142 NATURAL SCIENCE [August 



Many interesting matters are dealt with in the report of the Albany 

 Museum, Cape of Good Hope, for 1896, to which we have already alluded in 

 part. The alarming spread of insect pests in the Eastern province was thought 

 to be largely due to the wholesale destruction of insectivorous birds. The pro- 

 tection of certain birds under an Act already existing was therefore recom- 

 mended by the committee, who also suggested that saloon rifles, air-guns and 

 catapults should be placed under the same restrictions as firearms. These pro- 

 posals have been agreed to by the municipalities of Grahamstown, Port Eliza- 

 beth, Port Alfred, Uitenhage, East London, Somerset, East Cathcart, and the 

 divisional Councils of Albany and Bathurst. - The birds for which protection is 

 desired are : Vultures, secretary bird, several hawks, especially the jackalsvogel 

 (Buteo jakal) and the black-shouldered kite (Elanus coerulexis), owls, goat- 

 suckers, swallows, kingfishers, hombills, cuckoos, honeyguides, woodpeckers, 

 barbets, thrushes (excluding fruit thrushes), warblers, sunbirds or honeysuckers, 

 flycatchers, butcherbirds, crows (but not the rook), spreeuws (excluding redwing 

 spreeuw Amydrus morio), larks, wagtails, plovers, and sandpipers. This list 

 purposely omits rarities and game-birds. 



Dr Schonland has started a small botanic garden for S. African plants, 

 and intends to transfer these to the ground round the museum. 



We are glad to see that the geological and mineralogical collections of the 

 museum are being used for teaching purposes, since Dr Schonland lectures to 

 those students of St Andrew's College, Grahamstown, who are studying for the 

 first mining examination of the University of the Cape of Good Hope. This, 

 it is hoped, will lead to more thorough geological examination of the surrounding 

 country. 



Dr Schonland has examined some peculiar rock-drawings in Bechuanaland, 

 supposed to be the work of bushmen. They can, he says, only be looked upon 

 as some kind of writing resembling to a certain extent early Semitic writing. 

 An account of these, with photographs, was published in the South African 

 Telegraph. 



On June 3rd a second expedition to make deep borings into the coral atoll of 

 Funafuti set sail from Sydney. Towards the expense of this, Miss Eadith 

 AValker, of Yaralla, has contributed £500 ; the Government of New South 

 Wales has lent a diamond drill ; the Hon. Ralph Abercromby has furnished an 

 oil-engine at a cost of £100 ; the Hon. H. C. Dangar and Prof. T. P. Anderson 

 Stuart have provided a fine boat ; the Royal Society, London, contributes £100 

 directly, and probably another £100 through its coral-boring committee ; finally 

 the London Missionary Society has offered to bring the party back to Sydney in 

 September. The expedition is under the auspices of the Royal Geographical 

 Society of Australasia, and its leader is Prof. T. W. E. David, of Sydney. He 

 and Mr G. Sweet of Melbourne are going at their own expense, and will take 

 charge of the borings. Mrs David accompanies them as store-keeper and 

 botanical collector. Mr W. Poole, an engineer of Sydney University, will 

 manage the light boring apparatus, and will be aided by Mr Woolnough, who 

 also takes charge of the zoological collecting. These gentlemen give their 

 services free. The large diamond drill is in charge of Mr Hall, a foreman of 

 considerable experience, who has under him two sub-foremen and three drill- 

 workmen. In view of the difficulties already met with at Funafuti, a special 

 boring plant has been provided under the direction of Chief-Inspector W. II. J. 

 Slec, and weighs over 25 tons. The main bore, on the central island of Funafuti, 

 will In: begun with a standpipe having an inside diameter of G inches, and the 

 lining pipe at first is to be 5 inches inside diameter. If, at two or three hundred 

 feet, the friction should become too great, 4-inch pipes will be lowered inside 

 these. It is thought that the foundations of the atoll will be reached between 



