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Analyses of Books. 6n 
We turn first to the “ Anniversary Address,” delivered by the 
Vice-President, Mr. C. Moore, F.L.S. The speaker referred to 
the dying off of various species of Eucalyptus in the Camden 
district. This affection occurs in belts, usually running north 
and south, the trees on either side remaining unaffected. 
Mr. Moore next referred to the very curious contention raised 
by a Mr. W. E. Abbott, of Glengarry, that the destruction of 
forests does not affect the rain-fall, or cause the drying-up of 
rivers by increased evaporation ! An assumption so flatly 
opposed not to “ theories,” but to positive observations made in 
almost every quarter of the globe, ought, we think, to have been 
advanced with much more reserve. If some unseen fallacy does 
not lurk in Mr. Abbott’s statements, it will follow that Australia 
differs from the rest of the globe in its climatic conditions no less 
than in its fauna. It will be, we think, highly unwise if the 
Colonial governments allow the destruction of the forests to pro- 
ceed — whether by “ring-barking ” or any other method — without 
very much more evidence than has yet been produced. 
Another remarkable feature in the Anniversary Address relates 
to insectivorous plants. Mr. Moore tells us he is “ in the un- 
happy position of being unable to acquiesce in the doctrine that 
the plants termed insectivorous, or those that are said to derive 
their nourishment (? a part of their nourishment) from animal 
matter, were intended by nature to depend on or benefit by any 
such means for their support.” He admits, of course, that 
certain plants catch insects, but denies the purposiveness of such 
capture. 
Baron Mueller’s catalogue of the plants of North-western 
Australia brings some interesting facts to light. Out of the 
400 species collected by Mr. A. Forrest and Mr. J. Forrest during 
their surveying expeditions, there is not a single orchid. Mr. R. 
D. Fitz-Gerald has produced a valuable monograph, beautifully 
illustrated, of the Australian orchids. Mr. Bailey, F.L.S., of 
Brisbane, is working up the lower orders of the Australian flora. 
A paper read before the Medical Section, by Dr. F. Norton 
Manning, is of grave importance. It is a very serious considera- 
tion that even in so young a community as Australia, free, as it 
might be thought, from many of the evils which affect over- 
crowded countries, the spread of insanity should excite the 
attention of far-seeing men, both within and without the profes- 
sion. Intemperance, Dr. Manning shows from his experience at 
the Gladesville Asylum, is responsible for about 8 per cent of the 
cases. He agrees with Dr. Grabham, Dr. Bucknill, and other 
English physicians, in maintaining that the effects of drunken- 
ness, in this direction, have been grossly exaggerated. He points 
out that even kerosene is used in the adulteration of alcoholic 
drinks. As remedial measures, he suggests a reduction in the 
number of taverns, the introduction of sound light wines — which 
in Australia might certainly become the common drink of all 
