Saturday 20 January 2007

Trees of Stillwater Lake

Trees of Stillwater Woods
Hardwoods abrev notes
Beech Be often diseased, may recover
Grey Birch gB a smallish tree, unusual, not much value
White Birch wB Paper Birch, rare, not in inventory
Yellow Birch yB
Sugar Maple sM great maple syrup
Red Maple rM
Striped Maple stM Moose Maple, no value
Alder Al Speckled Alder, no value but fixes nitrogen
White Oak wO Ours may be Red Oak, according to trees of Canada, rare
Pin Cherry cH sparse, no value
sumac or mountain ash rare, no value - these two are different plants, I am not sure which is present here
Poplar rare, little value - this may either Trembling or Largetooth Aspen
Softwoods
Balsam Fir bF Christmas Trees
Red Spruce rS
Eastern Hemlock eH
Eastern White Pine wP
Larch L Tamarack, large samples have value, rot resistant
Eastern White Cedar Ce Arbor-Vitae, introduced species NB native

Stillwater Woods Subdivision

About Stillwater Woods subdivision

Our family is proposing to build a small subdivision on our land bought in 1972. This woodlot will contain some twenty homes built on land zoned to accommodate family businesses within the home. Our hope is that professional people with a family centered philosophy will reside here.

The woodlot will continue to be used by the families for heat and for shade. We hope to engage the services of Don Roscoe (solardon@chebucto.ca) to assist in sighting and construction of many of our homes. Don runs the Solar building course and is renowned across Canada for his work on ‘passive solar’ design.

It is our intention to move to a lakeshore home built by Don. This is our primary motivation for the subdivision. We estimate that Don’s designs cut back heat costs by 80% and that no cooling will be required in his designed homes. (This means heating with one cord of wood – which is the amount that is surplus from a building lot each year – sustainable.)

Our engineer and subdivision designer has been Soori from CKM Engineering. We believe that he has done a great design so that this subdivision will have minimal impact on the environment. We plan that the homes will blend into the surroundings and we will retain the forest nature of this area as much as the current rules will allow.


For some pictures around Stillwater Lake and of our garden see www.flickr.com/photos/frizzle-kelly/

Tuesday 16 January 2007

The Autobiography of A. Hyatt Verrill


The Autobiography of A. Hyatt Verrill

born 23 July 1871, died November 14, 1954

SYNOPSIS

This book is the life-story of A. Hyatt Verrill, author of one hundred and seventeen books and contributor to most of the leading periodicals in America and England, as told by himself.

Verrill has discovered and described more than thirty new species of birds, reptiles, shells and insects. He was the first man to discover a process of natural photography and the first to photograph marine invertebrates, and insects.

He re-discovered the almost mythical Solonodon paradoxus in the Dominican Republic. He was in charge of an expedition that partly salvaged a Spanish galleon sunk in the West Indies in 1637. He discovered and excavated the remains of a previously unknown pre-historic culture in Panama and has excavated countless tombs and ruins in South America and has lived among more than one hundred Indian tribes in South, Central and North America.

He has made ninety-nine trips to the West Indies and Latin America, has crossed the Atlantic eleven times and has devoted nearly forty years to jungle and desert explorations in Central and South America.

He has built boats, voyaged on a square-rigger to the West Indies, cruised through the Antilles on a vessel once a pirate ship, has served as steward, assistant engineer and purser on West Indian cruise ships and has held a Master’s Certificate.

At one time he was a member of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and as an expert rifle shot, demonstrated ammunition for the Winchester Arms Company. He knew personally such famous men as General Grant, General Sherman, P.T. Barnum, Dom Padro of Brazil, Professors Baird, Agassiz, Dall and others, the Prince of Monaco, Crown Prince of Bulgaria as well as Will Rogers and many famous Indian chiefs.

