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SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XX. No. 499. 



birds, whieli are becoming rare from tLe ex- 

 term.ination with whicli they are threatened. 

 It is proposed to exempt certain birds from 

 the schedule to the act of 1880 as being re- 

 quired for the support of the inhabitants of 

 the island." Protection is given by the bill 

 to the fork-tailed petrel, in addition to the 

 St. Kilda wren, and the birds to be exempted 

 from the schedule of the act of 1880, so far 

 as regards the island of St. Kilda, are the 

 fulmar, gannet, guillemot, puffin and razorbill. 



In the Hawaiian Islands it is now recog- 

 nized that forest preservation is a matter of 

 great and immediate importance to the lead- 

 ing economic interests of the territory. The 

 chief agricultural interest of the islands is 

 sugar growing. In 1903 the exported sugar 

 was valued at $25,310,684, or 96 per cent, of 

 the total exports. The supply of water on 

 which successful cane cultivation depends 

 comes to a large extent from the forested 

 higher slopes of the mountains, above the 

 plantations. But the situation is complicated 

 by the fact that cattle raising, which in eco- 

 nomic importance stands second only to the 

 sugar industry, depends largely on the use of 

 the forest for range, and overgrazing has been 

 the principal cause of injury to the water- 

 holding power of the wooded area. As a pre- 

 liminary to the formulation of a policy in the 

 interest of the islands as a whole, the territory 

 a year ago asked for an examination of the 

 whole question on the ground by an agent of 

 the United States Department of Agriculture. 

 The report of Mr. William L. Hall, of the 

 Bureau of Forestry, who made the examina- 

 tion, is now being printed as Bulletin No. 48, 

 ' The Forests of Hawaii.' Both from a scien- 

 tific and practical standpoint it gives much 

 information concerning these Hawaiian for- 

 ests and their uses. The conflict of interests 

 between the cattlemen and the sugar planters 

 is evident, but need not seriously menace re- 

 habilitation of the forests. The cattle-men in 

 many instances desire the forests for pastur- 

 age. The planters rightly contend for the in- 

 tact forest with perfect floor cover to secure 

 the greatest possible storage of water for the 

 supply of growing crops. But the clashing of 



interests is happily reduced by other condi- 

 tions, chief of which is that sugar growing is 

 the great sustaining industry and the domi- 

 nant source of income. An additional potent 

 fact is that many cattle raisers are also sugar 

 growers, and their double interests compel 

 them to take the broadest view of the needs 

 of the islands as a whole. The Bureau of 

 Forestry has supplied the islands with a for- 

 ester, and is actively cooperating with the 

 territorial authorities in all matters of policy. 



The Interstate Commerce Commission re- 

 ports that the total number of casualties to 

 persons on the railways of the United States 

 for the year ending June 30, 1903, was 86,393, 

 of which 9,S40 represented the number of per- 

 sons killed and 76,553 the numbered injured. 

 Casualties occurred among three general 

 classes of railway employees, as follows : Train- 

 men, 2,070 killed and 25,676 injured, switch 

 tenders, crossing tenders, and watchmen, 283 

 killed, 2,352 injured; other employees, 1,253 

 killed, 32,453 injured. The casualties to em- 

 ployees coupling and uncoupling ears were, 

 employees killed, 281 ; injured, 3,551. For the 

 year 1902 the corresponding figures were, 

 killed, 167; injured, 2,864. The casualties 

 connected with coupling and uncoupling cars 

 are assigned as follows : Trainmen killed, 211 ; 

 injured, 3,023 ; switch tenders, crossing tenders 

 and watchmen killed, 57; injured, 416; other 

 employees killed, 13 ; injured, 112. The casu- 

 alties due to falling from trains, locomotives 

 or cars in motion were : Trainmen killed, 440 ; 

 injured, 4,191 ; switch tenders, crossing tenders 

 and watchmen killed, 39; injured, 461; other 

 employees killed, 72; injured, 536. The casu- 

 alties due to jumping on or off trains, loco- 

 motives or cars in motion were: Trainmen 

 killed, 101; injured, 3,133; switch tenders, 

 crossing tenders and watchmen killed, 15 ; in- 

 jured, 279 ; other employees killed, 82 ; injured, 

 508. The casualties to the same three classes 

 of employees in consequence of collisions and 

 derailments were : Trainmen killed, 648 ; in- 

 jured, 4,526, switch tenders, crossing tenders 

 and watchmen killed, 17; injured, 137; other 

 employees killed, 128 ; injured, 743. The num- 

 ber of passengers killed in the course of the 



