The Anti-Slavery Monthly Reporter
Kingston on May 3, 1865, and published on pages 167–68 of the Anti-Slavery Monthly Reporter (London), July, 1865.
Read the resolutions passed at the meeting in Kingston on May 3, 1865, and published on pages 167–68 of the Anti-Slavery Monthly Reporter (London), July,
1865. This nineteenth-century periodical is available on Google Books.
As you read, think carefully about the basic questions of historical, philosophical, and literary investigation: who? what? when? where? why? how? What is the
genre of the text? Who wrote it? For whom was it written? When was it written? Does the text seem to be based on other source material, such as previous
documents or eyewitness testimony, or not? What seems to be the prupose of the text? What is its structure? What are its parts? How do the parts relate to
the purpose of the whole? What inferences can you draw from the text? What is claimed? What isn’t claimed? What is assumed or left unspoken? What key
terms are used in the text? What seems to be the special meaning of these key terms in context?
For this text in particular, also think about the following. How does the concept of race feature in the resolutions passed at the meeting? How does the
concept of class feature in the resolutions passed at the meeting?
In a paragraph of ten to twelve sentences, analyze the document. In such a short paragraph, you won’t be able to answer all the questions noted above. But
you must ensure that you go beyond merely repeating what the text says to analyzing it.
Sample Solution
The text in question is a set of resolutions passed at a meeting in Kingston, Jamaica on May 3, 1865. It was written by members of the congregation attending that meeting and published in the Anti-Slavery Monthly Reporter (London), July 1865. It seems to have been based on other source material, including documents and eyewitness testimony. The purpose of the text is to communicate what was discussed and decided upon during this particular gathering - namely, that full freedom should be granted to all slaves throughout Jamaica as soon as possible. The structure of the text consists of nine separate resolutions with various clauses outlining specific actions necessary for implementing emancipation. Each resolution follows a similar format beginning with a brief description followed by points in support that are further elaborated on using clauses. The general theme linking all nine resolutions together is promoting freedom for former slaves through legislative measures such as repealing laws limiting former slave's rights and providing educational opportunities for them.
Laying eggs is crucial part of the life cycle for oviparous animals. “An important factor affecting the life-history of an organism is parental investment in reproduction: reproductive decisions are almost invariably costly” (Kotiaho and Paukku 2008). Our experiment is focused on pre-oviposition by measuring whether or not bean beetles prefer small or large lima beans to oviposit on. Oviposition preference is dependent on size, small or large, of a lima bean. If bean beetles prefer large lima beans, will we see any eggs deposited on small lima beans? Or, if there is no preference, will we see near-equal numbers for both categories?
For this experiment our model organism is Callosobrachus maculatus, commonly known as the bean beetle. C. maculatus is frequently found in reproductive experiments because they are easy to maintain, adults do not require food or water and the tropical/subtropical regions they are naturally found in can be easily duplicated, and they spend their entire lifespan (around 1-2 weeks) mating and laying eggs (Beck and Blumer 2011). The reason why this organism was chosen for our experiment is because the larvae of this species exclusively feeds and develops on the seed of legumes (Beck and Blumer 2011). We believe that if a preference is shown, a greater number of eggs will be oviposited on the larger lima beans when compared to small lima beans.
Methods
To begin we gathered 3 individual petri dishes with lids and put 15 large and 15 small lima beans in each dish. All lima beans used in this experiment were gathered from the same source. Next, we obtained the beetles from a laboratory container which supplied the class for this experiment. 3 randomly chosen female and 2 randomly chosen male bean beetles were placed in each petri dish. This was done by using an aspirator to suck each beetle into a collecting vial, then releasing the beetle into its prearranged petri dish. Finally, the petri dishes were placed in a room-temperature location for 2 weeks to allow enough time for fertilization and oviposition.
After 2 weeks, each individual bean was observed under a microscope and examined for eggs. To calculate our results we used the final measurements. Our ending measurements were obtained by observing, through the microscope, which beans had eggs laid on them. We recorded our observations by numbering how many eggs were found on each bean. After observing all 90 lima beans, we returned the beans back to their original groups to determine group averages. After, all 45 small and 45 large beans were placed togethe