622 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1917. 



source of supply of sphagnum moss for surgical dressings, seaweeds 

 and fungi as food, seaweeds as sources of iodin and of potash for 

 manures, lichens for use as dyes. The damage caused by molds and 

 fungi to foodstuffs has produced a large crop of inquiries from all 

 quarters, including local food committees. Allotment holders also 

 have recognized the help that they can obtain from this department 

 in the detection and prevention of plant diseases. To give details 

 would be wearisome. It is enough to quote the words of a weighty 

 letter which Messrs. Sutton & Sons, of the Royal Seed Establishment, 

 Reading, addressed to The Times (Jan. 7) : 



The unremitting toil and labors of the staff in the pursuit of science, in order 

 that its secrets, when won, may be utilized for increasing the fertility of the 

 soil and for safeguarding the crops upon which we depend from the ravages of 

 insect pests and fungoid diseases, are of inestimable value to the country and 

 Empire. 



We pass to the work of the zoological department. The scarcity 

 of the world's food supply is causing attention to be paid to the 

 suggestion that we should avail ourselves of whale meat. For some 

 years past the keeper of the department has been collecting informa- 

 tion as to the numbers of whales and the geographical distribution 

 of the various kinds. Any regulations, national or international, for 

 the capture and killing of these animals must be based on the knowl- 

 edge thus accumulated. Reports have already been furnished to the 

 Colonial Office on this subject, as well as on the hunting of elephant 

 seals in south Georgia. It is of significance that in the last-mentioned 

 region the whale fishery, which is as yet unregulated, has resulted in 

 a great decrease in the numbers of humpback whales, whereas under 

 the ordinance of 1909, regulating the sealing industry, the number of 

 elephant seals shows no decrease, although over 3,000 have been 

 killed each year. 



The protection of birds and wild mammals is another subject for 

 international agreement and one of great economic importance for 

 our scattered dominions. In dealing with it the Colonial Office fre- 

 quently refers to the museum for information and advice. Reports 

 have been made on the introduction of reindeer and other animals 

 into south Georgia. The food value of the eggs of wild birds is also 

 under active investigation. 



"All work," truly says the bluebook, " connected with the conserva- 

 tion and arrangement of the collection of fishes may be regarded as 

 of potential economic importance." Officers of the board of agricul- 

 ture and fisheries, with other students of fishery questions, find in the 

 national collections material for their researches. A commercial fish- 

 ing company, which proposed to exploit a new region, took the sen- 

 sible step of first making a collection of the fishes and crustaceans 



