Societies and Academies

Abstract

LONDON. Linnean Society, Mar. 15.—Stanley W. Kemp: Whaling research and the work of the Discovery Expedition. The principal object of the Discovery Expedition is the study of whales and whaling in the southern hemisphere. The history of whaling in the north shows that species have been reduced, sometimes almost to the point of extinction, by methods far less deadly than those at present employed. Experience indicates that when once a stock of whales has been seriously depleted, recovery, if it is ever effected, is a matter of centuries, and it follows that, if too many rorquals are taken in the south, there is a grave risk that a very important source of wealth will be destroyed. The actual extermination of any species of whale, however, is most improbable under present conditions, for long before this point can be reached, commercial operations would cease to be profitable. The two ships of the expedition, the Discovery and the William Scoresby, have for the most part been engaged in research on the plankton and hydrography of southern waters with the view of obtaining precise information on the environment of whales. In the south, whale-food appears to consist exclusively of a single species of Euphausia (a crustacean related to the decapods), and a special study of this species and the reasons for its great abundance in certain parts of the Antarctic has been made. Hydrographic work, to determine the physical and chemical constitution of the water, has been undertaken in conjunction with the planktonic observations (see also NATURE, Oct. 30, 1926, p. 628).—P. J. Greenway: The forest flora of south Central Africa. Much of the material was collected by Mr. R. Bourne, of the Imperial Forestry Institute, while on a tour of inspection on behalf of the Northern Rhodesian Government. The collection represents 131 species, comprised in 80 genera and 34 families. The three families of Leguminosae furnish the largest number of species. Only two genera, Monotes and Marquesia, of the Dipterocarpaceae, are met with; of the former there are several reputed specimens, which are fairly common in the dry savannah forest. Marquesia macroura Gilg, the ‘Musesjie,’ is one of the most abundant trees in Northern Rhodesia and the Katanga, where it attains a height of 65 to 80 feet; the wood is described as very hard and of good quality, and is used for finishing houses and in carriage-building. Of especial interest is the occurrence of a species of Hirtella (Rosacea?). This genus is chiefly American in its distribution, being represented by about 40 species in Central and South America.