nuisance to everybody. An elaborate toilet, at any rate, is not possible during the railway journey, but the railway companies' sleeping cars are provided with sufficient lavatory accommodation. Everything except the suit-case and hand baggage should be checked through to destination.

To any American, or indeed to anyone who has ever travelled on the North American continent, such advice may seem quite superfluous, but it is rare that one travels across the country or witnesses the departure of trains without noticing some Englishman struggling to convey huge piles of luggage into a railway car; he is usually prevented from so doing by the porter, but if he succeeds his belongings soon become a trouble to himself and a nuisance to his fellow-travellers.

In regard to clothing, for Winnipeg during the week of the visit travellers should be provided with the same sort of selection as would be desirable at a meeting in Great Britain. The days in the latter part of August are usually hot, and the nights pleasantly cool. Those undertaking the excursion to the Pacific coast should be provided with some warm clothing for the mountains.

Manitoba College. (For Sections E and F.)

Those intending to visit Winnipeg for the meeting have been provided with postcard forms to fill in, giving various particulars of use to the local committee. These may be obtained from the assistant secretary in London, and should, with any other communications with regard to the meeting, be addressed to the local secretaries, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg.

In connection with the meeting, arrangements have been made by Mr. M. B. Cotsworth, of the Natural History Society of British Columbia, Victoria, B.C., on behalf of some of the members of the Association, to make a trip northward along the Pacific coast from Victoria or Vancouver to Alaska. The journey to Prince Rupert, Skagway, and back occupies ten days, costs about 141., and may be made either before the meeting at Winnipeg or from September 10 to 19. An extension to Dawson (Klondike) and back brings the total time up to three weeks, and the cost to about 32l., while the round trip from Vancouver to Dawson, thence down the Yukon river to Nome and back by the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands, occupies about a month, and costs 40l. Climatic considerations, how

ever, make it desirable to carry out such extended trips before the meeting, and it is understood that some members have already, arranged to do this. The ex cursions are not among the official arrangements the Association, but further particulars may be ob tained from the London office, Burlington House, W. We are informed that Sir Joseph Thomson, in his presidential address to the Association, will touch on the following subjects:-The importance of ori ginal research as a means of education; the advan tages and disadvantages as a training for work in science of the systems of education now in force in our schools and universities; the light thrown by recen investigation on the nature of electricity; on the rela tion between matter and æther, and the part played by the æther in modern physics; and a discussion of some problems raised by the discovery of radium.

SECTIONAL PROGRAMMES.

SECTION A (MATHEMATICAL AND PHYSICAL SCIENCE) President, Prof. E. Rutherford, F.R.S.-The arrange ments for the meetings of this section are at present very provisional. After the address of the president of the section, the most important items in the provisional pre

gramme are two discussions, one o positive electricity, to be opened by Si J. J. Thomson, F.R.S., and the second on earth tides, to be opened by Prof. A. E. H. Love, F.R.S. The papers promised include the following:-photographs of recent comets, Prof. E. Barnard; new photographs of Jupiter taken at Flagstaff Observatory, Perciva Lowell; on sun-spots and magnetic effects, Dr. L. A. Bauer; the structure of the stellar system, G. C. Comstock. the asymptotic expansions of Legendre functions, Dr. J. W. Nicholson; on a continuant expressed as the product o linear factors, W. H. Metzler; lumirosity and persistence-of-vision curves. Prof. Frank Allen; variation of the specific heat of mercury at high temperatures, Prof. H. T. Barnes; the effect of temperature-variations on the luminous discharge in gases for low pressures, R. F. Earhart. This list includes only those papers for which definite titles have been received; many others are promised. Friday morning. August 27, will be set aside for papers of interest to chemists, and the section will meet in joint session with Section B (Chemistry).

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SECTION B (CHEMISTRY). President, Prof. H. E. ArmF.R.S.-The strong, provisional programme is follows:-Joint sitting with the Section of Botany and discuss "wheat" from Subsection of Agriculture to several points of view, including requirements of the wheat crop, influence of external conditions, review of the chemical work on strength, the miller's requirements, wheat breeding, the history of the wheat plant, and the economics of the subject. (See programme of the Subsection of Agriculture.) Joint sitting with the Physiology Section to discuss food. Combustion, Prof. W. A. Bone, F.R.S.; chlorophyll, Prof. Willstätter; papers dealing with the physical chemistry of sulphur, Prof. Alex. Smith; (1) rotatory dispersion, (2) the cadmium arc, Dr. T. M. Lowry; (1) mercurous sulphate for standard cells, (2) on the constancy of the hydrogen gas electrode, Dr. C. J. J. Fox. Reports of committees:(c) electroanalysis; (d) dynamic isomerism. (a) hydroaromatic substances; (b) aromatic nitroamines; This report will be presented in such form as to initiate discus

sion.

