Letters, Notes, and Extracts. G15 



Committee of Inquiry on the Grouse-disease. — In April last 

 year a Committee of Inquiry on the Grouse-disease was 

 appointed by the Board of Agriculture, and requested to 

 report whether any, and if so, what precautionary measures 

 can be taken against it. Lord Lovat was appointed Chairman 

 and Mr. A. S. Leslie (33 Queen Street, Edinburgh) Secretary 

 to the Committee, and it was agreed that the necessary 

 expenses should be raised by private subscription amongst 

 those interested in the subject. Several meetings have been 

 held during the past year, and Dr. Seligman, Mr. A. E. 

 Shipley, F.R.S., and Dr. Hammond Smith have been selected 

 as scientific experts, to aid in the inquiry upon technical 

 questions. As chief Field-observer the Committee have 

 appointed Dr. Edward Wilson (late of the Antarctic Expe- 

 dition), assisted by the Rev. E. A. W. Peacock, who has 

 made a special study of the food of game-birds. A large 

 number of local correspondents have also kindly offered 

 their services. 



The Committee have been at work sioce last November. 

 Curiously enough, there has bee,n no fresh outbreak of the 

 disease during the past year, but the Committee have an 

 ample field of work before them. 



Captain Boyd Alexander's Expedition. — Since we wrote in 

 July last year of the progress of Captain Boyd Alexander's 

 Trans-African Expedition (see ' Ibis,' 1905, p. 506) we have 

 received a letter from him, dated at Irene, near the river 

 Ba-Mingui, August 8th, 1905, stating that the party had 

 made a good journey up the river Shari from Fort Lamy, and 

 that, after exploring the Ba-Mingui, they would proceed 

 to Yakoma on the Ubanghi. The bird-collection then 

 numbered nearly 1400 specimens, amongst which were some 

 novelties of great interest. Since that date, we have obtained 

 information that the expedition had succeeded in crossing 

 the water-parting into the Congo-Basin, and had arrived on 

 the Ubanghi. The last letter received by Captain Alexander's 

 family was dated from Mbima, on the river Welle, a confluent 



