650 



NA TURE 



[October 24, 1907 



Mus^e de 1 'Hotel Rolin. The toilsome journey to an 

 altitude of 8io metres was amply repaid by a good lunch, 

 and, in spite of the rain, by the more artistic pleasure of 

 the grand panorama of surrounding plains and hills which 

 is to be seen from the summit. 



This visit to Mont Beuvray, a hill well known to the 

 whole world, since it has justly given its name to an 

 important epoch — the Iron age — recalled the fact that 

 Csesar once visited this Oppidum, and shortly after pro- 

 tected the Aedui from the Helvetian attack, and also 

 from that of Ariovistus. It was here, too, that the Gauls 

 held the famous general assembly, after the Acdui 

 abandoned the Roman cause, and proclaimed \"ercingetorix, 

 the proclamation no doubt taking place near the Pierre 

 de Vibre. 



The ancient importance of this fortified Eduen camp is 

 also attested by the fact that Cssar, after the triumph 

 at Alesia, established himself there. After this, Gaul was 

 completely submitted to the Eastern civilisation, and 

 Bihracte (with its Beirjraysicn, i.e. its Industrie du Fer), 

 some years after the commencement of the Christian era, 

 was completely obliterated by a forest fire. Vestiges of 

 the town have been found by a modern Eduen, BuUiot, 

 and a room in the Mus^e de 1 'Hotel Rolin is devoted to 

 the results of the gigantic excavations. These were 

 shown to the congressists by his worthy successor, M. 

 Di^chelette, who also exposed, for the congress, several 

 Gaulish habitations, and prepared an exposure laying bare 

 part of the old ramparts of the Oppidum, thus affording 

 the visitors a view of a good example of the construc- 

 tions of that epoch. 



On August i6 an excursion to the boundary of the 

 C6te d'Or and Sa6ne and Loire occupied the attention of 

 the congress, and a number of dolmens in the neighbour- 

 hood of Nolay and Decize were examined, but these do 

 not recall anything of those well-known monuments on 

 the borders of the Gulf of Morbihan. This visit showed 

 what becomes of monuments in the centre of France, as 

 those of the Field of Justice, in Saint Pantaloon, near 

 Autun, had already appeared as an ultramicroscopic re- 

 duction of those of Menec and of Kerlescant at Carnac. 



The evening was devoted to an enjoyable visit to the 

 camp of Chassey, a typical Neolithic fortification occupied 

 later by the Gallo-Romans. In the hands of the late 

 director of the Muste Rolin, Dr. Loydreau, this camp 

 furnished a valuable collection to the museum, and, thanks 

 to the enthusiasm of M. R. Gadant, the room devoted to 

 the collection was solemnly declared open during the visit 

 of the congress. The subject of this second excursion was 

 restricted entirely to the two principal periods of the 

 polished stone epoch. 



Looking south from Chassey, the far-away plateau of 

 Aluze may be seen, considered by the Eduens as being the 

 only Alesia possible. This supposition has not, however, 

 prevented M. Etienne Bonneau from preparing his modest 

 work, in spite of many difficulties, on the Sifege d'Aluze 

 par J. C^sar. 



At the camp of Chassey, of which the northern and 

 southern parts of the vallum remain intact, excavations 

 had been specially preserved, and furnished the visitors 

 numerous fragments of Neolithic pottery and remains of 

 Bovides, &c. 



The third day was devoted to the Palaeolithic age, to 

 the period of the pierre taillee, and to this end the con- 

 Efressists visited the very fine collection made by .Arcelin 

 pere from the classical beds of Solutr^, and now to be 

 found in the Mus^e de Macon. The son of the inventor 

 of Solutr^, Dr. Arcelin fils, was the guide, and had pre- 

 pared a new cutting of the Clos du Charnier, which 

 showed in situ the exact stratification of the beginning of 

 Solutricn. As has already been mentioned, this visit did 

 not give the key to the tfiorny question of Prt'sohitrfen or 

 Atirignacien, on which sides are taken by the leaders of 

 the Belgian and French brigades. 



