“Zaca” Expedition at Tahiti

To Collect Pacific

Plants

From Our Own Correspondent.

Papeete, Dec. 1.

THE yacht “Zaca,” a schooner-rigged vessel of 94 tons, owned by Mr. Tem pleton Crocker, a San Francisco banker, recently paid another visit to Papeete, where she spent two weeks before pro ceeding on her voyage. The “Zaca” called here in 1930 in the course of a journey round the world.

On this occasion the “Zaca” accom modated a scientific party comprising several members of the staff of the Ame rican Museum of Natural History (New York), including Dr. Harry L. Shapiro, anthropologist, who created a sensation some time ago by predicting that mankind in 500,000 years’ time will be bald, four toed, and probably toothless.

The main objective of the expedition is to take back plant collections and other material for the construction of bird habitat groups to be installed in the Whitney Memorial Hall of the Museum.

Those who have followed the trend of scientific research in the Eastern Pacific for the last ten years will recall the Whit ney South Seas Expedition of 1923-25, which collected birds from every known island in this area, and also in the Western Pacific.

The “Zaca” called at the Galapagos and the Marquesas Islands en route to Tahiti, and has proceeded to the Austral Islands, Mangareva, Pitcairn and adja cent islands, and thence to Easter Island and the Chilian coast. At Easter Island

some plaster casts of the more important ancient images will be made for the pur pose of reconstructing same in the New York Museum.