REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT, I907. 27 



fessor W. R. Shepherd, is now in press ; while others are in a forward state 

 of preparation. A revised and much enlarged edition of the Guide to the 

 Archives of the Government of the United States at Washington is also now 

 in type, and will soon be issued. 



For an outline of prospective as well as current work under this depart- 

 ment, attention may be called to the full report of Director Jameson to be 

 found on pp. 97-105. 



The experiments and investigations of Mr, Burbank and the work of 

 preparing a scientific account of his methods and achievements are progress- 

 ing as favorably as the available division of time and 

 A/i"^T^"lh"'^^R^h'^^t ^ labor will permit. Being necessarily and properly very 

 busy with his ov/n affairs and overburdened by impor- 

 tunities of the public, the amount of time available for conferences concern- 

 ing the origin and the history of his productions is limited. 



Dr. Shull, of the staff of the Department of Experimental Evolution, who 

 is collecting the data for the account just referred to, has been at Santa Rosa 

 for two series of conferences during the year, and plans to spend a portion 

 of each year there until this work is completed. Dr. Cannon, of the Depart- 

 ment of Botanical Research, has also spent a portion of the year at Santa 

 Rosa, studying especially the physiology of some of the numerous hybrids 

 developed by Mr. Burbank. 



One of the most important results which may be expected to arise from 

 Mr. Burbank's work and from the interest in it taken by the Institution is a 

 general stimulus to scientific horticulture. That contemporary society is 

 ready to appreciate and utilize such a stimulus is a noteworthy sign of the 

 times. Thus, many individual and governmental enterprises are giving 

 attention to the economic advantages to be gained from rationally conducted 

 experiments in this field, while biologists in increasing numbers are devoting 

 their studies to the more recondite laws which govern plant, fruit, and flower 

 developments. ( 



As explained more fully in my preceding report, the unique conditions 

 under which this department must carry on its work have led to a similarly 

 unique development, the more essential features of which 

 MariDe*BkJo°^ ^^^ ^^^^ absence of a permanent scientific staff and the 

 closing of the laboratory at Dry Tortugas during the 

 autumnal and winter seasons of the year. But these features do not dimin- 

 ish the efficiency or limit the extent of the work peculiar to the department, 

 since the pelagic life of the region can only be investigated advantageously 

 during the spring and summer seasons. 



During the past season, as hitherto, the department has extended its labo- 

 ratory and collecting facilities to specialists in zoological research, eleven 

 such guests having availed themselves of the opportunities afforded at Dry 



