554 



NATURE 



[Ocf, 3, 1889 



Feilden, of the Ainr.y Pay DepaitD ent, at that time acting as 

 Local Secretary to the Con niitlee at Barbados. 



The services cf Mr. G. A. Ramage were retained as collector 

 at Dominica ard St. Lucia, and several collections were received 

 from him during the fast year. Owing to ill-health Mr. Ramage 

 returned to this ccunlry in June last, and he has now retired 

 from the post of collector to the Committee. Mr. F. Du Cane 

 Godman has generously assisted the work of the Committee by 

 sending out, at his own expense, the well known naturalist and 

 collector, Mr. H. H. Smith, to the Island of St. Vincent, to 

 make collections in as many branches as possible of natural 

 history. These collections have not yet reached this country, 

 but it is anticipaled that they will prove of considerable value. 



Colonel Feilden obtained numerous botanical and zoological 

 specimens in Barbados and the neighbouring islands. He has 

 published a paper on the reptiles, and another on birds ; papers 

 on the Mammalia and land Mollusca will follow. He also obtained 

 a living specimen of the green monkey of Western Africa, which 

 has become feral in Barbados [Circppithecus callitrichus). This 

 was presented by the Ccir.mittee to the Zoological Society of 

 London. 



Dr. H. A. Alford Nicholls, Local Secretary to the Com- 

 mittee at Dominica, has lendered valuable assistance, and 

 he will be engaged for six weeks this autvmn in exploiing 

 Montsenat and the isolated rock called Redonda, which is 

 a dependency of Antigua. 



The particulars of the collections received during the past year 

 are as follows : — 



Zoolrgy. — The zoological specimens obtained by the Committee 

 up to June 1889, including those collected by Mr. Ramage in 

 Dominica and St. Lucia, have been placed in the hands of 

 specialists for examinaiion and determination. Mr. Oldfield 

 Thomas has determined the Man malia, Dr. Sclater the birds ; 

 Dr. Giinther has published a paper on the reptiles, Mr. E. A. 

 Smith three papers on the Mollusca, Mr. R. I. Pocock two 

 on the Myriopcda and Crustacea, and Mr. Kirby one on the 

 Phasmidse. 



Botany. — The botanical specimens collected by Mr. Ramage 

 in Dominica and St. Lucia, up to May 1889, have been deter- 

 mined at Kew ; the flowering 1 lants by Mr. R. A. Rolfe, the 

 ferns by Mr. J. G. Baker, and the cellular cryptogams by Dr. 

 Cooke and Mr. C. H. Wright. 



From Dominica about 394 species were received, of which 

 (excluding the cryptogams) about 40 could only be provisionally 

 determined ; and of the^e a few, perhaps about half, are probably 

 undescribed. The great majority belong to already well-known 

 species, most of which were previously known from the island. 



From St. Lucia about 189 species have been sent, of which 

 (excluding the cr7ptogams, as before) over 30 were not deter- 

 mined, and possibly about half of these may prove to be unde- 

 scribed. This island was less completely Inown than Dominica, 

 and several additions to our knowledge of its flora have been 

 made by Mr. Ramage. Durirg the working up of the collections 

 a strong affinity with Dominica, and perhaps still more so with 

 Martinique, has become apparent. From the latter island large 

 collections are well represented at Kew, though the materials 

 have never been thoroughly worked up. 



The specimens which it was not found possible to determine 

 belong for the most part to large genera of woody plant~, as 

 Guttiferse, Leguminosre, Myrtacea^, Myrsinese, Laurineas, and a 

 few others, which renders it the more probable that a fair propor- 

 tion of them may prove undejcrited. 



The nunrber of novelties is perhaps not so great as was 

 originally expected, and this may arise either from the ground 

 having been worked over before, or, what is perhaps more 

 probable, from the fact that a considerable uniformity prevails 

 in the flora of this chain of islands, with a corresponding paucity 

 in endemic types. 



The Committee would draw particular attention to the 

 botanical and zoological bibliography of the Lesser Antilles pre- 

 pared under its direction, and published as an appendix to the 

 Report for 1888. This bibliography has been widely distributed 

 in the West Indies and in Europe, and has proved of consider- 

 able service in carrying out the objects for which the Committee 

 was appointed. 