He discovered and patented a refining process for sulphur and at one time developed and worked copper and gold mines in Panama. He has collected thousands of archaeological and ethnological specimens for the Museum of the American Indian, New York City and made a series of over one hundred oil paintings from life of South and Central American Indians.

He was made a member of the Oglala Sioux tribe, became blood brother of a Carib chief of Guiana and Medicine Chief of the Guaymi Indians of Panama. He is the only white man to have seen the remains of the long lost fabulously rich Tsingal mine and the only white man who has been permitted to live among the wild and hostile Mountain Cunas of Panama.

He has been through earthquakes, hurricanes and shipwreck, has explored unknown areas in South America, been invited to attend voodoo dances and yet for all this he was still going strong at seventy-nine when these memoirs were written.

The subjects of his books are as varied as his interests and attainments. They include boys' stories and adventure, science fiction, exploration, historical works, travel books, books on archaeology and ethnology, popular science, sea stories, highly technical books on scientific and other subjects, and books on maritime matters. His REAL STORY OF THE PIRATE and REAL STORY OF THE WHALER are considered classics. His OCEAN AND ITS MYSTERIES is used by the United States and British Navy and his MASTING AND RIGGING is used as a text book by the British Naval Schools.

At one time he even wrote poetry that won many prizes and was published in periodicals in England and in this country. Many of his books deal with mechanics, gardening, farming, etc. and he wrote the first book on radio ever published.

He is a talented artist and his paintings, mainly of Indian and Latin American scenes have been exhibited in London, New York, Havana, Panama, Lima, Peru and Valpariso, Chile. He illustrates all of his own books and designs his jackets and made all of the natural history illustrations for Webster's International Dictionary and has made hundreds of drawings of marine invertebrates for scientific monographs and pamphlets. He is considered the outstanding illustrator in this line.

The story of his long and adventurous life starting with his boyhood and carrying him through the years of adventure, marriage and parenthood, literary success and constant scientific exploration and every field open to the human mind reads like a tale of fiction. We think the reader will agree that the book like the author's life - holds never a dull moment.

Although the chapters are dated, the dates merely represent the periods during which certain events related in the chapter took place. I cannot recall exact dates of many of the events. Moreover, I made frequent visits to the same place over a period of years and I cannot recall on which of these visits the events occurred. Neither can I be sure of the date on which I wrote some of my books, or in what order the books were written so that the dates on the chapters merely represent the chronological sequence of my activities.

FORWARD

As I write the story of my life it is indeed difficult to realize that nearly eight tenths of a century slipped by since my birth in 1871. Only when I meet those who were babes in arms when I was a married man who now are wrinkled, white-haired and doddering, do I realize how the years have slipped by and it dawns upon me that I am very old.

Age, perhaps, is largely a mental state, and despite my many serious injuries and illnesses, I feel no older than I did fifty years ago. My joints may be a little stiff, my hair and beard may be white and my physical strength may be less, but my mind has not aged. I am as active as ever and my hands do not tremble and I can still put in s good day's work. Largely, I think an active old age results from a keen interest in many matters. A fixed determination to accomplish something worth while or the impresa as the Spaniards say with no thoughts wasted on the passing of time. Perhaps, too - excitement, danger and adventure play a large part in prolonging life, but however that may be, as I look back upon the many years that have passed I can truthfully say that I have lived a full life and never known a dull moment.

Since the above was written a great change has come over my life. In September, 1953 and again in November of the same year I suffered severe paralytic strokes; the result of a fractured skull when the mast fell on me as described in the story, plus subsequent head injuries that left a fragment of skull pressing on a nerve in my brain. I soon regained the use of my limbs but cannot write, pronounce, or spell certain words and am unable to do any active, work and must spend my time in bed. The only bright spot in the picture is the constant tender care of my beloved wife, who endures all my crankiness, complaints, peevishness and crustiness without complaint and who attends to all of my correspondence and business matters.

It is hard to believe that I am condemned to remain a helpless invalid for the rest of my life but I have my past to look back upon and can revisualize my adventures and activities.

