ON VASOLIGATION. 43 1 



time the head and upper part of the animal are in a lower external temperature. 

 Under these conditions rats have been kept many days without loss of health or 

 appetite and without signs of serious distress or any effects on health after removal 

 from the apparatus. 



Experiment 1. — ^Begun on February 22 and continued till March 16, twenty-three 

 days altogether, but during this time the rat was returned to the animal house every 

 night and during the week-ends, except for the last four days, so that for the greater 

 part of the time it was exposed to the high temperature for only six or seven hours 

 every day. When the rat was killed the vas deferens and epididymis were found to 

 contain abundant actively moving sperms. Prepared sections of the testis showed the 

 condition of normal spermatogenesis in the majority of the tubules, but in a few there 

 was some disorganisation, the lumen being filled with loose detached cells. 



Experiment 2. — Begun on May 1. The rat was kept in the apparatus continuously 

 except once, when it escaped, and was found wandering on the floor. It remained 

 well and active, and took food regularly. On May 12 1 removed the left testis under 

 chloroform. Prepared sections of this testis showed that in the majorit}' of the 

 tubules the lumen was full of detached cells and debris, and the surrounding epithelium 

 disorganised. The peripheral tubules next to the external capsule still showed the 

 normal condition of spermatogenesis. The animal was kept alive for five days after 

 the operation, and was active and feeding well, but as it developed a swelling on the 

 penis it was killed with chloroform. No sepsis was found. In the vas deferens of 

 the remaining testis were abundant sperms without movement and evidently dead. 

 The interior tubules showed signs of recovery and regeneration, but there was no 

 spermatogenesis in any tubules. 



Experiment 3. — Begun on June 11 and continued for nine days, when the right 

 testis was removed for examination. The vas contained abundant sperms but all 

 dead and motionless. Sections showed an earlier stage of disorganisation than that 

 seen in the previous experiment. 



The chief value of these experiments is that in them no other alteration of the 

 natural conditions is made than to expose the scrotum to a temperature equal to that 

 of the interior of the animal's abdomen, and that the course of disorganisation in the 

 seminal epithelium can be traced in detail. I hope in the future to publish a description 

 of the process. At present I can only call attention to the facts that the normal 

 condition persists longer in the peripheral tubules than in the more internal, and that 

 disorganisation in the individual tubule commences in the internal layers of cells 

 next to the lumen and proceeds centrifugally. 



This Report has been drawn up by Mr. Cuimingham and approved by the other 

 members of the Committee. 



Geography of Tropical Africa.— Report of Committee (Mr. J. 

 McFarlane, Chairman ; Mr. A. G. Ogilvie, Secretary ; Mr. W. H. 

 Barker, Prof. P. M. Roxby). 



The Committee, during the past year, has explored the field of investigation and 

 taken steps for getting into touch with Government Departments and other organisa- 

 tions concerned. They have received some favourable response, and are now prepared 

 to make a start or work along several of the lines suggested in their memorandum 

 prepared on the formation of the Committee and now printed below. Hitherto the 

 only expenses have been those of postage, but the work envisaged for the current 

 year includes the printing of a pamphlet which it is hoped to prepare for issue at the 

 South African Meeting. The Committee is anxious to push forward its work in view 

 of that meeting. They therefore wish to apply for a grant of £2S. 



The Committee would further draw attention to the resolution of Section E 

 regarding the completion of the War Office Map of Africa (1 : 2,000,000). This map 

 is an essential base map for all work contemplated by this Committee. 



In view of the rapid social and economic changes that are taldng place in British 

 Tropical African territories, there is a pressing need for systematic study of the native 

 populations. While there is every likelihood that British antliropologists will see 



