April 17, 19 19] 



NATURE 



U7 



that injections of histamine produce a similar condi 

 tion; It annuls the "tone" of the capillary vessels so 

 that they dilate and their walls become' abnormallv 

 permeable. In cases of considerable injury to muscles 

 one of the most potent causes of shock) 'a substance 

 hke histamme is generated. Histamine acts more 

 powerfully m animals anaesthetised with ether and 

 surgeons during the war have noted that patients 

 suffering from shock bear ether badly. 



In the Section of Preyentive Medicine the dysen- 

 teries were considered. Col. Leonard Dudgeon dis- 

 cussed the bacillary form. The dysentery bacillus is 

 scarcely ever present in the blood— in only two cases 

 out of 145 cases examined. The methods of bac- 

 teriological examination for the dysentery bacilli were 

 described, and the three methods by which the disease 

 may be spread among a healthy population referred to 

 These are by "carriers," by infection of water, and by 

 flies. As regards flies, typical dysentery bacilli were 

 isolated from wild flies captured and examined. 



.Amoebic dysentery was dealt with by Dr. Warring- 

 ton /Vorke. The dysentery amceba is apparently in- 

 digenous in England, for it had been found ' that 

 of 4.^0 civilians in the Liverpool Royal Infirmary who 

 had never been abroad, 15 per cent, were infected 

 Among recruits t;-6, and among lunatics 0-7, per cent 

 were found to be infected. 



Lt.-Col. Dale Logan gave a demonstration on mine- 

 gas poisoning. By the autumn of 1915 mine warfare 

 had made huge strides, and, with the great increase 

 in^ size of the explosive charges used, more extensive 

 mine systems, and the employment of thousands of 

 men underground, the casualties from mine-gas 

 poisoning assumed serious proportions. The poison- 

 ing was entirely due to carbon monoxide gas. The in- 

 sidious nature of the poisoning and the serious nature 

 of the casualties lent support to rumours that the 

 enemy was employing a new gas and forcing it 

 through into our galleries. The intensity of mine 

 warfare might be gauged bv the fact that in iqi6 

 we fired 7^0, and the enemv Too, mines. At Messines 

 some mines were charged with 90,000 lb. of exolosive. 

 and the total charges in all the mines totalled more 

 than 1,000,000 lb. A description was given of the 

 organisation to cope with mine-gas poisoning and of 

 rescue apparatus employed. 



Other important discussions and demonstrations 

 were on malaria, injuries of blood-vessels, gunshot 

 wounds of the chest, and hone inflammation' and bone 

 repair, details of whi^h will be found in the issues of 

 the B,nttsh Medical Journal 



AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH IN MADRAS. 

 'X'HE 1918 Year-book of the Madras Agricultural 

 Department' indicates that the officers of the 

 department are giving attention to a variety of 

 problems of great local importance. No results of'wide 

 significance for tropical agriculture are recorded, but 

 a good deal of useful work has been done, which is 

 not without its value beyond the Indian province in 

 which it was carried out. 



In "A Note on Grading Cotton" Mr. R. C. Wood 

 gives the results of a grading trial made with 

 cotton grown at the Coimbatore Agricultural College. 

 The crude cotton and the two grades produced in the 

 trial were submitted for valuation to five firms — three 

 spinners and two buyers for export. If uwo lb. of 

 lint had been graded 'and sold to each of two of the 

 firms on the basis of these valuations, the reduction 

 in profits as the result of grading would have been 

 32 and 6 rupees respectively, whilst a similar operation 

 with the three remaining firms would only have added 

 4, 4, and 17 rupees respectively to the price realised for 



' (Madras : Superintendent, Government Press, 1918.) Price is. gii. 



NO. 2581, VOL. 103] 



a like cjuantity of ungraded cotton. More interest is 



?nrth^'"?rl^^!? I" ^""^'^^ ^°"°" '" Great Britain, 

 and the utility of this note to the British reader would 

 have been much enhanced if results of examina- 

 tion of the crude and graded cottons had been given 

 in detail as well as the valuations. In explanation of 

 the disappointing results, the author is only able to 

 suggest that possibly the crop was of poor quality 

 owing to the bad season, and that consequently there 

 was less difference between the crude cotton and the 

 first grade than would normally be the case. 



Mr. T. V. R. Ayyar writes on the habits and life, 

 history of Pempheres affinis, Faust, a stem weevil, 

 which attacks Cambodia cotton. Treatment ■ of the 

 stems with the usual insecticides has not so far pro- 

 tected the crops from serious damage, but the removal 

 and destruction of the plants first attacked in a planta- 

 tion have sufficed to check the spread of the pest, 

 and the author suggests that the practice adopted in 

 Uganda of clearing and destroying all cotton plants, 

 after the crop is harvested each year, would probably 

 be a useful preventive measure. 



Dr. Harrison, Government Agricultural Chemist, 

 contributes " A Report upon the Extent and Character 

 of the Saline Lands of the Madras Presidency" and 

 "Some Notes on Manures in Southern India." The 

 latter refers to the available sources of supply of lime, 

 gypsum, magnesia, and phosphates, and gives in- 

 formation as to the poonacs (oil-cakes) and *fish 

 manures obtainable in the Presidency. A paper by Mr. 

 M. R. R, Sivan on " Phosphatic Nodules of Trichino- 

 poly and their Availability as Manure" is also of 

 interest in this connection. It appears that since 1892 

 much correspondence and several negotiations regard- 

 ing concessions to work thjs area for phosphates have 

 taken place, but so far only small quantities have been 

 extracted for local use. 



Dr. F. Marsden has a note in the Year-book on 

 " A Hot-water Process for the Extraction of Indigo," 

 but this subject and other matters relating to indigo 

 are more fully dealt with in the same author's " Indigo 

 Manufacture in Madras," which forms No. 74 of the 

 Madras Department of Agriculture Series of Bul- 

 letins.^ Before starting on his tour of inspection of 

 the Madras indigo districts the author had the advan- 

 tage of visiting with Mr. W. A. Davis, Indigo 

 Research Chemist to the Government of India, some 

 of the chief Indian indigo factories managed by Euro- 

 peans, and chiefly situated in Behar. In Madras 

 indigo cultivation and manufacture are almost entirely 

 in the hands of natives, though in at least one instance 

 a European firm issues seed to the rvots and provides 

 vats in which the crop can be worked up for dvestuff; 

 a similar arrangement is sometimes adopted on a 

 smaller scale by native merchants. In most cases, 

 however, the rvot sells his crop to a native vat-owner, 

 or hires a vat in which to manufacture the dvestuff. 

 No records are kept as to yields, and Dr. Marsden 

 rej?ards as untrustworthy the rough estimates he was 

 able to get. which are much higher than the yields 

 recorded in Behar. Though indigo as rich in indigotin 

 as that produced in Behar is made in Madras, the 

 quality is, on the whole, poor, and, what is perhaps 

 worse, variable. These defects are due chiefly to 

 carelessness in manufacture, but also in part, at anv 

 rate in some areas, to deliberate adulteration with 

 clay and mud. 



The work already done by Mr. Davis in India has 

 shown that the cultivation and manufacture of indigo, 

 even in Behar. where the industry is in the control 

 of Europeans and comparatively well organised, pre- 

 sents many problems, which, if solved, might greatlv 

 improve its position and prospects. In the case of 



2 (Madras : Superintendent, Government Press, igiB.) Price 6tf. 



