Series II: Ph.D Dissertation and Books

In the case of this collection, Scope and Content are virtually synonymous. Both words encompass Dr. Bliss's single-minded, detailed study of crustaceans in general and the land crab gecarcinus lateralis in particular. There is nothing in these papers that refers to her teaching positions or the other outside interests cited in the biographical sketch. It must be assumed that she was always careful to compartmentalize her various activities.

The scope of the material starts in 1950 with the research into gecarcinus lateralis that became her Ph.D. dissertation: “Endocrine Control of Metabolism in the Decapod Crustacean, Gecarcinus lateralis.” It ends in 1979, her last year at the Museum, with the article, written with three co-authors: “Limb Growth-controlling Factor in the Crab Gecarcinus lateralis with Special Reference to the Growth-inhibiting Factor.”

The content of these papers is composed of a list of her articles, correspondence with individuals and organizations, and masses of meticulously drawn graphs, charts and diagrams as well as voluminous statistics, recorded on file cards and in notebooks.

One letter in this collection stands out. It is from P.F. Wright, the son/daughter of Sir Charles S. Wright, who was with Robert Scott's ill-fated Antarctic expedition. He was in the depot-laying party that Scott sent back before his fatal run to the Pole. In May, 1978, P.F. Wright wrote the Museum a letter which landed on Dr. Bliss's desk, asking for help in identifying land crabs which the father recorded seeing off the coast of Brazil. The letter and Dr. Bliss's reply are in Box 8, folder 22.

The collection is arranged into six series as follows:

Series I: Articles in professional publications and articles not published

Series II: Ph.D. Dissertation and Books

Series III: Correspondence: Individuals

Series IV: Organizations

Series V: Research notebooks

Series VI: Research papers and data