NOTES 145 



W. J. Phillipps, of the Dominion Museum, gives a list of the chief food 

 fish of New Zealand, with some information in each case as to distribution, 

 spawning season, etc., which should prove of interest to those interested 

 in fisheries. 



In the Memoirs of the Indian Museum, Vol. V, 1921, A. Tokio Kaburaki 

 describes a number of new leeches from Lake Chilka. The following genera 

 are represented : Piscicola (2), Rerobdella, Glossosiphonia and Limnatis 

 (i each). 



In the Annals of the Durban Museum, Mr. L. F. Spath has given a list 

 of the Upper Cretaceous Ammonoidea from Pondoland which should prove 

 of interest to those concerned with the geology of South Africa. 



A complete list of the Butterflies of Trinidad has now been made by 

 Mr. William J. Kaye and is on sale at the Department of Agriculture, 

 Trinidad, B.W.I. 



The question of Charcot-Leyden crystals is still shrouded in mystery, 

 and it is evident that a considerable amount of work still remains to be 

 done in making clear their exact significance. Dr. J. G. Thomson considers 

 that these crystals are probably the result of cytolytic action of Entamceba 

 histolytica on the body cells. Dr. Thomson finds that Charcot-Leyden 

 crystals are present in a very high percentage of cases of amoebic dysentery, 

 and are most commonly present when the disease is of long standing ; the 

 presence of Charcot-Leyden crystals in human stools is diagnostic of amoebic 

 colitis due to Entamceba histolytica. (See Proceedings of the Royal Society 

 of Medicine, 1921.) 



Nature of March 9, 1922, contains an article by Dr. J. A. Murray, of the 

 Imperial Cancer Research Bureau, on Cancer Research. He says that the 

 search for the cause of cancer in the form of a developmental abnormality 

 does not appear to command many followers. Apparently, even though 

 cancer research work is now widespread, the progress towards the elucidation 

 of the cause of this dreadful disease has not gone step by step with the 

 amount of material and time spent on th."s investigation. He says research 

 into the treatment of cancer, other than surgical, has produced many empirical 

 experiments and observations, but apart from the extended knowledge of 

 radiotherapy, nothing of importance has come to light : he concludes that 

 it may be predicted that progress in cancer research will in large measure 

 be closely co-ordinated with that of the ancillary sciences. 



Some interesting work is being carried out by Dr. H. S. Wardlaw, of 

 the University of Sydney, into the diet of Australians. The latter are 

 people of British origin adapting themselves to a new environment. Few 

 of them can claim an Australian descent of more than two generations. 

 Yet many of their customs already show a marked divergence from those 

 of the parent countries ; we trust that Dr. Wardlaw will continue his work 

 in this field. 



A Manual of Meteorology, Part 4 (Cambridge University Press), by Sir 

 Napier Shaw, has come into our hands. This section is on the relation of 

 the wind to distribution of barometric pressure. Within the past four years 

 urgent questions have been addressed to the Meteorological Ofi&ce from 

 many quarters about the winds. The work of the Meteorological Of&ce, 

 aided by the contributions from various departments of the Naval, Military, 

 and Air Services, has provided the material for answers to these questions. 

 The object of this book is to present a summary of all the sources of reference 

 in a handy form for conveying an idea of the information which is available. 

 Sir Napier is to be congratulated on contributing such an important work 

 on the dynamics of meteorology. 



During the war a considerable amount of work was carried out by 

 English and French protozoologists on Amoebic Dysentery ; in later stages 

 of the war certain American protozoologists took up the subject, and the 



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