Sunday 7 January 2007

Verrill Published Articles

Title Year Month Parts Magazine Type
1 Chips from the Whaleships’ Logs 1951 May 1 Adventure ar
2 Short Autobiography 1951 May 1 Adventure letter
3 Ultra-Elixer of Youth, The 1927 Aug 1 Amazing Stories Magazine nv
4 Into the Green Prism 1929 Mar Apr 2 Amazing Stories n
5 Death From the Skies 1929 Oct 1 Amazing Stories Magazine na
6 Feathered Detective, The 1930 Apr 1 Amazing Stories Magazine nv
7 Treasure of the Golden God, The 1933 Jan Feb 2 Amazing Stories n
8 Through the Andes 1934 Sep Oct Nov 3 Amazing Stories Magazine n
9 Inner World, The 1935 Jun Jul Aug 3 Amazing Stories Magazine na
10 Voice from the Inner World, A 1927 Jul 1 Amazing Stories Magazine nv
11 Through the Crater's Rim 1926 Dec 1 Amazing Stories Magazine nv
12 Beyond the Pole 1926 Oct Nov 2 Amazing Stories Magazine na
13 Plague of the Living Dead, The 1927 Apr 1 Amazing Stories Magazine nv
14 Man who could Vanish, The 1927 Jan 1 Amazing Stories Magazine nv
15 Astounding Discoveries of Doctor Mentiroso, The 1927 Nov 1 Amazing Stories Magazine nv
16 Psychological Solution, The 1928 Jan 1 Amazing Stories Magazine nv
17 Vampires of the Desert 1929 Dec 1 Amazing Stories Magazine nv
18 Beyond the Green Prism 1930 Jan Feb 2 Amazing Stories Magazine na
19 Visit to Suari, A 1930 Jul 1 Amazing Stories Magazine nv
20 Non-Gravitational Vortex, The 1930 Jun 1 Amazing Stories Magazine na
21 Exterminator, The 1931 Feb 1 Amazing Stories Magazine ss
22 Death Drum 1933 May 1 Amazing Stories Magazine na
23 Bridge of Light 1929 Fall 1 Amazing Stories Quarterly na
24 King of the Monkey Men 1928 Spr 1 Amazing Stories Quarterly Vol 1 No 2 na
25 World of the Giant Ants, The 1928 Fall 1 Amazing Stories Quarterly Vol 1 No 4 n
26 Dirigibles of Death 1930 Win 1 Amazing Stories Quarterly Vol 3 No 1 nv
27 Monsters of the Ray 1930 Sum 1 Amazing Stories Quarterly Vol 3 No 3 na
28 When the Moon Ran Wild 1931 Win 1 Amazing Stories Quarterly Vol 4 No 1 nv
29 Mastering the Motorcar 1916 Apr 1 American Boy nf
30 Learning to Drive the Motor Car 1916 May 1 American Boy (exists maybe) nf
31 Various 1908-1916 n The American Boy 1916, serial??? sl?
32 Bimshaw, the Pirate 1918 n The American Boy 1918 - 1919 sl
33 Boorabbees and buccaneers 1928 Nov 1 Blackwood's Magazine, 1928, no. 1357 nf
34 Trees are Universal Providers 1940 Jan 1 British World Digest ar
35 Fish That Walk and Fly 1931 Jan Child Life magazine - January 1931 art
36 Danger on the Half-shell 1945 Oct 1 CORONET Oct 1945 ar
37 Peter, a Pet Woodchuck
1928 Dinty the Porcupine and Other Stories Book Three 1928 nf
38 Know Your Indians: The Sioux 1953 Jul 1 Double Action Western July 1953 cl
39 Know Your Indians 1954 Double Action Western May 1953, Jan, Mar 1954 cl
40 Know Your Indians: The Cheyennes 1953 Sep Double Action Western Sep 1953 cl
41 Know Your Indians: 1953 Nov 1 Double Action Western Nov 1953 cl
42 Mummy of Ret-Seh, The 1939 May 1 Fantastic Adventures May 1939 ss
43 Coconuts and Cannibals 1931 Dec Far East Adventure Stories ss
44 Wings and Feathers (Four Stories) 1940 Frontiers Old And New magazine 1940 nf
