July 27, igi 1] 



NATURE 



1 2 ■ 



euphorbiaceous plants, including a new genus, Cyrtogonone, 

 defined by Dr. Prain and a collection of new exotic fungi 

 described by Mr. G. Massee ; of the latter, two species of 

 Balansia, Mcidiuni osyridocarpi and Ustilago trichopterygis, 

 are figured, and JEcidium cymbopogoni is noted as a 

 destructive pest on lemon grass in the botanic gardens at 

 Entebbe. An article on persimmons, communicated by 

 Mr. W. B. Hemsley, furnishes evidence for separating 

 Diospyros roxburghii, a species native to east India and 

 western China, from Diospyros kaki. 



An appreciable supplement to what was considered to be 

 a fairly complete list of plants for Monroe County in New- 

 York State and adjoining territories, published in 1896, 

 has been issued in the Proceedings of the Rochester 

 Academy of Science (vol. v.). The additions amount to 

 more than two hundred species, of which two-thirds are 

 native and one-third alien. No fewer than seventy-seven 

 of the native species represent determinations made by Dr. 

 Sargent for the genus Crataegus, as this county supplied him 

 with a large number of critical forms ; under Viola, eight 

 new native species are scheduled. An alien that was ex- 

 pected and duly arrived along the railroad track is a variety 

 of Salsola kali, that receives the name of Russian thistle. 

 Lysimachia nummularia is noted as a weed growing on 

 lawns. 



The announcement is made in the May number of The 

 Indian Forester that the responsibilities of editorship have 

 been transferred to the president of the Research Institute 

 at Dehra Dun, with whom, as heretofore, a board of 

 management is associated. Among the contents is a con- 

 cluding article on paper-pulp testing, contributed by Mr. 

 W. Raitt. Dealing with grasses, two new sources are indi- 

 cated as pulp prepared from "ulla," Anthisteria gigantea, 

 and a Burmese consignment of " kaing " grass, Phrag- 

 tnites karka, both gave satisfactory results in the matter 

 of colour, strength, and toughness ; being in these respects 

 superior to "bhabur," Ischaemum angustifolium, that is 

 now worked in the factories. Summarising the prospects 

 of the pulp industry in the United Provinces, the author is 

 of opinion that large reserves of material exist, that ulla, 

 bhabur, and spruce promise to yield the best material, while 

 a number of trees, notably Bombax malabaricum, would 

 furnish a pulp of inferior but serviceable quality. 



Central America is following the excellent example set 

 by the United States in agricultural education, and from 

 Costa Rica we have received the first two numbers of 

 the Boletin de Fomento, the organ of the Department of 

 Agriculture. Hevea and coffee naturally come in for a 

 good deal of attention, and sections are devoted to 

 horticulture and agriculture ; there is also a geological 

 section. A list of Spanish works on water in relation to 

 agriculture is given, which, though small in comparison 

 with other lists, is much more extensive than one would 

 have expected. The bulletins are well illustrated, and will, 

 we hope, be found to serve a useful purpose. 



The Agricultural Statistics of India for the years 1004-9 

 are now published in two volumes, vol. i. relating to 

 British India and vol. ii. to the native States. The 

 statistics are not discussed, but are given without com- 

 ment ; for the native States they are not always as 

 accurate as might be desired, but the best available 

 information has been used. For the historian and the 

 administrator these records are invaluable, and all 

 interested in Indian agriculture will find complete data 

 as to crops, irrigated and unirrigated areas in the 

 numerous districts, for each of the five years under con- 

 sideration. 



NO. 2178, VOL. 87] 



The growing importance of rice in India has necessitated 

 a careful study of the numerous races cultivated by the 

 natives, and as a preliminary these races have been 

 enumerated in The Agricultural Ledger (1910, No. 1). 

 The list is very extensive, and extends over two volumes, 

 each of nearly 300 pages, but it is believed to be as com- 

 plete as is at present possible. Under each variety is 

 given a very brief description, together with references to 

 papers or books where a fuller account may be found : 

 thus the list is also a guide to the literature. An enormous 

 amount of work has evidently been involved in its pre- 

 paration, but the authors, Messrs. R. Abbey-Yates and 

 E. F. Vieux, will have the satisfaction of knowing that 

 they have saved subsequent workers much weary search- 

 ing through literature that is not always easily accessible. 



The report of the Egyptian Survey Department, dated 

 July 3, states that the White and Blue Niles had been 

 rising throughout June at a normal rate, but the level at 

 Wadi Haifa was then 25 cllls - below normal, owing to a 

 check in the rains in Abyssinia. The forecast for the Nile 

 flood indicated that it will probably be about 10 per cent, 

 below the average. 



The Cairo Scientific Journal for June contains two 

 articles on the silt which is carried and deposited by the 

 flood waters of the Nile, relating especially to the Ibrahimia 

 Canal, one of the great artificial waterways which irrigate 

 Middle Egypt to the north of Assiut. Samples were taken 

 at varying depths, and seemed to show that the scour 

 caused by a bridge unsuitably placed increases the silt 

 which is deposited in the canal downstream of it to a 

 considerable extent. The matter is one of great import- 

 ance to irrigation in Egypt, and too little attention has 

 hitherto been given to obtaining accurate results, so that 

 the work of Messrs. Bury and Pollard is of definite value. 



In the same number Mr. A. Lucas treats of "hashish.' 

 or Indian hemp, Cannabis indica, the forms in which 

 it finds its way into Egypt ; the manner in which 

 it is consumed, and the methods of detecting it with 

 certainty. Its introduction into Egypt is prohibited, and 

 very large quantities (amounting to 23,000 kilog. in 1909) 

 are seized every year by the Custom House officials and 

 the coastguard officers, but the demand is widespread, and 

 it is obtainable practically in every village. From the 

 number of ways in which this injurious drug is prepared for 

 consumption, in the form of sweetmeats or confections, and 

 the large amount that is still introduced into the country, 

 such investigations are of the highest importance, especially 

 in a countrv where the adulteration of foods is not 

 controlled, as in Europe. 



In the July number of Petermann's Mitteilungen, Dr. 

 Peucker gives an account of the proceedings of the Inter- 

 national Aeronautical Conference, held at Brussels on Ma) 

 26 and 27, in so far as they affected maps. Resolutions 

 were passed in favour of the scale of 1 : 200,000 as far as 

 possible, though in special circumstances other scales 

 might be desirable ; each sheet should include a degree 

 square, and the sexagesimal system should be employed : 

 geographical names should be in the language of the 

 country represented. In the compilation of detail and 

 employment, of conventional signs full latitude was given, 

 but some delegates expressed the desire that high-tension 

 electric cables should be indicated. 



The Hydrographer's report for 1910 has been issued, con- 

 taining a brief summary of the surveys which have teen 

 carried out by the Admiralty during the year. Five ship- 

 were employed in home waters and seven abroad, oft 



