l82 



NATURE 



{Dec. 26, 1889 



Blunfield : — "I see in the August number of the Kew Bulletin, 

 an interesting account of the Icerya purchasi, and its depreda- 

 tions in South Africa, California, &c. During the past four 

 years our gardens at Alexandria have been invaded by a coccus, 

 which threatens now to destroy all our trees, and is causing the 

 greatest alarm here. ... It first appeared about four years ago, 

 when I noticed it in quantities on the under side of the leaves of 

 a banyan tree, but it has since spread with extraordinary rapidity, 

 and one of our most beautiful gardens, full of tropical trees and 

 shrubs, has been almost destroyed. A breeze sends the 

 cottony bugs down in showers in all directions. It seems to 

 attack almost any plant, but the leaves of the Ficus ruhiginosa, 

 and one or two other kinds of fig, seem too tough for it, and it 

 will not touch them. It seems almost hopeless here for a few 

 horticulturists to try to eradicate this formidable pest, while 

 their indifferent neighbours are harbouring hotbeds of it, and 

 there will have to be some strong measures taken by law to put 

 it down." The insect in question had been referred to Mr. 

 Douglas, and was said to be an undescribed species of Dacty- 

 lopius. Spraying with kerosene emulsion was recommended, 

 but no remedy was likely to be effectual that was not carried 

 out universally. 



The new number of the Journal of the Royal Horticultural 

 Society contains a full and interesting report of the proceedings 

 of the National Rose Conference held at the gardens of the 

 Society at Chiswick on July 2 and 3. In the same number 

 there are the following papers : on irises, by Prof. Michael 

 Foster ; the strawberry, by Mr. A. F. Barron ; strawberries 

 for market, by Mr. G. Bunyard ; the origin of the florist's 

 carnation, by Mr. S. Hibberd ; peaches and nectarines, by Mr. 

 T. F. Rivers ; on conifers, by Mr. W. Coleman ; on pears, by 

 Mr. W. Wildsmith. 



A German biography of the late Dr. E. G. F. Grisanowski, 

 by Elpis Melena, has just been published (Hanover: Schmorl 

 lind von Seefeld). The book ought to be interesting to anti- 

 vivisectionists, as Dr. Grisanowski was an enthusiastic advocate 

 of their ideas, and much attention is given to the subject by his 

 biographer. 



The United States Department of Agriculture has issued the 

 first and second of a series of illustrated papers on the North 

 American fauna. They are by Dr. C. Hart Merriam. The 

 first is a revision of the North American pocket mice, and 

 includes descriptions of twelve new species and three new sub- 

 species. The second paper contains descriptions of fourteen 

 new species and one new genus of North Am erican mammals. 



The sixth edition of Mr. H. Bauerman's "Treatise on the 

 Metallurgy of Iron " (London : Crosby Lockwood and Son) has 

 been published. Mr. Bauerman explains that, as the progress 

 in iron and steel manufacture during the seven years that have 

 elapsed since the last issue of the volume has been mainly in 

 the direction of perfecting the appliances and working details of 

 the great processes introduced between 1858 and 1878, it has 

 not been necessary to make any very great alteration in the 

 principal part of the text. The additions required to bring the 

 information up to date have been placed mostly as supplemental 

 notes at the end. The statistical details have been revised and 

 brought up to the latest dates for which returns are available. 



In a recent paper on zoogeography, in Hutnboldt, Dr. Lampert 

 states that a good many wolves are still captured in the east and 

 west provinces of Germany, e.g. about fifty annually in Lorraine. 

