CO885-24 — Page 388

CO882 & CO885 Colonial Office Confidential Prints 理藩院機密印刊 All

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

mmmmim C.O. 885

24 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

54

Glossina Investigations.—When it seemed clear that his services would not be required by the War Office, Dr. J. J. Simpson was instructed to proceed to West Africa. He left England in June last, and returned to his original camp at Yapi, in the Northern Territories of the Gold Coast, to resume his interrupted investiga- tion into the life histories of various species of Glossina. No statement as to the progress of his work has yet been received.

Mr. W. F. Fiske has completed the preliminary portion of his inquiry into practical methods of controlling Glossina palpalis in Uganda, and is now on his way back to England on leave. He has prepared an extremely interesting and valuable report on his observations and conclusions, but only the first two sections of this have as yet been received from the Governor of Uganda; copies of these have been circu- lated for the information of the Committee.

Dr. W. A. Lamborn is making satisfactory progress with his work on Glossina morsitans in Nyasaland, and his second interim report will be published in the next part of our Bulletin. He has bred several additional parasites, and in this connexion there is a point which may be of considerable practical importance, namely, that he has failed to obtain any parasites from pupa collected in the proclaimed area, all his specimens having been obtained near Monkey Bay, where Glossina morsitans is markedly less abundant. The introduction of parasites into the proclaimed area may therefore be worthy of a trial, especially as it has been found that the most important parasite, Mutilla glossina, can be bred with ease in captivity. After many disappointments Dr. Lamborn has now been able to discover many hundreds of breeding places of Glossina morsitans, and, after a careful study of these, he is starting an experimental attempt to control breeding places within a limited portion of a fly belt, in order to see how far the numbers of the fly can be reduced by this means.

Collections received. Owing principally to the arrival of another large collec tion of mosquitoes bred by Dr. H. Macfarlane, of Hong Kong, the number of insects received during the past six months considerably exceeds that for the previous half- year, being about 17,000 (as compared with 11,000). The number of blood-suckers amounts to nearly 10,000, as against 4,600. In all ninety separate consignments were received from forty-six different correspondents, who are geographically dis tributed as follows:-Africa twenty-five, Australia five, the Far East five, India and Ceylon four, North and South America four, Europe three.

A considerable number of named specimens were distributed during this period, collections having been sent to the following institutions:-Aberdeen University Agricultural Museum, Sydney: Cambridge University Museum; Department of Public Health, New South Wales; Edinburgh University; Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine; London School of Tropical Medicine; Manchester University Museum; Medical Research Institute, Lagos; Middlesex Hospital; Oxford Univer sity Museum: Quick Laboratory, Cambridge; Royal College of Science for Ireland; Royal Scottish Museum; and the Wellcome Bureau of Scientific Research.

Steg myia Survey.-The first results of foreign co-operation in this matter have recently been received in the form of a small collection of mosquitoes forwarded by the French Government through the Foreign Office. The insects were collected in Tahiti, New Caledonia, New Hebrides, and Annam. Stegomyia fasciata occurred among the specimens sent from the two last-named localities, but the collections were far too small to give any indication as to the relative incidence of this species. It is probable that reliable information of this kind will only be secured as a result of personal investigations by a competent observer on the spot. It is therefore satis factory to report that the Secretary of State for the Colonies has definitely sane- tioned the proposal that Dr. A. T. Stanton, of the Federated Malay States, should spend a period of six months in examining the mosquito fauna of some of the more important ports in the Far East. The cost of such an expedition has been estimated by the High Commissioner of the Malay States at approximately £350, and he suggests that the Federated Malay States should only pay Dr. Stanton's salary for the period (£320), while the Straits Settlements might be asked to contribute £100. This would leave £430 to be met out of our own funds, and an inspection of the accompanying accounts (Appendix II.) will show that we are quite in a position to afford this outlay.

Finance.-In Appendix I. will be found the usual statement of the actual receipts and disbursements during the half-year, and no item appears to call for any special comment. Appendix II. sets forth our present financial resources, together

I

55

At

with an estimate of our expenditure during the second half-year, from which it will be seen that at the end of the financial year we shall probably have a balance of nearly £1,700, in addition to the £1,000 carried over from the old Committee. the beginning of the financial year an estimate for the expenditure for the year was submitted, from which it was deduced that the excess of receipts over payments would be only £15. On the basis of the present accounts it is probable that that balance will be nearer £100.

"Bulletin of Entomological Research."—A statement is attached showing the cost of producing Volume V. of this quarterly journal. Unfortunately, the net loss on this volume is somewhat more than double that on the preceding one. This is the result of several factors. In the first place we have lost the sum of £42 10s. which we used to receive in subscriptions from the Tropical African Colonies; and then there has been a heavy reduction in the sales of separate parts (£16 as compared with £68), not a single separate part of Volume V. having been sold. But the main item has been the increased expenditure on illustrations, while the larger size of the volume has added to the cost of printing and postage. The number of subscribers has also fallen off somewhat, being 196 as against 210.

Carnegie Students. All the students who were in America at the time of our last meeting, namely, Messrs. E. Hargreaves, G. H. Corbett, H. G. Champion, and F. W. Dry, have now completed their time and returned to this country. The only additional studentship awarded by the Selection Sub-Committee is one to Mr. J. D. Tothill, an assistant of Dr. Gordon Hewitt in Canada, for a period of six months from the 1st October. The amount of the Carnegie Fund in hand is now only £221, and the outstanding liabilities amount to about £165, so that there is nothing avail- able for any further students at present. Next year (1916) will be the sixth and last of Mr. Carnegie's grant.

October, 1915.

APPENDIX I.

Expenditure and Receipts for the half-year ended the 30th September, 1915.

Salaries

Carnegie students

Office furniture

Payments.

Receipts.

£ a. d. 1,677 15

£ s. d.

1

536 13

8

Scientific equipment

8 7 0

21 8 10

Travelling expenses

39 0 0

Translations (Russian and Scandi-

navian)

73 0 9

Elvaston Place office

Library

General expenses

Review of Applied Entomology

57 0 8 17 9

QOOTHG

0

Bulletin of Entomological Research... Interest on deposits

47 12 7 109 8 11 217 14 6

72 2 4

Government grants

£2,807 11 0

34 2 5 3,883 15 8

£3,990 0 5

Comments

Approved members can add comments, bookmarks, and private notes.

No comments yet.

Private Research Note

Private notes are available after approval.