492 



NA TURE 



[March 22, 1906 



a sum of not less than Rs. 50,000 be expended annually 

 on the scientific development of the banks." The Torres 

 Straits pearl-shell fisheries, it seems likely, will also be 

 put under scientific control and cultivation. In a report 

 by Mr. W. Saville-Kent to the Queensland Government 

 (1905) it is shown that the pearling industry to the north 

 of Australia is in a depressed condition due to over-deple- 

 tion of the natural shell-beds, so that they can no longer 

 lie worked at a profit. Mere closure of the beds against 

 fishing is regarded as an inadequate measure, since the 

 remaining molluscs are too few and too scattered to ensure 

 sufficiently rapid propagation to re-populate the ground in a 

 reasonable time. Mr. Saville-Kent recalls what is known of 

 the breeding habits of the animals, and of their suitability 

 for transplantation, and recommends the establishment of at 

 least six " Government pearl-shell breeding reserves " 

 at what seem to be suitable spots in the Torres Straits 

 area. At each reserve about 1000 adult pearl oysters will 

 lie kept for breeding purposes enclosed in frames of wire- 

 netting, and Mr. Saville-Kent is of opinion that " within 

 a period of three or four years . . . the adjacent waters 

 within many miles from these breeding centres should be 

 restocked with young shell to such an extent as to permit 

 of profitable fishing." He also recommends the establish- 

 ment of an experimental cultivation laboratory on the 

 small islet of Wai Weer at Thursday Island, and suggests, 

 further, that a consignment of the Ceylon pearl oyster 

 should be laid down on the Torres Straits ground. It is 

 evident that a good deal in the way of scientific cultivation 

 could also be done by collecting the spat and by cultching 

 the ground, and that regulations may be required in regard 

 to public and private fishing on the beds, and the proper 

 treatment of the stock in the Government reserves. The 

 adoption, before it is too late, of such scientific methods is 

 probably the only way of restoring a depleted pearl-shell 

 industry. 



The progress of Indian agriculture has hitherto been 

 recorded in such publications as the Agricultural Ledger 

 issued by the Reporter on Economic Products, or the 

 bulletins circulated by certain of the provincial Govern- 

 ments ; and reports on agricultural experiments have been 

 included in official reports dealing chiefly with land records 

 and administrative questions. The existing methods of 

 publication were not suited to the altered conditions pro- 

 duced by the activity of the new department organised by 

 Mr. James Mollison, first Inspector-General of Agriculture 

 in India, and all interested in Indian agriculture will 

 welcome the news that the Imperial and provincial De- 

 partments of Agriculture will henceforth publish a 

 " Journal " and " Memoirs." The first number of the 

 Journal has just been issued from the Agricultural Research 

 Institute at Pusa. It is edited by the Inspector-General 

 with the assistance of the Pusa staff, and will be pub- 

 lished quarterly. The present number contains an interest- 

 ing account of the development of the Indian Departments 

 of Agriculture by Mr. F. G. Sly, officiating Inspector- 

 General, and seven articles on questions connected with the 

 cultivation of sugar-cane, cotton, and other Indian staples. 

 The intention of the Government is that the Journal shall 

 deal with agricultural subjects which are of interest to 

 general readers — crops, insect pests, cattle breeding, irriga- 

 tion, cooperative credit — while in a second publication, 

 to be entitled " Memoirs of the Department of Agriculture 

 in India," scientific work in agricultural chemistry, botany, 

 &c, will be recorded. The Memoirs will be published 

 as separate articles, and these will be arranged in series. 

 NO. 1899, VOL. J3~\ 



Separate series will be issued for each of the chief divisions 

 of science. Both publications will be freely illustrated. 



A very valuable report by Dr. A. C. Houston on the 

 bacteriological examination of milk has been issued by the 

 London County Council, with a preface by Sir Shirley 

 Murphy. The report is based on the examination of (a) 

 twenty samples of specially selected milk from twenty 

 separate healthy cows ; (b) twenty samples of milk collected 

 from purveyors' shops; (c) twenty samples collected from 

 dairy shops ; (d) twenty samples collected from churns at 

 railway stations ; and (e) twenty samples collected from the 

 establishments of well known milk dealers. The samples 

 under (a) served as a standard, while those under (6) and 

 (c) were of milks of indifferent quality, in the main collected 

 from poor neighbourhoods and premises known to be ill- 

 adapted for the sale of milk. The various sources of 

 pollution of milk are enumerated, and an important re- 

 commendation is made with regard to a temperature 

 standard, viz. that all milk should be rapidly cooled below 

 io° C. and maintained at or below this temperature during 

 the whole period of transit and sale in order to prevent the 

 multiplication of bacteria. The following bacteriological stan- 

 dards are suggested: — (1) 1 c.cm. should not give evidence 

 of the presence of B. enteritidis sporogenes ; (2) o-ooi c.cm. 

 should not give evidence of the presence of B. coli. 

 (3) 00001 c.cm. should not give evidence of the presence of 

 streptococci ; (4) the primary sediments (after twenty-four 

 hours) should not exceed 100 parts per 1,000,000; (5) the 

 secondary sediment (after centrifugalisation) should not 

 exceed 50 parts per 1,000,000. Finally, several reforms 

 which may be considered immediately practicable are sug- 

 gested for dealing with the milking, the conveyance of the 

 milk, and the vending of the same. 



An editorial article in the Indian Forester (January) 

 advocates the formation of forest museums in each forest 

 division or in each province that may contain several 

 divisions. In Europe the inception of such a scheme is 

 found in Saxony, where each forest conservator is provided 

 with a set of mounted specimens of the chief insect pests 

 with instructions for dealing with them. In India the credit 

 of starting collections of timber specimens and other forest 

 produce for a conservator's museum is due to Mr. Gass, of 

 the Coimbatore division, Madras. The collections for this 

 division have been extended to serve for the three circles 

 of the presidency, and a special building has been sanctioned 

 for the purpose. 



In consequence of the drought that was experienced 

 during the season 1904-5, particularly in Antigua, the 

 experiments arranged by Dr. F. Watts on the chemical 

 selection of sugar-canes in the Leeward Islands failed, 

 but the experiments with different varieties of sugar-cane 

 were carried out. In the report published as a separate 

 part by the Imperial Department of Agriculture for the 

 West Indies it is noted that the six canes giving the best 

 results in Antigua were the same as in the previous year, 

 thus confirming the good character of these canes. The 

 experiments in St. Kitts did not agree so closely with 

 those of previous years, this, no doubt, being caused by 

 the irregularity of the rainfall in different districts. 



At a research meeting of the Royal Geographical Society 

 on March 9, a paper was read by Mr. J. L. Myres on 

 the Alpine races in Europe. Rejecting Prof. Keane's 

 theory of a North African origin, Mr. Myres said that the 

 brachycephaly of the Alpine stock might have been de- 



