37- OUR XATIVE lilKDS. 



ands of ciji^s. For instance, a quail, partridge, guinea fowl, lark, 

 rail, starling, or any one of the many tick-devouring birds, in a 

 single season is ca])al)le of killing vast swarms of ticks directly 

 or indirectly. 



I have found as many as 50 gorged female ticks in the crop 

 of a single cattle egret {Bubnlcus ibis). Taking the minimum 

 number of eggs laid by one of these ticks at 2.000. we have the 

 tremendous tc^al of 100.000. In the crop of a c|uail. eight of 

 these mature female ticks were found. This", multiplied bv 2.000. 

 makes a total of 16.000 ticks accounted for by one bird in a day : 

 or during the course of the spring and summer the colossal num- 

 ber of three million ticks would have been accounted for bv one 

 quail. 



Twehe Crowned Lapwings { Stcpliaiiihyx coronatns ) . or 

 Kiewitjes. as they are ])oj:»ularly termed, were shot during De- 

 cember on a cattle-frequented veld. Nine of these contained an 

 average of 5 blue female ticks distended with blood or eggs. 

 Again, taking the minimum tuimner (^f eggs laid bv each tick 

 at 2,000. we have a total of 1 0.000 ticks accounted for bv each of 

 the five birds in one day. In three months these birds, eating 

 female ticks at the rate of live i)er day. wt)tdd account for a 

 million. If these had survived, and taking half their number 

 to be females, the following season the\' wottld have totalled 

 something like 6.000,000.000. 



In F"rench West Africa the unre--tricted sln)oting and trap- 

 ping of the guinea fowl has resulted in epidemics of germ di- 

 seases amongst the native tribes, and the destruction of crojv^ 

 by beetles, cut worms, grubs, atid locusts. 



The wholesale destruction of native birds is followed by 

 disaster to man as surely as da\- follows night. Man idly, wil- 

 fully or ignorantly brings about the catise. and he suffers the 

 effect to the full. To-day he has men (^f science who are capable 

 of guiding and teaching him how to avoid most of the set-backs 

 he gets in his journey thnnigh life, but he heeds them not. 



TR.W.S ACTIONS OF SOCIETIES. 



South Afrka.v Ixstitution of E.n'cjxkkrs. — Saturday. October 14th: 

 B. Prict', M.kE.E.. ,\.M.1.C.E.. President, in the chair.— '^ 77;^- f>rospects 

 of the carbonisiitimi nf cual. :<.'itli by-fyroduct recovery, as a South .ifricait 

 industry": S. B. Bilbrough. After a brief enumeratioif of the primary 

 and by-products ol)tained from coal In- means of gas producers, coke 

 ovens, and town gasworks, tlie auliior discussed the prospects of coal 

 carbonisation as ajjplied to South .\fric.in coals. The prospects of 

 obtaining ammonium sulphate on a large scale in the production of power 

 gas were dealt with exhaustively. It was pointed out tliat South Africa 

 possesses one of the cheapest coals in the world at the pit's mouth, and 

 that this fact, coupled with the abundance of the coal, the geographical 

 situation of the country relatively to tlu- large demands of fndi.i and the 

 East, and the richness f)f South .African coal in nitrogen, should combine 

 to make an anmionium sulphate industry in South Africa highly promising. 

 The author also discussed the producti(Mi of coal-tar in connection with 

 gas works, .ind jtoiiUed to tin- largi- market in South .Africa for road 

 composition. 



