558 



NATURE 



[April 14. 1898 



<3escript Latin (his only medium of communication with 

 the travellers), supplies many humorous touches, "loved 

 not water frolics," and would utter a fervent Deo graiias 

 when the danger was safely past. This man proved a 

 valued and faithful servant, and, sharing all the dangers 

 and vicissitudes of the way, was finally regarded rather 

 in the light of a friend than a dependent. 



Apart from the surface forms, the vegetation offered 

 much of interest to the explorers, and its varied aspects 

 — from the tropical forests of the lower valleys, to the 

 woods of superb coniferae on the mountain slopes, and 

 the alpine flowers of the higher passes — are brought 

 vividly before us as we read the Prince's pages, which 

 describe some charming scenes. We read, eg., of cool 

 forests "where white dog-roses scaled the trees and 

 drooped in fragrant clusters over dazzling diadems of 

 iilies of the height of a man, and under foot pink 

 primulas made a gay carpet." Much valuable information 

 is given, too, with respect to the aboriginal tribes above 

 alluded to, as well as the Lolos of the extreme south of 

 Yunnan, of whose manuscripts a fair number were 

 obtained. Several specimens of the hieroglyphic writing 

 of the Mossos on the Tibetan border were also procured, 

 and the meaning of some of them, hitherto obscure, was 

 explained by the magicians by whom the books are 

 made. The Mossos and the Lolos are said to have 

 probably had the same origin, belonging to the Tibeto- 

 Burmese family ; the Lissus also speak a dialect re- 

 sembling that of the Lolos. Among the Minchias and 

 Lissus some individuals seemed to have little in common 

 with the yellow race, and one Lissu woman reminded 

 Prince Henri of Russian gipsies. Vocabularies of the 

 anguages of all these tribes are given in an appendix ; 

 but we do not find any comprehensive summary of their 

 affinities, which would have been of much value. 



A word must be devoted to the illustrations, with 

 which the book is liberally provided. Their authority 

 is not stated in the English edition, but from the 

 French title-page we learn that they are from the 

 author's photographs. It is doubtful, however, whether 

 the artist has not in many cases allowed himself con- 

 siderable freedom in their reproduction, especially in 

 the somewhat sensational incidents represented. The 

 translation is, on the whole, excellent ; but a few errors 

 of the French edition with regard to proper names have 

 been retained. Thus we find Rochill for Rockhill, like- 

 wise Bonnin, Manhat, Neris, and Aymard, presumably 

 for Bonin, Mouhot, Neis, and Aymara, which shows the 

 need of revision by one acquainted with the subject 

 treated. For English readers the French spelling of 

 geographical names should have been modified. It 

 requires an appreciable amount of time to recognise the 

 pronunciation of some in their unfamiliar garb, as, e.g., 

 when In-shwan is written In-chouan. According to the 

 prevailing French fashion the spelling Thibet is retained. 

 This has, it is true, the authority of M. Desgodins, but 

 others of his countrymen have held the h to be incorrect, 

 or at least unnecessary. (Cf. Cotnptes rendus, Paris 

 Geographical Society, iSS7,passtm.) 



Taken as a whole, however, the book forms a worthy 

 record of an important journey, and the interest of the 

 narrative is well sustained from beginning to end. 

 NO. 1485, VOL. 57] 



INJURIOUS INSECTS DURING 1897. 

 Report of Observations of Injurious Insects and Cornmon 



Farm Pests during the Year 1897, &^c. By Eleanor 



A. Onnerod. Pp. viii -F 160. (London : Simpkin, 



Marshall, and Co., Ltd., 1898.) 

 'T^HE publication of this, the twenty-first of these 

 J- annual reports, will prove, as heretofore, welcome 

 both to agriculturists — for whom primarily they are 

 intended — and to those interested in a public-spirited and 

 isolated attempt to grapple seriously with problems of 

 State entomology in this country. 



Of insect attacks to field crops during 1897, no cases 

 of the first importance are recorded ; the Cabbage-aphis 

 {Aphis brassicce) and Silver Y-moth {Plusia gamma) were 

 locally destructive, the latter to mangolds in Co. Kerry, 

 and attack of the Diamond-back moth {Plutella cruci- 

 ferarum) on turnips was again reported, this time from 

 various spots on the east and west coasts of Scotland. 

 As has so often been the case of late years, nematode 

 disease of oats and clover was troublesome. 



During the last few years the strawberry crop has 

 suffered badly from two species of ground-beetles, 

 Harpalus ruficornis and Pterostichus vulgaris, which 

 have acquired the habit, singular in carnivorous insects, 

 of feeding on the unripe and ripe fruit. The infestation 

 has occurred in several counties, ranging from Not- 

 tinghamshire and Hertfordshire to Gloucestershire, and 

 causes much loss and anxiety to growers. No satisfactory 

 mode of prevention is known, and recourse is generally 

 had to methods of trapping the imagos. Evidently, the 

 breeding habits and mode of life in the larval stage 

 should be more fully studied ; the suggestion, sometimes 

 made, that the insects are conveyed with manure, is 

 somewhat improbable, and needs proof. 



In 1889, much interest was aroused among ento- 

 mologists by the attacks on plum-trees of a Scolytid 

 beetle, Xyleborus dispar, previously a very rare species 

 in Britain. Curiously enough. Miss Ormerod now 

 records a severe infestation of the same orchards by a 

 second species, X. xylographus {saxeseni). The subject 

 is dealt with at length, but without fully establishing the 

 culpability of X. xylographus, itself rather a scarce species 

 in England, and one not usually associated with injury 

 to healthy trees. X. dispar was also present in small 

 numbers, and the coexistence of these species, so often 

 found in association on the continent, may point to a 

 possible importation. These attacks deserve further 

 careful study ; the relationship between Scolytid infest- 

 ation and the health of the host-plant, however obscure, 

 should never be disregarded or minimised, and the 

 author's singular statement, that she knows of no 

 difference between the perforations in trees made by each 

 species, proves that their respective shares have not been 

 properly evaluated. 



Amongst other enemies to trees, Cryptococcus fagi has 

 proved very injurious to beech at Burton-on-Trent. 

 Common as it is, it is seldom so markedly destructive. 

 Treatment is difficult, as insecticide dressings cannot 

 always be profitably employed on trees of so large a size. 



The report contains articles on several granary insects, 

 including the Angoumois moth, Sitotroga cerealella, which 



