( 326 ) 
[April, 
NOTES. 
Agriculture. 
From a paper by A. Johnen, in “ Biedermann’s Central-blatt ” 
for January, 1879, “ On Comparative Observations of Rainfall 
according to Fautrat’s Method,” we learn that the quantity of 
rain in a beech-wood is 13 per cent greater than in the open 
country. In a pine-wood the excess was only 2 per cent. 
From manure experiments on the Agricultural Trial-field of 
the University of Giessen, Prof. A. Thaer finds that the quantity 
of nitrogen given to a selected “ morgen ” of land in the form of 
manures during seven years amounted to 89*5 lbs. The crops 
reared during the same years contained together 198-69 lbs. of 
nitrogen. Consequently the soil had given 109-19 lbs. nitrogen 
more than it had received. Hence, while the manures furnished 
45 per cent of the nitrogen in the crops, the atmosphere had 
yielded 55 per cent. 
According to Dr. E. Wein, Prof. J. Nessler, Prof. A. Mayer, 
and Prof. R. Heinrichs, the composition of an English cattle 
food is — 
Wein. 
Nessler. 
Mayer. 
Moisture 
1372 
— 
12-9 
Albuminoids 
11 75 
13-21 
9*4 
Oily matter 
4-28 
4-24 
3-6 
Non-azotised extractive) 
67-24 
66-9 
Vegetable fibre ... ) 
— 
3-6 
Ash 
3’QI 
— 
3-6 
Wein and Mayer, from chemical and microscopical evidence, 
conclude that the food is composed of equal parts of bruised 
maize and locust-beans, and that the essential oil of a plant of 
the umbelliferous order has been added. Another English cattle 
food in the form of cake contained also a large proportion of 
locust-beans. 
Biology. 
Mr. H. W. Bates, in his Presidential Address to the Entomo- 
logical Society, refers to some unexpected fads in the geo- 
graphical distribution of insedts. Thus the insedt fauna of New 
Zealand is quite distindt from that of Australia, and its origin 
will therefore have to be accounted for by a totally distinCt set of 
causes. The Carabidse of Australia have often a near but very 
peculiar relationship to forms of the same family in the Palas- 
ardtic region. Next to that great region, indeed, Australia is 
the richest part of the world in species and genera of the 
