REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 139 



little island it seems almost too good to be true. Of course we realize 

 that the virtues of Barro Colorado Island are not entirely the result of 

 its natural equipment. The well-marked trails, the laboratory, the 

 library, the excellent livinj? accommodations, the trail-end houses, and 

 all the rest are the end results of a lot of patient planning and miending 

 attention to detail. The summer of 1939 was the most stimulating and 

 happiest one of our lives." — Ralph and Mildred Buchsbaum. 



"The island is better than ever; and after knocking about in parts 

 of the world where it is very difficult to organize one's work, I appreci- 

 ate more keenly than ever the possibilities Barro Colorado offers for 

 profitable natural history studies which can be begun immediately 

 upon arrival." — Alexander F. Skutch. 



"All light talk aside, I have not seen any place in my travels which 

 compares with Barro Colorado Island in point of excitement of the 

 field-naturalist kind. In Java and Sumatra the Dutch have built 

 palatial laboratories, but these are far removed from the new, fresh, 

 wild jungle. In Ceylon the British have an agglomeration of build- 

 ings like the United States Department of Agi'iculture, but it is 

 surrounded on all sides by tea plantations. Everywhere it is the 

 destructive activity of man that is clearing off the jungle and replacing 

 the gorgeous forest with weedy growth or plantations of rubber trees 

 in rows. Hold the virgin character of Barro Colorado at all costs. 



"Tell the visitors to take it from one who has just been there that 

 the conditions for studying tropical plants and animals are better at 

 Barro Colorado Island than anywhere I went in Sumatra or Java." — 

 David Faikchild. 



"Barro Colorado Island is one of the most astounding places I have 

 visited in any part of the world. Its value is tremendous for scientific 

 research, even for research that has economic importance. I sincerely 

 hope the day never comes when any of the land is devoted to investiga- 

 tions such as are now being carried on in many agricultural forest and 

 range experiment stations. The virgin character of Barro Colorado is 

 sufficient asset and I hope you will fight every move that may be made 

 to change this condition." — Frank E. Egler. 



"I must confess I was amazed at the systematic way in which the 

 trails are laid out and posted, the filing system in the library and the 

 many other modes and ways of doing things. I doubly appreciate 

 this because I have been places where such systems were not followed, 

 much to everyone's disadvantage." — George W. Prescott. 



"Never again shall I make a trip like this one for merely 5 weeks. 

 If I cannot make a trip next summer I am certainly going to make 

 every effort to get down the following one. Cay lor too, wants to get 

 back to Barro Colorado Island and go through with our contemplated 

 project of preparing a flora of the ferns of the region. We have a siz- 



