PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
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Chairman said that he would write to Mr. Carnegie privately on the subject of renewing the grant for studentships.
The Chairman informed the Committee that a letter had been received from the father of the late Mr. Gotch, thanking them for their resolution of sympathy on the death of his son.
2. The Half-yearly Report of the Director was received (copy annexed). Mr. Marshall explained various points arising out of the report. As regards the cessation of the Newfoundland grant to the Bureau, he said that the contention of the Government was correct; they had no entomologist, and therefore derived little or no direct benefit from the Bureau. A certain amount of work was done for The Chairman asked that the them by the Dominion entomologist at Ottawa. question of urging Newfoundland to renew its contribution should be looked into, and offered to write privately to the Premier if it was thought that such an appeal would be useful.
Mr. Marshall said that Dr. Lamborn, in Nyasaland, bad discovered no less than seven different parasites of Glossina morsitans, one if not two of which were likely to be of practical value. The parasitic fly had been found in very great numbers. He read a letter from Dr. Lamborn suggesting that the clearance methods that were being put into operation by the Protectorate Government were on wrong lines; they were cutting down trees in such a manner as to produce numerous excellent breeding places for the fly, whereas what was necessary was the destruction of undergrowth. Dr. Lamborn also expressed a desire to be allowed to volunteer for service with the forces.
Mr. Marshall expressed his regret that the shortage in the staff of the Bureau rendered it impossible to distribute as many collections of insects to other institu- tions as could be desired. As regards the Stegomyia survey, he said the collection received from the French Government was so small as to be useless; small collections generally were no good from the point of view of determining relative prevalence. Dr. Stanton's expedition would be largely paid for out of the reserve funds of the Bureau, which were more than sufficient for the
purpose. As to finance, he had little to add to the statement in his report. It might be possible to reduce the cost of the Bulletin by lowering the standard of the paper used.
The Chairman invited an expression of opinion from the Committee on the subject of Dr. Lamborn's desire to offer himself to the Army authorities. Professor Poulton inquired whether Dr. Lamborn was irreplaceable. Mr. Marshall replied that another man would have considerable difficulty in picking up the various threads of his work. Sir David Prain agreed, and said that if another young man were engaged he would be equally eligible for service with the forces, and an older The Chairman man would very likely be unfit for service in Tropical Africa.
thought that it would be a very wasteful proceeding for Dr. Lamborn to throw up his special work for this purpose. The Committee agreed that Mr. Marshall should write to him and say that their feeling was that it would be a mistake for him to leave the valuable work that he was doing in order to take up a temporary commis- sion in the Royal Army Medical Corps.
The Committee also recommended that the attention of the Government should be called to Dr. Lamborn's criticisms of the method of clearance that was being adopted.
Professor Newstead inquired whether Dr. Lamborn's report would be circu- lated. Mr. Marshall said it was being printed in the Bulletin of Entomological Research, and that it should have been available before the meeting.
3. The Committee received the report of the Selection Sub-Committee (copy annexed). The Chairman drew attention to the concluding lines, and Dr. Shipley said that he thought some sort of condition in regard to willingness to undertake work in the tropics should be attached to the studentships; but for the present there would be no new students, because there were no funds available.
4. Parts I. and II. of a report by Mr. W. F. Fiske, upon his investigations into the bionomics of, and the economic problems presented by, Glossina in Uganda, were received. Dr. Shipley said that Mr. Fiske had added immensely to our know- ledge of the subject at great risk to himself. He moved that the Committee should put on record their appreciation of the great value of the work that he had done so far. Dr. Bagshawe seconded, saying that Mr. Fiske had struck out new lines and
* Enclosure in Nos. 39 and 40,
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The Committee agreed. Professor approached the problem in a new way. Newstead asked whether it was intended that Mr. Fiske should prepare a descrip- tion of the characteristic vegetation affording shelter to Glossina. The Chairman suggested that that would very likely appear in Part IV. of his report. Dr. Harmer asked if these reports would be published. Mr. Marshall explained that they were in a different position from Dr. Lamborn's, being reports to the Royal Society, whereas Dr. Lainborn's were made to him as Director of the Bureau. for him to say how the Royal Society should publish Mr. Fiske's reports. Chairman said that, if there were any difficulty, it might be possible for the Colonial Office to present the reports to Parliament. Mr. Read said that the point would be considered.
5. Copies of correspondence* with reference to Dr. A. T. Stanton's Stegomyia survey in the Far East were received.
It was not
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6. A report by the Government Bacteriologist, Hong Kong, summarizing the results obtained in 1914 as regards the investigation of mosquitoes, was received.
Before the Committee adjourned the Chairman, on their behalf, congratulated Mr. Marshall on the honorary degree conferred upon him by the University of Oxford, observing that it was a very fitting recognition of a splendid work done.
Annexure 1 to No. 42.
REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF THE IMPERIAL BUREAU OF ENTOMOLOGY FOR THE HALF-YEAR ENDING 30TH SEPTEMBER,
1915.
It will be recalled that the period for which the Dominions and most of the Colonies agreed to contribute to the upkeep of this Bureau terminates on the 31st March, 1916, and at our last meeting the Committee was informed that the then Secretary of State for the Colonies had been good enough to issue a circular despatch to the Governments concerned suggesting that they should continue their contribu tions for another period of three years. Replies have now been received from all the Governments, and it is satisfactory to be able to report that, with two exceptions, they have agreed to the proposal. The exceptions are Tasmania and Newfoundland. The Government of the former Colony agreed to renew the grant for one year only, when they would reconsider the position. The Government of Newfoundland, however, urged that they derived no direct benefit from the Bureau, and therefore they could not continue their contribution. It is understood that representations have been made to them suggesting that they might reduce their contribution to a merely nominal sum, in order to maintain the representative character of the institution.
In accordance with a recommendation of this Committee, the Colonial Office wrote to the War Office early in May, drawing attention to the existence of this Bureau and stating that we could supply entomologists for fly work at the front if required. Dr. J. J. Simpson, who had by then recovered from his attack of undulant fever, was held back from returning to West Africa in case his services might be needed for this purpose. As no reply had been received from the War Office a month later, at the instance of Mr. Read I had a personal interview with Sir Alfred Keogh, when I suggested that we might be able to do some useful work in the Dardanelles or other places in the Mediterranean. While stating that the entomologists in Flanders had done good service, he seemed to think it unlikely that any further men would be required, and since then no communication on the subject has been received from the War Office. Early in September Captain E. E. Austen was recalled from Flanders and sent to the Dardanelles on fly work.
Enlistment of Members of the Staff.-In June last two of the junior members of our staff, Mr. L. B. Wyatt (Preparator) and Mr. C. J. Golledge (Library Assistant), enlisted as drivers in the Royal Field Artillery. Mr. C. A. Ealand, who has been doing the work of identifying insects since we lost Mr. Gotch, is likely to secure a commission in the Naval Air Service; but, failing this, he has been told that he will certainly be taken on as a petty officer at 7s. a day. In the case of all these men their posts are being kept open for them, and their military or naval pay will be made up to their current salary. Mr. L. Nell (Abstractor) has offered himself to the Honourable Artillery Company and to the Civil Service Battalion, but has heen rejected in both cases on the grounds of seriously defective sight.
* Nos. 5, 6, 31, and 97.
| No. 14.