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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

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C.O._885

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Mr. Marshall stated that, apart from the action which had been taken by the Colonial Office and by the Foreign Office in communicating with the Eastern Colonies. Papua, &c., and the French, German, Dutch, Japanese and American Governments on the subject, the Hong Kong authorities had already taken in hand a Stegomyia survey in that Colony, and that Dr. A. T. Stanton, of the Federated Malay States Government service had promised to further the enquiries of the Bureau at a forth- coming conference at Saigon. Mr. J. C. Moulton, of the Sarawak Museum, had also been approached for assistance with regard to Borneo, and Mr. P. D. Montague, of Cambridge, had kindly consented to collect mosquitoes for the Bureau in New Caledonia and any ports visited en route.

9. The Committee received copies of a report on special investigations carried out in the Bacteriological Institute and the Public Mortuary, Hong Kong, January to June, 1913.

10. Mr. Marshall took the opportunity of bringing to the notice of the Com- mittee recent correspondence between himself and Dr. L. O. Howard, of the Wash- ington Bureau, relating to the supervision of the Carnegie Scholars in America. He had felt some diffidence in troubling Dr. Howard constantly with the making of arrangements for the scholars' work in the States, but Dr. Howard had written begging him to have no hesitation, as he regarded it as a pleasure and a privilege to assist the Bureau in London in any way that he could, as in America they fully appreciated the good work which it was doing. He also informed Mr. Marshall that the authorities at Harvard University had kindly decided to remit the fees for the Carnegie Scholars who had recently been sent there.

Mr. Marshall stated that he had at once written to Dr. Howard and to the President of Harvard University to express the thanks of the Committee for their courtesy and generosity.

Annexure to No. 49.

QUARTERLY REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF THE IMPERIAL BUREAU OF ENTOMOLOGY.

It will be recalled by members of the Committee that the annual subsidy of £2,000 a year for the purposes of the Entomological Research Committee was granted for a period of five years, which terminates next March. The Secretary of State for the Colonies has therefore approached the Governments of the self-sup- porting Colonies in West Africa, and the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury (in respect of the Exchequer-aided Protectorates in East Africa) with a view to securing similar grants for a further period of five years.

From the West African Colonies no replies have yet been received, except from the Nigerian Government, which has promised to continue its contribution of £500 per annum; while the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury have sanctioned a renewal of their grant of £1,000 per annum for a term of three years only. The period has been reduced because it is considered that by that time the Protectorates concerned should be able to find the necessary funds from their own revenues.

The financial resources of the Bureau now amount to £5,425 per annum, and a statement is appended (Appendix A) showing that the annual expenditure, on the existing scale of operations, amounts only to a trifle over £4,000. Proposals have therefore been laid before the Finance Sub-Committee suggesting various additions to the staff, as well [as] the fixing of a definite scale of increments to the salaries of all the assistants. The Chairman of the Sub-Committee will submit certain definite recommendations to the Committee in this connection.

A general statement as to our financial position is also attached to this report (Appendix B), from which it will be seen that, in addition to having a balance of £1,000 in the Tropical African Fund, after allowing for all the probable expenditure during the rest of the financial year, there will be a probable surplus of £1,450 in the Bureau Fund. And even if all the additional expenditure recommended by the Finance Sub-Committee were to take effect from the 1st December next-and this is

• No. 7 in Appendix VI. to [Cd. 7261], March, 1914.

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not likely the added cost for the last four months would be well under £400; so that the total surplus at the end of the year would still be over £2,000, which would be available for any extraordinary expenditure that might be necessary in connection with glossina work in Africa or stegomyia surveys in the Far East.

A third statement is submitted (Appendix C) setting forth the actual receipts and payments during the past quarter. The final contribution towards the cost of a travelling entomologist in the Federated Malay States has now been paid, the total expenditure under this heading having amounted to £331 17s. 2d., as compared with the estimate of £310. The total sum paid for translations from Russian up to the middle of October was £31, there being 29 abstracts, covering 155 typewritten foolscap pages at 4s. a page (of about 400 words). The ordinary price for simple translation is about 23. per folio of 70 words. Taking the six last abstracts actually published, the cost works out at £6 16s. for 17 pages of print.

As was to be anticipated, the work in connection with the "Review of Applied Entomology is steadily growing. The number of journals received in exchange has increased by 30 during the quarter, the present total being 178; but there are still many more yet to be obtained. For example, Mr. Theobald kindly allowed Mr. North to go through all his books at Wye, with the result that fifteen publications were noted which are not contained either in our library or in that of the Natural History Museum; nor do we yet receive any of the Australasian agricultural journals. Although we have already about 20 exchanges with Russia, we have recently received the names of 52 entomological stations or publications that are likely to be of use, and to these letters have now been written in Russian, as we find that this is more conducive to a favourable response. For this information we are largely indebted to Dr. Kurdjumov, of Poltava, who has kindly sent his own Review." He mailing list for Russia as a result of his high appreciation of our

also volunteered to distribute for us copies of our Russian circular on the occasion of the recent Congress of Russian Economic Entomologists at Poltava.

The services of a second abstractor are badly needed, and, unfortunately, at the end of September Mr. Koeppern had to resign his post, for purely private reasons. He was a very assiduous and capable worker, and it is hoped he may be able to return in two or three months. The increase in the general work of the office prevents Mr. North from giving so much time to actual abstracting as previously, and the material is accumulating faster than it is being dealt with. But again, the actual output of printed matter is influenced by my own capacity for editing the manuscript and checking the revise proofs, and some relief will be necessary in the near future.

Thanks to the circular despatch from the Colonial Office we have now received a fairly complete set of the various laws and regulations against injurious insects which have been promulgated in the British Dominions and Colonies, and if time permits it might be useful to collate and summarise these in a more convenient form.

With reference to the contemplated stegomyia survey, at the request of the Secretary of State for the Colonies the Foreign Office have written to the American, French, German, Dutch, and Japanese Governments asking that this Bureau should be furnished with any information that may be available as to the occurrence of stegomyia in their respective possessions in the Far East, and suggesting that, if collections of mosquitoes from these localities could be sent to us, we would return named series for the information of the countries concerned. There has not yet been time for a practical response to these overtures.

Dr. A. T. Stanton has kindly offered to supply us with collections and data from the Federated Malay States and has written to various correspondents in the East asking them to do the same. He is shortly visiting Siam and Indo-China, and will utilise the opportunity to further our enquiry. Mr. J. C. Moulton, of the Sarawak Museum, has been approached for assistance with regard to Borneo, and Mr. P. D. Montague, of Cambridge, who has just started on a zoological expedition to New Caledonia, has kindly consented to collect mosquitoes for us both there and in any ports visited en route. In Hong Kong the medical authorities are already taking active steps towards making a proper mosquito survey.

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