Oct. iS, 1888] 



NA TURE 



607 



everywhere. Some striking instances were given in 1885 before 

 the Select Committee of the House of Commons on Forestry. 

 For example, what was fifty years ago the great rice-producing 

 district of the west of India. Ratnagiri, lias suffered terribly 

 from the denudation of the Western Chars of the dense forests 

 which extended all over that range of mountains. Again, the 

 native State of Jinjira was all hut ruined by the indiscriminate 

 felling of the f irests which covered the whole State, which is 

 from fifteen to a hundred miles in breadth, and short forty in 

 length. Similarly, in Ceylon itself, the chena cultivator in the 

 Southern and North -Western Provinces and in the Province of 

 Uva is threatened with ruin. 



The recommendations made by Colonel Clar'-e in 18S7, and 

 approved of by Government were the following :— The Govern- 

 ment Agent and the Conservator of Forests were annually, 

 subject to the approval of the Government, to ag>ee on what 

 works were to be accomplished in the way of demarcation, con- 

 servation, &c. and these were to be carried out by the Provincial 

 Forester under the authority and protection of the Government 

 Agent. In departmental questions, such as those relating to 

 pay, promotion, discipline, and other matters, the Conservator 

 of Forests was ro be supreme. The present mode of working is 

 illustrated by the plan of operations for this year, drawn up by 

 Colonel Clarke, and sanctioned by the Government in March 

 last. The plan is drawn up under four heads : (t) demarcation ; 

 (2) limber and firewood supply ; (3) re-afforestation ; (4) extra 

 establishments. With regard to demarcation it was seen that 

 this was urgently needed in the neighbourhood of the large towns, 

 and Government was, therefore, recommended to allow the 

 whole available staff to be placed at this work. The forests in 

 the northern, eastern, and north-central provinces were to be 

 allowed to take care of themselves for a time, as the population 

 was very sparse in those regions. Thus it was proposed to 

 begin at once with the Mitirigala and Kananpella forests, which 

 lie in the vicinity of Colombo and on the banks of the Kelani. 

 The present system, by which contractors cut timber for the 

 Public Works Department, is to be changed, for no sufficient 

 check can be exercised over the contractors and their workmen, 

 and it is intended to establish depots in various centres where it 

 is considered that there will be sufficient demand for timber and 

 firewood. When this is done, not only will the heavier timber 

 be utilized as at ] resent, but also the lighter portions which are 

 now left to rot in the forests. Two great depots are to be 

 established, one on the east coa;t and one at Colombo. To the 

 latter will be sent all the timber that is intended for export, such 

 as ebony, satin wood, &c, and to the other depot those timbers 

 which are in demand in India, but which would not bear the 

 cost of transit to Colombo. According to the Report ten depots 

 in all will be established this year. An effort will be made to 

 give the forests of Ceylon a trial for railway sleepers. Colonel 

 Clarke says that the local demand should be met, as two trees 

 which are very plentiful in the island are, in his opinion, suitable 

 for that purpose, Palai (Mimitsops Judica) and Kumbuk {Ter- 

 minalia glabra). Re-afforestation, in Colonel Clarke's opinion, 

 is not a pressing question ; demarcation should first be completed. 

 Many of the Ceylon forests, he thinks, are overworked, and 

 require a long period of rest. To carry out the works now 

 absolutely necessary for the protection of the forests, the staff is 

 to be increased by adding forest-rangers and river-guards. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE. 



Cambridge. — The list of lectures in Physics this term in- 

 cludes Prof. Stokes's on Physical Optics, Prof. Thomson's on 

 the Properties of Matter and on Mathematics for Students of 

 Physics, and Mr. Wilberforce's on Dynamo-electric Machines. 

 Among the numerous chemical lectures we do not note any very 

 novel feature. Prof. Newton will lecture on the Evolution of 

 the Animal Kingdom, and Mr. Gadow on the Morphology of the 

 Ichthyopsida, recent and extinct. In Botany, the Readership has 

 not yet been filled up ; Mr. Gardiner is giving a general element- 

 ary course, Mr. Potter is lecturing on the Geographical Distribution 

 of Plants, and Mr. Vaizey on the Classification of Plants. In 

 Geology, Mr. Marr lectures on the Principles and on Advanced 

 Stratigraphy, Mr. Harker on Petrology, Mr. Roberts on Ad- 

 vanced Palaeontology, and Mr. Seward on Palaeobotany. The 

 physiological and anatomical courses are much as usual. There 

 are three (graduated) sets of demonstration classes in Mech- ! 



anism, and lectures by Prof. Stuart and Mr. Lyon. In Mathe- 

 matics, Prof. Cayley is lecturing on Elliptic Functions, Prof. 

