2.36 



NATURE 



[Januaky 3, ibigs 



Loranlhus Dregei grows on the coistUnds of Natal 

 upon various ho5is, most commonly perhaps upon the intro- 

 daced Syringa, Mclia Azcdarach, and n^-ver. so far as I have 

 observed, upon the tree {Clurtumi Meycrii) infested liy L. 

 KraussiJ''!!!. While in the bud ihe petals form a cylindrical 

 lube, and the anthers are pressed against the closed petals, the 

 tips being jast below the stigma. Subsequently sliis appear on 

 the still closed cylinder. My observations show that the plant 

 is abundantly visited by Citinyris olivnetiis and C. Verreaiixi 

 and that both birds insert their long bills into ihe slit to get 

 at nectar secreted at base of lube, exactly as in L. Kraussiaiiiis. 

 In this species, however, instead of the anthers remaining still 

 attached to the filaments when the flower jetks open, they are 

 all broken sharp off, and fly off into space wiih great violence, 

 parting with their pollen as they go. I find that although the 

 pollen is thrown so far upwards as to reach the base of the 

 stigma, the force appears so nic;ly adjusted that none actually 

 reaches it, the great bulk of the cloud of pollen being thrown 

 down* ar.ls so as to reach Ihe head and beak of the visiting bird. 

 Apparently after this dissemination of its pollen (and anthers) 

 the flower still has attractions for the sunbirds, (or I have seen 

 them distinctly visiting the burst flowers, and this would of 

 coarse be necessary if cro.^s-fertiiisation or, indeed, fertilisation 

 of any kind took place. And on opening the burst flowers I 

 found in most cises a quantiy of nectar, so ihat probably 

 secretion goes on after the flower is open and its anthers gone. 

 1 observed this plant repeatedly and at all hours of the day, and 

 never saw it visited by a single insect of any kind; and although 

 aware that negative evidence of this kind cannot be relied upon, 

 my ob3ervatii>ns were so frequent that I feel sure any insect 

 visilant>, at all even's diurnal visitors, must be exceedingly rare. 

 1 noticed one flowering upon Acacia sp. which was also in 

 flower and visited by bees, but the bees took not the slightest 

 notice of thefljwersof the L. Dregei. I should judge from 

 the length of the corolla lube, that il any insect visits this plant, 

 it must be furnished wilh a long proboscis, for ihe flower tube 

 from stigma to base is fully two inches long. As in L. Kraiis- 

 sianiis the fljwers need outside aid to burst at all, for I have 

 watched them for long periods and in all kinds of weather, and 

 never seen a single fl )wer burst by its own volition. Although 

 apparently entirely dependent on the sunbirds for its propaga- 

 tion, this mode of fertilisation must be very successful, for the 

 plant is very common indeed. In addition to the fact of Ihe 

 flying pollen never reaching the stigma, and self-ferlilisalion 

 being thus pieventcd, the flowtrsctnis to be piolcrandrous, lor 

 at astage ol development »hen a slight touch in the right place 

 bursts the flower, the stigma seemed dry and unrece|itive. After 

 bursting, the stigma, instead of being in line with the ciiolla 

 tuSe, inclines to one side, though not 10 such an extreme angle 

 as in /.. Araiusianm, and this deviation from the upri,;ht will 

 help })ollinalion to some extent. I have often watched ihe birds 

 on these flowers bursting them, and tach time causing quite a 

 little cloud of pollen and anthers to fly, and the force is so 

 treat, the anthers arc jeikcd 10 quite a considerable distance, 

 and in no single instance did Ihe lotce fail 10 detach the »h"le 

 of them. It is a vciy pietty and interesting sight. In the 

 cajc of this species, I believe it is absolutely dependent on 

 the sunbirds (or its sexual propagation. 

 Durban, Naial. Maurice S. Evans. 



SCIESTIFIC IXVESTIGATION IX CANADA} 

 T N a Society formed to include as far as possible represcnta- 

 •^ live.* of all branches of literature and of science, it appears 

 lo be most appropriate that the president (or the time being 

 should dcvoic the adilros which il is his privdege to deliver, to 

 some specific topic, or lo the consideration ol such matters of 

 interest or iinpotiance as may lie particulatly in hi^own line of 

 woik or thought. The literary, artistic, and political develop- 

 ment of the country have already been dealt wilh. It may 

 therefore be of some interest and .service to give a very general 

 and very brief review of what has been accomplished, an<l what 

 remains to be accomplished in Canada, by various scientific 

 agencies working in the invciligation o( the natural features, 

 and towards Ihe development of (he natural resources, of the 

 counlry. 