SECTION C (GEOLOGY). President, Dr. A. Smith Woodward, F.R.S.-Dr. Woodward's presidential address will be on the evolution of the vertebrates. There will be reports of research committees on:-the erratic blocks of

the British Isles, Dr. A. R. Dwerryhouse; the fauna and flora of the Trias of the British Isles, which will be supplemented by an account of the progress of this investigation, illustrated by lantern slides, H. C. Beasley; and the fossiliferous drift deposits of Kirmington, Lincolnshire, and the East Riding of Yorkshire. This is the final report of the Committee. The papers will include :-the composition and origin of the crystalline rocks of Anglesea, E. Greenly; the faunal succession in the Carboniferous Limestone of the British Isles, Dr. A. Vaughan, which will be supplemented by an account of the progress of these researches, illustrated by lantern slides, by Prof. Sidney H. Reynolds, of Bristol; critical sections in the Palæozoic rocks of Wales and the west of England, W. G. Fearnsides; the microscopical and chemical composition of Charnwood Rocks, Prof. T. T. Groom; the igneous and associated rocks of Glensaul and Lough Nafovey areas, co. Galway, Prof. S. H. Reynolds; geological photographs, with illustrations of British scenery in relation to geology, Prof. S. H. Reynolds; the Glacial Lake Agassiz, Prof. Warren Upham; the advances in the knowledge of the glacial geology of South Wales, Dr. Aubrey Strahan; unconformities in limestone and their contemporaneous pipes and swallow-holes, E. E. L. Dixon; on new faunal horizons in the Bristol coalfield, Herbert Bolton; on the Permian succession in the north of England, Dr. D. Woollacot; a mineralogical paper, A. Hutchinson. Prof. J. W. Gregory, F.R.S., and Dr. Tempest Anderson are now making extended tours in Australia and the South Seas, and it is expected that they will have valuable and interesting communications to make to the section. An extended tour for four days has been arranged to the mining districts of Corall and Sudbury, under the direction of Prof. W. G. Miller, and Dr. J. W. Spencer will lead a party to Niagara and the glacial outlet of Lake Erie.

SECTION E (GEOGRAPHY). President, Sir Duncan Johnston, K.C.M.G.-The following are among the papers to be brought before the section:-some characteristics of the Canadian Rockies, A. O. Wheeler; the evolution of wheat culture in North America, Prof. A. P. Brigham; water routes from Lake Superior to the west, Lawrence J. Burpee; Yellowhead Pass and Mt. Robson, the highest point in the Canadian Rockies, Prof. A. P. Coleman; the influence of traffic or transportation upon the framework of cities, with an introductory reference to the influence of geography in the same direction, G. E. Hooker; the cycle of Alpine glaciation, Prof. W. H. Hobbs; the teaching of geography in secondary schools in America, Prof. R. E. Dodge (to be read at a joint meeting with Section L); the formation of arroyos in the south-west of the United States, Prof. Dodge; the development of Nantasket Beach, near Boston, Mass., Prof. D. W. Johnson; floods in the great interior valley of America, Miss Luella A. Owen; the precious metals as a geographical factor in the settlement and development of towns in the United States, Prof. Hubbard. Mr. J. Stanley Gardiner, F.R.S., will give a lecture, illustrated by lantern slides, on his work in the Seychelles, and there will probably be papers also by Prof. Goode, Dr. C. H. Leete, and Prof. Hoke.

SECTION G (ENGINEERING). President, Sir W. H. White, K.C.B., F.R.S.-In addition to Sir W. H. White's presidential address, a report will be presented by the committee on gas explosions, and a paper on the some subject will be contributed by Mr. Dugald Clerk. Other papers are as follows:-Skimming boats, Sir John Thornycroft; the Isthmian Canal, Col. Goethals; the work of the International Electrotechnical Commission, Ormond Higman; torsion tests on materials, C. E. Larrard; dielectric stress in three-phase cables, Prof. W. M. Thornton. Papers on grain handling and transportation in Western Canada, on the navigation of the St. Lawrence, and on high-tension overhead lines are in preparation.

relation to heredity, Miss H. C. I. Fraser; the nucleus of the yeast plant, H. Wager, F.R.S., and Miss Peniston; some problems connected with the life-history of Trichodiscus elegans, Miss E. J. Welsford. Ecological papers: The fundamental causes of succession among plant associations, Prof. H. C. Cowles; some observations on Spiraea Ulmaria, Prof. Yapp. Other papers: A paper on the anatomy of the Osmundaceæ, Prof. Gwynne-Vaughan; (1) the evolution of the inflorescence, (2) the rubber industry, J. Parkin. The annual semi-popular lecture will be given by Mr. Harold Wager, F.R.S., on the perception of light in plants. In addition to the above, there will be a joint sitting with Section B and the Agricultural Subsection of K for a discussion on "wheat. Dr. O. Stapf, F.R.S., will contribute a paper towards this discussion, on the systematic history of wheat. Several other papers have been promised by prominent American botanists, but the titles are not yet to hand.

