; 
uy 
of research in this direction. 
FEBRUARY 22, 1917] 
number of papers giving the results of inspections, — 
statistical inquiries, and investigations into fish para- — 
sites and diseases. The fresh-water fishes are of par- 
ticular importance, and a good deal of work relative 
to the life-history of the Indian carp and other species 
has been undertaken and is in progress. 
cultivation of the carp has been carried on for some 
‘time, and arrangements have been made for the dis- 
tribution of fry. Considerable difficulty has been ex- 
perienced with regard to the best practice of obtain- 
NATURE 
Se oo eee ee —eoere_e—w—wrse sewer 
Artificial | 
ing the fertilised eggs of the species cultivated, and. 
these difficulties are the object of investigation. So 
far, little has been done with regard to the marine 
and estuarine species of fishes, and there do not 
appear to be opportunities for the active prosecution 
Some attention is being 
directed to the possibility of developing the fresh-water 
mussel fisheries by cultural methods. Co-operative 
work with regard to distribution is also mentioned in 
the report. 
Tue ravages produced in the olive crop in Italy by 
the attacks of the fly Dacus oleae caused Dr. F. Sil- 
vestri to initiate a series of investigations on the 
parasites of this insect, with the view of thus checking 
the destruction. The Atti dei Lincei, xxv. (2), 11, 
contains a preliminary note on the extension of these 
‘observations to India. Previously they were under- 
taken in the Italian colonies of Erythrea and Tripoli, 
‘where they resulted in the discovery of the hymeno- 
pterous parasite known as Opius concolor. The In- 
dian observations were made in conjunction with the 
Government entomologist, Mr. T. B. Fletcher, and 
although the first samples yielded no flies, further 
investigation showed the existence of a fly and a para- 
site differing from those found in the Italian colonies. 
The Indian fly is now described by Dr. Silvestri under 
the name Dacus oleae, var. asiatica, and differs only 
jn colour from the African form, but the new parasite 
is considered to be a fresh species, to be called Opius 
ponerophagus, asit possesses morphological differences 
in the shape of the discoidal and second cubital cells 
of the wings and elsewhere. 
From the annual report of the Department of Agri- 
culture, Uganda, for the year ended March 31, 1916, 
it is interesting to note that the coffee on the plantation 
has shown a marked improvement. The leaf disease 
due to the well-known fungus, Hemileia vastatrix, 
which was causing some anxiety, appears to be -well 
‘in hand owing to the measures taken by the officers 
of the department. The prevalence of the disease 
-shows marked fluctuations, the commencement of an 
outbreak coinciding with the beginning of the rains 
about the end of February, and its termination with 
the drought. From August, 1915, to February, 1916, 
there was a long spell of partial immunity. 
' Tue annual report of the Agricultural Department, 
St. Vincent, for 1915-16 is a record of steady pro- 
gress. In addition to the usual work, experiments on 
cotton-breeding are being made at the experiment 
station, which, if they can be fully carried out, should 
yield valuable results. Plants possessing resistance to 
angular spot and boll-rot have been selected, and an 
effort is being made to breed from them resistant 
strains. Selection for lint characters is also being 
undertaken. Should varieties be produced capable of 
resisting the attacks of the cotton stainer—the main 
cause of boll trouble—the cotton yield would be nearly 
doubled. Work of this kind emphasises the great 
need for the establishment of properly equipped agri- 
cultural research stations in the tropics in order that 
plant-breeding experiments needing many years of 
careful research may be undertaken without inter- 
ruption and hindrance. 
No. 2469, VOL. 98] 
497 
A USEFUL publication on medicinal plants has been 
published as Bulletin No. 78 of the West of Scotland 
Agricultural College. The cultivation, drying, yield, 
and prices of the various herbs are considered in the 
opening pages at sufficient length, and particular 
attention is paid to those suitable for Scotland. This 
is followed by a list of hardy herbs, trees, and shrubs 
used in medicine. The list is very well compiled, the 
botanical and common names and natural family of 
each plant being given, then its duration—annual, 
biennial, or perennial—the part used occupies the next 
column, then the time when it should be collected, 
and, finally, general information as to its soil require- 
ments, situation, etc. This and Miss Teetgen’s re- 
cently published book on “Profitable Herb Growing 
and Collecting ” should be studied by those who are 
interesting themselves in the growing and collecting 
of medicinal plants. 
Tue Board of Agriculture and Fisheries has issued 
an order, dated January 15, which came into force on 
February 1, with regard to the wart disease of pota- 
toes. It is forbidden to plant potatoes on any land 
on which potatoes affected with wart disease have been 
grown during the previous year, unless such planting 
be duly authorised by the Board or the local authority. 
A person convicted is liable to a penalty not exceeding 
1ol., unless he can prove to the satisfaction of the 
court that he was unaware that affected potatoes had 
been grown on the land in a previous year. 
Tue thirtieth annual report of the Liverpool Marine 
Biology Committee, drawn up by Prof. Herdman, and 
dealing with the work of the Marine Biological Station 
at Port Erin for the year 1916, shows that the usual 
Easter vacation course in. marine biology was carried 
on and was attended by fifteen students, that five 
research workers have occupied tables, and that in the 
fish hatchery nearly eight millions of plaice larve 
were hatched and set free. The curator. (Mr. Chad- 
wick) records observations on the rapidity with which 
specimens of the brittle star Ophiocoma nigra react to 
the presence of food; they detected in 15 seconds the 
presence of a small piece of mussel suspended out of 
their reach in the water of the table-tank on the 
bottom of which they were living. Mr. Chadwick 
has directed attention in previous reports to the ob- 
struction of the pipes supplying the aquarium caused 
by the growth therein of various invertebrates. In 
the present report he notes two tube-building Poly- 
chetes—a single large specimen of Sabella pavonia 
and a vigorous colony of Salmacina dysteri—as the 
causes of such obstruction, and remarks that, 
although the colony of Salmacina had grown in the 
absolute darkness of the interior of the pipe, the 
worms were deeply tinged with the bright orange- 
red pigment characteristic of the species. He records 
the presence on one occasion of hundreds of large 
specimens of Aplysia punctata among seaweeds which 
thickly strewed the area between tide-marks and had’ 
béen thrown ashore by a fresh westerly breeze. The. 
report also contains an interesting address (32 pp.), 
given to the Biological Society of Liverpool by Prof. 
Herdman, on Sir Wyville Thomson and the Chal- 
lenger expedition. 
Many years ago the late Prof. O. C. Marsh obtained 
from the Cretaceous rocks of Colorado, U.S.A., the 
hind foot of a running dinosaur constructed like that 
of a young struthious bird. He named the reptile 
accordingly Ornithomimus. A nearly complete skele- 
ton of a closely related new genus, Struthiomimus, 
has now been received by the American Museum of 
Natural History from the Cretaceous Belly River 
Formation of Alberta, Canada, and is destribed by 
