The Natural History Society

parts, china, pipes (both earthenware and asbestos), glass and so on. The biggest single item was a 75 ton fishing boat, designed for shrimp fishing in the Bay of Bengal. As it happens, packages of shrimps formed a small part of the homeward cargo—this is the sort of occupation and traffic that does not find its way into the books. The largest item in the homeward cargo was oil cake from Chittagong and Madras. Of this Capt. Graham writes: "All the oil cake has to be carefully examined. First of all one examines the stack feeling the bags. If any bags feel hot the stack is passed over. Then the temperature is checked by putting a thermometer into the bag: the temperature should not be more than 90°F. After that a few bags are picked at random and the contents poured out. If everything is satisfactory, we load, but when it is loaded particular attention must be paid to ventilation. It is essential that a current of air can circulate round each stack. We keep the stacks small, and all Pakistan oil cake must be stowed in the 'tween decks so that it is accessible if heating takes place. Indian oil cake has however a good safety record."

Other items, more romantic and less dangerous, included pepper, rosewood. Cardamoms, carpets, cashews, curry, buffalo horns, poppadoms, tumeric, snakeskins and lemon grass oil.

It is an interesting example of the function of London as an entrepot that various items of cargo discharged there were for transhipment to such places as Bremen (rubber), Malmo (cardamoms), Lisbon (coir), Hamburg (hides), Gothenburg (rubber), Mandal (coir), Rotterdam (hides), and there were even goods for Barbados, St. Lucia and Demarara.

Voyage 7, now in progress, is again to Indian and Pakistan ports.

The Annual General Meeting was held towards the end of the Easter term, when the following committee was elected:— Chairman: J. H. ORMISTON. Secretary: J. M. RunnocK. Treasurer: M. C. M. ANYAN. Vth Form representative: P. R. HARRISON. IVth Form representative: N. C. P. MARSDEN. Shell's representative: H. L. WOOD.

At the first meeting of the Society in the Summer term three members gave illustrated accounts of their ecological studies at Flatford Mill Field Centre during the Easter holidays. For example, the Society secretary spoke on the distribution of the two species of Gammarus (fresh-water shrimp) and commented on their respective salinity tolerance.

Part of the Easter term and the first few weeks of the Summer term were spent by about 20 members arranging a Nature Trail at Moorlands. These are relatively new in this country, and in this case consisted of a self-guiding route about mile long, with some 25 labelled positions, each picking out points of interest e.g. badger sets, squirrel drays, species of plants, etc. The trail was arranged in conjunction with the National Nature Week sponsored by the Council for Nature, in an attempt to stimulate the public interest in Natural History, and to bring home the 22