284 
NATURE 
| JANUARY 17; 1907 
where the range is from 59°-9 F., in August, to 71°-6 F., in 
February, only 11°-7 F., whilst at Cuzco the range is 
only 6°-1 F. 
At Mollendo and La Joya, both west of the mountains, 
the south and east winds predominate very largely, whilst 
at Cuzco and Santa Ana there is no marked preponderance 
of wind from any particular quarter. 
During the period April, 1892, to December, 1895, the 
total rainfall at Mollendo was 2-65 inches, the mean annual 
rainfall being 0-66 inch. At La Joya, which is in the 
middle of the desert of Islay, no measurable rain fell 
during the whole period, that is, never did more than one 
two-hundredth of an inch fall on any one day. On the 
average there are eight days per year on which some rain 
falls. The annual rainfall at Cuzco is 38-58 inches, and 
the rainfall for the year July, 1894, to June, 1895, at Santa 
Ana was 51-71 inches. 
All the observations made by eye are given in full, and 
are well summarised. The dated remarks which accom- 
pany the tables prove very interesting reading, especially 
those referring to the high stations, and show well the 
difficulties encountered in making observations at these 
altitudes, exposed to wind and cold, and apparently also 
to robbers, for on September 6, 1894, it is recorded that 
at the Misti summit station the doors of the hut and 
shelter were found open, and that the barograph, thermo- 
meters, and tools had been stolen! 
As an appendix an account is given of the moving sand 
dunes of the desert of Islay. Scattered over this desert are 
thousands of these crescent-shaped dunes. They are all 
of one form, and have always the same orientation, with 
the convex side to the south winds and the cusps pointing 
north and north-west. 
Prof. Bailey measured one of these dunes near La Joya 
in 1894. The points were 160 feet apart, and the length 
round the convex side was 477 feet. Its maximum width 
was more than 100 feet, and the weight was estimated as 
more than 8000 tons. 
Between March, 1892, and March, 1894, it had travelled 
125 feet, and by March, 1896, a further 120 feet. From 
that date until January, 1901, monthly measures were 
taken, and in the five years it travelled 294 feet at an 
average rate of more than 5 feet per month. A comparison 
of the record of movement and the record of strong south 
winds shows that these winds are the sole cause of the 
northerly movement of these sand dunes. W. M. 
THE ASSOCIATION OF ECONOMIC 
BIOLOGISTS. 
ON Wednesday, January 9, the annual meeting of the 
Association of Economic Biologists opened at Cam- 
bridge, and continued until Friday, January 11. The 
conferences were held by kind permission of the medical 
staff in the pathological department of the University, and 
the laboratories in this department and also the zoo- 
logical laboratory were thrown open for the occasion, and 
members also had the opportunity of visiting the botanical 
department. 
Mr. A. E. Shipley, F.R.S., was elected president of the 
association for 1907 in the place of the retiring president, 
Mr. F. V. Theobald, who with Sir Patrick Manson, 
K.C.M.G., and Prof. W. Somerville, will act as vice- 
presidents for the year. 
In his presidential address Mr. Shipley dealt with the 
subject of sea fisheries. He gave an interesting account 
of this important subject, and dwelt on the necessity 
of constant investigation. No less than 27,000 vessels 
are engaged in this industry, employing 90,000 men, 
fishing from British ports, the capital invested being 
estimated at 11,000,000l. He referred to the partial failure 
of the herring fishery last summer, and to the numerous 
inquiries that had been held concerning such matters, re- 
counting no less than seventeen in the last seventy years. 
The president is of opinion that time is not yet ripe 
for deep-sea fishing legislation, on account of our know- 
ledge still being so deficient that it does not yet form a 
sound basis for law making. The North Sea fisheries are 
NO. 1942, VOL. 75 | 
those upon which our energies must be mainly expended. 
Fishermen and experts have long held that the grounds 
are being depleted, and the latest report of the Board of 
Agriculture and Fisheries bears out these statements. 
Mr. Shipley then mentioned various experiments that 
had been carried out in Norway and on the Dogger Bank. 
Some interesting figures regarding fish reproduction were 
quoted, showing their enormous sexual powers; for 
instance, the turbot produced annually 85 million eggs and 
the cod 43 million. 
The chief possible causes of impoverishment were 
summed up as follows :—(1) the accumulated stocks of the 
Dogger and Iceland grounds had been fished out; (2) any 
given area of sea could support but a limited quantity 
of produce ; and (3) the excessive destruction of young fish. 
In spite of the grave nature of the North Sea problem, 
it is satisfactory to learn that the condition of the fishing 
industry generally was never more prosperous than at the 
present time. It is hoped that sufficient funds will be 
forthcoming to continue the excellent scientific work in 
this subject that has already been done. 
Prof. Nuttall’s paper on red-water fever and allied 
diseases was full of interesting matter. After explaining 
the results of his investigations into the life-history of the 
Piroplasme he dealt with the various diseases caused by 
them, dwelling particularly on the results of his experi- 
ments on canine piroplasmosis. In connection with this 
paper Prof. Nuttall and Mr. Warburton had prepared a 
most interesting exhibition of ticks, and the parasites they 
convey. 
The first day’s proceedings finished with a paper by Mr. 
R. H. Biffen on his well-known work on cereal breeding. 
The first paper on Thursday was one by Mr. F. * 
Theobald on some new hemipterous fruit pests. Illustrated 
by lantern-slides, the life-history, and damage caused by 
leaf-hoppers (Typhlocybida) were fully entered into. There 
had been no complaint of these insects by fruit-growers 
until last year, when some species occurred in such 
numbers that they even stopped picking. Besides mention- 
ing results obtained in the treatment of these pests, Mr. 
Theobald discussed the parasites which affect the Typhlo- 
cybide, amongst the most interesting being some small 
Proctotrupids which cause ‘“‘ parasitic castration,’’ one 
genus, Aphelopus, having occurred during the past year 
in such numbers that the opinion was expressed that 
the ‘‘hoppers’’ must have been nearly stamped out in 
places. 
A long paper followed on the American gooseberry 
mildew, by Mr. Salmon, who explained its life-history and 
the great damage it does, and dwelt upon the necessity 
of immediate steps being taken to stamp it out and prevent 
importation. The paper caused some discussion, in which 
Profs. Middleton, Percival, and Fisher joined. 
The secretary (Mr. Collinge) then gave a short and 
concise description of his successful extermination of the 
black-currant gall mite by means of sulphur and lime, Dr. 
MacDougall read a paper on parthenogenesis in the pine 
sawfly, and then gave an account of an extremely interest- 
ing piece of work on the length of life of Calandra 
granaria. At the afternoon sitting Mr. Freeman dealt 
with the geographical distribution of rubber plants, and 
incidentally stated that the output last year was 70,000 
tons, valued at 30,000,0001. Of this, 63 per cent, came 
from tropical America and 34 per cent. from tropical 
Africa, the remainder from Asia, the output of cultivated 
rubber being only 13 per cent. to 2 per cent. of the world’s 
output. 
Mr. E. R. Burdon then read a paper on the spruce-gall 
and larch-blight diseases caused by Chermes, and traced 
the connection between the two aphides and their migra- 
tions. 
The day’s proceedings terminated with a paper by Mr. 
F. V. Theobald on the insect pests of the British East 
Africa Protectorate, giving an account of the chief insect 
pests received from the Imperial Department of Agri- 
culture. The most interesting is the diamond-back moth, 
which is thought to have been introduced into Africa, but 
which Mr. Theobald believes to be indigengus, in which 
Prof. Carpenter entirely agreed. 
