99 
Though this appears to be the first reference by an English 
geographer to the process of hollowing out the trunks of Baobab 
trees so as to serve as reservoirs, it is not the earliest record of the 
practice of storing water in this fashion in Kordofan. We are 
indebted to Captain H. G. Lyons, R.E., F.R.S., for having called 
our attention to a passage in Mr. etherick’s account of  Hgypt, 
the Soudan and Central Africa, published i in 1861. At pp. 208, 209, 
Petherick says of the Baobab :—“ its trunk and even: branches, for 
the most part hollow, are of immense size, the diameter of the 
former attaining as much as 4 
“ These trees, in many parts of the country where water is scarce, 
form highly valuable natural tanks, and when filled by the rains are 
carefully preserved and tapped by the natives during the drought, 
and enable them to inhabit parts of the country which otherwise 
for want of water, would be untenable.” 
The Sand Dunes of New Zealand. °_The. ee Zealand Government 
recognising the importance of dune-reclamation, recently engaged 
the services of Dr. L. Cockayne with a view to the scientific study 
of the dunes of the Dominion. The report now issued deals mainly 
with the subjects of dune-formation, dune-movement, and the dune- 
flora, a knowledge of which is, as the author points ‘out, eevee 
sinew before any intelligent scheme of reclamation can 
is 
In New Zealand moving sands are extremely frequent near the 
sea-coast. Roughly fpesene there are in the North Island 
290,000 acres, and in the South Island 24,000 acres of dune-area. 
These dunes are of special interest in that they afford an 
opportunity of observing what nature has done for their fixation, a 
study not possible where for many centuries civilisation has modified 
the conditions. 
After the piroguctory, remarks a brief geographical account is 
given of the New Zealand dune districts. This is followed by the 
report proper, ieiaal: be two sections, (1) Geology and (2) Botany, 
In the geological section the material and origin of the dunes are 
discussed, and also their movement and the various forms of dunes 
that occur. A typical dune has a long windward slope at a 
deflects the wind, causes an eddy, and the ph Mer og sand instead 
of piling up against the obstacle forms a heap at some distance in 
fron e case of an open flexible obstacle (e.g., Ammophila 
arenaria) the sand is blown into the interior of Bg patch, fills it, 
and finally forms on the leeward side a tongue-like he 
advantage, in sand-fixing, of a living plant with upright growth over 
a dead obstacle is obvious. 
Most of the usual forms of dune areas are found in New Zealand ; 
* Report on the Sand Dunes of New Zealand. By L, Cockayne. New 
Zealand, Department of Lands, 1909, 
