November i8, 1909] 



jVA TURE 



75 



to a great extent for the purpose of ascertaining the in- 

 dividual dimensions and weights of the haddoclc and cod 

 frequenting the fishing-grounds at different seasons and in 

 different years, in order to determine whether the grounds 

 are being over-fished. The investigations are, however, 

 only in a preliminary stage, and before they can be re- 

 garded as anything like complete will have to be extended 

 so as to embrace surface-fishing at seasons when the cod 

 are in pursuit of the shoals of herrings. 



Our knowledge of Peruvian barnacles has been but 

 slightly increased since the appearance of Darwin's mono- 

 graph, and considerable interest attaches, therefore, to the 

 report, by Dr. \. Pilsbry, published as No. 1700 of the 

 Proceedings of the U.S. National Museum, on a collection 

 recently made by Dr. R. E. Coker and Dr. W. H. Jones, 

 of the U.S. Navy. The apparent absence of parasitic 

 species or of forms commensural on crabs is a remark- 

 able feature of the cirripede fauna of Peru. A new species 

 of Balanus is described, and the opportunity has been 

 taken to publish figures sufficiently large to exhibit the 

 details of the plates of the previously known Peruvian 

 forms. 



In Bulletin No. 67 of the U.S. National Museum, com- 

 prising 135 pages of text and a large number of illustra- 

 tions, Mr. Nathan Banks supplies entomologists with very 

 full and detailed directions for collecting and preserving 

 insects according to modern methods. A bulletin on the 

 same subject, prepared under the direction of the late 

 Dr. C. V. Riley, was published in i8q2, but since that 

 date new methods of collecting have been devised and 

 studies are conducted on entirely new lines, so that it has 

 been deemed advisable to re-write the pamphlet from 

 beginning to end. Many notes on the preparation of 

 insects for the cabinet have been copied from various 

 entomological journals, while special information has been 

 supplied in regard to particular groups by members of 

 the Bureau of Entomology. The work commences with 

 a general review of the different orders of insects and 

 their developmental history, after which come directions 

 for capture and preservation in the field and mounting 

 and storing in the museum. Figures of apparatus of all 

 kinds are given, accompanied by full descriptions of the 

 cabinets employed in the U.S. Museum. The scope of the 

 work likewise includes directions for rearing live insects 

 and maintaining them in captivity, while the collection 

 and preservation of spiders, scorpions, and centipedes also 

 come within its purview. 



K REPORT by Dr. Newsholme and Sir Malcolm Morris, 

 K.C.V.O., the British delegates to the International Con- 

 ference on Leprosy held at Bergen in August last, has 

 been issued as a Parhamentary Paper (Cd. 4916). They, 

 together with several delegates from British colonies, 

 formulated several resolutions for the control of the disease, 

 the chief of which are as follows : — (i) Leprosy is spread 

 by direct and indirect contagion from persons suffering 

 from the disease. The possibility that indirect contagion 

 may be effected by fleas, bugs, lice, the itch parasite, &c., 

 has to be borne in mind. (2) Leprosy is not due to the 

 eating of any particular food, such as fish. (3) There is 

 no evidence that leprosy is hereditary. (4) In leprosy an 

 interval of years may elapse between infection and the 

 first recognised appearance of disease. (5) The danger of 

 infection from leprous persons is greater when there is 

 discharge from mucous membranes or from ulcerated 

 surfaces. (6) Compulsory notification of every case of 

 leprosy should be enforced. (7) The most important 

 administrative measure is to separate the leprous from 

 NO. 2090, VOL. 82] 



the non-leprous by segregation in settlements or asylums. 

 (8) In settlements home life may be permitted unHcr 

 regulation by the responsible authorities. 



.•\ SELECTION of new or noteworthy Philippine plants 

 described by Mr. Merrill, forming the seventh series, is 

 published in the Philippine Journal of Science (.\ugust). 

 The majority of the determinations refer to tree specimen?., 

 and include new species of Diospyros and Cryptocarya, also 

 additions to the families Meliaceae and Flacourtiaceas. In 

 the latter family the author finds a similarity betw'een 

 Philippine and Ceylonese species. A new genus, Embo- 

 lanthera, allied to Maingaya, is created in the Hama- 

 melidaceae, and Everettiodendron in the Euphorbiaces. A 

 noteworthv new species is Chonemorpha elasiica, an 

 .-■.sclepiad, which promises to be the best native rubber- 

 producing vine. 



With the view of making the best use of their local 

 museums, the Essex Museum of Natural History, Strat- 

 ford, and the Epping Forest Museum, Chingford, the Essex 

 Field Club held during the previous winter two conferences 

 to discuss the use of museums for promoting nature-study 

 in schools, which are reported in a small pamphlet recently 

 published. At Stratford educational facihties are provided 

 in the form of mounted specimens, drawings, and ex- 

 planatory labels, while at Chingford the exhibition of 

 seasonal plants and branches is made a special feature. 

 Nevertheless, it was agreed that a museum is not the place 

 to hold nature-study classes for children, although well 

 I adapted for classes of teachers. Prof. R. Meldola, in testi- 

 fying to the value of nature-study, expressed the opinion 

 that it should be regarded as a method of training, not as 

 a subject for teaching, and that it should include the study 

 of the inorganic world ; he also emphasised the necessity 

 for nature-taught teachers. 



The dispersal of plants was a subject to which the late 

 Prof. Errera devoted much attention, and among the 

 problems which came under his notice was the manner 

 in which plants manage to reach rocks isolated by 

 glaciers. In this connection he visited the isolated peaks, 

 .■\guagliouls. by the side of the Roseg glacier, and Isla 

 Persa, flanked by the Morteratsch glacier. A posthumous 

 paper published in the Rcciieil de I'Instiliit botanique Leo 

 Errera (vol. viii.) contains a list of the plants collected 

 on these rocks and on the moraine adjoining the former. 

 There is a remarkable contrast between the species grow- 

 ing on the peak Aguagliouls and the moraine ; on the 

 moraine three species of Trifolium and Anthyllis 

 -julneraria were taken, and Primulas were wanting, while 

 on the peak the Leguminoss were represented by one 

 Trifolium, but six species of Primula were collected. 



The vigorous efforts made by the .American agricultural 

 colleges to get into touch with the practical man are well 

 e.xemplified by the large numbers of bulletins they issue 

 dealing with every phase of agriculture and every problem 

 about which it is supposed the farmer requires help. We 

 have received a series of bulletins from the Colorado Agri- 

 cultural College which are quite typical of their kind ; the 

 subjects dealt with are the cultivation of fruit trees, pig 

 production, and the manufacture of gate-posts out of 

 cement. The bulletins are drawn up by experts, are 

 clearly written, and well illustrated. The cost of produc- 

 tion and distribution must be considerable. 



The United States Department of Agriculture has 

 recently issued a popular bulletin by Mr. Milner on the 

 use of milk as food. It is stated that about one-sixth of 

 the total food of the average American family is furnished 



