October 28, 1909] 



NA TURE 



525 



Montreal. The arrangements made by the cable company 

 were such that by means of relays and repeaters at the 

 intermediate points the signal sent by the King travelled 

 the whole distance without manual help. The current 

 tiansmitted from West Dean Park released a current at 

 Montreal which opened the doors of the new institute, 

 hoisted a Union Jack, and turned on the electric light. 

 'I'his is, we think, the first time that a ceremony of this 

 kind has been performed at such a distance, namely, 3000 

 miles, without any outside assistance, and shows the great 

 advance that has been made in telegraphic transmission of 

 iate years. Within one minute of the key being pressed 

 at West Dean Park a return signal was received from 

 Montreal intimating that the ceremony had been performed 

 satisfactorily, and a message of congratulation was sent 

 by the King to the manager of the Commercial Cable 

 Company within four minutes of the first signal. AH 

 these facts prove that modern telegraphic instruments are 

 becoming more and more efficient, and the latest accom- 

 plishment will doubtless advance the closer relationship 

 between the Mother Country and the colonies. 



The United States Government, says Science, is now 

 carrying on work at regular forest experiment stations 

 similar to the agricultural experiment stations in the 

 different States. The first forest experiment station created 

 was the Coconino Experiment Station at Flagstaff, Arizona, 

 established in iqoS. Investigations covering many phases 

 of forestry in the south-west have already been undertaken 

 at this station. The second forest experiment station has 

 been established this year on Pike's Peak, Colorado. The 

 need for such stations becomes apparent when the long 

 time necessary for handling forest experiments is con- 

 sidered ; in forestry, because of the long time required for 

 trees to develop, scores of years are often required to 

 complete a single experiment. All experimental work is 

 conducted under the direction of men who have had train- 

 ing in technical and practical forestry. The greatest 

 technical problem which now confronts the forester in 

 handling the great pine forests of Arizona and New Mexico 

 is that of establishing a new stand of trees to replace the 

 old timber which is cut off. This was the first problem 

 undertaken by the Coconino Experiment Station. Much 

 information regarding the factors influencing natural repro- 

 duction has been secured already, but many years of 

 systematic study will be required to solve the problem. 

 The feasibility of artificial regeneration by planting and 

 sowing is also being tested. The plans for the near future 

 provide for a detailed study of the problems concerning 

 the natural and artificial regeneration of other commercial 

 trees, such as Douglas fir, Engelmann spruce, and the 

 junipers. 



We learn from the Pioneer Mail that a committee has 

 been appointed for establishing a Pasteur institute in 

 Burma, and is actively engaged in forwarding the scheme. 

 Recently the Secretary of State intimated, in view of the 

 straitened condition of the provincial finances of Burma 

 and of the fact that there was no guarantee that the initial 

 capital outlay on the institute would be met from private 

 subscriptions, sufficient cause to resort to public money 

 had hardly been made out, and consequently regretted his 

 inability to sanction the project as outlined in the first 

 instance. A subcommittee, appointed to formulate a work- 

 ing scheme for the building and equipment of the institute, 

 has reported, and is of opinion that it is possible to provide 

 for bare requirements for one-half of the available capital. 

 The institute, it is hoped, will in course of time find itself 

 in proximity to a general bacteriological institute, and it 

 is considered desirable that the buildings of the institute 

 NO. 20S7, VOL. Si] 



shall be permanent and substantial, so that they will be a 

 creditable feature of the entire group of buildings to be 

 constructed ultimately for scientific research. The sub- 

 committee recommends, also, that the institute should be 

 under the direction of an officer specially selected in the 

 United Kingdom for his success in bacteriological research. 

 Such an officer, it is suggested, should be appointed on a 

 special agreement, and should not expect transfer, war 

 service, pension, private practice, or any other of the 

 special privileges open to members of the Indian Medical 

 Service. 



The third part of vol. vi. of the Annals of the South 

 .African Museum is devoted to the continuation of Messrs. 

 Gilchrist's and Wardlaw's description of a collection of 

 fishes from the coast of Natal, among which several are 

 new. 



In a paper on the remains of Carboniferous air- 

 breathing vertebrates in the U.S. National Museum, pub- 

 lished in No. 1606 of the Proceedings of that institution, 

 Mr. R. S. Moody directs special attention to the reptile 

 Isodectes punctulatiis, on account of its bearing on the 

 origin of the reptilian class. The type and only known 

 specimen, which lacks the skull and nearly the whole of 

 the fore-limbs, and measures less than 6 inches, is re- 

 described in detail. It displays indications of affinity with 

 the Microsauria, but its ordinal position among reptiles 

 cannot be determined. Several new amphibians are 

 described in the paper. 



To the October number of the Popular Science Monthiy 

 Pi of. W. A. Locy contributes a thoughtful article on the 

 service of zoology to intellectual progress. The study of 

 this science has been a great factor in the cultivation of 

 straight thinking; "its influence has been great in clear- 

 ing the atmosphere of thought, in dispelling clouds, and in 

 freeing the mind from the bonds of inherited prejudice 

 and traditional superstition." .'\nother result was the con- 

 ception of the constancy of nature, and, in particular, the 

 idea that all animal life is the result of one continuous 

 and orderly progress. As regards the practical applica- 

 tions of zoology — often in connection with botany — these 

 have been exemplified during the last decade by the 

 wonderful discoveries as to the modes in which diseases 

 are introduced into the human systems by the intervention 

 of insect and other animal carriers, while scarcely less 

 important are the benefits which a knowledge of heredity 

 has conferred upon breeders. Finally, there is the crown- 

 ing service which zoology has conferred upon mankind in 

 enabling us to realise the existence of evolution, which is 

 so comprehensive in its extent that it enters into all realms 

 of thought, and largely aids in teaching man to com- 

 prehend himself, and in some dim degree to understand 

 his own future destiny. 



In a pamphlet entitled " Breeding Horses for Use, or 

 Equine Eugenics," published by Messrs. Swan Sonnen- 

 schein and Co., Ltd., Mr. Francis Ram seems well pleased 

 to play the part of Cassandra, for he tells us that, six-and- 

 twenty years ago, he issued under the same title an un- 

 answerable pamphlet, and that if the advice contained 

 therein had been followed a sum of at least 100,000,000/. 

 would have been saved to the nation, while the breed of 

 horses would have been vastly improved. The main feature 

 of the scheme seems to be the substitution of stallions for 

 geldings in cavalry and omnibus horses, and the selection 

 from among these, after severe tests of stamina and 

 endurance, of a small percentage for breeding purposes. 

 Perhaps the author might have had a better chance of 

 getting his scheme more carefully considered had he not 



