36
Macnamara may have found this pitcher plant on an excursion to either Loney's Lake, the Eardley escarpment or Cumbermere which he took in 1938. He liked to photograph plants in their natural habitat and then remove parts for later analysis.37
Pitcher plant in blossom.1938
38
A page of Macnamara's "Sundries No. 1" illustrates how Macnamara took a scientific approach to his study of flora and fauna. The photograph at bottom right is "an enlarged view of stiff hairs in throat of Pitcher Plant leaf which prevent egress of insect victim".39
Spirogyra1938
Arnprior, Ontario, Canada
40
"A naturalist sees nothing repulsive about the growth, so I pick up a lump of it and carry it home in a pail for examination. Floating in a porcelain dish, it is seen to be made up of a vast number of long fine hairs, light green in color, which look as if they might have been clipped from the head of a water pixie having her hair cropped."41
Spirogyra filaments1938
Arnprior, Ontario, Canada
42
At high magnification, Macnamara was able to determine that the plant was a filamentous Algae called Spirogyra. He wrote about how the long strands are divided into small, tubular sections filled with ribbons of life-giving chlorophyll.43
White cedar buds1943
44
In September 1943, Macnamara wrote an article for The Canadian Field-Naturalist magazine about 'An Apparently Unrecorded Food of the Red Squirrel'. After observing the habits of the red squirrel for some time, Macnamara concluded that they were eating the flower buds of white cedar trees which are so numerous that it does not harm the tree.45
Three types of snowshoes1935
Marshalls Bay, Ontario, Canada
46
This photograph by Macnamara shows three types of snowshoes for different kinds of snow. He made notes about the best types of snowshoes to use on winter excursions:"Lamp wick makes better snowshoe strings than deerskin. It does not stretch and remains soft when if dries after a wetting. Foot can be put in and twisted out of this fastening without untying it. Chrome-tanned moccasins resist damp better than Indian-tanned deerskins. They have saddle felt insoles to protect feet against nodules of snow that often form on snowshoes. One pair of thin socks and two pairs of heavy ones are worn."
47
Charles Macnamara1 March 1943
Marshalls Bay, Ontario, Canada
48
On March 1st 1943, Macnamara took several photographs of himself and wrote about appropriate clothing for snowshoeing on a cold day:"Havelock helmet and sash are not worn in moderate weather, that is, anything above zero F. Caribou mitts enclose two pairs of wool mitts".
49
Macnamara Field Naturalists' Club brochure13 November 2003
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