DEcEMBER 31, 1903] 
NATURE 
201 
tributed. The forty-eight species of land  mollusca 
inhabiting Sokotra are all, so far as known, restricted 
to the island, and the same is the case with the nine 
species from Abd-el-Kuri, whilst it appears very doubt- 
ful whether the Cyclostomaceous genus Lithidion, 
common to the two islands, ranges beyond the Archi- 
pelago. In arachnids, myriopods and insects, a 
large proportion of the species are peculiar, though not 
always to the same extent. As regards the relation- 
ship of the fauna in general, several of the naturalists 
direct attention to the presence of Mediterranean types, 
and in the case of the characteristic arachnids, Mr. 
R. I. Pocock shows that Mediterranean and Ethiopian 
elements prevail. Zoologically the Sokotran islands 
may be placed in the great semi-desert region or sub- 
region that extends from the Atlantic to the Indus, but 
there 1s a considerable admixture in the fauna of 
Ethiopian representatives. 
Geologically the islands consist of the remains of 
a plateau composed of almost undisturbed Upper Cre- 
taceous and Eocene strata, resting upon granitoid 
Archean rocks which protrude through their sedimen- 
tary covering in places and form peaks. The most 
conspicuous of the sedimentary formations are 
Nummulitic and Alveolina limestones, and ‘‘ Rudisten- 
kalk ’? with Radiolites, as in many other parts of 
the ancient Mediterranean area. According to the 
British observers, volcanic rocks of the Aden series are 
intrusive in the limestones. 
It is clear, and on this all are agreed, that the Soko- 
tran islands, although separated from Somaliland and 
Arabia by sea several hundreds of fathoms in depth, 
were once a part of the continent, and probably were 
connected with both Asia and Africa, but it is equally 
clear that the peculiarity of the fauna indicates long 
isolation, probably since Pliocene, if not from Miocene 
times. 
In conclusion, whilst it is easy to point out omis- 
sions, it is only justice to say that in the publication 
of the present volume a difficult undertaking has been 
brought to a successful conclusion, and that all con- 
cerned in the production of the work deserve congratu- 
lation for having contributed so important an addi- 
tion to zoological science. The present volume is much 
more nearly complete than most works of its kind, 
and has been brought out with praiseworthy despatch. 
Of the two accompanying illustrations taken from 
Dr. Forbes’s narrative of the journey, one affords an 
idea of the characteristic scenery in the Archean 
Sokotran hills, and the other is an example. of the 
peculiar vegetation of the island. Wits B: 
THE FOOD AND DRUGS ACTS. 
HE consideration of the circumstances which 
occasioned the epidemic of arsenical poisoning 
in the latter part of 1900, arising from the consump- 
tion of beer brewed from materials which were sub- 
sequently proved to contain large quantities of arsenic, 
and of the facts which resulted from their inquiry into 
the conditions under which other articles of food are 
actually prepared on a manufacturing scale, has led 
the Commissioners to direct attention to the extremely 
limited official control possessed by local authorities | 
who are charged with the administration ‘of the Acts 
1 See the article in last week's Narurg, p. 179. The papers referred to 
are (1) Final Report of the Royal Gammnisioreanneinted to inquire. into 
Arsenical Poisoning from the Consumption of Beer and other Articles of 
Food or Drink. (Parliamentary Paper. Cd. 1848. 1903.) (2) Final 
Report of the Departmental Committee appointed to inquire and report 
upon the desirability of Regulations under Section 4 of the Sale of Food 
and Drugs Act 189, for Butter. (Parliamentary Paper. Cd. 1749. 1903.) . 
NO. 1783, VOL. 69] 
relating to public health and. the sale of food over the 
operations of manufacturers. | The Commissioners 
point out that the existing machinery of public health 
administration provides little, if any, system of official 
control over the proceedings of manufacturers of food 
or of food ingredients. An individual or a company 
| may start the manufacture of some new composition 
of food, to be sold under a ‘‘ fancy ’’ name, but there 
is no obligation to satisfy the local or any other public 
authority that the composition or the ingredients are 
wholesome, or that ‘the conditions of preparation pre- 
clude the possibility of contamination by deleterious 
substances. The sanitary authorities of certain dis- 
tricts have obtained powers, under local Acts, to 
supervise the conditions of manufacture of ice-cream, 
but the principle is of extremely limited application in 
effect, and, broadly speaking, the control which can 
be exercised becomes available only after the food is 
on sale to the public. But even then the power 
possessed by the local authority under the Sale of Food 
and Drugs Acts is extremely circumscribed. Section. 
3 of the 1875 Act was drawn with the object of pre- 
venting adulteration of food with substances injurious 
to health, but it is so worded that it is. almost im- 
possible to obtain convictions under it, and as a con- 
sequence local authorities seldom proceed under it. A 
notable illustration of the impotence of the section 
was seen in the cases of prosecutions against publicans 
for selling arsenicated beer, where the proceedings 
were almost invariably laid under Section 6. Most 
persons are agreed that arsenic is a deleterious sub- 
stance, but it was much easier to convict the publican 
of selling beer to the prejudice of the purchaser which 
was not of the nature, substance, or quality demanded 
than of selling beer containing a poisonous ingredient, 
to wit, arsenic... The irony of the situation is 
accentuated by the fact that whereas the fines under 
Section 3 have some relation to the gravity of the 
offence, and are sufficiently large to be deterrent, under 
Section 6, which was aimed at an entirely different 
class, they may be, and frequently are, whcliy trivial. 
Another illustration of the inadequacy of the section 
is seen in the case of ‘‘ preservatives’’ in food. A 
departmental. committee appointed by the Local 
Government Board has reported that in its opinion 
certain “‘ preservatives ’? are noxious and deleterious, 
and has recommended their prohibition in articles of 
food. The Local Government Board has, as yet, done 
nothing with the report, but various local authorities, 
finding their hands strengthened by the body of 
evidence which the committee accumulated, have been 
emboldened to take steps to check the widespread use 
of such substances as boracie acid and formalin in con- 
nection with mills, but their action is seldom, if ever, 
brought under the section which imposes a stringent 
penalty on any person ‘‘ who mixes . . . any article 
of food with any ingredient or so as to render the 
article injurious to health with intent that the same 
may be sold in that state,’’ but under the section which 
affords a chance of the magistrate saying that milk 
plus preservative contains more than the purchaser 
bargained for, and was therefore not of the nature, 
substance, and quality demanded. 
The difficulty, of course, in Section 3 is to prove 
knowledge and “ intent ’’ on the part of the seller, but 
there is very little doubt that if convictions could be 
more readily gained under Section 3 the use of 
preservatives would receive a much needed check. 
A public department may, however, be spurred into 
activity when its interests are jeopardised, and here 
again beer supplies us with a notable illustration, 
Beer, as we all know, furnishes much of the revenue 
of this country, and anything which affects the 
interests of beer may pro tanto be held to affect the 