 In France, 701 wolves were destroyed in 1887 ; in Norway, only 

 15. It is estimated that in Russia the yearly loss in domestic 

 animals through wolves is over;i^2,ooo,ooo, and the loss of game 

 from the same cause, over ;^7,ooo,ooo. The German mole 

 swarms apparently, in the neighbourhood of Aschersleben, 



where 97>5i9 individuals were taken last year, and rewards 

 amounting to £()"] were paid. In great part of Germany, how- 

 ever (Upper and Lower Bavaria, East and West Prussia), it is 

 not met with. Mecklenburg and Pomerania are its northern 

 limits, at present. The beaver is nearly extinct in Germany, 

 but a new settlement of thirty individuals was recently discovered 

 at Regenwehrsberg, not far from Schonebeck, on the Elbe. A 

 recent catalogue of diurnal birds of prey in Switzerland (by 

 Drs. Studer and Fatio) gives thirty-two species. The disappear- 

 ance of the golden vulture is here noteworthy. Early in this 

 century it w as met with in all parts of the Alpine chain ; whereas 

 now, only a very few individuals survive on the inaccessible 

 heights of the Central Alps. 



An interesting inquiry into prehistoric textiles has been re- 

 cently made by Herr Buschan [Arch, fiir Anthrop.) He ex- 

 amined tissues with regard to the raw material used, to their 

 distribution in prehistoric Germany, to their mode of production, 

 and to their alteration by lying in the ground. With certain 

 chemical reagents he was able to distinguish the various fibres, 

 though much altered. The oldest tissues of Germany (as we now 

 know it) come from the peat-finds of the northern bronze 

 period. On the other hand, some articles of bone found in caves 

 of Bavarian Franks, and evidently instruments for weaving or 

 netting (bodkins, knitting needles, &c. ), show that already in the 

 Neolithic period textiles were made. The art of felting probably 

 preceded that of weaving. Herr Buschan sums up his results as 

 follows: (l) in the prehistoric times of Germany, wool (mostly 

 sheep's) and flax were made into webs, but no hemp ; (2) the 

 use of wool preceded that of flax ; (3) the wool used was always 

 dark ; (4) most of the stuffs were of the nature of huckaback 

 (none smooth) ; (5) the textiles have, on the whole, changed 

 but little in course of time. The author has some interesting 

 observations on the oldest kinds of loom. The pile-builders on 

 the Pfafiiker, Niederwyl, and Boden Lakes, were busy weavers ; 

 and they knew how to work flax fibres not only into coarse lace, 

 fish nets, or mats, but into such finer articles as fringes, coverlets, 

 embroidery, and hair-nets. 



In a recent Consular Report from British North Borneo, 

 an account is given of the explorations for gold which were 

 made in the territories of the British North Borneo Company 

 last year. The main obstacle had always been the difficulty 

 of ascending the river, which is full of shallows and rapids, and 

 of forwarding supplies of provisions, as the country is totally un- 

 inhabited, and does not afford supplies of any kind whatever. 

 Striking into the forest at a point in Darvel Bay, which was 

 judged to be nearest to the desired district, Mr. Skertchly 

 crossed three sharp ridges of mountains, and at length struck 

 the higher Segama, at a place some 250 miles inland from its 

 mouth. The track is only 31 miles long, but great difficulty was 

 experienced in bringing up provisions, as, owing to the rocky and 

 mountainous nature of the ground, animals could not be used for 

 transport, and everything had to be carried, at considerable ex- 

 pense, on men's backs. Payable gold was found soon after the 

 Segama was reached, and the higher the river was ascended the 

 more there was, but it was patchy and uncertain, and, so far, 

 no reefs are reported, the gold being almost entirely in the 

 river-bed. It is now certain, says the Consul, that payable gold 

 exists, but whether the extent of country it is found in is large 

 or small has yet to be ascertained, while the expense of convey- 

 ing provisions to the gold-fields will require gold to be abundant 

 to make it worth while working, unless an easier path is found. 

 Mr. Skertchley was five months and a half in the forest without 

 coming out once, and it was mainly owing to his foresight in 

 arranging details, and his perseverance in carrying on the 

 expedition, that success was due. 



The Annual Report of the Conservator of Forests at Singa- 

 pore refers at great length to the difficulty of dealing with a 



