NOTABLE SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENT.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 17433, 19 April 1922, Page 4

NOTABLE SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENT.

VALUABLE CONTRIBUTION TO DOMINION LITERATURE.

(FROM OUR OWN COItItEsrONDEKT.) LONDON, March .9. Scientists, not only in New Zealand but throughout the world, will welcome the Hon. George M: ThomsonV new book, "The Naturalisation of Animals, and .'Plants in New Zealand" (Cambridge University Press, price 425). Mr Thomson does not.state how long he has laboured to produce this contribution to science, but it must have given him immense gratification to have accomplished such an encyclopaedic and comprehensive woik. . , j in gathering t:.o information required, and in working out the material, MiThomson writes, it soon became evident that the subject was unique. The naturalisation of animals and plants.in. any country is one of very great and far-reaching importance, but it bad , never been attempted before for any i country. "Instead, it was seen that New Zealand was the only country m which such a bit of history could bo at; tempted with, any prospect of success. I The generation of people now growing up in the country is living under conditions which, are' largely different. from those which prevailed when first settlers colonised the islands. The surroundings at present are partly determined by the primitive conditions, and paltry by the introduction of many new animals and plants. Both the fa.ee of the country and its. inhabitants have been largely changed, hut liitherto no connected account has been availably of I the agencies which have brought about these profound changes. It ia import-' ant, Mr Thomson maintains, that ouch, an account should be prepared,- because every year, as it passes, makes it increasingly difficult to gather the ma> terials. From the bibliography given at the end of tiho book it seems that already there have been some four hundred Volumes of greater or less pretensions, written on various phases'of the natural history of the Dominion. It is easy to see, therefore, why some attempt was advisable to gather all this mass of material together and to embody the essentials in a single volume. MiThomson adcnowledges assistance from all the specialists in the Dominion, and his efforts to elicit information seem to Siare been pleasantly- received and readily seconded on all sides. In acknowledgment of this assistance Mr Thomson writes: "I sought and most ungrudgingly received tho co-operation of local specialists, and I desire to acknowledge my deep debt of gratitude to these gentlemen, who have checked my lists and supplied me with many of the facts recorded." A layman, on taking up the volume, might at first be a little nervous of its contents because of the Latin nameson the.head of each page, but on reading further ihe would find that it is not written entirely for students. Indeed, to one who has never known a single Latin name for plant, insect, or animal, the book is of .absorbing interest. In New Zealand we have an area cf land in which the first introduction of a majority of the species which now occur and are not indigenous to the country can be traced. We can tell when and how many of the species which are now so abundantly represented first came, into t'he country. ' In tracing tl.o origin of the species, especially those which were introduced during the period between Captain Cook's visits and the settling' of the provinces, the author has had to call upon a wealth of early history which cannot > help but add a popular element to his Bubject. The author has no very high opinion of the work of acclimatisation societies in the Dominion, and he maintains that an important consideration of the work he has aeoomplished is. its practical value in shaping the fuftire policy of acclimatisation. ''The whole history of acclimatisation efforts," he says, "abounds in bungles ana blunders, and while a certain measure of good has been achieved —notably in stocking our nearly empty rivers and lakes witih fine j food and sport fishes—yet the record of harm done is enormously greater. Socalled acclimatisation societies to-day are only angling and sporting clubs, and it is a question whether the whole I control should not be taken up by the Government. At .any rate, the public wants education on the subject, and this work is a contribution towards this aspect of it." Of the various sections of the book, •'probably ■ those dealing with animals and birds will appeal most to tihe ordinary reader. But whether it be the life history of animal, bird, plant, or insect, the writer has produced something which ie infinitely more than a catalogue of present. New Zealand species. The work has been a labour of love, and Mr Thomson certainly achieves his purpose—to make it of use and interest to many who do not profess' to be naturalists, but who are interested in natural phenomena. Apart from tliis, however, it is a volume of 600 pages packed full of information, and must rank as. the chief standard work of its kind, and an important contribution to science as well as to the literature of tho Dominion.