﻿United 
  Kingdom 
  during 
  the 
  War. 
  121 
  

  

  made 
  by 
  Messrs. 
  Davis 
  and 
  Daish 
  of 
  Rothamsted. 
  Much 
  

   progress 
  has 
  been 
  made 
  towards 
  accurate 
  determination 
  

   of 
  these 
  substances 
  when 
  several 
  are 
  present. 
  And 
  this 
  

   is 
  necessary 
  for 
  exact 
  knowledge 
  of 
  the 
  formation 
  of 
  

   these 
  food 
  substances 
  from 
  inorganic 
  material 
  by 
  the 
  

   green 
  leaf. 
  

  

  During 
  the 
  war 
  Dr. 
  Willis 
  has 
  advanced 
  his 
  theory 
  of 
  

   "Age 
  and 
  Area" 
  of 
  Species. 
  It 
  was 
  first 
  founded 
  on 
  

   the 
  facts 
  of 
  spread 
  of 
  the 
  species 
  in 
  the 
  flora 
  of 
  Ceylon 
  

   and 
  with 
  special 
  reference 
  to 
  those 
  which 
  are 
  endemic. 
  

   His 
  point 
  is 
  that 
  natural 
  selection 
  has 
  little 
  to 
  do 
  with 
  the 
  

   geographical 
  distribution 
  of 
  species, 
  and 
  that 
  the 
  area 
  

   occupied 
  at 
  any 
  given 
  time 
  in 
  any 
  country 
  depends 
  

   mainly 
  upon 
  the 
  age 
  of 
  the 
  species 
  in 
  that 
  country, 
  but 
  

   not 
  on 
  its 
  absolute 
  age. 
  This 
  thesis 
  has 
  been 
  found 
  

   applicable 
  also 
  to 
  other 
  areas, 
  and 
  Dr. 
  Willis 
  has 
  already 
  

   analyzed 
  the 
  New 
  Zealand 
  and 
  Hawaiian 
  floras 
  with 
  like 
  

   results. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  A. 
  E. 
  Carey 
  and 
  Prof. 
  Oliver 
  have 
  a 
  book 
  ready 
  

   for 
  publication 
  on 
  "Tidal 
  Lands" 
  which 
  will 
  collate 
  

   many 
  isolated 
  facts 
  relating 
  to 
  the 
  maintenance 
  of 
  coastal 
  

   and 
  riparian 
  frontages. 
  Besides 
  its 
  use 
  to 
  land 
  owners 
  

   and 
  public 
  bodies 
  it 
  will 
  also 
  serve 
  as 
  a 
  handbook 
  for 
  

   studies 
  in 
  intricate 
  questions 
  of 
  coastal 
  engineering, 
  and 
  

   of 
  applied 
  botany. 
  The 
  effect 
  of 
  such 
  studies 
  may 
  be 
  

   very 
  far-reaching. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  sphere 
  of 
  economics 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  most 
  important 
  

   innovations 
  is 
  the 
  cultivation 
  of 
  the 
  oil 
  palm 
  (Elaeis 
  

   guineensis 
  in 
  the 
  Seychelles. 
  Hitherto 
  the 
  natural 
  wild 
  

   produce 
  from 
  W. 
  Africa 
  has 
  been 
  used. 
  Systematic 
  

   cultivation 
  of 
  it 
  in 
  suitable 
  soil 
  in 
  the 
  Seychelles 
  has 
  

   already 
  given 
  good 
  results, 
  and 
  great 
  hopes 
  are 
  enter- 
  

   tained 
  of 
  the 
  establishment 
  of 
  this 
  as 
  a 
  new 
  and 
  paying 
  

   tropical 
  crop. 
  In 
  British 
  East 
  Africa 
  the 
  cultivation 
  of 
  

   flax 
  had 
  been 
  introduced 
  with 
  promising 
  results. 
  Not 
  

   only 
  is 
  an 
  increased 
  fiber-production 
  foreshadowed, 
  but 
  

   also 
  increase 
  in 
  oil-supply, 
  with 
  the 
  various 
  secondary 
  

   results 
  of 
  oil-cake 
  and 
  soap. 
  

  

  Though 
  their 
  staffs 
  have 
  been 
  depleted, 
  the 
  great 
  sys- 
  

   tematic 
  centers 
  of 
  Kew, 
  South 
  Kensington 
  and 
  Edin- 
  

   burgh 
  have 
  kept 
  their 
  routine 
  work 
  alive, 
  and 
  given 
  much 
  

   advice 
  and 
  assistance 
  to 
  Government. 
  Advance 
  has 
  been 
  

   made 
  in 
  the 
  revision 
  of 
  the 
  flora 
  of 
  Jamaica, 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  

   flora 
  of 
  tropical 
  Africa; 
  while 
  the 
  collections 
  of 
  Miss 
  

  

  