November 9, 1899] 



NATURE 



39 



id in the line it takes not a green leaf or shoot is left 

 ther in the forest or field. It is pointed out that as the 

 -history of the pest readily proves that forests and moisture 

 its greatest enemies, the reclamation of arid sandy areas 

 means of plantations would tend to check its multipli- 

 ■ ya. As to the white ant, though it is a most unwelcome 

 Btrader in any building, it renders service to man in the forest 

 rapidly converting fallen branches, dead trees and decaying 

 rood of all kinds into mud, each particle of wood eaten being 

 splaced by earth. Where termites are numerous, the insects 

 ily feed on the outer dead portions of the bark of the trees, 

 id do no damage to healthy trees. The instinct of these insects 

 (marvellous. Mr. Stebbing states that he has often noticed 

 it should a tree have a dead branch on its trunk, no matter at 

 rhat elevation, an earthen gallery is run up by the white ants, 

 the branch attacked, the decaying wood being replaced by 

 )il, which soon falls to the ground, 



A NOTE on a new departure which has been made in connec- 

 tion with the artificial hatching of salmon in Norway appears in 

 the Journal o. the Society of Arts. P'ormerly the young fry 

 were allowed to escape as soon as they began to require food, 

 and, therefore, when in a very delicate and defenceless con- 

 dition. They are now retained in captivity, and fed four times 

 a day upon the raw liver of slaughtered animals, until the 

 autumn, after the system which obtains in America. According 

 to Consul Nelson, of Bergen, the results of the first year's 

 experiment at the Government hatchery on the Drammen were 

 satisfactory ; on 280,000 ova treated, the loss was only 2 per 

 cent., and in the middle of October about 211,000 fry were 

 turned out, while the percentage of loss has been still further 

 reduced of late years. A belief is prevalent among the coast 

 fishermen that salmon and sea-trout spawn successfully in salt 

 water, and in this connection a series of experiments were con- 

 ducted under proper supervision, from which it appeared that 

 (l) roe taken from salmon captured in a river, or from sea-trout 

 which have remained until the spawning time in sea water, 

 cannot be successfully developed in salt water, and (2) salmon 

 and sea-trout roe impregnated in fresh water may be hatched 

 out in brackish water containing a small percentage of salt up 

 to eight or nine per mille — that is to say, rather less than one- 

 third of the salt contained in the sea water on the Norwegian 

 coast. 



Few people are aware that a number Oi European rivers 

 which were once almost destitute of fish are now well stocked 

 with species propagated from fry obtained from America. An 

 idea of the extent of the operations of the U.S. Fish Com- 

 mission, by which this change has been brought about, may be 

 obtained from an article in the Scientific American. About 

 ten years ago young fry of American landlocked salmon were 

 shipped to Scotland, and since then they have multiplied 

 rapidly, much to the detriment of the Scotch fish. A shipment 

 of American black bass fry was made to France for stocking the 

 rivers and streams, and, like the American salmon in Scotch 

 waters, they have flourished so marvellously that to-day they 

 are quite common articles of diet at the French hotels and 

 restaurants. The French streams, since the introduction or the 

 American bass, have doubled in their productive value, and 

 there is every reason for the French anglers to be grateful to the 

 U.S. Fish Commission for stocking their waters with a new 

 species of food fish. Other varieties of fish have been shipped 

 to France and elsewhere for scientific experiments. The 

 American rock bass has been introduced into several English 

 streams, and the American brook trout is to-day in flourishing 

 condition in the clear, cold streams of Russia and other northern 

 countries of Europe, The waters of Switzerland abound with 

 toany American common river and brook fish, which make the 

 NO. 1567, VOL. 61] 



angling there superior to anything in the past. It is even re- 

 ported that the fine American muskalonge has found a 

 satisfactory home in the Rhine and Danube rivers. 



We have received the Report of the Meteorological Commis- 

 sion of the Cape of Good Hope for the year 1898, a folio Blue 

 Book of 168 pages, containing valuable results of meteorological 

 observations made under the direction of the Commission, which 

 has been collecting systematic information since the year 1861. 

 The system now embraces two stations of the first order, 54 of 

 the second order (barometric stations), 17 thermometric stations 

 and 370 rainfall stations. These include observations made 

 in the South African Republic, the Orange Free State, and at 

 various other stations outside Cape Colony, The most note- 

 worthy feature of the present Report is the inclusion of returns 

 from the splendidly equipped station established by the De 

 Beers' Company at Kenilworth, near Kimberley, at which 

 hourly observations have been made during the whole year. It 

 is believed that this is the only station of its kind, not only in 

 South Africa, but in the whole African continent. An interest- 

 ing ocean-current bottle notice was lound on the coast, about 

 latitude 34° 2' south, and longitude 20° 47' east. It was thrown 

 from the Blengfell in latitude 39° 58' south, and longitude 

 23° 7Z' east, and had taken two years one hundred and thirty 

 days in travelling 4" 56' north and 35' east, having evidently 

 been caught in the Agulhas current. Among other useful in- 

 formatiorv, the Report contains notes on the weather of each 

 month and the whole year, drawn up by the Secretary, with a 

 series of diagrams giving the mean monthly rainfall over the 

 whole Colony, with the percentage differences from the means 

 for ten years (1885-94), 



The Report on the administration of the Meteorological 

 Department of the Government of India in 1898-99, which has 

 just been issued, is divided into two parts : (i) a general account 

 of the more important work of the department, and (2) details 

 of administration. The total number of stations (including four 

 first-class observatories) amounted to 174, and the number of 

 rainfall stations from which monthly statements have been 

 published was 2280. Seismographs have been established at 

 three suitable observatories, and a brief list of the earthquake 

 shocks is now given in the Monthly Weather Review ; a full 

 account of the work done is promised in the next year's Report. 

 Some important observations of the direction and velocity o« 

 the upper clouds have been made, and the results will be pub- 

 lished in due course. The seasonal forecasts, based on the 

 snowfall of the mountain districts, show only a moderate agree- 

 ment with the actual weather experienced, but storm warnings 

 appear to have been carried out very satisfactorily, timely 

 warning being given of all the more important storms which 

 visited the Indian coasts ; the opinions of the warnings of floods 

 are also generally satisfactory. The Department is greatly 

 assisted in its useful work by the liberality of the Eastern 

 Telegraph Company, and the Indo-European Telegraph Depart- 

 ment, for the concession of free telegrams from Aden and 

 Persia. 



In the Bradshaw Lecture, delivered before the Royal College 

 of Physicians of London on November 2, and published in the 

 Lancet, Dr. A. Fox well points out that the first result of exer- 

 cise is an increase in the rate and depth of the respirations — 

 that is, of the respiratory exchange. The respiratory quotient, 

 CO2/O2, is not increased, but if anything diminished : in other 

 words, the tissues are as rich (or richer) in oxygen during exer- 

 cise as during rest. This necessitates a great increase in the 

 absorption of oxygen at this time ; for it has been shown that a 

 man gives off ten times as much carbonic acid when on the 

 treadmill as he does when asleep. But it is 4 remarkable fact 

 that arm work, per unit of work done, requires a greater 



