68 NATURAL SCIENCE. Jan.. 



After a short report by the Assistant Secretary on the divisions 

 directly under his charge, follows a series of detailed reports by the 

 specialists in the various divisions. These are the Chief of the 

 Bureau of Animal Industry, the Chemist, the Entomologist, the Orni- 

 thologist and Mammalogist, the Botanist, the Chief of the Division ot 

 Vegetable Pathology, the Pomologist, the Microscopist, the Chief 

 of the Division of Forestry, the Special Agent in charge of Fibre 

 investigations, the Superintendent of Gardens and Grounds, the 

 Statistician, the Chief of the Seed Division, the chiefs of various 

 publication and financial divisions, the Director of the Office of 

 Experiment Stations and the Chief of the Weather Bureau. Finally, 

 there is a special report on tea-raising in South Carolina. 



We cannot discuss these reports individually. They certainly 

 contain a great deal of interesting and valuable matter. Thus, that 

 of the Chemist begins with a warning against black pepsin, a 

 preparation of pepsin and sugar, designed to increase the yield of 

 butter, but which merely gives a compound which is not the genuine 

 article, but an incorporation of butter with about an equal weight of 

 other substances. An extensive examination has been made of canned 

 and preserved foods, and it is pointed out that in some cases the tin 

 employed to coat the cans contained over lo per cent, of lead, which, 

 in contact with the natural acids of fruits and vegetables, might lead 

 to the formation of lead salts highly injurious to health. Particular 

 attention was paid to the examination of green-coloured peas, beans, 

 and other vegetables. It is a common custom to use a copper salt, 

 presumably the sulphate — in canning such materials, to preserve 

 or intensify their green colour, and the consumer may be certain, 

 when eating very green canned peas, beans, etc., that he is consuming 

 large quantities of copper, which, as the Chemist observes, must 

 be condemned on hygienic grounds. This report also gives informa- 

 tion on the detection of adulteration in honey, and describes experi- 

 ments with sugar beets and sorghum. The Entomologist discusses 

 various insect pests, such as the potato-tuber moth, the ox warble, 

 the rose saw flies, and others, and gives an account, illustrated by 

 three plates, of the Insectary. 



The report of the Pomologist contains some brightly-coloured 

 plates, depicting varieties of different fruits suitable for cultivation. 

 The Eldorado blackberry looks very luscious. The Microscopist 

 figures some edible mushrooms and also gives methods for their 

 culinary preparation and simple means for detecting poisonous species. 

 And so on ; but we have said enough to give an idea of the contents 

 of the report and for further details must refer the inquirer to the 

 original. 



Illustrated Guide to British Mosses ; with Keys to the Genera and Species. 

 By H. G. Jameson, M. A. Pubhshed by the Author, 6 College Road, Eastbourne. 

 8vo. Pp. 80, with 59 plates. Price 7s. 6d. 



We are always glad to welcome a good book dealing with any phase 

 of British botany. Questions of general morphology, anatomy, physio- 

 logy, and the like occupy so large a proportion of the energies of the 

 modern botanist that the flora of his own country is neglected or left 

 to workers whose want of opportunity, training, or ability often forms 

 a serious hindrance to success. Happily, the present is not a case in 

 point. It is evident from his preface and the style of the whole work 



