5 86 



NATURE 



[August 7, 19 13 



system has thus been formed largely at the 

 expense of the Forth, and in its later depredations 

 has also appropriated part of the Tweed. It has 

 been favoured by the comparatively soft rock- 

 material along its earlier course, by its steeper 

 gradient, but most perhaps, by the more copious 

 rainfall of the western mountains. 



The subsequent Glacial period, although causing 

 considerable modification in detail, lias not altered 

 the essential features of the topography developed 

 by the rivers. Neither has the submergence which 

 has drowned the seaward parts of the Clyde and 

 Forth valleys, and transformed the Clyde system 

 especially into a series ol sea-lochs, availed to 

 obscure the ancient lines of the drainatre-svstem, 



pany, interested himself in tho establishment of 

 the Clyde Ironworks at Old Monkland, near 

 Glasgow, and thus helped to lay the foundations 

 of the iron-smelting industry in the west of Scot- 

 land. 



The final chapters deal with land reclamation in 

 the Forth valley, and a very interesting account 

 ol an old labour colony is given. This was estab- 

 lished by Lord Karnes in 1766 for the clearing of 

 Blairdrummond Moss, a work which turned a 

 quaking bog into a fertile plain that now supports 

 scores of families. These later chapters are most 

 interesting and readable, although garnished here 

 and there with obsolescent economics. The book 

 is finely printed, and is a pleasure to read and 



-Scene at the end of the Ice age whe 



Fig. 2.— The model 

 the Craig at Stirling 



1 landscape after the sea had retreated to i 

 t different periods in the history of the ea 



'The Stoiyof the Fo 



of which Mr. Cadell has given such a luminous 

 explanation. 



Much scattered information on related physio- 

 graphic subjects, such as the buried channels of 

 the Forth valley and the old lochs of the Edin- 

 burgh district, is brought together for the first 

 time in this book. 



The latter half of the book deals with industrial 

 subjects connected with the Forth valley. The 

 famous Carron Company and the rise of the 

 Scottish iron industry are treated in chapters ix. 

 and x., and we are reminded how great a part 

 the Cadell family took in the establishment of 

 this great concern in the latter half of the 

 eighteenth century. We also note that Mr. 

 William Cadell, after leaving the Carron Com- 

 NO. 2284, VOL. 91] 



handle. It is illustrated by many excellent plates 

 and maps. 



THE IMPROVEMENT OF INDIAN WHEAT. 1 

 "MOWADAYS, when the English miller regards 

 -L ^ Indian wheat as a valuable addition to his 

 resources, the work of the authors of this memoir 

 in improving it is of the utmost national import- 

 ance. The progress they have made already 

 deserves t" be widely known and commended. 

 The problem is the same as that which confronts 

 us in this country, where, however, the farmers 

 still refuse even to try to understand it — namely, 



1 Memoirs of the Department of Agriculture in India, vol. v., No. i. 

 By A. Howard, H. M. l.eake. and (',. L. C. Howard. Agricultural Research 

 Institute, Pu-a. 



