A Short History of Nearly Everything- 第76部分

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23THE　RICHNESS　OF　BEING

～　　
here　and　there　in　the　natural　history　museum　in　london；　built　into　recesses　along　theunderlit　corridors　or　standing　between　glass　cases　of　minerals　and　ostrich　eggs　and　a　centuryor　so　of　other　productive　clutter；　are　secret　doors—at　least　secret　in　the　sense　that　there　isnothing　about　them　to　attract　the　visitor’s　notice。　occasionally　you　might　see　someone　withthe　distracted　manner　and　interestingly　willful　hair　that　mark　the　scholar　emerge　from　one　ofthe　doors　and　hasten　down　a　corridor；　probably　to　disappear　through　another　door　a　littlefurther　on；　but　this　is　a　relatively　rare　event。　for　the　most　part　the　doors　stay　shut；　giving　nohint　that　beyond　them　exists　another—a　parallel—natural　history　museum　as　vast　as；　and　inmany　ways　more　wonderful　than；　the　one　the　public　knows　and　adores。

the　natural　history　museum　contains　some　seventy　million　objects　from　every　realm　oflife　and　every　corner　of　the　planet；　with　another　hundred　thousand　or　so　added　to　thecollection　each　year；　but　it　is　really　only　behind　the　scenes　that　you　get　a　sense　of　what　atreasure　house　this　is。　in　cupboards　and　cabinets　and　long　rooms　full　of　close…packed　shelvesare　kept　tens　of　thousands　of　pickled　animals　in　bottles；　millions　of　insects　pinned　to　squaresof　card；　drawers　of　shiny　mollusks；　bones　of　dinosaurs；　skulls　of　early　humans；　endlessfolders　of　neatly　pressed　plants。　it　is　a　little　like　wandering　through　darwin’s　brain。　the　spiritroom　alone　holds　fifteen　miles　of　shelving　containing　jar　upon　jar　of　animals　preserved　inmethylated　spirit。

back　here　are　specimens　collected　by　joseph　banks　in　australia；　alexander　von　humboldtin　amazonia；　darwin　on　the　beagle　voyage；　and　much　else　that　is　either　very　rare　orhistorically　important　or　both。　many　people　would　love　to　get　their　hands　on　these　things。　afew　actually　have。　in　1954　the　museum　acquired　an　outstanding　ornithological　collection　fromthe　estate　of　a　devoted　collector　named　richard　meinertzhagen；　author　of　birds　of　arabia；among　other　scholarly　works。　meinertzhagen　had　been　a　faithful　attendee　of　the　museum　foryears；　ing　almost　daily　to　take　notes　for　the　production　of　his　books　and　monographs。

when　the　crates　arrived；　the　curators　excitedly　jimmied　them　open　to　see　what　they　had　beenleft　and　were　surprised；　to　put　it　mildly；　to　discover　that　a　very　large　number　of　specimensbore　the　museum’s　own　labels。　mr。　meinertzhagen；　it　turned　out；　had　been　helping　himself　totheir　collections　for　years。　it　also　explained　his　habit　of　wearing　a　large　overcoat　even　duringwarm　weather。

a　few　years　later　a　charming　old　regular　in　the　mollusks　department—“quite　a　distinguishedgentleman；”　i　was　told—was　caught　inserting　valued　seashells　into　the　hollow　legs　of　hiszimmer　frame。

“i　don’t　suppose　there’s　anything　in　here　that　somebody　somewhere　doesn’t　covet；”

richard　fortey　said　with　a　thoughtful　air　as　he　gave　me　a　tour　of　the　beguiling　world　that　isthe　behind…the…scenes　part　of　the　museum。　we　wandered　through　a　confusion　of　departmentswhere　people　sat　at　large　tables　doing　intent；　investigative　things　with　arthropods　and　palmfronds　and　boxes　of　yellowed　bones。　everywhere　there　was　an　air　of　unhurried　thoroughness；of　people　being　engaged　in　a　gigantic　endeavor　that　could　never　be　pleted　and　mustn’t　berushed。　in　1967；　i　had　read；　the　museum　issued　its　report　on　the　john　murray　expedition；　anindian　ocean　survey；　forty…four　years　after　the　expedition　had　concluded。　this　is　a　worldwhere　things　move　at　their　own　pace；　including　a　tiny　lift　fortey　and　i　shared　with　a　scholarlylooking　elderly　man　with　whom　fortey　chatted　genially　and　familiarly　as　we　proceededupwards　at　about　the　rate　that　sediments　are　laid　down。

when　the　man　departed；　fortey　said　to　me：　“that　was　a　very　nice　chap　named　normanwho’s　spent　forty…two　years　studying　one　species　of　plant；　st。　john’s　wort。　he　retired　in　1989；but　he　still　es　in　every　week。”

