I will begin by admitting how slight is my own first-hand knowledge of the three species except for the great one-horned rhinoceros with which I am, or was, fairly familiar during the thirty years that I spent in Bengal and Assam. Although the little two-horned rhinoceros was still said to exist in the Chittagong forests, while I was there at intervals between 1923 and 1930 I never saw even the tracks of this species until I went to Malaya in 1938. Even there, although I got to know its haunts reasonably well, I only caught two fleeting glimpses of the animal itself. As for the third species, the smaller onehorned rhinoceros, I have never even seen its tracks.

The third technical meeting of the International Union for the Protection of Nature was held in Salzburg from 15th to 20th September, the last two days being occupied by excursions in which the majority of delegates took part. The term delegates is used though it is not strictly correct, for participants attended the conference as individuals only. Twelve countries were represented: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Yugoslavia. Unfortunately there was nobody from the United States, a great supporter of the Union, but papers and information from America helped to fill this gap.

After the technical meeting of the International Union for the Protection of Nature, many of the participants and their wives were able to take part in the excursions arranged by the local organizing committee. On the afternoon of 18th September, we visited the Salzkammergut, a district east of Salzburg which could be compared to our lake district. Here is a network of beautiful lakes with steep wooded hills and sheer cliffs dropping to the blue water. At the Fuschl See, our first stop, Ribbentrop and Ciano had had many meetings during the war in the castle hotel overlooking the lake. The near-by pastures were covered with pale mauve meadow saffron, and beside the path we saw Gentiana germanica and a fine group of the shaggy ink cap fungus (Coprinus comatus). We went on to the Wolfgangsee and Mondsee, returning to Salzburg in the evening. Later my husband and I spent a few days on the shore of the Wolfgangsee and were able to explore at leisure.

There has this year been correspondence in the London Times about the possibility of creating a national park out of part of the Nyika Plateau; notably the letter from the Secretary of the Fauna Preservation Society, published on 6th April, 1953, and that from Sir George Stapledon on 10th April. The information below consists of a general account of the plateau and some more specialized notes, derived mainly from knowledge of the birds, with a view to indicating the faunistic isolation of the area.

I think at this preliminary stage it would be appropriate if we set out the principles which will govern us in managing the National Parks on behalf of the public of the Protectorate. We, the Trustees, are not a tourist agency nor are we hotel keepers or a bus company. Our duty is to preserve the areas which have been set aside as National Parks as sanctuaries for wild life and as areas which in perpetuity can be preserved for the recreation primarily of the people of Uganda. The facilities which we may grant to tourists who wish to visit the Parks will be secondary to our main function. It should, however, be borne in mind that while these facilities are secondary they are important, as the tourist industry provides directly some of the revenue necessary for running the Parks and also brings money into the country and so provides revenue for the Protectorate Government, thus assisting it in making grants towards the upkeep of the Parks.

Reaction to the Presence of Man and of Tiger.—Bull seladang grazing in the open seldom raise their heads from the serious business of filling their maws, but leave watch-dog duties to the cows. The latter seldom keep their heads down long, and it is on this account that care must be taken when stalking a herd up wind in the open. Some cow almost always has her head up looking about. I say “looking about”, for they do not generally try the wind unless some strange or dangerous scent comes to them; then all, even the bulls, are on their toes. When an unfavourable wind is received they first throw up their heads and face into the wind, raising their noses; after a good inspiration in this position, they swing their heads sharply first to one side, then after a short pause to the other side, testing the wind. They may repeat this action several times before being certain. From this they are able to determine the direction in which any danger may lie. If it is a scent denoting the presence of man they hesitate not on the order of going, stampeding away from the dreaded scent for perhaps seventy or a hundred yards. After their initial rush they pull up for a short pause making sure the danger is not on their tails. If the danger is not so close, they slip quietly away at a fast walk; if the source of danger is not following they keep this up, perhaps, for several miles, before they pull up for a real breather, but still remain very wary.

The European brown and black rats probably reached Jamaica by the earliest ships. In any case these prolific rodents, along with the equally prolific cane-piece rat, have always been a tremendous problem on sugar estates, and for several hundred years estate owners have found it necessary to expend large sums for rat catching.

The Canadian Wildlife Service is a Division of the National Parks Branch, Department of Resources and Development. It deals with wild life questions coining within the jurisdiction of the Federal Government of Canada, except certain matters handled by the National Museum and some other matters closely related to Indian Affairs. Its responsibilities may be grouped in the following items:—

To advise the National Parks Service and to co-operate with it in dealing with fish and wild life problems in the National Parks of Canada.

This paper deals with two ideas that are not new but which are too often forgotten. The writer can speak only from North American experience, but these ideas have worldwide importance. They are that wild life preservation is complete only when the species concerned are maintained in their natural surroundings; and that preservation efforts often fail because of blind faith in reserves while the importance of environment is ignored.

Stewart Island lies below the southernmost bluff of South Island, from which it is separated by the deceptive Foveaux Strait. In shape it is an irregular isosceles triangle with a base extending north-west and south-east along the Foveaux Strait. Having an area of only 665 square miles it is by far the smallest of the three main islands of New Zealand. It is interesting to note that the forty-seventh parallel of latitude south passes through the middle of Stewart Island; the forty-seventh parallel north cuts Switzerland in half.

For many years, in fact since the lamented demise of The Zoologist in 1916, the study of mammals in Great Britain has been greatly handicapped by the lack of a specialist journal. This deficiency it is now hoped to remedy by publishing in Oryx a regular section devoted to the natural history and conservation of British mammals. The twin aims of the section are well illustrated by the two articles in this first issue, one on the field study and identification of British bats, by Michael Blackmore, the other on the case for a close season for deer, by G. K. Whitehead, both among the leading experts in their respective fields. In addition it is hoped to publish regularly short notes on matters of general rather than local interest, to review books on or largely devoted to British mammals, and to abstract from local natural history journals any papers or notes of more than local interest. Editors of local journals, and secretaries of the mammal sections of local natural history societies and field clubs, could help this work greatly by sending me copies of their journals or reprints of any sections of articles relating to mammals. Address: Drifts, Chinnor Hill, Oxford.

In April, 1952, the Poaching of Deer (Scotland) Bill was discussed and had a second reading in the House of Lords. Although the Bill provided for penalties of £20 for a first offence on summary conviction and a fine of £100, or two years' imprisonment, or both, in cases of conviction on indictment, there were two apparent weaknesses to which attention was called—namely that the powers to arrest poachers were given only to policemen, and secondly that the Bill did not include a close season for deer. Unfortunately this Bill was among the four Government Bills which were crowded out before the summer session ended, and since then, so far as I am aware, has not been included in any subsequent projected legislation.

Comparatively little work has been done to ascertain the distribution and habits of British bats. Much of the data in standard works on mammals is scanty and some of the more detailed accounts of habits appear to have been based on behaviour in captivity, which may vary considerably from that of bats in their natural environment.