286 REPORTS ON THE STATE OF SCIENCE, ETC. 



With regard to rock names, most petrologists favour the retention of names 

 long familiar to readers of Zirkel, Rosenbusch, Iddings, Harker, and Hatch 

 —with the proviso that, where necessary, these names should be revised to 

 meet modern requirements. That some revision is necessary is evidenced 

 by the fact that even the commonest names are used in several different 

 senses. Thus the distinction between basalt and andesite is based by 

 different writers on silica percentage, colour index, and specific plagioclase. 



The Committee is of the opinion that agreement on the re-definition of 

 names in common use can be best reached through systematic study, by 

 competent petrologists, of the rocks themselves. 



Impressed by the lack of uniformity in, and important omissions from, 

 descriptions of rocks, the Committee believes that systematic petrography 

 would greatly benefit if all authors would embody clear statements of all 

 the diagnostic characters of the rocks they describe. It would be an 

 obvious convenience if these characters were listed in the same order. A 

 recommendation on this point will be made in a subsequent report. 



The Committee calls attention to the Report on British Petrographic 

 Nomenclature {Min. Mag., vol. 19, 1921, pp. 137-147), with which, in the 

 main, it agrees, but to which it may propose amendments later. 



It is hoped that the suggestions made in this interim report will evoke 

 discussion and correspondence, before they are incorporated as definite 

 recommendations in the final report. Such correspondence should be 

 addressed to the Secretary of this Committee at University of London, 

 King's College, Strand, London, W.C. 2. 



EMPIRE SOIL RESOURCES. 



Report of Committee appointed to co-operate with the Imperial Soil Bureau 

 to examine the soil resources of the Empire (Sir E. J. Russell, Chairman ; 

 Mr. G. V. Jacks, Secretary ; Prof. C. B. Fawcett, Mr. H. King, 

 Dr. L. Dudley Stamp, Mr. A. Stevens, Dr. S. W. Wooldridge 

 (from Section E) ; Dr. E. M.Crowther, Dr. W. G. OGG.Prof. G.W. 

 Robinson (from Section M)). 



The Committee was formed as a result of a suggestion put forward by 

 Sir E. J. Russell in his paper on the ' Soil Resources of the British Empire,' 

 given before Section E, at the British Association Meeting in 1931. The 

 function of the Committee is to organise a survey of the soil resources of 

 the Empire on a geographical, ecological and climatic basis. Two meetings 

 of the Committee have been held. At the first meeting, it was decided to 

 invite the Schools of Geography of British Universities and some well- 

 known experts in the overseas Empire to co-operate in collecting the 

 climatic and ecological data of different parts of the Empire, each indi- 

 vidual or school to be asked to undertake the work for that country of which 

 he or it should have special knowledge or special facilities for obtaining 

 the required data. At the same time, the Imperial Soil Bureau would under- 

 take to collect all the available information relating to the soils themselves. 

 The invitations to co-operate with the Committee were accepted by 

 nearly all who were approached on the matter, and the Committee desires 

 to record its sincere appreciation of the willingness with which its request 

 for assistance was answered. The work on the different parts of the Empire 

 has been allotted as follows : 



