April 23, 1897.] 



SCIENCE. 



655 



the latest, and is of such an extent that 

 even four weeks afterwards 40 ccm. of rin- 

 derpest blood could be injected without any 

 injurious effect. I therefore conclude that the 

 immunity produced in such a manner is of an 

 ' active ' nature. Rinderpest can be eradicated 

 with but little difficulty and within a compara- 

 tively short time by putting these methods into 

 practice. In infected parts nearly every case 

 of rinderpest supplies a greater or less quantity 

 of vaccine for those animals which are still 

 healthy. I cannot but urge upon you the im- 

 portance of bringing this method immediately 

 to the notice of those cattle owners whose ani- 

 mals are suffering from or threatened by the 

 disease." Dr. Koch offers to give a course of 

 instruction at the experimental station at Kim- 

 berley. 



Dr. Schlich, C. I. E., professor of forestry 

 at the Royal Indian Engineering College, 

 Coopers-hill, read a paper at the Imperial Insti- 

 tute on Monday night on ' The Timber Supply 

 of the British Empire.' Sir Stewart Colvin 

 Bayley presided. According to the report in 

 the London Times the lecturer said the average 

 annual imports of timber into the several parts 

 of the Empire during the years 1890-94 

 amounted to £19,135,000, while the exports 

 averaged £5,114,000, showing that the net 

 imports into the Empire reached the enormous 

 sum of £14,021,000, an increase of £2,298,000 

 in six years, or a mean annual increase of 

 £382,167. The United Kingdom was by far 

 the greatest importing country within the Em- 

 pire, having taken timber to the amount of 

 £17,595,000 out of the total of £19,135,000. 

 During 1894 the timber imported into Great 

 Britain and Ireland from British colonies and 

 dependencies was valued at £4,274,480, and 

 foreign countries at £14,149,055. By far the 

 larger portion of the timber imported into the 

 United Kingdom came from Russia, Sweden, 

 Norway, Germany, France and the United 

 States, Canada being the only British depend- 

 ency which at all equalled the export countries 

 on the Baltic. Canada was estimated to contain 

 1,248,798 square miles of woodlands, but enor- 

 mous tracts of that area did not contain any 

 useful timber, while the remainder was by no 

 means so well taken care of as it ought to be. 



Fires were frequent and disastrous, and the 

 quantity of timber thus lost to the colony was 

 calculated to be many times more than that 

 cut down and exported. Notwithstanding those 

 drawbacks, however, he believed that with 

 proper management and careful conservation 

 of the forests Canada might, at a moderate 

 relative expenditure, supply the whole world 

 for many years to come. He advocated the 

 creation of a forest department in Great Britain, 

 the careful conservation of existing and the 

 creation of new forests by planting vacant 

 lands, the establishment of schools of forestry, 

 and model plantations for the guidance oi 

 private owners, and government grants in aid 

 of those objects. 



Reutee's agent at Valparaiso, writing under 

 date February 27th, gives particulars of Mr. 

 Fitzgerald's expedition for the ascent of Acon- 

 cagua. The expedition of the Royal Geo- 

 graphical Society left Mendoza on December 

 7th last. There were, in addition to Mr. Fitz- 

 gerald himself, Mr. Vines, geologist; Mr. A. E. 

 Lightbody, an engineer who joined the expedi- 

 tion at Mendoza; Mr. Philip Gosse, a naturalist, 

 and Mr. Allan de Trafford, an engineer, with 

 Mattias Zurbriggen, chief guide; Joseph Pol- 

 linger, second guide ; Luis Pollinger and Loch- 

 mater, additional guides, and Zante Niccolo 

 and Fritz Loribel, attendants. In order to climb 

 Aconcagua they entered the valley of Horcones, 

 where, at a height of 12,500 ft., a camp was 

 pitched on January 7th. Another camp was es- 

 tablished at a height of 14,000 ft., from which 

 the actual ascent began. At the height of 18,- 

 000 ft. it was decided to plant on the side oi 

 Aconcagua the last camp. On January 15th Mr. 

 Fitzgerald, accompanied by the chief guide, 

 started for the summit, but at a height of 23,- 

 000 feet found himself unable to proceed. The 

 guide went on alone, however, and on the after- 

 noon of that day reached the highest summit of 

 the mountain. Almost a month later, on Feb- 

 ruary 13th, Mr. Vines also reached the top, 

 after a journey of nine hours. Mr. Vines 

 studied the geological structure of the moun- 

 tain. The hillside, he said, is porphyritic and 

 has a thick covering of argilaceous earth which 

 cannot sustain vegetation. The south side is 

 broken up into peaks. After the expedition 