45 My boat trip through the Guiana wilderness 1917 Jan 1 Harpers Monthly, Jan. 1917 nf
46 Indians of Surinam 1925 Oct 1 Heye Foundation Indian Notes Vol. II, No. 4, October 1925 NF
47 Mystery of the Vanished Past in Panama 1927 13-Oct 1 Illustrated London News nf
48 Excavations in Cocle Province, Panama 1927 Jan 1 Indian Notes and Monographs Vol. IV, No. 1, January 1927 nf
49 Jaunt Through Central Chile 1925 1 Living Age nf
50 Hunting the White Indians 1924 Jul 1 McClure's Magazine nf
51 Incas' Treasure House 1931 5? Open Road for Boys Vol XIV # 3 (Mar 1932) Oct,Nov1931,Jan,Feb,Mar,1932 n
52 Day's Sport in Costa Rica, A 1896 Dec 1 Outing, December, 1896, Vol. XXIX, No. 3, p. 264-266. (pdf)
53 Musk-Ox Hunting Among the Iwilics 1901 May 1 Outing, May, 1901, Vol. XXXVIII, No. 2, p. 158-163, 122. (pdf) nf
54 With Bare Hands 1935 Jul Pirate Stories Jul 1935 ss
55 A Socialist Pirate 1927 1 Plain Talk Vol 1 Num 1 ar
56 The Real West 1954 Feb Real Western Stories Feb 1954 cl
57 Fish, Mind Your Helm 1934 Feb 1 Rudder Magazine Feb 1934 nf
58 Mansions of Mud 1929 Dec 1 Science and Invention ar
59 Who are the mysterious bearded Indians? 1928 Jun Jul 2 Scientific American 1928 Jun Jul nf w photos
60 Americas first International highway 1930 Jul 1 Scientific American ar
61 Built of mud 1930 Aug 1 Scientific American ar
62 And a Little Child Shall Lead Them 1923 Apr Sea Stories
63 I’ll Learn ’Em 1923 Sep ? Sea Stories ss
64 Phantom Radio, The 1924 Jun Sea Stories ss
65 God Bless the Mules 1926 Dec ? Sea Stories
66 Fightin’ Bill’s Greatest Battle 1924 Aug Sea Stories Aug 1924 ss
67 Red Peter 1927 5 Sea Stories Feb Mar Apr May Jun 1927 sl
68 Mutiny of the “Athol”, The 1924 Jan 5 1 Sea Stories Magazine [v 7 #5, January 5, 1924 nv
69 Chip’s Ghost 1924 Jan 1 Sea Stories Magazine v 7 #6 Jan 20 1924 ss
70 Yo! Ho! And a Bottle of Rum 1926 Dec Sea Stories Magazine v13 #4, Dec 1926 ss
71 Jury Rig 1923 Jul 1 Sea Stories Magazine v5 #5 Jul 5 1923 ss
72 Out of the Fog 1923 Oct 1 Sea Stories Magazine v6 #6 Oct 20, 1923 nv
73 Hand of Fate, The 1923 Dec 1 Sea Stories Magazine v7 #3, Dec 5 1923 nv
74 First Shall Be Last, The 1925 Mar Sea Stories Mar 1925 ss
75 Bless the Mules, (ss) 1928 Mar Sea Stories Mar 1928 ss
76 Full and By 1927 Oct Sea Stories Oct 1927 pm
77 Trailing the Gun Runners 1928 Aug Sep 2 Secret Service Stories sl
78 Some Common Bees 1897 Aug 1 St. Nicholas Magazine nf
79 Brownies of the Insect World 1897 Jul 1 St. Nicholas Magazine nf
80 City in a Volcano, A 1897 Jun 1 St. Nicholas Magazine nf
81 Hunting with a Camera 1900 1 St. Nicholas Magazine nf
82 Flying Head, The 1939 Jun 1 Strange Stories ss
83 Ghostly Vengance, The 1939 Oct 1 Strange Stories ss
84 Fifty-Two Degrees South 1928 Aug 2 Tropical Adventures magazine
85 America's tropical trees: The Palms 1908 1 Tropical and sub tropical America nf
86 Caverns of Bermuda, The 1908 1 Tropical and Sub Tropical America, 1:107-111 nf
87 Notes on Solenodon paradoxus 1907 Jul 1 American Journal of Science nf
88 Oswald 1939 Jun 1 World Horizons Magazine Jun 1939 nf
89 The Lost Mine - Tisingal, in Panama 1952 Jun 2 The World Wide Magazine June July nf

