Miscellaneous. 



260 



[September, 1909. 



appear to be a matter of but little con- 

 cern. It has been pointed out that the 

 agricultural product of one country is 

 the raw material of industry elsewhere, 

 and that consequently the prompt col- 

 lection of complete information as to 

 agricultural prospects and production 

 is of great value not only to agricul- 

 turists but to many other important 

 classes of the community. It is essential, 

 however, that such information should 

 be published in such a way and with 

 sufficient rapidity as to enable business 

 men— whether producers or consumers — 

 to make full practical use of it. 



"The bibliographical work to be done 

 by the Institute should also be of great 

 service to those who are engaged in 

 scientific and technical investigations 

 bearing upon agriculture. A periodical 

 bulletin giving information as to the 

 work of this character which is carried 

 on in various countries of the world 

 would often economise time and labour 

 and enable more satisfactory results to 

 be obtained. 



" It is easy to foresee the demands 

 made upon the Institution, for informa- 

 tion and assistance will steadily increase, 

 but its ability to respond to those 

 demands will largely depend upon the 

 extent to which it can command the 

 services of practical and experienced 

 men possessing both energy and ability 

 as members of the Permanent Committee 

 and as membors of the staff. As regards 

 the Permanent Committee which will 

 practically control and direct the opera- 

 tions of the Institute, it is to be noted 

 that several of the adhering States, 

 including the United States, France, 

 Germany, Austria, Hungary, Belgium, 

 Norway, and Spain have already ap- 

 pointed representatives who will be per- 

 manently resident in Rome, whilst 

 others, principally the smaller States, 

 will be represented either by the chiefs 

 or other members of their respective 

 Diplomatic Missions, It is certain that 

 in the conduct of the affairs of the Insti- 

 tute the influence of men possessing 

 special technical qualifications taking 

 part continuously in the direction of 

 the work of the Institution will be very 

 considerable. It was decided that meet- 

 ings of the Permanent Committee should 

 be held at least once a month, and that 

 for the control of the work of each of 

 the three sections into which it is pro- 

 posed that the staff of the Institute 

 should be divided, a separate sub-com- 

 mittee should be constituted. If, there- 

 fore, the United Kingdom is to take any 

 effective part in the work, some defini- 

 tive arrangement must be made for our 

 representation on the Committee by a 



competent expert on the questions to 

 be dealt with by the Institute, willing 

 and able to take up his residence in 

 Rome, so as to enable him to attend and 

 take part in the meetings of the Per- 

 manent Committee and of the various 

 sub-committees appointed in connection 

 with the various branches of the work. 

 The arrangements to be made for this 

 purpose will require to be very carefully 

 considered." 



Among the appendices to the report 

 are the Statutes of the Institute, which 

 comprise the Convention of the 7th June, 

 1905, and the Regulations of the Insti- 

 tute ; the latter define the procedure of 

 the General Assembly, and deal with 

 the administration of the Institute, the 

 constitution of the Permanent Com- 

 mittee, the appointment of Committees 

 and of the Staff. 



THE EFFECT OF FORESTS ON 

 RAINFALL. 



(From the Indian Forester. Vol. XXXV., 

 Nos. 6 & 7, June and July, 1909). 



SIR,— In the December number of the 

 Indian Forester, you published a com- 

 munication from me in which an endea- 

 vour was made to show that, far from 

 the evaporation from a forest area being 

 600 times as large as from an equal area 

 of water, as had been asserted in a 

 publication to which you drew attention 

 in the October number, such evaporation 

 was indeed considerably less. In an 

 editorial note to my communication, 

 you stated that you thought I had 

 over-estimated the amount of the 

 evaporation from a water surface ; how- 

 over, a reference to the source quoted 

 and other authorities shows that such 

 was not the case ; a low estimate was 

 puposely chosen. 



In the April number you published 

 a communication from Mr. A. W. 

 Lushington, Conservator of Forest?, in 

 which the writer gives reasons for his 

 inability to accept any results. He 

 stages : " Does Mr. Bachelor mean to say 

 that the huge underground stores of 

 water which are found in wells and 

 springs come from this 42 inches ? There 

 is an enormous underground perennial 

 supply which the annual rainfall supple- 

 ments but only to fractional extent; 

 and as the roots of trees penetrate deep 

 into the soil they come across this 

 perennial supply as well as the annual 

 supply near the surface, and can pump 

 up many times more than the 42 inches 

 referred to by the agency of the evapora- 