Report {Fifth) of the Ccmniiitce appointed for the purpose of 

 considering the best means cf Comparing and Reducing Magnetic 

 Observations. Prof. W. drylls Adams, Secretary. — The Com- 

 mittee report the establishment of regular magnetic observatories, 



where continuovs photographic records of the magnetic elements 

 are taken, at the United States Naval Observatory at Washing- 

 ton, and also at Los Angeles in California. The instruments 

 used are of the Kew pattern, with the same time-scale, and the 

 scale-coeff cicnts for horizontal and vertical force instruments at 

 Washington are very nearly those recommended by the Com- 

 mittee in their Third Report (1887), and which are in veiy near 

 agreement with those at Vienna, St. Petersburg, and some other 

 obseivfctories. The Committee report, further, that the plar> 

 proposed by them in their 'J bird Report for the Comparison and 

 Reduction of Magnetic Observations, has been adopted at the 

 United States Naval Observatory at Washington, which is now 

 prepared to take part in the general scheme of co-operation 

 proposed by the Committee. Copies of the photographic re- 

 gisters of the three elements for April 21-30, May 1-31, and for 

 June 1-30 have been forwarded to the Committee from Washing- 

 ton, with tables of scale and temperature coefficients. There 

 are also forwarded two prints showing the reduction of the 

 declination for the year 1888, by means of a graphic composite 

 curve, made by tracing over one another with a pantograph the 

 daily curves of the month, and then drawing a curve through 

 them to show the monthly means. There are also forwarded 

 frcm Washington a set of prints showing the comparison of the 

 disturbances of declination and horizontal force at Washingtoiv 

 for ninety-nine days of 1888, and another set of prints showing 

 the comparison of disturbances of declination on ceitain selected 

 days at Washington, Lcs Angelos, and Toronto, all reduced to 

 the same time-scale of 306 mm, for two hours, i.e. the time- 

 scale of instruments of the Kew pattern. The Committee are 

 more than ever of the opinion expressed in their Third Report, 

 " that the establishment of regular magnetic observatories at the 

 Cape of Gocd Hope and in Scuth America would materially 

 contribute to our knowledge of terrestrial magnetism," The 

 Conmittee consider that it would be desirable to publislv 

 annually in a collected form for certain selected days the curves 

 of the three magnetic elements, i.e. declination, horizontal 

 force, and vertical force, taken at the different Englsh and 

 Colonial Magnetic Observatories, choosing for selection in 1888^ 

 the days for which the curves are published in the " Greenwich 

 Olservations." 



Report {Fourth) of the Committee appointed for the purpose 

 of promoting Tidal Obsenations in Canada. Prof. A. Johnsor^ 

 Secretary. — The Committee refer to a previous Report, in which 

 it was announced that the then Minister of Marine (the Hon. G. 

 Foster) had directed that some prelinrinary investigations should 

 be made by Lieut. Gordon, R.N., who was to put himself in 

 com.munrcation with Prof. Darwin. The Minister, however, 

 said that the existing expenditure on hydrographic surveys made 

 it necessary to postpone for the time the consieleration of further 

 steps concerning tidal observations. The Committee was re- 

 appointed last year to keep the subject before the notice of the 

 Government, in the hope that this systematic tidal work woirld 

 be begun this year. In May last an interview was obtained w itb 

 the Hon. C. Tupper, the present Minister of Marine, at which 

 Sir Wm. Dawson was present. The Minister expressed himself 

 as entirely favourable to the institution of the propos< d tidal 

 observations, but said that the financial position as regards 

 the expenditure on hydrographic surveys was the same as last 

 year, and that therefore no further steps could be taken as yet in 

 the matter. It is believed that since the interview some of the 

 expenditure in hydrographic surveys has cea ed, and as there is- 

 reason to believe that other Cabinet Ministers are in favour of 

 the proposed measure, the Committee deem the prospects of 

 carrying it into execution very satisfactory. There is no dcjubt 

 about the anxiety of shipmasters to have the tidal investigations 

 set on foot immediately, and the Royal Society of Canada deem 

 the matter of such great practical importance, that at their last 

 meeting they appointed a special Committee to give energetic 

 support to the action of this Committee. 



Riport oj the Ccn.mittee appointed for the purpose of continu- 

 ing the lr.i]t. ii ies n lating lo ihe leaching oJ Science in Elementary 

 Schools. J'r(f. Aimsticng, Secretary.— 1\\\% year has been 

 one of continued deptessien in regard to the teaching of 

 science in elementary schcols, aid of disappointment in regard 

 to legislative action. The return of the Education Depart- 

 ment for this year shows again a diminution in the teaching 

 of the science sr.bjects. Tie' statistics of the class subjects 

 for six years are given, and show an actual decrease in ele- 



I 



