VIII NOTES BY THE EDITOR 



that rain is only precipitated when cloud exists in a double layer. Rain- 

 drops, he has found, diminish in size with elevation, merging into wet 

 mist, and ultimately into dry frog. Mr. Glaisher met with snow for a 

 mile in thickness below rain, which is at variance with our preconceived 

 ideas. 



Cinchona Bark from India. The gradual but certain destruction 

 of the Cinchona forests of America, which has been viewed with so 

 much anxiety by all who know how indispensable quinine is to the ex- 

 istence of Europeans in many of the tropical parts of the world, may 

 for the future be considered of minor importance, inasmuch as the suc- 

 cessful cultivation of the Cinchonas in India has been demonstrated 

 the past year. At a meeting of the Linnean Society, London, June, 

 1863, the first specimens of Cinchona bark sent from India to Europe 

 were exhibited. It was stated that these had been found to yield a 

 percentage of quinine, and the other febrifuge alkaloids, fully equal 

 to that furnished by the bark of the same species when grown in South 

 America ; and it had also been ascertained that quinine might be ob- 

 tained in small quantities from the leaves. The successful culture of 

 the Cinchona plants in India must be regarded as a subject of the 

 highest importance, not merely to the prosperity of India, but indirectly 

 to the whole world ; as the exploration and civilization of many tropi- 

 cal countries by Europeans is absolutely dependent on a reliable sup- 

 ply of quinine. 



Acclimatizing Efforts in A ustralia. The work of acclimatizing 

 European animals in Australia, under the direction of proper authori- 

 ties, is being pursued vigorously, and with great success. Mr. Edward 

 Wilson, of Melbourne, Australia, in a report on the subject, states that 

 the English skylark and the thrush were breeding freely in a wild state, 

 , and " not only making various neighborhoods vocal, but absolutely, by 

 force of example, compelling the native birds to improve their song- 

 notes." A number of fallow deer had been turned out, and taken 

 readily to bush life. Several kinds of English pond fish had been safely 

 brought over, and transferred to the native waters. A collection of 

 birds, amongst others the Indian vcurassow, gold, silver, and common 

 pheasants, Ceylon peafowl, American and other waterfowl, were being 

 prepared in the Botanic Gardens for transfer to wild land, and it was 

 thought that all would eventually thrive. The lama has been acclima- 

 tized and its wool has become one of the products of Australia. 



Steam Cultivation. A " General Steam Cultivation Company " has 

 been started in London, with a capital of over a million dollars, whose 

 object is announced to be to purchase, keep on hand, and rent or 