Science is but another and a convenient name (or organised 



1 Abstract of an addrcsn delivered before the Royal Society of Canada, 

 b>- Ur. G. M Dawson. CM. O., K.R S. 



knowledge, and as such it has entered so largely into every 

 branch of human effort, that when, at the present time, any one 

 allempts lo pose as a "practical," in contradistinction lo a 

 scientific worker, he may be known to be a rrlic of the past 

 age, in which much was done by rule of thumb ami without any 

 real knowledge of the principles involved. Neither can any 

 division be made bttween what is sometimes called " practical " 

 or "applied " science and science in general, for Ihe knowledge 

 must be gained before il can be applied, and it is scarcely yet 

 possible to bar any avenue of research with a placard of " no 

 thoroughfare," as an assurance that il cannot lead to any 

 material useful end. 



At the same time, there are certain directions in which inves- 

 tigation is veiy closely wedded to results of immediate and 

 tangible value. Hut the line should not be too rigorously 

 drawn, for should the investigator for a lime stray into some by- 

 path of lesearch, because of his individual interest in his work, 

 il is not improba' le that he may return from his cxcursi.m with 

 some unexpected discovery, which may prove to have iniporianl 

 bearings on the problems of every-day life. Take, for example, 

 the slu ly of pala;onlology, which, relating as il does, to extinct 

 forms of life, might appear 10 be a branch of science wholly 

 removed from any practical object, however interesting il may 

 be lo disinter and to reconstruct these remarkable forms. Hut 

 we all know thai this study has become an indispensable one as 

 an aid lo the classification of the rock formations, anil thus to 

 Ihe search for Ihe useful minerals which some of ihese contain. 

 This is more particularly the case, perhaps, in the instance of 

 coal beds, which are usually confined in each region 10 some 

 set of strata, which may be defined with precision only by the 

 aid of the evidence aftbrded by fossil remains. 



The Geological Survey. 



In the firsi united Parliament of Upper ani Lower Canada, 

 in 1841, the Natural History Society of Montreal and the 

 Historical Society of Quebecj >ined in urging the establishment 

 ol a Geological Survey upon the Government, wilh ihe result 

 that the niodesl sum of ;{, 1,500 sterling was granted for the pur- 

 pose of beginning such a survey. 



Mr. Logan, afterwards so well known as Sir William Logan, 

 was the fust geologist appointed. He entered upon his duties, 

 in iS4j,willi the greatest possible zeil, and forinorc than twenty- 

 five years the history of ihe Survey and that of its director were 

 the same. 



The field work of the Geological Survey necessarily began 

 with exploratory trips in which the main feaUnes to beiieall with, 

 in a country almost entirely unknown geologically, were 

 ascertained. In many parts, even of Ihe ohier provinces, such 

 explorations are still requisite, but in most of these provinces it 

 became possible after a lime to proceed wilh the more sjstematic 

 mapping of definite areas, the map-sheets produced forming 

 parts of a connected whole. When the great western regions 

 weie added to the field, these could oi.ly be attacked by extended 

 cxploratoiy journeys in which geology and geography went hand 

 in hand. As il is now, the field woik of the Survey may be 

 divided under three classes: (l) Reconnaissance surveys; (2) 

 the approximate mapping of large areas on a small scale ; (3) 

 finished map sheets on a larger scale, and loiming continuous 

 series. All these three classes of work are in progress con- 

 currently in difteicnl districts, while the auxiliary chemical, 

 pala;oniological, and liihological investigations in the office are 

 kepi in touch with the field work, and render it possible to bring 

 this logelhcr in a homogeneous (orm. Were there in existence 

 any complete topographical majis of Canada, approaching in 

 accuracy 10 those which have been made in older countries, 

 much mote g-ological work could be accomplished wilh a given 

 amount of money and in a given lime, and thus the conslruction 

 ol such maps must be stated yet to l)e, as il has been from the 

 beginning of the Survey, one of the principal desiilerata. There 

 is, however, one other matter which at the pieseiit moment 

 must lie regarded as even more urgent, and one which might be 

 attained wilhina short time and at a relatively small cost. This 

 is the conslruclion of a suitable and safe museum building for 

 ihe preservation and display of the ini|>orlanl ciillection which 

 has grown up as the result of so many years of investigation. 

 This collcclion is not merely a matter ol rcc ird, closely con- 

 necteil wilh all the publications of the Survey, but il is fitted to 

 become also a great educational medium in regard to the 

 mineral resources of the country. With proper accommodation 

 its utility could be vastly increased for all purposes. 



NO. 1314. VOL. 51] 



