Febeuaey 7, 1919] 



SCIENCE 



147 



a ripe one, and twisted it round and round till its 

 tenacious fibers gave way, and then threw it 

 down and began to descend, thinking he had done 

 enough, but on being spoken to he went to work 

 again with great vigor, picking out all the ripe 

 nuts ou the tree, twisted them all off, and then 

 came down in a thoroughly bad, sulky temper. 

 He was walking erect, and it seemed discour- 

 teous not to go and thank him for all his hard 

 toU. 



More to the point is the account given by 

 Eobert W. C. Shelford in his book " A Nat- 

 uralist in Borneo" (London, 1916). This 

 book is packed with interesting natural his- 

 tory data on a great variety of subjects gath- 

 ered while he was curator of the museum 

 founded by the great Rajah Brooke at Sara- 

 wak. On page 8, Shelford says: 



Macacus nemestrimis, the pig-tailed Macaque or 

 Brok of the Malays, is a highly intelligent ani- 

 mal, and the Malays train them to pick coconuts. 

 The modus operandi is as follows: A cord is 

 fastened round the monkey 's waist, and it is led 

 to the coconut palm which it rapidly climbs. It 

 then lays hold of a nut, and if the owner judges 

 the fruit to be ripe for plucking he shouts to the 

 monkey, which then twists the nut round and 

 round till the stalk is broken and lets it fall to 

 the ground. If the monkey catches hold of an 

 unripe fruit, the owner tugs the cord and the 

 monkey tries another. I have seen a Brok act 

 as a very ef&cient fruit-picker, although the use 

 of the cord was dispensed with altogether, the 

 monkey being guided by the tones and inflections 

 of his master's voice. 



E. W. GUDGER 



Gbxensbobo, N. C. 



hay-fever and a national flower 

 The Independent recently conducted what 

 might be called a popular voting contest in 

 order to ascertain the favorite candidate for a 

 national flower. The result is published in the 

 issue of that magazine for October 26, 1918, 

 and can be summed up in the introductory 

 words of the article: 



We supposed that it would be merely a choice 

 between the two leading candidates, the goldenrod 

 and the columbine, but to our surprise three other 

 flowers ran neck and neck with them : the sunflower, 

 the clover and the daisy, while there were besides 



a dozen also-rans. The candidates were so nu- 

 merous and the votes so scattering that we must de- 

 clare the election void. 



In the same article, in commenting on the 

 goldenrod, they say: 



The hay-fever vote is something that every 

 floral politician must consider, for it is undeniably 

 influeutial. Still, the advocates of the goldenrod 

 do not propose to toady to any such selfish inter- 

 ests. 



The writer sincerely hopes this is not an 

 expression of the general opinion concerning 

 the sufferers from the malady misnamed hay- 

 fever. Stories of the victims of this disease 

 too often get into the fminy papers in the same 

 column with mother-in-law jokes — they both 

 deserve to receive more consideration at the 

 hands of the public at large. 



Hollopeter^ states that hay-fever is largely 

 due to the action of the jwllen of the ragweed 

 and of the goldenrod, the former being eight- 

 five per cent, guilty while the latter is respon- 

 sible for the remaining fifteen per cent., not 

 taking account of some few cases probably 

 caused by the pollen of other plants. This 

 seems to reduce the harm done by the goldenrod 

 to a small amount, but it must be remembered 

 that almost all cases are irritated by the pollen 

 of this plant whether or not it is the specific 

 cause of the attack. 



Between one and two per cent, of our adult 

 population probably either has hay-fever or is 

 liable to contract it if the proper conditions 

 arise. The efficiency of the victims is reduced 

 during the attack a great deal, in some cases 

 even causing them to be confined to their 

 homes for a month or si.x weeks every fall. It 

 is true that on this point there is great va- 

 riation, but all victims have a lowered vitality. 

 Such a loss of time and efficiency is not only 

 a detriment to the individual but is also a 

 loss to the community. Why should we aid in 

 the preservation and spread of a plant of such 

 propensities, even if it is good to look upon? 

 Rather it should be classed with the ragweed, 

 and every effort should be made to stamp it 

 out, at least in the neighborhoods of our cities. 



1 Hollopeter, W. C, "Hay-fever, Its Prevention 

 and Cure," New York, 1916. 



