January 7, 1909"' 



AM 7 URE 



29: 



:ncas where tlic deod;ir was mixed with oak. Sometimes, 

 1^ in the case of a species of Tomicus bark-beetle infesting 

 I'lue pine and spruce, more tlian one of the principal trees 

 in a mixed forest is attacked. 



The notes on annual flowers by Mr. A. Watkins pub- 

 lished in the Journal of the Royal Horticultural .Society 

 (vol. xxxiv.. part ii.) contain hints for the amateur 

 i^ardcner as well as queries for the plant breeder. The 

 author observes that annuals well repay extra attention, 

 c specially in the matlc-r of sowing and transplanting- so 

 :is to give them plenty of room. .As a puzzle in variation, 

 reference is made to the Countess Spencer variety of 

 sweet-pea, from w^hich for a long time no fixed type 

 could be obtained ; the explanation offered attributes this 

 (lifliculty to a period of variability for the strain. As a 

 successful instance of selection, Mr. Watkins mentions his 

 production of the Mandarin crccta compacta variety of 

 rischscholtzia. 



The report on the operations of the Department of -Agri- 

 culture, Madras Presidency, for the official years 1906-7 

 and 1007-8 shows that steady progress is being made in 

 improving the native husbandry. Experiments are recorded 

 on the growth of paddy, the most valuable and important 

 crop of the Presidency, of sugar-cane, jute, and agave. 

 There are numerous experiments on cotton, some of the 

 famous black cotton soils occurring in this region, and 

 on methods of irrigation. The department keeps in touch 

 with the native cultivator by sending out agricultural in- 

 spectors to help the ryots in their cultivation of the various 

 crops ; it also distributes seed superior to that in common 

 use, and, in certain cases, gives premiums by way of 

 I ncouragemcnt to those natives who succeed with the 

 improved methods. 



The Bureau of Soils of the United States Department 

 of .Agriculture has recently issued a Bulletin (No. 51), by 

 Messrs. Patten and Gallagher, dealing with the absorp- 

 I'on of vapours and gases by soils. The problem is very 

 intricate, and is not lilcely to be solved until more light 

 has been thrown on the constitution of colloids ; in this 

 respect it resembles many other soil problems. Although 

 I lie present publication does not carry us much further, it 

 serves a useful function in collecting a good deal of 

 scattered work, and directing attention to a problem of 

 ^'reat practical and scientific importance. 



Bri.i.ETix No. 80 of the North Dakota Agricultural 

 ("ollcge Experiment .Station gives descriptions of the 

 common weeds of North Dakota, and of the methods by 

 whicli they may bo eradicated. It is recommended that re- 

 c ourse should be had to spraying with solutions of either 

 ferrous sulphate, copper sulphate, or sodium arsenitc. 

 Sodium arsenate cannot be recommended, since it does not 

 dissolve with sufficient readiness. .Spraying is not an un- 

 common practice in England, and it is on the increase ; 

 the necessity of saving labour compels the modern farmer 

 to do by chemical means what his predecessor did by 

 hand. 



The report of the director of agriculture of the Federated 

 Malay States for the year 1907 which has just come to 

 hruid shows continued progress in many directions. The 

 climate is probably unsurpassed for rapid growth of 

 vegetation, but these conditions arc also favourable to 

 insect and fungoid pests, and the appointment of a Govern- 

 ment inycologist will prove a useful step. There is, 

 however, no chemist as yet. The agricultural work 

 appears to be on useful lines, and calculated to aid 

 materially the development of thee Stales. Wcrk has 

 NO. 2^-45, VOL. 7t)] 



been done on padi and on cocoanuts, both highly valuable 

 crops, but perhaps the most striking advance is seen in 

 rubber cultivation. The acreages in the Federated Malay 

 States (exclusive of those in Johor, Malacca, and Province 

 Wcllesley) have been as follows : — 



Year Acreage Year Acre.ige 



1897 345 ■■■ 1903 '''239 



1598 1,761 ... 1904 19.239 



1599 3,227 ... 1905 43.338 



igoo 4.693 ■•■ 1906 85,49: 



1901 5.965 •■■ i9'7 126,2;5 



I9°2 7.239 



There was in 1907 a marked fall in the price of rubber, 

 which, however, only stimulated the planters to improve 

 their methods and decrease the cost of production. The 

 industry is very profitable ; even the lowest price yet 

 reached for plantation rubber is more than 100 per cent, 

 above the cost of production. Experiments are in hand 

 to discover still better methods of working and of coping 

 with the root fungus Fames semitostus and the termite 

 Termcs licstroi, which are at present the worst rubber 

 pests. 



Prof. T. J. J. See contributes to the Proceedings of the 

 American Philosophical Society a further paper dealing 

 with his interpretation of the cause of earthquakes and 

 the origin of mountain ranges. The paper is illustrated 

 with a series of very striking relief maps of the continents, 

 taken from Frye's " Geography," which are intended to 

 illustrate the author's contention that the highest mountain 

 ranges border the deepest oceans. The series of memoirs 

 by Prof. See, of which this is the last, may be regarded 

 as part of the modern revolt against the doctrine which 

 regarded the earth as an inert mass cooling by radiation 

 into space, and attributed all changes which have taken 

 place in it as due to secular contraction. We wonder 

 whether his last paper may not also be an indication of 

 a return to the fashion of the lengthy titles which delighted 

 our forefathers of a century ago. 



An excellent custom prevails in .America, which might 

 well be imitated in other countries, that just when a 

 special piece of scientific work is needed someone is always 

 ready to defray the cost. This is the case with the in- 

 vestigation of the races of the Philippine Islands, which 

 is due to the liberality of Mr. R. F. Cummings, of 

 Chicago. The report on the Tinggian tribe by Mr. F. C. 

 Cole, which is the first of the series, amply justifies the 

 expenditure on the work. The Tinggians are a fairly 

 civilised tribe, practising rice farming on a large scale, 

 and occupying the subprovince of Abra. They are ruled 

 by a tribal council, before which everyone, including all 

 duly married women, may bring their grievances. They 

 revere a sky spirit, known as Kadaklan, but their religious 

 rites are mainly devoted to the propitiation of the evil 

 spirits w-hich infest the earth. These rites are in a large 

 measure of the shamanistic type, and in their domestic 

 ceremonies .sympathetic magic plays a leading part. 

 Special attention is paid to the propitiation of the spirits 

 of the dead, for whom blankets and other things likely 

 to be wanted in the other world are hung on a rope 

 suspended over the corpse. Marriage is said to be pro- 

 hibited between blood relations, and it is alleged that there 

 is no clan system, an assertion which, on the analogy of 

 other races in a similar grade of culture, further investi- 

 gation will pei-haps correct. 



The September (1908) number of the PliiUppiiic Journal 

 of Science contains a classification of the racial types 

 found among the students at the University of Michigan, 



