August 12, 1909] 



NA TURE 



197 



uf 10 lb., but much more nearly a dose only six times as 

 much. It may be that it is this principle which limits 

 the value of some drugs. Thus atoxyl will cure trypano- 

 some infections in mice and rats, but in cattle, horses, 

 and man it is much less effectual. A rat of 140 grams 

 weight can be safely given 0-02 gram of atoxyl. If the 

 dose were proportionate to the body-weight, a man ought 

 to be able to tolerate 10 grams, but, as a matter of fact, 

 about I gram is the maximum safe dose, which is in close 

 correspondence to the two-thirds powers of the ratio of 

 weights (1/500). 



The progress of forestry in the University of Cambridge 

 is briefly summarised in the second annual report of the 

 forestry committee issued recently. It is announced that 

 Mr. H. J. Elwes has made an offer to provide 1000/. 

 towards the erection of a building to serve ns a museum 

 and a laboratory, where special attention would be 

 devoted to the study of home-grown timbers. The reader 

 in forestry. Dr. A. Henry, has taken steps to test the 

 suitability of the western larch, haris occidentalis, a 

 native of K^rth-west America, for planting as a forest 

 tree in" the British Isles and Europe ; the canker disease 

 of the common larch is being made the subject of 

 systematic experimental investigation by Mr. E. R. 

 Burdon. 



H0RTICULTUR.4L and general botanical articles form one 

 of the leading features of the Country Home. The August 

 number contains a contribution by Mr. G. C. Nuttall on 

 plant aspects and plant names, in which, by means of a 

 few examples and clever illustrations, the author shows 

 the reasonableness of popular floral names ; it is suggested 

 that the subject is a suitable one for investigating during 

 a holiday. A practical article on tomato culture is pro- 

 vided by Mr. F. W. G. Blyth, where again the excellent 

 reproductions from photographs are conspicuous, and Mr. 

 W. L. T^rasse gives advice on the intensive cultivation 

 of strawberries. The monthly calendar and special instruc- 

 tions for the month's work in garden and greenhouse add 

 to the value of the publication. 



Owing to loss of the paper for printing, the early 

 numbers of the Philippine Journal of Science for the 

 current year have been delayed. The first botanical 

 number opens with a contribution, by Dr. E. B. Cope- 

 land, on the ferns of the Malay-Asiatic" region. Largely 

 in connection with the identification of specimens from the 

 Philippines, Dr. Copeland has acquired a knowledge of 

 the ferns of the Malay Archipelago, which has induced 

 him to present a fern flora of this region. This first part 

 refers to ten families, from the Ophioglossaceae and 

 Marattiaceae to the Cyatheacea;. Keys and short diagnoses 

 are given for each family, genus, and species. The most 

 striking innovation is the reduction of the genera Alsophila 

 and Hemitelia to Cyathea. Cyathea thus becomes a genus 

 of about 400 species, of which one-fourth occur in the 

 region under consideration ; Dicksonia and Balantium are 

 retained. Under Marattiaceae a fifth genus is provided by 

 the author's monotypic genus Macroglossum, and Kaul- 

 fussia is lost under the synonym Christensenia. 



Mr. W. J. Be.\n contributes to the current number of 

 the Kew Bulletin (No. 6) a note regarding the effect of 

 the past winter on trees and shrubs in Kew Gardens, with 

 special reference to plants of recent introduction. It is 

 pointed out that alternations between cold and unseason- 

 able warmth were more potent than the actual intensity 

 or duration of cold, and, incidentally, it is noted that 

 plants growing in low, damp situations were killed, while 

 NO. 2076, VOL. 81] 



specimens situated on drier ground survived. A consider- 

 able number of recently introduced Chinese plants, in- 

 cluding Davidia involucrata and Ailanthus Vilmorinii, 

 came successfully through the ordeal, and the author gives 

 a list of rhododendrons from north India that may be 

 considered hardy. Bamboos suffered greatly, with the 

 exception of Arundinaria nitida and A. fastuosa. Other 

 shrubs that proved hardy are Erica stricta, Cistus lauri- 

 folius. Genista virgata, and Vaccinium padifolium. 



The Bulletin of the College of Agriculture, Tokyo Im- 

 perial University, Japan, vol. viii., 1909, No. 2, contains a 

 paper by S. Kusano on the cytology of Synchytrium 

 puerariae and S. dccipiens, parasitic fungi belonging to the 

 phycomycetes, with bibliography, and illustrated with 

 several excellent plates ; a description of a new species of 

 moth belonging to the genus Latirostrum, by T. Miyake ; 

 and a revision of Japanese Arctianae, insects injurious to 

 farm crops and fruit and forest trees, by the same author, 

 with descriptions of some new species. 



A SERIES of Bulletins, Nos. 141-4, issued from the 

 Colorado Agricultural College, deal with various phases of 

 market-garden work. No. 142 discusses general problems 

 such as tillage, manuring, &c., in the light of local experi- 

 ence, and lays stress on the conditions which must be ful- 

 filled in Colorado if success is to be attained. Among them 

 is the necessity for " shade " crops, i.e. for crops- growrj 

 with the view of shading the ground from the sun's heat, 

 or, in winter, of reducing the loss of heat by radiation, and 

 thus of keeping the soil temperature more uniform. 

 .'\nother effect of a " shade " crop in summer is to 

 diminish loss of water by evaporation. The other bulletins 

 deal with special crops — grapes, cabbages, and celery. 



Some of the most important agricultural problems of 

 Cape Colony are associated with water supply, and that 

 this fact is recognised is abundantly proved by the number 

 of articles devoted to it in the Agricultural Journal of the 

 Colony. The Karoo is a dry region, and at the same time 

 possesses a very rich soil ; this combination is not unusual, 

 and can be paralleled in the dry belt of British Columbia, 

 of parts of the United States, and elsewhere. Its productive- 

 ness is limited by the water supply, and recourse is had to- 

 various methods for conserving and increasing the amount 

 of moisture in the soil. Special methods of cultivation are 

 found to diminish loss of water by evaporation, and dams 

 are built to store rain-water, which can then be used for 

 irrigation. Attention is also being directed to the effect of 

 forests on water supply. 



The Bulletin de la Sociiti d'Encouragement pour I'ln- 

 dustrie nationale (vol. iii., No. 3) recently published a long 

 and interesting article by M. Hitier on agriculture in 

 Russia. The various regions are described, and a good 

 account is given of the black soils, the steppes, and other 

 well-marked types of soil. Analyses are quoted showing 

 the presence in black soils of o'S per cent, of nitrogen, 7 

 per cent, of organic matter, and distinct quantities of 

 carbonates, along with suflficient potash and phosphates ; the 

 area covered by these wonderfully fertile soils is consider- 

 ably larger than that of France. The natural conditions 

 are eminently favourable for agricultural development, but 

 the economic conditions, especially the collective ownership 

 of land and the power of the Mir, are regarded as great 

 obstacles, and the author does not consider any advance 

 possible until these artificial hindrances are removed. 



The movements of the deeper waters of the Skagerack 

 form the subject of an interesting paper by Dr. O. 

 Pettersson which is published as No. 47 of the Publications 



