276 NEW BOOKS. 



zebras, one, Eqnux quagga, formerly abundant south of the 

 Vaal, is now extinrt : Eqiiiis zebra is much more scarce than it 

 used to be within recent memory; but Equus biirchclli is still 

 numerous north oi the Orange River. Of the next genus, 

 rhinoceros, one species, R. siiiiiis, the erstwhile very abundant 

 white rhinoceros, survives in only a few individuals in Zululand. 

 The carnivora of the country are illustrated by the leopard, still 

 fairly common throughout South Africa, the spotted hy?ena. the 

 hunting dog, and the African ratel. The European squirrel, c[uite 

 recently introduced into South z-Vfrica, has now become abundant 

 in the suburbs of Cape Town, but South Africa has in addition 

 four species of native squirrels. The concluding pages of the 

 work contain briet references, in every instance illustrated by 

 South African types, to moles, porcupines, hares, bats, lemurs, 

 and apes. The book is well and copiously illustrated, over 200 

 types being thus represented by text figures. 



TRANSACTIONS OF SOCIETIES. 



Chemical, Metalluruical and Mining Society of Soi'th Africa. 

 —Saturday, Deceni1)er i6th : Mr. \V. R. Dowling, :M.I.M.:M., Vice- 

 President, in the chair. — "' Notes on al)Sorption of gold by amalgamated 

 copper plates, cast iron retorts, and amalgam trays": Professor G. H. 

 Stanley and -\1. T. Murray. The authors had carried out an in- 

 vestigation with the object of ascertaining whether there was any 

 foundation for the Ix-licf that considerable amounts of gold are ab- 

 sorbed by the amalgamated plates used in gold reduction plants. The 

 conclusion come to was that gold is not absorbed in suflicient amount to 

 influence percentage recovery, but that a comparatively rich hard surface 

 scale may be formed. In used and discarded retorts it was found that 

 a very valuable quantity of gold was present, which would not be removed 

 by mere scaling or chipping of the interior. Sections cut from a piece 

 of cast iron amalgam traj' were found to be rich in gold. 



South African Institute of Electrical Engineers. — Thursday. 

 December 21st: Air. J. H. Rider, V.P.I.E.E., President, in the chair. — 

 " Radiotelegraphy in modern practice '' : W. E. D. Bennett. The 

 author lirst described the fundamental principles involved in the opera- 

 tion of radiotelegraphy, and then gave a general description of the 

 Marconi station on the Bluff at Durban, Natal. 



South African Institution of Engineers. — Saturday, January 13th: 

 Mr. F. H. Davis, President, in the chair. — "'Current and Power factor in 

 induction motors ". H. J. S. Heather. The author presented the 

 results of a series of tests to show that in an induction motor the 

 power factor at constant amperes is unaffected by the speed. — " The 

 combustion of coal "' : K. Austin. The author discussed the economical 

 utilisation of coal with a view to the fullest realisation of its thermal 

 value in all cases. He suggested modification of combustion chambers 

 and of the general arrangement of boiler plants, an exhaustive enquiry 

 into the best methods of effecting such improvements, and the estab- 

 lishment of public coal-testing institutions. 



NEW BOOKS. 



Knox, Alexander. — The climate of flic continent of Africa. Cambridge: 



University Press, 1911. gin. X 6^r in. pp. xiv, 552. Maps and 



diagrams. 2Ts. nett. 

 Hall, R. N. — Rhodesia Muscnin, Bitlai^ayo. What visitors can sec. 



Ethnological section. Part I. Bulawavo, 1911. pp. 62. 8^ in. 



X si in. lllus. 



