Mat 12, 1922] 



SCIENCE 



507 



have such a chance to show immediate financial 

 results as this. If the activity of the enemy 

 could be reduced one per cent, it would increase 

 revenue over $10,000 per year. 



It is therefore suggested that the activities 

 of the killer whale be thoroughly investigated 

 in its relation to the fur-seal herd. To do so, 

 will require the services of a well-equipped 

 vessel. It should be provided with a whale gun 

 and a man to shoot it, because some of the 

 animals would have to be killed. 



The stomachs of the killers taken should of 

 course be examined. It may be asked why the 

 preliminary work can not be done by the shore 

 whaling stations, but it so happens that almost 

 every cetacean known is commercially valuable 

 except the killer. Prom the diminutive por- 

 poise to the huge sulphurbottom all are taken 

 but the orea, and it is left entirely alone. 

 Therefore, the fur-seal question can not be 

 studied on shore, where whales are utilized 

 commercially without special arrangements 

 being made for the capture of the killers. 



If the killer be found the great destroyer 

 of fur seals which is suspected, then methods 

 for its destruction should be devised. In lieu 

 of submarines, it might be made the object of 

 target practice of navy gunners. Or a bounty 

 might be offered, so as to make them commer- 

 cially profitable for whalers to handle. Or 

 what is probably best of all such suggestions, 

 fully equip whaling vessels to scour the seas, 

 just as sheep men of the west keep coyote 

 hunters constantly on duty. 



G. Dallas Hanna 

 The CALiroRNiA Academy of Sciences 



SCIENTIFIC EVENTS 



LOSS FROM ANIMAL DISEASES 

 The Advisory Committee, appointed by the 

 British Development Commission in 1920, has 

 issued its report on the facilities now available 

 for the scientific study of the diseases of ani- 

 mals, and improvements recommended. Sir 

 David Prain was chairman of the committee. 



According to an abstract in the London 

 Times, the present value of cattle, sheep, and 

 pigs in the United Kingdom is estimated, the 

 report states, at between four and five million 

 pounds. The Scottish Animal Diseases Re- 



search Association estimates the annual loss 

 from disease in Scotland at close on £1,000,000, 

 and the committee thinks that the loss in 

 England and Wales must be four times the loss 

 in Scotland. The facilities for research at the 

 five veterinary colleges in the United Kingdom 

 and Ireland "constitute a national disgrace." 

 The sum allocated to veterinary research is 

 "trifling in comparison with the sums set aside 

 for medical, agricultural, and fishery research." 

 There are certain existing facilities at univer- 

 sities, medical schools, the Brown Institution, 

 and attached to the English and Irish Depart- 

 ments of Agriculture and to the Royal Army 

 Veterinary Corps. In South Africa there is 

 a model organization for the study of animal 

 diseases, £123,447 having been spent during the 

 year 1920-21 on veterinary education and re- 

 search. In India immense opportunities are 

 almost wholly neglected. Leaving out of ac- 

 count the work in South Africa, the state of 

 research into animal diseases within the empire 

 is at present lamentable. 



The committee advocates (with reservations 

 by Sii' Walter Eletcher) increased salaries to 

 workers of proved capacity at Camden Town, 

 and a capital grant for new laboratories there. 

 It suggests that facilities for research should be 

 placed at the disposal of the Royal Army Vet- 

 erinary Corps, and that a sum should be set 

 aside annually by the commissioners for spe- 

 cial researches into animal diseases. 



With regard to the training of investigators, 

 it anticipates that a large proportion will come 

 from the veterinary profession. It is against 

 the increase in the number of universities with 

 veterinary faculties, but wishes more money to 

 be given to the existing veterinary colleges. It 

 proposes that the Development Commission 

 should appoint a diseases of animals research 

 committee, the majority of whom should be 

 men of science. To this new body all applica- 

 tions for grants from the development fund for 

 research into the diseases of animals should be 

 referred. 



THE CALIFORNIA STATE FISHERIES 

 LABORATORY 



The State of California, through its Fish 

 and Game Commission, has constructed a lab- 

 oratory in East San Pedro, at Los Angeles 



