110 



there are no sanitation measures in the Colony. This, however, is 

 not so ; cholera, plague and yellow fever have disappeared for many 

 years, and while leprosy is a serious menace, it is apparently no more 

 so than in other French Oceanic or African Colonies. Malaria, which 

 is endemic, continues to be the chief scourge, but anti-malarial measures 

 have reduced its incidence to a level below that of most of the French 

 possessions in Africa and Madagascar. While the necessary regula- 

 tions exist, it is undoubtedly rather difficult to apply them, largely 

 owing to the poverty of the country and the sparse population. It 

 is hoped that, with improvements in these directions, French Guiana 

 will before long become one of the most prosperous French colonies. 



Ledingham (J. C. G.). Dysentery and Enteric Disease in Mesopotamia 

 from the Laboratory Standpoint. — Jl. R.A.M.C., London, xxxiv, 

 no. 4, April 19-20, pp. 306-320. 



In the course of this paper the following observations are made on 

 fly prevalence, and dysentery. In Mesopotamia there are two seasons 

 oif fly prevalence, which correspond fairly closely in time with the spring 

 and autumn dysentery seasons. The greatest number of flies occurs 

 at the end of April and the beginning of May and again in November. 

 But the almost complete disappearance of flies in the hot months is 

 not accompanied by a proportionate fall in the dysentery prevalence. 

 Certain factors other than flies must therefore play the more important 

 role in distributing infection during this period. The author suggests 

 that the mass of fresh infections estabhshed in the spring outbreak, 

 largely by the agency of flies, leaves behind it an amount of chronic 

 and carrier infection which, aided by weather conditions favouring 

 intestinal disturbance, serves to maintain the incidence of dysentery 

 and diarrhoea at a fairly constant level till the next fly outburst 

 initiates the autumnal mass of fresh infections. 



MacGregor (M. E.). The Possible Use of Azolla filiculoides as a 

 Deterrent to Anopheline Breeding.— JZ. R.A.M.C, London, 

 xxxiv, no. 4, April 1920, pp. 370-372, 1 fig. 



Azolla filiculoides is a water-weed of the fern family recently intro- 

 duced into England from Canada. It spreads very rapidly, completely 

 covering the surface of the water in which it grows with a spongy 

 mass of compact leaves. Anophehne mosquitos must have an open 

 water surface on which to lay their eggs, and it was observed that they 

 did not oviposit in the experimental br^edmg tank which was covered 

 by A. filicidoides, though they oviposited freely in the other tanks 

 that contained other kinds of weeds. It was too late in the season for 

 experiments in natural ponds, but no Anopheline larvae were found 

 in the one pond near Sandwich from which the weed was obtained. 



Austen (Major E. E.). A Contribution to Knowledge of the Tabanidae 

 of Palestine. — Bull. Entom. Research, London, x, no. 3, April 

 1920, pp. 277-321, 18 figs. 



This paper deals with material collected by the author in Palestine 

 during the campaign against the Turks. There was a lumour in 1917 

 that the Turks in the Jordan Valley lost a large number of camels from 



