146 



NATURE 



[August 3, 191 1 



months they arc allowed to be relieved by other repre- 

 sentative men of their tribes." The accompanying 

 photograph depicts some of these hostages, who may 

 be taken as types of the tribe. 



The people live in rude huts and seldom build 

 substantial houses, like the settled Mantze. Whilst 

 termed " I.olo " by the Chinese, they call themselves 

 " Nosu," alternatively spelt " Nossu " and " Nesu." 

 The former appellation appears to us to be the same 

 that is applied by the Tibetans to these and other 

 savage tribes on their borderland, namely 

 "Lalo" (spell kla-klo). Their features 

 seem to lis to resemble those of the head- 

 hunting Indo-Mongolian tribes of Assam, 

 called "Naga" by the Indians. They are 

 said by Mr. Fergusson to be "certainly 

 not " Tibetan. Their mode of tying up 

 the hair (sec Fig. i) is suggestive of that of 

 the Lepchas, whose non-Tibetan and proto- 

 Malayan affinities have been indicated by 

 Lieut. -( Colonel \\ addell. 



Lieut. Brooke won the distinction of 

 being "the first Englishman to shoot" that 

 rare Eastern antelope, the takin (Budorcas 

 sp.: see Fig. 2), and to study it in its 

 haunts, of which we have here a detailed 

 description. 



Mr. Fergusson furnishes a detailed map 

 of the southern part of the country plotted 

 out by himself, a valuable contribution to 

 Chinese geography. 



RUBBER CULTIVATION. 1 



'T'O students of African rubber, the 

 *■ volume (i) by Dr. Cuthbert Christ) 

 will prove of considerable value. Dr. 

 Christy was for a considerable time con- 

 nected with the Mabira Forest Rubber Com- 

 pany, Uganda, and bad many opportunities 

 of obtaining first-hand information regard- 

 ing' the environment most suitable for 

 Funtumia, the yields of rubber obtainable, 

 and the- chemical and physical problems 

 associated with the coagulation of the 

 latex. The author first gives a general 

 account of the African rubber industry, and 

 shows the fluctuation in exports of raw 

 rubber from the Gold Coast, Sierra Leone, 

 Southern Nigeria, Liberia, the French lvor\ 

 < oast, Togoland, the Kameruns, the Bel- 

 gian Congo, and East Africa. There is, 

 however, nothing which would lead one to 

 1 i that Africa will henceforth increase 

 its crop of raw rubber, despite the large 



number of vines and trees which have >een 

 planted during the last few years. 



A considerable amount of information is 

 given on the botany, life-history, and struc- 

 ture ol Funtumia elastica, Stapf, known in 

 the earl) days as Kickxia elastica, Preuss. 

 It appears that in I ganda this tree loses 

 most of its leaves during the dry, hot 

 period "I Januan to March. It is. however, neverquite 



leafless. Young shoots are produced and old leaves 



fall more or less freelj al all seasons of the year. 

 The trees flower from November to December, and 



1 (1) '• The African Rubber Industry and Funtumia elastica (' Kickxia ')." 

 V.J Dr. C. Christy. Pp. wi + 252. (London: John Bale, Sons, and 

 Danielsson, Ltd., ion.) Price 12J. 6it. net. 



(2) "The Physiology and Diseases of Hi-rea t>>asi/it->!six, the Premier 

 Plantation Rubber Tree." Hy T. Petch. Pp. iv-t-268. (London : Dulau 

 and Co., Ltd., 1911.) Price 7 s. bit. net. 



(; 'The Whole Art of Rubber Growing." By W. Wicherley. Pp.151. 

 London : West Strand Publishing Co., Ltd., 1911.) Price 5* net. 



the fruits are mature six months later. The author 

 is of the opinion that the wind-blown seeds carried 

 beyond the limits of the forest never produce per- 

 manent plants, owing to the long grass covering the 

 country outside the forest areas. In the scrub forma- 

 tion (Acanthus) the seeds appear to have a better 

 chance. The permanent Funtumia trees are found 

 largely in belts where the forest is hilly; though these 

 belts are usually well-defined, their distribution ap- 

 pears to be influenced by water-level conditions. In 



Photograph by E. Brnvn. 



-,. 1.— Chagwe Forests. Uganda. An 

 stake. Nearly all the ti« - 

 Rubber Industry and Funiumiaela 



NO. 2179, VOL. 87] 



Uganda the trees appear to grow in large groups 

 varying from famil) parties to large belts and areas 

 several square miles in extent; in some cases the 

 growth is entirely made up of this species, but in 

 other cases the species is scattered. 



After discussing the distribution, climate, and soils 

 foi Funtumia, the author goes into detail regarding 

 othei species of Funtumia — Funtumia lati folia, and 

 Funtumia africana — the latex from which, however, 

 possesses verj little rubber, though it may be used, 



