NA TURE 



[December 2, 1909 



The current number of Irish Gardening (November) 

 opens with an account, by the Hon. Vicary Gibbs, of 

 a few of the shrubs collected by Mr. E. H. Wilson during 

 his last visit to China. About forty species of Rubus have 

 been introduced, chiefly on account of their decorative 

 foliage and stem colouring ; also a number of new species 

 of Hydrangea, Ribes, and Vitis. New climbers are 

 furnished by the genera Clematis and Lonicera, of which 

 Clematis Pratti and Clematis soiileana receive special men- 

 tion. A short report is given of a meeting held in Dublin 

 by the Irish Forestry Society with the object of promoting 

 an annual November " Arbor " week ; the economic 

 importance of forestry and the former e.\tent of Irish 

 forests formed the subject of addresses. A novel plan is 

 mentioned in a note of etherising the roots of fruit trees 

 to retard the blossom and so save it from being destroyed 

 by spring frosts ; the experiment is said to have been 

 successful. 



Owing to the custom which prevails so largely in 

 Germany of making presents of plants at Christmas and 

 on other auspicious occasions, there is a great industry 

 in forcing plants, notably lilacs and cyclamen. As a con- 

 sequence of this unnatural treatment diseases appear, or 

 become more malignant, and in this connection a brochure 

 by Dr. H. Klebahm, dealing with diseases in lilacs, has 

 been recently published. A bacterial disease of the 

 branches or leaves caused by Pseudomonas Syringae, and 

 other leaf diseases due to a Heterosporium and Botrytis, 

 are referred to, but the main purpose is to give the details 

 of a new disease, traced after considerable trouble to a 

 Phytophthora. Full details of the life-history, which is 

 similar to that of Phytophthora omnivora, have been 

 worked out. 



We have received from the Michigan State Agricultural 

 College Experiment Station several bulletins dealing with 

 subjects of practical interest. The construction of silos 

 ot wood and of cement is described, the latter material 

 being found especially satisfactory. The number of silos 

 in Michigan is steadily increasing ; green maize is gener- 

 ally used, either alone or mixed with field peas, cow peas, 

 or soy beans, &c. A description is given of the methods 

 used in treating pigs for the prevention of hog cholera by 

 injection of the appropriate serum ; good results are said 

 to be obtained. Another bulletin deals with the feeding 

 of farm horses during winter time, a highly important 

 economical problem. Several rations are suggested, and 

 the cost is worked out in each case. 



T[iE report of the Botanic Station .-\gricultural School 

 and Experiment Plots, St. Lucia, is a record of continued 

 progress. The soil under cultivation is generally very 

 fertile, and as the population is not large the means of 

 subsistence is easily gained by the natives. In conse- 

 quence, the methods of cultivation are not very advanced, 

 and there is abundant scope for the work of the agri- 

 cultural instructors. Attempts are being made to develop 

 the cultivation of Sea Island cotton, and also to assist 

 the sugar industry. Improved methods of dealing with 

 cacao and limes are being worked our, and the various 

 pests submitted to examination. A number of rubber 

 trees and mangoes have been distributed among the 

 planters from the station. 



The bird problem in relation to agriculture is discussed 

 in a recent number of the Journal of Agriculture of South 

 Australia. Among insectivorous birds recommended to-be 

 encouraged are the wrens {Malurus cyaneus), the ■ fly- 

 catchers (Rhipidura tricolor, Sisura inquieta, Micraeca 

 NO. 2092, VOL. 82] 



fascinaus), the robin (Petroeca, sp.), the swallows, the 

 thrush (Collyriocincla harmonica), the pipit (Anthus 

 australis), the catbird (^Pomatorhinus superciliosus), and 

 the yellow-rumped tit (Acanthiza chrysorrhoa). On the 

 other hand, the sparrow and the starling do great damage, 

 and the advisory Board of Agriculture has recommended 

 that stringent methods of dealing with them should be 

 made compulsory. 



In continuation of his general discussion on the earth- 

 quakes of the Philippines, noticed in Nature of October 28 

 (vol. Ixxxi., p. 527), the Rev. M. Saderro Mas6 has under- 

 taken the study of the different seismic regions of the 

 archipelago. His first paper deals with the earthquakes 

 of the Batanes Islands, a group in the extreme north, and 

 only about 200 kilometres from Formosa. In the central 

 island of Batan forty-nine earthquakes were recorded in 

 the six years 1903-8, May and June being the months of 

 greatest frequency. None of these shocks exceeded the 

 degree of intensity 5 of the Rossi-Forel scale. Father 

 Saderro Mas6 discusses the interesting question whether 

 the Batanes Islands are more closely related seismologicallv 

 with Formosa or Luzon, and, though the evidence is not 

 very complete, concludes in favour of their connection 

 with the latter and more distant island. 



Mr. T. Sheppard, the curator of the Hull Museum, con- 

 tinues his useful series of catalogues of the collections 

 under his charge, which are issued at the nominal price 

 of one penny each. The last numbers are devoted to an 

 account of a large collection of Roman antiquities from 

 South Ferriby, in North Lincolnshire, and of a number 

 of Anglo-Saxon vases. These publications are issued in 

 cooperation with the Hull Scientific Field Naturalists' 

 Club, which is doing excellent work in cataloguing the 

 fauna and flora of Yorkshire. The second part of its 

 Proceedings for the current year is largely devoted to an 

 account, by Mr. T. Stainforth, of the spiders, harvestmen, 

 and pseudo-scorpions of East Yorkshire. 



The common horseradish (Coclilcaria armoracia. L.) 

 has been described by Darwin and others as a plant which 

 practically never produces seeds. M. J. Brezezinski con- 

 tributes to the Bulletin ot the Cracow Academy of Sciences, 

 No. 7 (1909), some interesting experiments on this point. 

 He adopted two plans of favouring the production of 

 seeds — grafting and an annular incision round the root. 

 The former plan was a failure, but the latter led to the 

 production of a good number of seeds, some of which 

 germinated and have grown up. These seedling plants 

 belong to two widely differing types, of which illustrations 

 and descriptions are given. 



A PAPER on the decimal system of numbers is contributed 

 to the Popular Science Monthly for November by Dr. 

 L; C. Karpinski. It contains a historical account of the 

 Babylonian, Roman, Greek, Hindoo, and Arabic systems. 

 A necessary conclusion is that improvements in the system 

 of numeration have been slow to obtain adoption. Even 

 at the present day France does not possess a decimal 

 system of numeration, the use of 20 as a base being still 

 preserved in numbers above 60, ,a system which, we are 

 told, is of Semitic origin, and ex-sts also among certain 

 Pacific Coast tribes. It exists also in Wales. As a further 

 illustration, the author refers to the slowness of the United 

 States and England to adopt the metric, system. 



The principal of the Belfast Municipal Technical Institute 

 has drawn up a valuable series of notes on the method of 

 conducting experiments set in laboratory courses of experi- 

 mental science. The guidance offered is intended to secure 

 a desirable amount of uniformity in the conduct of the 



