36 



KNOWLEDGE. 



[Pebruaky 1, 1899. 



are inounted on cloth, and are varnished. A little book called an 

 Object Lesson Handbook accompanies the charts. The object of 

 the charts and the book is to help teachers to gire a systematic series 

 of lessons on British birds. Both the charts and the book arc 

 accurate, on the whole, and should prove of use. The most ffrievous 

 error is the figuring of grey plover in the chart of edible birds, and 

 the Hescriptioi of it on page 89 of the book. The grey plover i-< 

 certainly not a typical edible bird nor are its eggs considered a great 

 de icacv ; indeed, it is extremely doubtful if any European has ever 

 tasted its eggs. We are told to teach, too, that "waders" are not 

 often seen in England, whereas, of course, they may be seen in 

 thousands on our coasts in winter. There are a few minor errors in 

 add tiun to those we hare pointed out. With these corrected, wo 

 think the charts and the book would be yery useful ; but it is naturally 

 most important that elementary lessons such as these shotJd be 

 eiact in erery particular. 



I * I 



BOOKS RECEIVED. 



Zoological SesuUn based on Material from New Guinea, Loi/aHii 

 Islands, etc. By Arthur Willey, D.sc. (Uniyersity Press, Cambridge.) 

 Illustiated. lis. 6d. 



Photo- Micrography. By Edmund J. Spitta. (Scientific Press, 

 Limited.) Illustrated. 12s. 



A'llumiial Leaves. By Francis George Heath. (Imperial Press.) 

 Illustrated. 7s. 6d. 



Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institute, 1S96. 



A n Intermediate Text Book of Geologif. By Charles Lapworth. 

 (Blackwood.) Illustrated, os. 



River Development. By Prof. J. C. Eussell. (Murray.) Illus- 

 trated. 63. 



A History of Astronomy. By Arthur Berry, M.A. (Murray.) 

 Illustrated. 6s. 



Hecent Advances in Astronomy. By Dr. Alfred H. Fison. (Blackie.) 

 2a. 6d. 



The Native Tribes of Central Australia, By Baldwin Spencer, M.A. 

 (Macmillan. ) Illustrated. 2 Is. net. 



The L'lst Link, by Prof Ernst Haeckel. (Black.) 2s. 6d. 



Mathematical Tables. By James P. Wrapaon and W. W. Haldaue 

 Gee. I Macmillan ) Is. 6d. 



The Principles of Stratigraphical Geology. By J. E. Marr, F.S 3. 

 (Univer.sity Press, Cambridge ) Illu>trated. 6s. 



Mathematical and Physical Tables. By James P. Wrapson and 

 W. W. Haldane Gee. (Macmillan.) 68. 6d.net. 



Results of Rain^ River^ and Evaporation Observations made in 

 New South Hales, 1897. By H. C. RussfU, f.e.s. (GuUick, 

 Sydney ) 



A Text book of Botany. By J. M. Lowson, M.A. (Clive ) Illus- 

 trated. 6s. 6d. 



Advanced Inorganic Chemistry By G. H. Bailev and W. Briggs. 

 (CHve.) Illustrated. 3s. fid. 



Fallomfield's Photographic Annual, 1S9S-9. Illustrated. Is. 6d., 

 post free. 



The Heavens at a Glance, 1S99. By Arthur Mee. (41, Hamilton 

 Street, Cardiff.) 7d , post free. 



The Studio : An Illustrated Magazine of Fine and Applied Art, 

 January. Is., monthly. 



Through Arctic Lapland By Cutcliffe Hyne. (Black.) Illustrated. 



An Illustrated Manwd of British Birds. By Howard Saunders. 

 Second Edition, Parts 13, 14, 15. (.Gurney & Jackson.) Is. each. 



Science i^otcs. 



