March i6, 191 i] 



NATURE 



89 



of the temperate zone, the group is almost solely repre- 

 sented in the Irish epiplankton by Sagitta bipunctata and 

 Spadella cephaloptera ; Sagitta serratodentata also occurs, 

 but is comparatively rare, and only a few young 

 Eukrohnia lia7nata were observed. In the mesoplankton 

 the first two forms were entirely absent ; E. hamata pre- 

 dominated there, and with it were nine other species, some 

 entirely confined to the mesoplankton, while others were 

 found there only in the adult condition after having passed 

 through their earlier stages of development in the epi- 

 plankton of warmer seas. In the same publication (v.) 

 Messrs. E. W. L. Holt and L. W. Byrne give a list of 

 103 fishes of the Irish Atlantic slope, taken beyond the 

 loo-fathom line, with references to the memoirs in which 

 the)' are described. 



An insect pest of the camphor trees on the main island 

 of Japan and Formosa, in the shape of a new species of 

 the Psyllidae, Trioza camphorae, is described by Prof. C. 

 Sasaki in the Journal of the College of Agriculture, Tokio 

 University (vol. ii., No. 5). The larvae give rise to flattish 

 button galls on the leaves. 



The first article in vol. xxviii. of the Journal of the 

 College of Science, Tokio University, is devoted to short 

 botanical studies from the tropics, by Prof. M. Miyoshi. 

 Discussing the characters of tropical foliage leaves, he 

 notes the tendency to produce firm entire leaves with a 

 smooth or shining surface. Data are also supplied with 

 regard to the manner in which leaves are wetted by rain. 

 Another note refers to the Indian cherry tree Prunus 

 Puddnm, confirming the suggestion made by Sir J. D. 

 Hooker that it is allied to the Japanese mountain cherry 

 P. pseudo-cerasus, which it resembles in flower characters ; 

 from P. campanulata it differs markedly in the form of 

 the fruit. 



A THIRD paper embodying researches upon the sexual 

 organs and reproduction in the cycad, Dioon edule, in 

 this case dealing with fertilisation and embryogeny, is 

 contributed by Prof. G. J. Chamberlain to The Botanical 

 Gazette (December, 1910). In Mexico, fertilisation takes 

 place during the month of April. The sperms escape 

 through the ruptured end of the pollen tube with a small 

 amount of liquid of high osmotic value, and one nucleus 

 '-nters the egg, often slipping out of its ciliated sheath as 

 it squeezes past the neck cells ; it is suggested that the 

 passage is prepared by the liquid issuing from the pollen 

 tube, which plasmolyses the neck cells. After fertilisation 

 a number of free nuclei are formed ; then there is a dis- 

 tinct but evanescent formation of cell walls throughout the 

 ntire proembryo which only materialises into walls at the 

 asal end where suspensor and embryo are differentiated. 



Experiments are continuously being conducted in the 

 West Indies to obtain varieties of sugar-cane suited to the 

 various soil and climatic conditions in the different dis- 

 tricts of the islands. Numbers of new canes are raised 

 from seed annually, and promising plants are carefully 

 propagated ; analysis is then made of the juice. Details of 

 'xperiments conducted on these lines are given in Pamph- 

 let No. 66, recently issued by the Imperial Department of 

 Agriculture for the West Indies. 



The official forecast of the wheat crop of South Australia 

 is put at n-gi bushels per acre, this being 1-35 bushels 



wer than the actual yield obtained twelve months ago. 

 "^o late as last September it was thought that the present 

 harvest would be 20 per cent, greater than the previous 

 one, but an unusually severe attack of disease, locally 

 known as " takeall," has since set in, and has in some 



NO. 2159, VOL. 86] 



cases destroyed entire crops^ The disease is caused by the- 

 fungus Ophiobolus graminus, an interesting account of 

 which occurs in The Journal of Agriculture for South 

 Australia (No. 5). It is urged that a plant pathologist i& 

 needed for the study of crop diseases, which, according to- 

 the writer, cause a loss of nearly half a million of money 

 each year in South Australia alone. 



From the report of the Botanic Station, Experiment 

 Plots and Agricultural School, Dominica, 1909-10, we 

 learn that the general conditions of the gardens is satis- 

 factory. A strong feature of the work is the distribu- 

 tion of material for planting purposes. More than 79,000 

 plants were sent out during the year, as well as large 

 numbers of seeds. The experiments with economic plants 

 include, among others, trials with spineless limes, varietiew 

 of citrus plants. Para rubber, and grafted cacao. The 

 lime industry appears to be well established, and the con- 

 ditions of production are steadily improving. Para rubber- 

 continues to do well in the wet districts of the island. 

 Much remains to be done in improving the cacao industry ; 

 it is considered that the yield might be considerably higher 

 if better methods were more generally used. 



Dr. E. J. Butler has been appointed director of the- 

 Agricultural Research Institute and College, Pusa, in place 

 of Mr. Coventry, who is now Inspector-General of Agri- 

 culture in India. The annual report of the work of this 

 institution describes the chief investigations carried on by 

 the various departments. In the botanical department 

 Mr. and Mrs. Howard are continuing their work on wheat, 

 and are obtaining very promising results. Dr. Leather's 

 work on the water requirements of plants is calculated to 

 afford information valuable alike to the agriculturist and' 

 the irrigation engineer. Much attention is paid in the 

 entomological department to industries that depend on the 

 products of insects, eri,' mulberry, tussor silk, and the 

 cultivation of lac being the chief. The mixologist has 

 carried out important investigations on the blister blight 

 of tea and the palm disease in the Godavery Delta. A 

 bacteriological section has been added, and a cotton expert 

 appointed. 



In the Bolletino della Societd geagrafica Italiana for 

 February, Major A. Tancredi, who has done much to 

 advance our knowledge of the climate of Eritrsea, 

 describes the salt plain lying to the east of the Abyssinian 

 tableland. Situated at about no metres below sea-level, 

 and forming an area of inland drainage, it has a mean 

 temperature of about 31° C, while the maximum in 

 summer is said to reach 50° C. From the salt deposits 

 here formed, the Abyssinian merchants obtain the blocks 

 of rock-salt which are used as currency throughout the 

 country, rapidly rising in value towards the more remote 

 western parts of the tableland. The volcano of Ert-Al^ to 

 the southward was seen from the hills above the Saline of 

 Assale, but was not visited. 



From the results of the Swedish expedition to Spits- 

 bergen in 1908 under Prof. G. de Geer, we have received 

 a first part containing the hydrographical observations by 

 N. von Hofsten and S. Bock. The temperature and 

 salinity of the sea were determined at about thirty points 

 both on the outward and the homeward voyage. These 

 factors showed a marked increase on the conditions which 

 existed about 1902, when ice in August still surrounded the 

 southern portion of Spitsbergen, and indicated a returr> 

 to such as existed in 1898, when the Nathorst expedition 

 could sail round Spitsbergen and visit Gills Land. The 

 topography of Eisfjord, on the western coast of Spitn- 

 bergen, was studied during the second half of July and 



