October 2:, 1909J 



NATURE 



491 



on the really practical results obtained in the manu- 

 facture of peat-coke, power-gas, and moss-litter. 

 They point out the agricultural capabilities of decom- 

 posed black peat soils in Maine (p. 57), and the use of 

 dried peat as an auxiliary fertiliser in composts with 

 barnyard manure, and they especially urge the intro- 

 duction of air-dried peat as an absorbent in stables and 

 as a deodoriser. Descriptions of special bogs follow, 

 accompanied by neat maps in the text. These bogs 

 have been tested with an ordinary ship-auger (p. 60), 

 fixed on 21 feet of i-inch gas-pipe, and an improved 

 form is described, by which, as in many soil-testers, 

 samples can be still more safely collected at any parti- 

 cular depth. The bogs in Maine appear rarely to be 

 30 feet deep. As is customary in publications of 

 the United States Geological Survey, sufficient ex- 

 planations are given of technical terms to enable any 

 intelligent citizen to utilise this handy and scientific 

 treatise. 



In the case of the Canadian Survey, general prin- 

 ciples have been dealt with in the earlier memoir to 

 which we have referred, and the present bulletin 

 describes in considerable detail certain bogs which 

 possess commercial possibilities, and which lie not far 

 from Ottawa. Lines were run across the bogs, usuallv 

 1000 feet apart, and drillings were made in each of 

 these lines at intervals of 500 feet. The samples thus 

 collected were often put together in groups, as repre- 

 senting, when combined, certain areas of the bog; 

 but special local features of interest were noted 

 wherever necessary. An ingenious system of lettering 

 on the maps shows the character of the peat at each 

 point, and its relative suitability for moss-litter or for 

 fuel. The Canadian mode of gathering is by breaking 

 up the surface of the bog so as to promote air-drying, 

 and then stripping off this surface-layer. The bog is 

 thus in most cases worked horizontallv, and not verti- 

 cally, as in Europe. The large scale of the maps 

 inserted in (he bulletin, and the completeness of the 

 descriptions, remind one of the fine old bog-survey of 

 Ireland published some eighty years ago, which still 

 remains a standard work of reference. The peat 

 industries of Canada, like those of the United States, 

 are still mostly in an experimental stage, and little 

 more can be said of those organised from time to time 

 in Ireland. Meanwhile, in Europe, at any rate, the 

 humble tiller of the soil, with his old-fashioned hand 

 labour, continues quietly to remove the peat, in which 

 he possesses a clean and economic fuel. 



G. A. J. C. 



.4iV ANTHROPOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE 

 SUDAN. 



"T^ HAT the study of anthropology is of great 

 -'■ scientific and practical importance has been 

 acknowledged of late years by various Governments 

 within the Empire. Our readers will remember that 

 the Indian Government assisted Mr. A. R. Brown 

 in his investigation of the Andamanese, and the Ceylon 

 Government two years ago invited Dr. C. G. Selig- 

 mann to study the Veddas. The Anglo-Egyptian Ad- 

 ministration, as is well known, fully recognises the 

 far-reaching interest which attaches to the natural and 

 human history of Egypt and the Sudan, and directly 

 and indirectly it has done a great deal to extend our 

 knowledge of the meteorology, geology, geography, 

 zoology, botany, and archaeology of these regions. 

 In continuance of that enlightened policy, arrange- 

 ments have been made to organise an ethnographical 

 survev of the Sudan. Those in authority realise 

 that it is impossible to educate or govern a people 

 without some knowledge of their psychology, and no 

 mere facility with their language will suffice without 

 NO. 2086, VOL. 81] 



a knowledge of native customs, ceremonies, ideas, 

 and ideals. Especially is it necessary to record the 

 unwritten laws and usages which regulate private 

 and public life and to appreciate the safeguards for 

 [lersonal and social morality which occur in every 

 community. The native conceptions of the relation 

 of the individual to his fellow and of the authority of 

 the head of the local state are very different from those 

 of Europeans, and it W'ould be disastrous suddenly to 

 break up the structure of native society, to weaken 

 authority, or to promulgate revolutionary ideas. It is 

 also recognised by the Sudan Government that failure 

 in the past has been due to lack of scientific know- 

 ledge, and they seek to avoid mistakes in the future 

 by acquiring that knowledge upon which a firm and 

 just administration alone can rest. 



In the spring of last year the Sudan Government 

 stated that they were prepared to contribute a sum 

 of money sufficient to enable anthropological investi- 

 gations to be undertaken in the Sudan for at least 

 two years (a part of this sum is set aside for the 

 publication of the results), and Dr. and Mrs. Selig- 

 mann were appointed to conduct these investigations. 

 At that time the Seligmanns were still in Ceylon, 

 and as it would take them several months to work 

 up their field-notes, the Sudan expedition was post- 

 poned till this year. The Seligmanns leave England 

 on November 2nd, and will proceed with as little 

 delay as possible to investigate the Dinkas and 

 .Shiliuks in the Upper Nile Province. Probably they 

 will also study the pagan Nubas of Southern Kordo- 

 fan, and possibly some other tribes as well. 



Those who are conversant with recent anthropo- 

 logical literature are fully aware of the competence 

 of Dr. Seligmann to undertake this work. It is sig- 

 nificant of the times that Mrs. Seligmann is officially 

 recognised as a co-investigator with her husband. 

 Judging from what Mrs. Seligmann did in Ceylon, 

 there is no doubt that this enlightened new- departure 

 of the Sudan Government will be fully justified. 

 During a part of the time that the Seligmanns are 

 in the field thev will be accompanied by Dr. \V. H. R. 

 Rivers, who will thus be enabled to compare frOm 

 personal knowledge the systems of kinship and the 

 sociological conditions of Papuans. Melanesians, 

 Polynesians, and Todas with those of various North 

 Sudanese tribes. 



Dr. Seligmann hopes to initiate an anthropometrical 

 survey of the Sudan during the work of the foilow- 



mg season. 



A. C. Haddon. 



NORTH SEA FISHERY INVESTIGATIONS.' 



THE Blue-book before us, which has recently been 

 issued by the North Sea Fisheries Investigation 

 Committee, completes the second report of the Marine 

 Biological Association on the investigations which 

 they have been conducting in the southern part of 

 the North Sea and in the English Channel, in con- 

 nection with the international investigations of the 

 fisheries of northern Europe. 



A memoir by Mr. J. O. Borley describes the ex- 

 periments which have been made on board the s.s. 

 Huxley in order to determine the probability of 

 survival of trawl-caught fish if they are returned to 

 the sea. From the point of view of the fishery legis- 

 lator this is a matter of considerable importance, since 

 the probable effect of any law regulating the size at 

 which fish might be placed on the market would 

 depend very largely upon whether or not fish below 

 the legal size, which had been caught in the trawl, 



1 North Sea risberies Investigation Committee. Second Report 

 (Southern Area) on Fisherv and Hydrographical Investigations in the 

 North Sea and Adjacent Waters, 1004-5. Part ii. Pp. v + :!45 ; 8 plates. 

 (London : His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1509.) Price is. gif. i 