The recommendation by a Select Committee that the 

 Buckland Fish Museum at South Kensington be abolished 

 as " obsolete and dangerous, owing to the large amount of 

 alcohol in which the fish are stored," and similar excuses 

 for too apparent neglect, has caused great indignation 

 among fishery boards, angling societies, and others. The 

 late Frank Buckland, in 1S81, bequeathed his museum of 

 economic fish culture to the Director and Assistant-Directors 

 of the South Kensington Museum, "to be for ever devoted 

 to the use of the nation," and " five thousand pounds is to 

 be placed in the hands of 'these trustees' as an endowment 

 fund for a professorship." A memorial has been prepared 

 for presentation to the Lord President of the Council pro- 

 testmg against the removal and distribution of the collection, 

 and the memorial emphasizes the fact that for many years 

 past the museum has been sadly neglected. 



Sir Benjamin Stone, who gave a lecture recently at the 

 Imperial Institute on " The Camera as Historian," has been 

 permitted to take some interesting photogjaphs of the 

 Tower. One of them is " The Traitors' Gate with the 

 Portcullis Down," showing the little door in the centre. 

 The public of this generation have never seen the port- 

 cullis of the Tower shut down. The curious ceremonial of 

 "Locking up the Tower at Midnight " was shown in a 

 series of views. The chief warder is attended by a mili- 

 tary guard, and on returning he is challenged at the main- 

 guard with, " Who goes there?" He answers, "Keys." 

 "Whose keys?" "Queen Victoria's keys." "Advance 

 Queen Victoria's keys." The guard then turns out and 

 salutes the keys. Sir Benjamin's idea is to have a per- 

 manent record of objects of interest in the daily life of the 

 people, and the fidelity of the sensitive plate to Nature is 

 considered invaluable as a means to this end. 



A new use has been found for that well-known poison, 

 prussic acid, or, as it is more commonly spoken of by the 

 chemist, hydrocyanic acid. It has been recently employed 

 in the United States to fumigate fruit trees infected with 

 an insect called the " San Jose Scale " {Aspidiotus perni- 

 ciosiis). This insect attacks plum, pear, peach, cherry, 

 and other trees, spreading over their leaves, trunk, branches 

 and fruit, and soon completely destroys a whole orchard. 

 The pest was discovered in California in 1879, and was, it 

 is believed, introduced into the Eastern States in 1887 

 with some infected Californian trees. The ravages of the 

 insect have extended over thirty-three States, being worst 

 in the State of Maryland. Prof. Johnson, the well-known 

 entomologist, has found that fumigating these trees 

 with the gas of hydrocyanic acid has a satisfactory and 

 beneficial effect. 



The Board of Agriculture in their annual preliminary 

 statement show that the estimated total produce of wheat, 

 barley, and oats in Great Britain for the years 1897 and 

 1898 is as follows : — 



Wheat 

 Baxley 

 Oats... 



1898. 



1897. 



Bushels. 



Acreage. 



Bushels. 



73,028,85(i 2,102,206 

 68,051,918 l,903,6fi6 

 118,920,917 2,917,760 



54910,535 

 66,814,066 

 116,847,179 



Acreage. 



1,889,161 

 2.035.790 

 3,0,6,056 



yield per acre 

 iu Bushels. 



1898. 



1897. 



3474 

 35-7.5 

 40-76 



29-08 

 32-82 

 38-49 



It is thus clear that in the case of barley and oats the 

 acreage under cultivation during 1898 was considerably 

 less than in 1897, and yet there is a remarkable increase 

 in the total produce. Taken as a whole the produce of 

 cereals this year is greater than in any year since the corn 

 returns were first collected in 1884. 



The seventh International Geographical Congress will 

 meet in Berlin from 28th September to 4th Oiitober, 1899. 

 All who wish to contribute communications to the Con- 

 gress are requested to give notice before Ist April, 1899, 

 and to send their manuscripts ready to print not later than 

 1st June, 1899. "To the Seventh International Geographi- 

 cal Congress, 90, Zimmerstrasse, Berlin, S.W," 



I m I 



An agitation is being got up to prevent the total extinc- 

 tion of the beaver on the Biver Ehone and its tributaries. 

 Nine specimens only were killed in 1897, and the average 

 for the last few years is but little more than this number. 

 That beavers must have been common enough in 1855 to 

 cause serious damage is evident from the fact that in this 

 year the authorities responsible for the dams in connection 

 with the Rhone offered a prize of fifteen franca for every 



