February 27, 1885.] 



SCIENCE 



175 



the department employing unqualified men in this 

 work? 



An examination was made to ascertain whether 

 the hay used in Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois, con- 

 tained ergot, and it was found that several grasses 

 were badly infected with it; and a plate is given show- 

 ing infected spikes of wild rye, timothy, red-top, and 

 blue grass. It is stated that the proportion of ergot 

 in some spikes of wild rye was ten or twelve per cent 

 of the weight. A chapter is devoted to the nature, 

 chemical composition, and action of ergot. In this 

 chapter is an account of the ergot fungus (Claviceps 

 purpurea), taken from botanical sources, and a plate 

 is given showing the microscopical characters of the 

 fungus. By some oversight, this plate, which is cop- 

 ied from Tulasne, is said to have been drawn from 

 nature by Marx. 



The ten pages devoted to ' investigations of swine- 

 plague ' are largely made up of a review of the work of 

 Klein and Pasteur upon the same subject, with an 

 insistence upon Dr. Salmon's claim to priority in the 

 discovery of the organism said to be the cause of the 

 disease. A few additional experiments are given 

 tending to show that the specific cause lies in the 

 action of a micrococcus arranged in pairs; and the 

 statement is made that ' a large number of similar 

 observations have been made,' hut they are not de- 

 tailed. 



The main objection to be made to the experiments 

 is to the use of fluid-o.u\tx\re, media, which may he 

 depended upon to give results, to be sure, hut not 

 always _such as are satisfactory. Solid nutritive 

 materials are by far the easiest in which to detect 

 impurities; and by their use the study of the life-his- 

 tory of any particular bacterium may be carried out 

 with much greater precision. We are aware that Dr. 

 Salmon objects to the use of solid media, but, so far 

 as we have seen, he has not stated the grounds of his 

 objections. 



It is impossible to criticise fairly a summary of 

 results without complete knowledge of the experi- 

 ments by which they were reached. It is stated 

 that " the first annual report of the Bureau of ani- 

 mal industry, which will contain a detailed state- 

 ment of the investigations made, . . . will he sub- 

 mitted ... at the close of the year." We await its 

 publication with interest, in the hope of obtaining 

 that detailed statement free from criticism upon 

 others. A direct and simple statement of work done 

 and observations actually made is the method of real 

 progress in the study of the bacteria. One's critics 

 may be trusted to discover the merits or faults that 

 may exist in comparison with the works of others. 



A good translation by Mr. Theobald Smith, of 

 Megnin's recent article on the gape-disease in fowls, 

 and its accompanying parasite, which follows, will be 

 of very general interest, and can be read with great 

 profit by those interested in the general subject in all 

 portions of the country. 



A long report of the doings of an international 

 veterinary congress, held at Brussels during Sep- 

 tember, 1883, by Prof. J. Law, seems rather out of 

 place in the volume, because, of all the subjects con- 



sidered, only one, ' The organization of a veterinary 

 service,' could properly be brought to the notice of 

 the commissioner of agriculture. It is interesting 

 and instructive as showing how far ahead of us the 

 nations of Europe are, in giving attention to the pro- 

 tection of their animals from disease, and what great 

 resources they have in their state veterinary schools, 

 from which to draw proper material for their state 

 veterinary service. 



Mr. J. H. Saunders's report of his trip to Europe is 

 chiefly valuable and interesting in connection with 

 information which he was able to gather in France 

 regarding the Percheron horse; and his remarks 

 should be read by those who contemplate making 

 importations of these animals, or of any other breed 

 of French horses. Mr. Saunders went to London, 

 and travelled over the same ground in the veterinary 

 privy-council office that had been gone over by agents 

 of the agricultural department before, and with the 

 same results; viz., our beef animals would be admit- 

 ted free from the ' slaughtering restrictions ' when 

 we could show a clean bill of health, and not before. 

 Also ' foot and mouth disease,' as landed in our cat- 

 tle there, was contracted on board ship during the 

 voyage, the ship having received the infection from 

 British cattle. 



Dr. H. J. Detmers gives a very unsatisfactory re- 

 port of investigations made by him in Texas, of 

 southern cattle-fever. One of his assertions, not in 

 the least proven, however, is, well — new, to say the 

 least; viz., that the virus of this disease is in the 

 saliva of the southern animal. Such assertions, un- 

 less made for good and well-shown reasons, are to 

 be deplored as tending rather to hide, than make 

 clear, the very points for the elucidation of which 

 the whole work was ordered done. 



A very able paper upon trichiniasis, by Dr. Sal- 

 mon, is reprinted from the report of a special com- 

 mission upon the swine industry of the United States, 

 and added to the volume, which closes with the usual 

 reports from the unprofessional correspondents of 

 the department concerning the general health of all 

 kinds of farm animals throughout the country. 



THE COAL QUESTION IN ENGLAND. 



The very serious problem of coal-supply has re- 

 ceived a thorough review in a recent number of 

 Nature. In 1861 the question was considered by Mr. 

 Hull, who estimated that the available coal in Great 

 Britain represented a total amount of 79,S43,OOO,O0O 

 tons, which, consumed at the annual rate of 100,000,- 

 000 tons, would last about eight centuries. This es- 

 timate was later proved to be too high ; and in 1871 

 a commission, appointed to investigate the question, 

 reported that in England there were about 90,207,000,- 

 000 tons of coal developed, and about 56,273,000,000 

 yet unopened, making a total of 146,4SO,000,000 tons 

 of available coal. Subsequent investigation proved 

 this to be somewhat exaggerated. In these estimates 

 thin seams less than a foot thick are not included, 