Books published by Hyatt Verrill

Owned Wanted Web Available

  1. A-B-C of Automobile Driving 1916
  2. Along New England Shores 1936
  3. Amateur Carpenter The
  4. America's Ancient Civilizations 1953 with Ruth Verrill
  5. An American Crusoe : A Record of Remarkable Adventures on a Desert Island with Only a Jackknife 1914 (Juvenile)
  6. American Indian; North, South and Central America, The 1927 Web Available
  7. Barton's Mills : A Saga of the Maine Pioneers 1932 (fiction)
  8. Before the Conquerors: a Modern Adventure in the Land of the Incas 1935 (fiction)
  9. Book of the Sailboat, The: How to Rig, Sail and Handle Small Boats 1916
  10. Book of Camping 1917
  11. Book of The Motor-Boat The 1916
  12. Book of the West Indies, The 1917 Web Available
  13. Boy Adventurers In The Forbidden Land, The 1922
  14. Boy Adventurers In the Land of the Monkey Men, The 1923
  15. Boy Adventurers In The Land Of El Dorado, The 1923
  16. Boy Adventurers In The Unknown Land, The 1924
  17. Boys' Book of Buccaneers The 1923 (fiction)
  18. Boys' book of Carpentry, The 1915
  19. Boys Book of Whalers 1922
  20. Boy Collector’s Handbook The 1915
  21. Boys Outdoor Vacation Book. The 1915
  22. Bridge of Light The 1950 (first was pulp Amazing Stories Quarterly 1929 Fall then a book)
  23. Carib Gold 1938 (fiction) (see also Treasure of Bloody Gut, same book retitled)
  24. Cruise of the Cormorant 1915
  25. Cuba of Today 1931
  26. Cuba Past and Present 1914
  27. Deep Sea Hunters in the Frozen Seas 1923 (Juvenile)
  28. Deep Sea Hunters In The South Seas 1924
  29. Deep Sea Hunters Adventures on a Whaler, The 1922
  30. Foods America Gave the World 1937
  31. The Golden City, A Tale of Adventure in Unknown Guiana. 1916
  32. Gasoline Engine Book for Boys 1930
  33. Gasolene Engines Their operation, use and care The Norman W. Henley Publishing Company., 1912
  34. Getting together with Latin America 1918 Web Available
  35. Great Conquerors of South and Central America 1929
  36. Harper's Aircraft Book, Why Aeroplanes Fly, How to Make Models, And All About Aircraft, Little and Big 1913
  37. Harper's Book for Young Gardeners 1914
  38. Harper's Book for Young Naturalists 1913
  39. Harper’s Gasoline Engine Book New York Harper & Brothers 1914
  40. Harper's Wireless Book/ How to Use Electricity in Telegraphing, Telephoning, and the Transmission of Power 1913
  41. Heart of Old New England, The 1936
  42. Home Radio, The: Up to Date. How to Make and Use It 1922
  43. How to Operate a Motor Car 1918
  44. In Morgans Wake 1915
  45. In the Wake of the Buccaneers 1923 (Childrens)
  46. Incas Treasure House, The 1936 (fiction) Herrap (UK)
  47. Inquisition, The 1931
  48. Islands & Their Mysteries 1920 Web Available
  49. Isles of Spice and Palm 1915
  50. Jamaica of today 1931
  51. Jungle Chums; A Story Of A Boy's Adventures In British Guiana 1916 (Juvenile)
  52. Knots, Splices and Rope Work 1912
  53. Lost Treasure: True Tales of Hidden Hoards. 1930
