then at Garrison Pier.

On the way down the island, we investigated the hut possibilities. We got into the enclosures around the gun emplacement huts and Dorothy found that the window on the east side was open and a ladder led up to this window in one hut. Then we found the old hut between the ranges and investigated the possibilities of its verandah. We went down to the end of the island through the woods.

There was a thin covering of snow that had just fallen. This covered up the algae on the beach and also made the rocks very slippery.

The bucket that I had partially hidden when down with the biology club had gone. On arrival at Little Thrumcap we changed our boots in the shelter at the south end and also ate Dorothy’s sandwiches.

Before reaching the main outlet, I investigated the little bay in the lagoon that is between Little Thrumcap and the main outlet. It is an outlet at high water. There we found a large bed of well developed Dumontia. We made quite a large collection. Taking all varieties of plants in the laboratory just in sea water. (In addition to those preserved in chromo-acetic).

Main Outlet

• Dumontia – A few plants were observed but not many.
• Laminaria Agardhii – The fronds were three or four feet long in certain cases, frilled and often broken.
• Ilea and Scytosiphon – Many large and dense clumps.
• Dumontia and Hormiscia – Plentiful (?)
• Chordaria – Still very few. Some old fronds remaining.
• Filamentous Reds – Growing large.
• Other forms like Chrondrus, Fucus, etc. as usual.

Minor Outlets
Dumontia observed in two or three places, apparently more plentiful than in the main outlet.

Lagoon
Still no sign of growth around the edge. The Entoromorpha linza at the NW corner was fruiting abundantly.

Connie’s Pool
Nothing growing except at the north end were the water runs out. There we found one little clump of a young green, either Enteromorpha or Monostroma.

As there was snow on the ground, we decided to have lunch under the trees where it was fairly dry. I had taken the inside of my old bedroll so we could sit down. I left Dorothy and lunch, and went back for water from the well from which the deer drink. (Peridium culture also, zygnema). The well was frozen over but with only thin ice.

Caught boat at Range Pier at 4:15. Took material to laboratory via street car.

During the next few days we examined the Dumontia very carefully. It contained every kind of plant, small, large, branched, unbranched, etc. but we could find no trace of any reproductive [structure] of any kind.

December 16, 1932 (Halifax Harbour at Point Pleasant Park)
Friday. D.W. and I collected on breakwater and at Point Pleasant [coordinates 44.618832, -63.564588]. I wanted to get fresh plants for the examination in Botany 12. This took place the next day. It was bitterly cold. We walked both ways, going first to the breakwater.

Nothing special observed on the breakwater. The side branches of the Halsaccion appeared to be longer, broader and more numerous.

At Point Pleasant

• Fucus platycarpus – We found only one plant with a conceptacle attached but it was getting dusk.
• Dumontia filiformus – Before it got dusk Dorothy spotted one small plant of Dumontia. It was a little tuft with fronds about ¾ of an inch long.

We walked back through the park and had some hot tea when we got to the lab.