Febeuary 12, 1897.] 



SCIENCE. 



273 



proved of, and the Council pledged itself to 

 bear its fair share of the cost of purchasing 

 130,000 acres of Dartmoor from the Duchy of 

 Cornwall, provided that the county authorities 

 have power to preserve all objects of archaeo- 

 logical and antiquarian interest and the indige- 

 nous plants and animals. The other Devonshire 

 authorities have also promised their support to 

 the scheme. 



The correspondent of the British Medical 

 Journal at the Cape of Good Hope writes that 

 Professor Koch joined Dr. Edington, the bac- 

 teriologist, to Cape Colony, early in December, 

 and that a number of post-mortem, examinations 

 of animals were made by them together. In 

 the beginning of October, when the disease had 

 passed well within the lines of railway so as to 

 be easily accessible, Dr. Edington converted a 

 saloon car to serve as a laboratory, and went 

 with a veterinary assistant, Mr. W. Robertson, 

 and his secretary, Mr. Guthrie, to the infected 

 area. Some difficulty was at first experienced 

 in getting the assistance of the chief of the 

 Kafiirs there, but eventually, with the assist- 

 ance of some Fingoes, a camp was established, 

 and bacteriological and pathological investiga- 

 tions were begun. It was at this camp that 

 Professor Koch studied the post-mortem appear- 

 ances, and the virus obtained from these ani- 

 mals is now being investigated at Kimberley in 

 a laboratory which has been just set up by the 

 bacteriological department, and it is probable 

 that Dr. Koch and Dr. Edington will shortly 

 work there together. The inoculation experi- 

 ments with blood made at the camp by Dr. 

 Edington and his assistants showed that a rise 

 of temperature was thus produced usually after 

 about four days, but not always, as the rise was 

 sometimes delayed. The blood examined 

 showed the presence, in most cases, of bacillary 

 forms and some irregularly spherical organisms. 

 In some instances scarcely anything was to be 

 seen, but if care were used the bacillary forms 

 could be recognized. A short bacillus about 

 2 i" long and 0.5 /^ broad has been isolated, which 

 has been used for inoculation with positive re- 

 sults. As, however, within the past six weeks 

 20,000 cattle have died in the country in which 

 the rinderpest camp is situated, it is evident 

 that no definite statements can be made until 



the cultures have been tested in an area free 

 from the disease. 



The following notes on French explorations 

 are taken by Natural Science from Anthropologie. 

 Mr. Clozel, Administrator of the French Pos- 

 sessions on the Ivory Coast, is endeavoring to 

 make valuable ethnographic and geological col- 

 lections. Important results are expected from 

 two such enthusiastic explorers as Messrs. Bon- 

 nel de Mezifires and de Behagle, who are start- 

 ing for Central Africa. Mr. Bonin has returned 

 to Tonkin from the south-western . provinces of 

 China, whence he brings much material and 

 many facts of an ethnographical and anthropo- 

 logical nature. On their way from Turkestan to 

 Siberia, Mr. Chafianjon and his party have 

 gathered large collections of the fauna and flora, 

 and accumulated much information regarding 

 ethnography and geography. In Siberia, too, 

 Baron de Baye has been carrying on his archae- 

 ological and ethnographical studies. Mr. E. 

 Blanc, who has been to Nijni-Novgorod, is 

 bringing back rich scientific collections. Mr. 

 Raoul, Official Colonial Chemist, is starting on 

 government business for Borneo, where he 

 hopes to carry on scientific studies. The Hourst 

 expedition, whose return, which has been al- 

 ready noted, has proved the navigability of the 

 Niger fi'om Bammako to the sea. 



AccoEDiNG to the London Times, the Colonial 

 Office, the Natal and Cape governments and the 

 Board of Agriculture have been in communica- 

 tion for the past month as to the best means of 

 preventing the cattle plague in South Africa 

 from spreading into either Natal or the Cape 

 Colony. Various inquiries have been made as 

 to what steps should be taken, and recently at 

 the Board of Agriculture, a special conference 

 of heads of departments concerned was held to 

 consult together on the subject. The chief of- 

 ficials concerned of the Board of Agriculture 

 and the Colonial Office met the Agents-Gen- 

 eral of Natal and the Cape Colony and other 

 Cape authorities. Further meetings will be 

 held on the subject, and it is contemplated that 

 the government will sanction every eff'ort to 

 save the colonies of Natal and the Cape from 

 rinderpest. 



AccoKDiNG to Industries, the Parliamentary 