SUBSECTION K (AGRICULTURE). President, Major P. G. Craigie, C.B.-Joint meetings: (1) With the Economic Section, Thursday afternoon, August 26. The future possibilities of extending the food production of Canada, Prof. Mavor. (2) With the Chemical and Botanical Sections, Monday morning, August 30. Subject, wheat problems. Papers :-the miller's requirements; a review of recent chemical work on the strength of wheat, Dr. E. F. Armstrong; factors determining the yield of wheat, A. D. Hall, F.R.S., and Dr. E. J. Russell; milling properties of certain Canadian wheats, Prof. R. Harcourt; Canadian wheats, F. T. Shutt; wheat breeding in Canada, C. E. Saunders. Papers also by Dr. W. Saunders and by C. A. Zavitz. Ordinary meetings: Presidential address, Major Craigie; methods of crop reporting in different countries, E. W. Godfrey; the experimental farm system in Canada, Dr. W. Saunders; the fruit industry of British Columbia, R. W. Palmer. Prairie soil problems: Geography of the prairie soils, R. W. Brock; chemical characteristics of the prairie soils, F. T. Shutt; soil moisture and crop production, Prof. F. H. King; soil moisture as related to dry farming, Prof. F. J. Alway. Papers by A. D. Hall, F.R.S., and Dr. E. J. Russell. Live-stock problems: Paper by Prof. W. Somerville; the evolution of a breed of cattle, Prof. J. Wilson; some special features of the Danish system of cattle breeding, P. A. Morkeberg; paper by J. G. Rutherford. Forestry problems: Paper by Prof. W. Somerville; Canadian forest resources, R. H. Campbell; the insect pest problem, Prof. Lochhead; some forestry problems of the great plains of North America, C. E. Bessey.

SECTION L (EDUCATIONAL SCIENCE). President, Dr. H. B. Gray. After the president's address on August 26 a discussion on moral instruction in schools will be opened by Prof. L. P. Jacks, editor of the Hibbert Journal. He will be followed by Mr. Hugh Richardson, and it is hoped that American and Canadian educationists will also take part. On Friday, August 27, there will be a discussion on practical work in schools, which will be opened on behalf of the subcommittee of the association which is now considering the question by Mr. W. M. Heller. Dr. C. W. Kimmins will contribute some account of the London trades schools, Miss Lilian J. Clarke will speak on practical work in girls' secondary schools, and Mr. W. Hewitt on practical work in evening and continuation schools. On Monday, August 30, there will be a joint meeting with the Geographical Section of the associa- . tion for the discussion of geography teaching. Prof. R. E. Dodge, of Columbia, and Mr. G. G. Chisholm, of Edinburgh, are expected to open the discussion. There will also be a discussion on the relations of universities and secondary schools, with special reference to the accrediting and examining systems. On August 31 the president of the section will open a discussion on education as a preparation for agricultural life, with special reference to Canadian conditions. Should time permit, it is also intended to discuss the subject of consolidation schools. The organising committee of the section is in correspondence with educationists in Canada and America, and it is hoped to arrange that each subject shall be opened by representatives of American, Canadian, and British education.

tective measures rendered necessary by these raids have given rise to protests from European visitors ignorant of the true facts of the case.

Naturwissenschaftliche Wochenschrift for June 27 includes an illustrated article, by the Rev. E. Wasmann, on the origin of slavery and social parasitism among ants, in which it is urged that, before these can be properly understood, it is essential that we should acquire a knowledge of a series of independent developmental histories of different species, genera, and subfamilies, which commenced in past geological times. Only with such histories before us will it be possible to construct anything like a true working hypothesis of the origin of the phenomena in question.

To Mr. G. Gilson, director of the Royal Museum of Natural History of Belgium, we are indebted for a copy of an address read before a conference held in the apartments of the Royal Zoological and Malacological Society of Belgium on June 12, on the subject of the proposed establishment of an educational museum in Brussels. The address is chiefly concerned with the aims and objects of such a museum and the manner in which the scheme should be carried out. A teaching museum, it is urged, should be kept entirely apart from museums of the ordinary type, and run on totally different lines. As regards the selection and installation of the objects to be shown in the museum, it is pointed out that this task should be entrusted, in the first instance, to scientific experts, but that after this the collections should be handed over to the actual teaching staff.

