284 B. M. DUGGAR 



There are doubtless many physiologists today who hesitate to 

 consider hydrogen-ion concentration as a factor in their work 

 because of imagined difficulties in the process. Yet this is one 

 of the factors which enters into every fundamental study of the 

 soil relations or the solution relations of plants, of the activity 

 of microorganisms in fermentation phenomena, and of the proper 

 study of most in vitro enzymatic 'processes. Again, we cannot all 

 possess an ultramicroscopic equipment, yet there should be such 

 equipment accessible at convenient points. 



There are few of us who cannot appreciate the value of special 

 conferences and of contact with one another in groups at meetings 

 such as those we are holding here this week. I feel certain that 

 the idea of special conferences modified to meet particular needs, 

 could be greatly extended as a factor in effective research. The 

 promotion of contact between investigators in large groups has 

 its limitations. Even so, however, such contact has been possi- 

 ble for a considerable class of biologists (including physiologists) 

 at the Marine Biological Laboratory and, for smaller numbers, 

 at a few other — mostly marine — laboratories in the country. 

 The Desert Botanical Laboratory has offered special advantages 

 to a limited number, and this type of opportunity is just what is 

 desired. It appears to me, however, that there are too few con- 

 tinuous or discontinuous influences of this type for groups of 

 botanists. My idea is that extended conferences, or team-work 

 investigation — real democratic team work, often occupying much 

 of the summer vacation, arranged by relatively small groups of 

 workers interested in related problems, would bring results at a 

 minimum of effort. Indeed, I feel sure that some of the prob- 

 lems confronting our experiment stations could be most efficiently 

 and even cheaply solved by arranging for properly selected group 

 work of this type. I do not refer to that kind of team work in 

 which there is one dictator and many mechanicians, although that 

 may be good enough at times. 



Related to these suggestions, there is particular need of foster- 

 ing the laboratory encouraging worthy post Ph.D. research, or of- 

 fering favorable contact for the man on sabbatical leave, and 

 this, I believe, is a thing to be striven for by several of our labora- 