“how　do　you　spend　forty…two　years　on　one　species　of　plant？”　i　asked。

“it’s　remarkable；　isn’t　it？”　fortey　agreed。　he　thought　for　a　moment。　“he’s　very　thoroughapparently。”　the　lift　door　opened　to　reveal　a　bricked…over　opening。　fortey　lookedconfounded。　“that’s　very　strange；”　he　said。　“that　used　to　be　botany　back　there。”　he　puncheda　button　for　another　floor；　and　we　found　our　way　at　length　to　botany　by　means　of　backstaircases　and　discreet　trespass　through　yet　more　departments　where　investigators　toiledlovingly　over　once…living　objects。　and　so　it　was　that　i　was　introduced　to　len　ellis　and　thequiet　world　of　bryophytes—mosses　to　the　rest　of　us。

when　emerson　poetically　noted　that　mosses　favor　the　north　sides　of　trees　（“the　moss　uponthe　forest　bark；　was　pole…star　when　the　night　was　dark”）　he　really　meant　lichens；　for　in　thenineteenth　century　mosses　and　lichens　weren’t　distinguished。　true　mosses　aren’t　actuallyfussy　about　where　they　grow；　so　they　are　no　good　as　natural　passes。　in　fact；　mosses　aren’tactually　much　good　for　anything。　“perhaps　no　great　group　of　plants　has　so　few　uses；mercial　or　economic；　as　the　mosses；”　wrote　henry　s。　conard；　perhaps　just　a　touch　sadly；in　how　to　know　the　mosses　and　liverworts；　published　in　1956　and　still　to　be　found　on　manylibrary　shelves　as　almost　the　only　attempt　to　popularize　the　subject。

they　are；　however；　prolific。　even　with　lichens　removed；　bryophytes　is　a　busy　realm；　withover　ten　thousand　species　contained　within　some　seven　hundred　genera。　the　plump　andstately　moss　flora　of　britain　and　ireland　by　a。　j。　e。　smith　runs　to　seven　hundred　pages；　andbritain　and　ireland　are　by　no　means　outstandingly　mossy　places。　“the　tropics　are　where　youfind　the　variety；”　len　ellis　told　me。　a　quiet；　spare　man；　he　has　been　at　the　natural　historymuseum　for　twenty…seven　years　and　curator　of　the　department　since　1990。　“you　can　go　outinto　a　place　like　the　rain　forests　of　malaysia　and　find　new　varieties　with　relative　ease。　i　didthat　myself　not　long　ago。　i　looked　down　and　there　was　a　species　that　had　never　beenrecorded。”

“so　we　don’t　know　how　many　species　are　still　to　be　discovered？”

“oh；　no。　no　idea。”

you　might　not　think　there　would　be　that　many　people　in　the　world　prepared　to　devotelifetimes　to　the　study　of　something　so　inescapably　low　key；　but　in　fact　moss　people　number　inthe　hundreds　and　they　feel　very　strongly　about　their　subject。　“oh；　yes；”　ellis　told　me；　“themeetings　can　get　very　lively　at　times。”

i　asked　him　for　an　example　of　controversy。

“well；　here’s　one　inflicted　on　us　by　one　of　your　countrymen；”　he　said；　smiling　lightly；　andopened　a　hefty　reference　work　containing　illustrations　of　mosses　whose　most　notablecharacteristic　to　the　uninstructed　eye　was　their　uncanny　similarity　one　to　another。　“that；”　hesaid；　tapping　a　moss；　“used　to　be　one　genus；　drepanocladus。　now　it’s　been　reorganized　intothree：　drepanocladus；　wamstorfia；　and　hamatacoulis。”

“and　did　that　lead　to　blows？”　i　asked　perhaps　a　touch　hopefully。

“well；　it　made　sense。　it　made　perfect　sense。　but　it　meant　a　lot　of　reordering　of　collectionsand　it　put　all　the　books　out　of　date　for　a　time；　so　there　was　a　bit　of；　you　know；　grumbling。”

mosses　offer　mysteries　as　well；　he　told　me。　one　famous　case—famous　to　moss　peopleanyway—involved　a　retiring　type　called　hyophila　stanfordensis；　which　was　discovered　on　thecampus　of　stanford　university　in　california　and　later　also　found　growing　beside　a　path　incornwall；　on　the　southwest　tip　of　england；　but　has　never　been　encountered　anywhere　inbetween。　how　it　came　to　exist　in　two　such　unconnected　locations　is　anybody’s　guess。　“it’snow　known　as　hennediella　stanfordensis；”　ellis　said。　“another　revision。”

we　nodded　thoughtfully。

when　a　new　moss　is　found　it　must　be　pared　with　all　other　mosses　to　make　sure　that　ithasn’t　been　recorded　already。　then　a　formal　description　must　be　written　and　illustrationsprepared　and　the　result　published　in　a　respectable　journal。　the　whole　process　seldom　takesless　than　six　months。　the　twentieth　century　was　not　a　great　age　for　moss　taxonomy。　much　ofthe　century’s　work　was　devoted　to　untangling　the　confusions　and　duplications　left　behind　bythe　nineteenth　century。

that　was　the　golden　age　of　moss　collecting。　（you　may　recall　that　charles　lyell’s　fatherwas　a　great　moss　man。）　one　aptly　named　englishman；　george　hunt；　hunted　british　mosses　soassiduously　that　he　probably　contributed　to　the　extinction　of　several　species。　but　it　is　thanksto　such　efforts　that　len　ellis’s　collection　is　one　of　the　world’s　most　prehensive。　all780；000　of　his　specimens　are　pressed　into　large　folded　sheets　of　heavy　paper；　some　very　oldand　covered　with　spidery　victorian　script。　some；　for　all　we　knew；　might　have　been　in　thehand　of　robert　brown；　the　great　victorian　botanist；　unveiler　of　brownian　motion　and　thenucleus　of　cells；　who　founded　and　ran　the　museum’s　botany　department　for　its　first　thirty…oneyears　until　his　death　in　1858。　all　the　specimens　are　kept　in　lustrous　old　mahogany　cabinets　sostrikingly　fine　that　i　remarked　upon　them。

“oh；　those　were　sir　joseph　banks’s；　from　his　house　in　soho　square；”　ellis　said　casually；　asif　identifying　a　recent　purchase　from　ikea。　“he　had　them　built　to　hold　his　specimens　from　theendeavour　voyage。”　he　regarded　the　cab