319 



education, to study the tropica] disorders of man and beast 

 peculiar to the Sudan, to study the poisons of this region, 

 the agricultural pests, sanitation, minerals and other things 

 relating to industrial development. The work on the blood 

 parasites of man and domestic animals is of the greatest 

 importance to all living in the tropics, and although we 

 here are fortunate in not being affected with sleeping- 

 sickness or Kala-Azar, still we have enough blood-parasites 

 for this work to be of the utmost importance not only to 

 doctors of man but of those of our agricultural stock. The 

 coloured figures of Trypanosomas are as fine as anything 

 that has been published. The article on the Sanitation of 

 Khartoum is worth reading by all Municipal Commissioners 

 in the Tropics, and the story of the conversion of Khartoum 

 from a filthy, stinking malarious spot into a decent clean 

 comparatively healthy town, is one of no small interest. 

 In this part of the work some experiments are detailed of 

 the use of Beryls wliginosa as a larvicide for mosquitoes. 

 This climber is an extremely common and rather pretty 

 plant with pale pink pea-flowers in our mangrove swamps, 

 and perhaps it might be used here. It is allied to the well- 

 known Tuba root, and was found to be very effective in 

 killing mosquito larvae, a decoction of the back being 

 used. The plant is however difficult to procure in Khar- 

 toum. It might be possible to make an extract of these 

 barks which could be used as a larvicide in parts of the 

 world where the plants themselves could not grow. 



The report on harmful insects closely allied or 

 identical with species common here is well illustrated by 

 fine colored drawings. There are chapters on ethnology 

 and anthropology with excellent photographs, and a good 

 deal of the results in chemical research on water, and vege- 

 table fats and oils. The work ends with a valuable account 

 of the Sudan Gums, and Gum trade. 



During the year the staff* sustained the loss of a valu- 

 able assistant in Dr. Mactier Pirrie who after making an 

 important expedition into the interior was taken ill with 

 Kala-azar and malaria to which he succumbed after his 

 return to Scotland. Much of his work appears in the re- 

 port. 



The bacteriological laboratory too was destroyed by 

 fire entailing a severe loss of specimens and records for the 

 past five years. Notwithstanding these losses the report is 

 of great value, and fully justifies the existence of the Re- 

 search Laboratories. 



Ed. 



