REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT, I906. 25 



to him and to his work, namely, in preventing visitors from encroaching too 

 freely on his time and attention. 



Thru the agency of a committee, consisting of the President, as chair- 

 man, and of Messrs. Davenport, MacDougal, and Mayer, heads of the 

 departments of biological research, the task of preparing a scientific account 

 of the ways, means, and methods employed by Mr. Burbank in his unri- 

 valed work has been undertaken during the year. In May last all mem- 

 bers of this committee except Dr. Mayer visited Santa Rosa and conferred 

 with Mr. Burbank in order to develop a program for this undertaking. In 

 accordance with this program, the details of which need not be stated here, 

 Dr. George H. Shull, of the staif of the Department of Kxperimental Evolu- 

 tion, spent a portion of the summer in work at Santa Rosa, and he has 

 recently returned thither to resume his labors. It is contemplated to have 

 Dr. Shull spend parts of two or three years at work with Mr. Burbank, 

 and to call to our aid also the services of other specialists of the departments 

 of biological research. 



Altho space forbids a further account of this work here, the President 

 desires to record his warm esteem of the scientific spirit of cooperation shown 

 in this enterprise by Mr. Burbank, by the members of the committee, 

 by Dr. Shull, and by numerous colleagues whose counsel has been sought. 

 By means of the cooperation thus secured it is confidently believed that 

 the diverse scientific and economic ends in view may be achieved in ways 

 which will commend themselves alike to the Institution and to the general 

 public. 



The location of the laboratory of the Department of Marine Biology at 

 Dry Tortugas, Florida, has required a development along 

 ^^^B^Sgy! '^"^' somewhat different lines from those followed by other 

 departments. Altho this location is uniquely favorable 

 in respect to abundance of marine fauna available, it is so isolated and so 

 subject to tropical storms that the laboratory may not be safely kept open 

 for investigation thruout the year. Thus far, therefore, the Director, Dr. 

 Mayer, has not sought to attach to his department a permanent scientific 

 staff. Instead of doing so he has invited, during each of the past two 

 summer seasons, a number of trained investigators to become guests of and 

 to pursue investigations at the laboratory. For this purpose the Executive 

 Committee has allotted to the department a sufficient sum to cover the costs 

 of the traveling expenses and the subsistence, while at the laboratory, of 

 these guests. Under the administration of Dr. Mayer this tentative plan 

 has worked so promisingly that it appears to me well worthy of considera- 

 tion with a view to its application to some other departments. By a proper 

 selection of associate investigators and by limiting eligibility to men and 

 women of proved capacity for research, an extension of this plan to other 

 departments may b2 expected not only to stimulate fruitful activity amongst 



