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On the proposal of the Chairman, the Committee congratulated Dr. Marshall on the success which had attended his tour, and expressed their thanks to Dr. Neave for the manner in which he had carried on the work of the Bureau during Dr. Marshall's absence.
(ii) In reply to a question by Sir Edward Lucas, Dr. Marshall described briefly the measures being taken in Australia to combat the spread of the prickly pear. He added, however, that the Bureau was not in a position to give practical assist- ance in this matter, as the parasites required had to come from Central America, and the necessary work must be carried out in Central America.
(iii) The Director then referred to the financial position of the Bureau, and pointed out that the balance of the Bureau Fund as at the 30th of September was £4,852. While this was satisfactory, it was necessary to draw attention to the fact that the balance was to a large extent due to the two posts of Senior Assistant on the staff of the Bureau not having been filled. It was pointed out that in para- graph 3 (a) of the minutes of the Thirty-eighth Meeting the appointment of a Senior Assistant had been left for the present meeting. Dr. Marshall said that he had had the matter under consideration, but did not wish yet to make any recom- mendation.
It was agreed that the question of filling the appointments of Senior Assistant should be placed on the Agenda for the next meeting, if circumstances then appeared" to render it desirable to take any action.
The Secretary informed the Committee that correspondence was now proceed- ing with the Government of India and the Government of Southern Rhodesia relative to their contributions.
(iv) The Director referred to the case of Mr. A. M. Altson, who was employed at the Rothamsted Experimental Station on work for the Bureau. The position was anomalous, since although the funds for his salary at the rate of £26 per mensem were found by the Bureau, he was not a member of the staff of the Bureau.
After discussion, the Committee approved a proposal put forward by Sir Arthur Shipley, and seconded by Professor Poulton, that Mr. Altson should be definitely appointed to the staff of the Bureau and that the Finance Committee should fix his salary. It was understood that Mr. Altson would continue his special parasite work at Rothamsted.
6. The Chairman referred to the question raised in paragraph 8 of the minutes of the last meeting, as to the advisability of making some monetary grant to the Zoological Society towards the upkeep of the Zoological Record.
It was agreed that if possible the Bureau should assist the Society in some way, but Sir Herbert Read urged that it would be open to objection if the Bureau made a monetary contribution to the Society from funds voted by the Dominion and other Oversea Governments for the purposes of the Bureau. The Director mentioned a proposal which had been made, and which would, he believed, be acceptable to the Society, that the Bureau should take over the distribution and sale of the Insecta portion of the Record, the copies being received from the Society at cost price. In return the contribution of £100 per annum hitherto made by the Zoological Society to the Bureau for the work involved in the compilation of the Insecta portion of the Record would be relinquished. The effect of this would be that the Society's funds would benefit to the extent of £100 a year, while the profit on the sales of the Insecta portion would be received by the Bureau as a set-off against the loss of the £100.
Dr. Neave pointed out that a further advantage of this scheme would be that the Bureau would have greater control over the form of the Insecta portion of the Record.
After some discussion it was agreed that although the present arrangements must stand as regards the preparation of the volumes for the years 1922 and 1923, the volume for 1924 should be taken over by the Bureau in the manner suggested, no contribution being asked for from the Society for that year. It was stipulated, however, that the Bureau should not be bound to this arrangement in the following or any subsequent year, if experience showed that it was not satisfactory.
basis.
The Director was accordingly instructed to negotiate with the Society on this
7. Sir Sidney Harmer mentioned during the discussion that he had been authorized by the Zoological Committee to form a small consultative Committee to watch over the interests of the Zoological Record. and that he would welcome the representation of the Bureau on that Committee. He suggested that Dr. Marshall
173
should represent the Bureau, and Sir Arthur Shipley having seconded this proposal, it was approved by the Committee.
8. The Secretary said that an invitation had been received for a representative of the Bureau to attend the Agricultural Conference to be held in Jamaica in January, 1924. It was agreed that Dr. Neave should attend the Conference, and that the cost of his passages and the usual allowances should be paid from the funds of the Bureau; and further, that he should be indemnified against any expenses reasonably incurred in excess of these amounts.
Sir Arthur Shipley observed that it would be useful if Dr. Neave could attend the laying of the foundation stone of the West Indian Agricultural College, Trinidad, which was to take place early in January, and at which it was expected that a large gathering would be present. It was agreed that if the necessary arrangements could be made there would be no objection to Dr. Neave visiting Trinidad in addition to Jamaica, and the Committee directed that inquiries should be made accordingly.
9. Mr. Fryer mentioned that he had attended an International Conference on Phytopathology and Economic Entomology which had been called by the Nether- lands Government in June, 1923, and at which practically all the European countries were represented. At the Conference a Committee had been set up for the
purpose
of calling further similar Conferences and for dealing with the various resolutions which had been adopted. Two seats on this Committee had been allotted to the British Empire, and he had been asked to accept one seat and to nominate a second representative He had demurred to this, as the Empire as a whole was concerned, and he had arranged to consult the Bureaux of Entomology and Mycology; mean- while, the question of the British representatives was in abeyance.
It was not clear at the moment what relation this Conference bore to the Inter- national Phytopathological Conferences held in Rome. it might assume some political significance, as it had already passed a resolution It appeared, however, that concerning the international trade in plants. Further the number of representa- tives for the British Empire was a matter requiring careful consideration; it was believed that the number suggested was regarded as inadequate by the Canadian delegates. The Secretary said that it had been understood that the Ministry of Agriculture was inquiring whether the International Institute in Rome was con- sidering the holding of a further Conference in that City, but Mr. Fryer was not able to furnish any definite information on this point.
It was also pointed out that it would be necessary for the Secretary of State for the Colonies to consult the Governments of the Dominions before members could be nominated to serve on the Committee as representatives of the British Empire.
It was decided that pending the receipt of the official report of the Conference 'held in Holland, no steps could be taken in the matter.
The Committee therefore made no recommendation, but recorded their view that if it should be decided to nominate British representatives. the Director of 'the Bureau might suitably be appointed as one of those representatives.
53520
Annexure to No. 57.
REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF THE IMPERIAL BUREAU OF ENTOMOLOGY FOR THE HALF- YEAR ENDED 30TH SEPTEMBER, 1923.
It is a
DURING the greater part of the last half-year, I was absent from this country on a visit to Canada, New Zealand and Australia, and a good deal of extra work thus necessarily fell on some of the other senior members of the staff. pleasure to be able to record that the affairs of the Bureau have, nevertheless, been carried on most satisfactorily and the routine work has been kept well up to date; Mr. Bryant having taken charge of all the correspondence in connexion with the identification of insects, while the remaining business was dealt with by Dr. Neave. The only matter that appears to have suffered at all is the compilation of the ten- year indices to the Review, to which Dr. Neave has been unable to give so much attention in my absence; and the insects of the group on which I specialize have inevitably accumulated considerably.
J
Collections of Insects.-The work in connexion with the identification of insects has heen fully maintained: in the following details the figures for the corresponding six months of last year are given in brackets for comparison. In all, 164 (169)