 I )arwin on Orbits and Perturbations of Planets, Mr. Pendlebury 

 on the Theory of Numbers, Mr. Hobson on Fourier's Series 

 and on Conduction of Heat, Mr. Larmor on Electrostatics, Mr. 

 Forsyth on Theory of Functions, Dr. Besant on Analysis 

 Dr. Glaisher on Elliptic Functions, and Mr. Herman on 

 Hydrodynamics. 



At Sidney Sussex College, an examination for Open Scholar- 

 ships in Natural Science will be held on January 1 next ; two 

 are offered, one of £'0 and one of ^40 ; subjects — Chemistry, 

 Physics, Biology, and Geology. The Tutor will give further 

 particulars on application. 



King's College offers one Exhibition for Natural Science ; 

 examination to begin about December 10. 



Emmanuel, Jesus, and Christ's Colleges will hold joint ex- 

 aminations for Open Scholarships on December II and following 

 days. All candidates must show a competent knowledge of 

 Chemistry. Candidates may also be examined in Physics, in 

 Elementary Biology, and in Geology. The Tutors will give 

 full particulars. 



SCIENTIFIC SERIALS. 



Bulletin de la Socihe de Naturalistes de Moscoit, 1888, No. 2. 

 — On the development of Amphipods, by Dr. Sophie Pereya- 

 slavtseva. — List of plants of Tambof, by Litvinoff.— On the great 

 comet of 1887, by Th. Bredichin (in French). — Short notes 

 on some Russian species of Blaps, by E. Ballion (in German). 

 — On the Mollusks of Caucasia, by O. Retowski. Twenty-nine 

 species from Novorossiisk, and ten from Abhasia are described 

 (in German). — The Chlorophycecc of the neighbourhood of 

 Kharkoff, by D. B. Ryabinin. Until now, this subdivision of 

 Algce has been rather neglected in Russia, and only 100 species 

 have been described in the neighbourhood of Moscow. M. 

 Ryabinin's list comprises 233 species, belonging to 74 different 

 genera (with notes in French). — Materials for the flora of 

 Moscow, by Prof. Gorojankin (in Russian). The capital work 

 of the late Prof. Kaufmann, "The Flora of Moscow," which 

 was published in 1866, has been revised by M. Petunnikoff, 

 who compared it with the rich materials of the Moscow 

 Botanical Garden, and published a supplementary list. Students 

 of the Moscow University having been directed during the last 

 three years to collect new materials during special excursions, 

 Prof. Gorojankin has availed himself of all their collections, as 

 well as of a dozen other collections, and now publishes a new 

 supplementary list, which contains 102 new species of Phanero- 

 gams and two species of Cryptogams. — The spiders and other 

 insects of Sarepta, by A. Becker (in German). — The Dariinsk 

 mineral water in the Government of Moscow, by A. Sabaneeff 

 (in Russian). The spring is rich in iron, and is like that of 

 Lipetsk. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 



London. 



Entomological Society, October 3. — Dr. D. Sharp, Pre- 

 sident, in the chair. — Mr. F. P. Pascoe exhibited a number of 

 new species of Longicornia, from Sumatra, Madagascar, and 

 South Africa. — Dr. P. B. Mason exhibited, for Mr. Harris, a 

 specimen of Charocampa Ncrii, recently captured at Burton-on- 

 Trent. — Mr. S. Stevens exhibited a specimen of Vanessa Antiopa, 

 which he caught in the Isle of Wight in August last. — Mr. E. B. 

 Poulton exhibited a living larva of Smerinthus ocellatus in the 

 last stage, fourteen larvae of Boarmia roboraria, and some 

 cocoons of Rumia cratagata. The object of the exhibition was 

 to show the influence of special food-plants and surroundings on 

 the colours of the larva? and cocoons. — Mr. M. Jacoby exhibited 

 a varied series of Titulura sangvinipennis, Lac, from Central 

 America. He stated that many of the varieties exhibited had 

 been described in error as distinct species. — Mr. Billups exhibited 

 specimens of Bracon brevicornis, Wesm., bred from larvae of 

 Ephestia Kiihniella. He remarked that this rare species had only 

 been recorded as bred on two or three occasions, viz. by the 

 Rev. T. A. Marshall, Mr. W. F. Kirby, Herr Brischke, and 

 Mr. Sydney Webb. — Mr. W. Warren exhibited specimens of 

 Anlithesia ustulana and A. fuligana ; also bred series of the 