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To the July number of the Century Magazine Mr. R. W. Yerkes contributes an article on "imitation in animals," a considerable portion of which is devoted to an account of the behaviour of three Manx kittens, which had never previously seen mice, when confronted with one of these rodents. When the first introduction was made the kittens were five months' old, and the mouse injured. Six weeks later the experiment was repeated, when the kittens were hungry, but still no attempt was made to devour the mouse. Later on the parent cat was introduced into the cage, when the mouse was killed by her, and, little by little, the kittens eventually learnt to follow their mother's example. The experiments, in the author's opinion, serve to show that these particular kittens had no instinctive propensity to kill and eat mice, and that they only learnt to do so by the force of example. Whether this holds good for kittens generally remains to be proved.

UNDER the title of Technitella thompsoni (after Prof. D'Arcy Thompson) Messrs. E. Heron Allen and A. Earland describe in the Journal of the Quekett Microscopical Club a new species of arenaceous foraminifera which constructs its enveloping test entirely out of regularly arranged calcareous plates of echinoderms. Of this foraminifer two specimens only have been found from dredgings in the North Sea. It possesses no oral aperture, the perforations in the echinoderm plates furnishing a sufficient outlet for the pseudopodia. Other species of the genus make their tests out of sponge spicules, but it is believed that the present species stands preeminent in its selective power of building material.

THE annual address to the Armstrong College Agricultural Students' Association, by Mr. A. Tindall, has been printed in the Proceedings of that body, and will be interesting to students of agricultural economics. It deals with the history and development of the Newcastle cattle

market, and includes a number of valuable statistics, such as prices of cattle, &c., as well as accounts of sale customs. In the same publication will be found a short article on milk production and milk products by Mr. John Anderson.

THE United States Department of Agriculture Bureau of Entomology has issued a circular (No. 42) on the control of the San José scale. This pest has, in the past, proved a serious menace to the fruit-growing industry, but experience both in California and in the eastern States shows that it can be controlled. Seven methods have proved successful when properly carried out, viz. :—(1) the lime-sulphur wash; (2) soap wash; (3) pure kerosene ; (4) crude petroleum; (5) mechanical mixtures of either of these two oils with water; (6) petroleum emulsion and soap; (7) miscible oils. Instructions are given for carrying out each of these methods.

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BULLETIN No. 166 of the Maine Agricultural Experiment Station contains a discussion, by Messrs. Raymond Pearl and Frank M. Surface, of the inheritance of fecundity in poultry. The daughters of 200-egg "hens (i.e. hens laying 200 or more eggs in twelve months) were kept under observation. It is, as yet, too soon to draw general conclusions, but no evidence was obtained to show that a good winter layer necessarily produces another good winter layer, as is said to be assumed by practical poultrybreeders. On the contrary, the exact opposite happened here the mothers, on the whole, were exceptionally good, and the daughters unusually poor, as winter layers.

RECENT bulletins from the Colorado Agricultural College include three on strawberry growing, dewberry growing, and the pruning of fruit trees, one on animal diseases, and one on bacterial diseases of plants. A disease of lucerne, first described by Paddock in 1906, and shown to be bacterial, is dealt with at some length. The bacteria seem to come from the soil and work up the stem, giving rise to a "watery, semi-transparent brownish appearance of the tissue, which turns black with age." Blisters are present, containing a sticky, yellow liquid swarming with bacteria. Other diseases dealt with are pear blight, soft rot of sugar beet, black rot of cabbage, bacterial blights of the potato family, of beans, and of cucumbers; specific organisms have in several of these cases been isolated.

THE endoparasites of Australian stock and native fauna form the subject of two papers by Dr. Georgina Sweet, of the Melbourne University. The work, which is still going on, aims at making a systematic and thorough inquiry into the nature of the internal parasites infesting Australian animals, both native and domesticated, and then into the life-history and conditions of increase and spread of these injurious forms. The work is both of scientific and practical importance; species exist in Australia that have not been recorded elsewhere, and it is desirable that their lifehistories should be worked out; methods of control are also necessary, since Australia is largely dependent on its livestock, and suffers great losses of revenue as a result of parasitic diseases. In part i. the author gives a census of forms recorded up to date, in which the work of Dr. N. A. Cobb in New South Wales and others has been drawn upon; part ii. contains the new and hitherto unrecorded species.

WE are in receipt of the Journal of Agriculture of South Australia, a publication which is devoted almost exclusively to practical matters of local interest. The statistics for 1907 are discussed in one of the articles. The area under crop was 2,265,017 acres, nearly one-fourth of the whole