194 Naturalist at Large 



Foundation to incorporate and take this laboratory 

 under its wing as one of the places in which researches 

 in tropical botany and zoology could be carried on. 

 We also feel strongly that you ought to take over the 

 supervision of this laboratory and probably other trop- 

 ical laboratories, such as the new marine laboratory 

 which President Porras is founding in Panama City, 

 and let us help you in developing them. . . . 



I take it that students of plant diseases and the eco- 

 nomic entomologists would be glad to have a num- 

 ber of stations in which they could carry on investiga- 

 tions under different conditions in the American trop- 

 ics. The zoologists have usually taken the lead in the 

 development of marine stations but have always made 

 room for the botanists who desire to carry on inves- 

 tigations in these institutions. Since botany and zool- 

 ogy can no longer be separated, I believe it would be 

 admirable if the botanists could take these various 

 tropical laboratories under their wings and let the 

 zoologists come in to help them. This seems to me to 

 be the more proper because the plant life of the tropics 

 is such a tremendous and basic affair and so essential 

 to the development of all animal life in those re- 

 gions. . . . 



I do hope that you will think favorably of this mat- 

 ter, which I should like very much to present to you in 

 greater detail. This would be best accomplished in 

 conversation. I am so glad to learn that you are en- 

 thusiastic about the Barro Colorado proposition. We 

 can get Mr. Zetek to look after the laboratory when 

 no investigators are there. I contemplate going to Pan- 



