222 



NATURE 



[October 29, 1914 



domain of pure science and those who have inter- 

 preted its results in practice; not so much, 

 perhaps, as might be desired, but enough to 

 make it possible to enlist the services of practical 

 engineers, electricians, and chemical manufac- 

 turers in bringing to a practical issue any ideas 

 which may commend themselves. Indeed, such 

 men as might serve on the committees might do 

 much to organise the efforts of manufacturers, so 

 that no overlapping should occur, and in such a 

 manner that the utmost efficiency should be 

 secured. 



It would be well, too, that some means should 

 be adopted whereby these committees should come 

 into contact; an engineering problem, for ex- 

 ample, often requires co-operation from the physi- 

 cist or chemist for its successful solution. Such 

 co-operation, however, should not be difficult to 

 arrange for. 



We referred last week to the publication of a 

 reasoned statement by British scholars, as a reply 

 to a manifesto by German professors. This is 

 all to the good; but we need action as well as 

 words. Action is being taken by the Master of 

 Christ's College, Cambridge, and the secretary of 

 the Appointments Board of the University, to 

 form a committee of members of that University 

 to advise the "Entente Trade League." Here, 

 again, is an effort in the right direction; but it 

 cannot be too strongly emphasised that we are 

 AT WAR, and the first duty of all men of science 

 must be to organise, and to place their ser- 

 vices unreservedly at the disposal of our War 

 Office. 



In this hour of national emergency there is no 

 time to be lost. We cannot all be soldiers, but 

 we can all help, we men of science, in securing 

 victory for the allied armies. Every day lost 

 means the destruction of a number of our fellow- 

 countrymen and of our allies, and the sooner we 

 co-operate for the good of the nation the sooner 

 will the war be over. 



CROPS, STOCK, AND SOIL. 



(i) The NaturcU History of the Farm: A Guide 

 to the Practical Study of the Sources of Out 

 Living in Wild Nature. By Prof. J. G. 

 Needham. Pp. 348. (Ithaca: The Comstock 

 Publishing Co., 191 3.) Price 1.50 dollars. 



(2) Investigation into the Disease of Sheep called 

 "Scrapie" (Traberkrankheit ; La Tremblante): 

 With Especial Reference to its Association with 

 Sarcosporidiosis. By Dr. J. P. M'Gowan. 

 With an Appendix on a Case of Johne's Disease 

 NO. 2348, VOL. 94] 



in the Sheep. (Edinburgh and East of Scot- 

 land College of Agriculture.) Pp. ix+ii6. 

 (Edinburgh : Wm. Blackwood and Sons, 1914.) 

 (3) Die Typen der Bodenbildung, ihre Klassifika- 

 tion und geographische Verbreitung. By Prof. 

 K, Glinka. Pp. iv + 365. (Berlin: G. Born- 

 traeger, 1914.) Price 16 marks. 



(i) pROF. NEEDHAM'S " Natural History of 

 XT the F^rm " is one of those books that 

 could only be written in America, where individu- 

 ality of outlook is allowed, not only to a professor 

 of limnology, but to all who are engaged in doing 

 anything with agricultural students. For it is 

 recognised that the methods must not become 

 stereotyped and that every teacher should have 

 his own way of doing things. This book is a 

 combination of natural history and nature-study, 

 with much fluent writing about the joy of com- 

 muning with nature and the things that really 

 count in life ; the chapters are ushered in with 

 quotations from Robert Burns, Ecclesiastes, 

 Whittier, Micah, etc., and along with the fluent 

 writing is set a practical exercise. Anyone who 

 knows the American student, with his (and 

 especially her) capacity for taking things seri- 

 ously, will realise that a book of this kind will 

 get its chance, and that the intention of the author 

 will be duly respected. His aim is not so much 

 to teach as to arouse such interest in country life 

 that men and women shall remain in the country 

 and not migrate to the town. We have the same 

 problem ourselves, and may yet have to deal with 

 it in the same manner. 



(2) Dr. M'Gowan 's book deals with a disease 

 in sheep which has become widely known in some 

 of the border counties during the last few years, 

 especially in Roxburghshire and in Northumber- 

 land. The symptoms exhibited are persistent 

 itching without any evidence of "scab," a gradual 

 emaciation, but no diarrhoea or loss of appetite, 

 a change in gait and a weakening of the muscle 

 power; the disease is almost universally fatal. 

 It is known in the north as "scrapie," but it 

 appears to be identical with diseases described 

 by older writers as rickets, goggles, shakings, 

 cuddie trot, etc., and with "la tremblante" and 

 the "traberkrankheit" of the Continent. 



The author's investigations lead him to believe 

 that it is caused by a heavy infection of the 

 sheep with a protozoan parasite (sarcosporidium). 

 He attributes the infection to the system in vogue 

 in the north of breeding from the two-year-old 

 ewes for the purpose of keeping up the ewe stock ; 

 he finds no evidence that the disease is spread 

 by the ram. His reasons for attributing the dis-; 

 ease to the sarcosporidium are (i) that the sarco-i 