  54. Love Stories Of Some Famous Pirates 1924
  55. Marooned in the Forest: The Story of a Primitive Fight for Life 1916 (fiction)
  56. Minerals, metals and gems 1939
  57. My Jungle Trails 1937
  58. Ocean and its Mysteries The 1916
  59. Old Civilizations in the New World 1929 Web Available
  60. Our Indians: The Story of the Indians of The United States 1935
  61. Panama Of Today 1927
  62. Panama Past and Present 1921
  63. Pets for Pleasure and Profit 1915
  64. Perfumes and Spices: Including an Account of Soaps and Cosmetics 1940
  65. Porto Rico past and present and San Domingo of today 1914
  66. Radio for Amateurs 1922 – This book appears to be the initiating book to ‘Radio Amateurs Handbook’, the bible for ‘ham’ radio.
  67. Radio Detectives In The Jungle, The 1922 Appleton
  68. Radio Detectives The (Childrens series) 1922 (juvenile fiction)
  69. Radio Detectives Southward Bound 1922
  70. Radio Detectives under the Sea, The 1922
  71. Real Americans, The 1954
  72. Real Story of the Pirate, The 1923
  73. Real Story of the Whaler 1916
  74. Rivers and Their Mysteries 1922
  75. Romantic and historic Florida 1935
  76. Romantic and historic Maine 1933 (Maine Folk Tales)
  77. Romantic and historic Virginia 1935
  78. Savage Land, The 1955 (Published overseas; may be the American Indian as it described as Appleton 1927 originally; may be Barton Mills)
  79. Secret Treasure: Hidden Riches of the British Isles - 1931
  80. Shell collector's handbook 1950
  81. Smugglers and Smuggling - 1924
  82. South and Central American trade conditions of to day. 1914
  83. Strange animals and their stories. Animals in armor. The land of Marsupials. Topsyturvy creatures. Behemoths of Scripture. Giants who took to the sea. Camels of the Andes. The strangest animal of all. 1939
  84. Strange birds and their stories 1938
  85. Strange creatures of the sea 1955
  86. Strange Customs, Manners, and Beliefs: A Remarkable Account of Curious Beliefs and Odd Superstitions, Strange Ways of Living, and Amazing Customs and 1946
  87. Strange Fish and Their Stories 1938
  88. Strange Insects and Their Stories 1937
  89. Strange prehistoric animals and their stories... 1948
  90. Strange Reptiles And Their Stories 1937
  91. Strange Sea Shells and their stories. 1936
  92. Strange Story of our Earth, The 1952
  93. They Found Gold; the story of successful treasure hunts. 1936
  94. Thirty years in the jungle 1929
  95. Trail of the Cloven Foot, The 1918
  96. Trail of the White Indians 1920
  97. Treasure of Bloody Gut, The 1937 (Juvenile Fiction) (see Carib Gold, same book retitled)
  98. Uncle Abner's Legacy 1915 (Juvenile)
  99. Under Peruvian Skies 1930
  100. West Indies of Today 1931
  101. When the Moon Ran Wild (serial) UK Paperback 1962 (Ray Ainsbury) Amazing Quarterly 1931 Winter
  102. Wonder Creatures of the Sea 1940
  103. Wonder Plants and Plant Wonders 1939
  104. Young Collector's Handbook, The

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