But the old school of prehistoric France showed that 

 the Solutr(5 bed has been greatly modified by the earth 

 displacements, and so rendered little assistance to the 

 solution of the Aurignacien problem. Against this the 

 few facts have shown that the layers, as known, of horses, 

 which form the base of the station, appear to be con- 

 temporaneous with the Moustcrien. In fact, it appears, 



NO. T982, VOL. 76J 



a priori, that one such place which had been frequented 

 by the Palaeolithic workmen had also been inhabited by 

 the Solutr^ens. Certain Hints, and remains of horses, 

 apparently prepared on the Moustericnne model, have been 

 found by Drs. Arcelin and Baudouin. 



On the last day of the excursions a visit was made 

 to the Oppidum d 'Alesia, where there are rare traces of 

 the Gaulois (huts, &c.). The epoch appears to be com- 

 pletely the Gallo-Roman, i.e. at the end of the Iron age. 

 Here is to be seen the result of two years' assiduous 

 labour, and one sees that if Faith is not able to raise 

 mountains. Science of to-day is able to dig out from their 

 foundations the majestic ruins of several successive Roman 

 civilisations. In face of these works, the question which 

 suggested itself was, " If by some unlikely chance this 

 was not the true .Alesia, how is it that a town, having 

 presented such elaborate monuments, has left no trace of 

 itself in the primitive history of France? " 



This visit, with that to the two special walls which 

 were seen at Alisc Sainic Reine, worthily brought the 

 congress of Autun to a close. 



.As a proof of the enthusiasm aroused, it may be stated 

 that the last excursion attracted more than 100 par- 

 ticipants. In spite of the complexity of the excursion pro- 

 gramme, and in spite of the large number of adherents, 

 the congress programme was carried out punctiliously. 



The splendid organisation of this Congris pr^historique 

 de France may henceforward remain a model for others. 

 It is to be hoped that its success will be repeated upon the 

 occasion of the fourth congress in 1908, and that a still 

 greater number of foreign workers, more especially the 

 specialists of Great Britain, will be present. 



ECONOMIC BIOLOGY AND AGRICULTURE. 



A CONFERENCE to mark the inception of a new 

 department of economic biology at University 

 College, Bristol, was held on Thursday, October 17, in 

 the Bristol Museum, the Right Hon. Henry Hobhouse, 

 P.C., taking the chair. 



Mr. A. D. Hall, director of the Rothamsted Experimental 

 Station, speaking upon the experimental work at Roth- 

 amsted, directed attention to the part played by bacteria 

 in the fixation of nitrogen in the soil. Mr. E. S. Salmon 

 (.Agricultural College, Wye) referred to the destructive 

 character and prevalence of fungus pests, and the beneficial 

 results following the use of various spray solutions. Mr. 

 F. y. Theobald (vice-principal Wye College), in dealing 

 with the investigations upon insect pests, urged the import- 

 ance of each worker making his own observations upon 

 their life-history and habits within the district in which 

 he worked, otherwise much mischief would result from the 

 repetition of misstatements. It has been found, for ex- 

 ample, that the winter moth, the wingless females of 

 which are supposed to emerge in the middle of October 

 and ascend tree trunks to lay their eggs, does under certain 

 conditions and in some districts appear earlier, so that 

 grease banding of the trees is in such cases carried out 

 too late, and much damage results. 



Prof. J. R. Ainsworth Davis (.Aberystwyth), speaking 

 upon economic biology in relation to fisheries, urged a 

 much closer connection between educational work and 

 trade. He also pointed out the need of a fuller know- 

 ledge of the movements of food fish, and the importance 

 of organising systematic investigations upon the fisheries 

 of the Bristol Channel and the rivers flowing into it. Mr. 

 T. H. Middleton (Board of Agriculture and Fisheries), 

 speaking upon the public and departmental aspects of 

 economic biology, stated that it is the policy of the Board 

 to subsidise institutions establishing departments of agri- 

 culture, recognising that the work of economic biologists 

 is of public benefit, in that all are consumers. The result 

 of disease and unscientific management leads to dearer food- 

 stuffs. The Board has a special interest in the work of 

 biologists, and can be made an effective intermediary 

 between the scientific man and the grower. It is possible 

 that a time will arrive when the Board will be able to do 

 more in support of applied science, and when that time 

 comes consideration will be given to those institutions 



