Nov. L 1901.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
315 
MAJOR KOSS ON THE PROGRESS MADE. 
Major Boss, in thanking his Excellency for his 
stieech, said that he had been on the point of be- 
lieving that his countrymen were becoming an 
nnscientific and unpractical people. More than two 
years ago the fact that malarial infection is com- 
municated by mosquitoes had been established by the 
most stringent scientific and experimental proof; and 
yet to his knowledge practically nothing had been done 
by his countrymen to act on this new information, 
in spite of its economic importance. He had therefore 
accepted with alacrity the offer of a large sum of money 
and other facilities from a generous philanthropist 
and from Mr. A L Jones, Mr. .John Holt, and 
others in England to pay the expenses of practical 
work against malaria in Sierra Leone. This work had 
been commenced with every promise of success by his 
friend. Dr. Logan Taylor, and he had therefore felt 
himself free to proceed to Lfigos to watch the work 
be'ng done there. He was delighted to find that his 
pessimistic attitude was not justifiable as regards 
Lagos. He strongly eulogized everything that was 
being done against malaria by Sir W illiam MacGregor, 
himself a distinguished member of the medical pro- 
fession, by his most able friend, Dr. Henry Strachan, 
and by the enlightened medical profession and 
the Ladies' League in Lagos. He had witnessed 
the rapid and successful filling up of marshes by sand 
from the lagoons, and the rational utilization of gaol 
prisoners for this useful work. He had inspected 
numerous houses rendered mosquito-proof by tine 
wire-netting, which, while it did not excluae the 
breeze, as he expected it would, did exclude insects 
and damp, much to the comfort of the inmates. He 
highly commended the efforts of the Government to 
induce their officials and others to take quinine — 
a prophylactic which was much neglected in conse- 
quence of ignorance and faddism. He expressed him- 
self as much delighted with the popular sanitary 
lectures of Drs. Strachan, Best and Rice — a most use- 
ful and striking innovation in Africa, or indeed any- 
where, Above all he was delighted with the admirable 
measures — prompted by the highest scientific know- 
ledge—taken 
TO PRESERVE THE IMPORTANT LINE OF RAILWAY 
FROM THE DEADLY FEVER OF THE FOREST 
TRACT 
through which it passed; and with the Ladies" League, 
to which he offered, throush the president iMrs Sapara 
Williams, fin annual prize on behalf of the Liverpool 
School of Tropical Medicine. The speaker said that 
he had come prepared to teach, but had remained to 
learn ; and concluded by exhorting all present to 
support Sir William MacGregor in the splendid work 
which he was undertaking not only for the benefit 
of Lagos, but as an example to the rest of the 
Empire. • 
The proceedings terminated with speeches by 
Bishop Tngwell and Bishop Oluwole. 
Before the departure of Major Ross for Accra, Mr 
C Tambaci and other leading merchants promised to 
place an annual subscription of £U0 in the hands of 
the Governor to pay for a "Mosquito Brigade" for 
Lagos.— London Times, Sept. 2. 
MAJOK ROSS'S KEIURN FROM WEST 
AFRICA. 
Major Ronald Ross, Royal Army Medical Corps, 
landed yesterday at Plymouth on his return from 
West Africa and proceeded to Liverpool by train. 
Before leaving Plymouth he gave a Press represent- 
ative on account of the work which is being done 
in Freetown and Lagos under his direction as leader 
of the expedition sent out by the Liverpool School 
of Tropical Medicine, of which au aceounlj Was given 
in The Tim(s Of yesterday, 
Major Ross said it was too early to speak of the 
gangs employed in sanitary work at Freetown, but 
the number of mosquitoes in the centre of the town 
had certainly been largely reduced. There were hardly 
any to be found in Dr. Logan Taylor's house, where 
formerly they used to swarm, and the same state of 
affairs prevailed at Government House, where Major 
Ross stayed with the Governor. Dr. McKendrick, 
of the Indian Medical Service, who had been deputed 
to watch over the operations of the expedition on 
behalf of the Government of India, was not bitten 
once during a whole month. In former days he would 
certainly have been bitten at least five or six times 
a day. Major Ross said he had no doubt that the 
expeditions would be successful and that they would 
be continued as long as necessary. At Lagos the 
measures adopted by Sir William Macgregor, were 
admirable and he was confident of success. The 
Governor of Accra, Major Nathan, was anxious to 
start similar work there at once, and doubtless experts 
would be sent out immediately by the Liverpool 
School of Tropical Medicine. On the whole. Major 
Boss expressed himself as being well satisfied with his 
tour. Personally he did not think the health of the 
Coast was as bad as was painted. He believed that 
by minute attention to details the place would be 
made as healthy as India for Europeans. Old West 
Africans were sober and careful and generally live 
in very good health. It was the improvident new- 
comer who generally seemed to suffer. He had been 
informed that there was a high rate of mortality 
amongst such on the Oape Coast. — London Times, 
Sept. 3. 
QUININE. 
The followin£>; table will be of interest, showlof* 
as it does the highest and lowest prices quoted for 
quinine by manufacturers during tiie past ten 
years. J'lius far this year the lowest price quoted 
by manufacturers in this market has been twenty- 
seven cents, and tlie highest thirty-six cents; — 
Year. 
High. 
Low. 
Year. 
High, Low 
1891 . 
.. 30 
24 
1896 . 
.. 27 17^ 
1892 . 
.. 24 
20 
1897 . 
.. 28 15 
1893 . 
.. 25 
20 
1898 . 
.. 25 18 
1894 . 
.,. 27i 
25 
1899 . 
.. 40 21 
1900 . 
.. 37 29 
— New York Drug Reporter. 
PLANTING NOTES. 
Seedling Apples for GRAFrmc.— It is claimed 
that fully 90 per cent, of the Apple tree seed- 
lings u.«ed in' the United States for sratting 
purposes are grown near Topeka, Kans. Shawnee 
County, Kans, is said to now have at least 600 
or 700 acres devoted to the growing of these 
SQedlinga,— Journal of Horticulture. 
WOOD Ashes as a fertiliser are specially valu- 
able used in conjunction with stable manure. 
They contain the elements of potash and phosphoric 
acid in proportions of about 5 and 2 per cent-, the 
potash sometimes running to 7 per cent. The 
Canada wood ashes made from hard woods are the 
nc\\e&t.— Journal of Horticulture, Aug. 29. 
"Tropical Timbers and Their Rings of 
Growth " is the title of a paper contributed 
by Mr, Herbert Wright, A. k. c. s , of the 
Peradeniya Staff, to " Indian Gardening and 
Planting." It is of considerable and perma- 
nent interest, and we are reproducing it iq 
the Iropical Agriculturist, 
